How Offers Are Presented During a Divorce Home Sale in New Jersey

In a divorce sale, every offer goes to both owners at the same time, in the same written summary, so neither of you hears about it first or gets a different version. Neither spouse can accept alone unless an order or agreement gives one of you that authority, and once you both sign, the contract still goes through New Jersey's three-business-day attorney review.

I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato, a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® with The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living. The offer stage is where a divorce sale gets tested, because it's the first time the market puts a real number in front of both of you. Here's how I run it.

Who sees an offer first?

Nobody. Both owners get it at the same moment, in writing. That's the whole point: no accusations of favoritism, no "why did you hear before me," no private version of the deal.

It also matches the rules I work under. The REALTOR® Code of Ethics requires submitting offers and counter-offers objectively and as fast as possible, and it requires a listing broker to keep submitting all offers to the seller until closing unless the seller waives that in writing (NAR Standards of Practice 1-6 and 1-7). In a divorce, both of you are the seller, so both of you get every offer.

What does the offer summary show?

A written summary, not a phone call and my interpretation. For each offer:

• Price, and how the buyer is paying: cash, conventional, FHA or VA
• The deposit and when it's due
• Contingencies: inspection, mortgage, appraisal, and any sale the buyer depends on
• The proposed closing date, and whether it fits your agreement or order
• What the buyer wants included or credited

Read what comes out of the proceeds at a divorce closing.

Can one spouse accept an offer without the other?

Generally, no. A married couple that owns as tenants by the entirety can't affect their interest without the written consent of both (N.J.S.A. 46:3-17.4), and a spouse's right of joint possession in the marital home follows the house unless it's released or ended, for example by a court order (N.J.S.A. 3B:28-3). An order or your agreement can give one of you decision-making authority; if yours does, I follow it exactly. Read who has to sign to sell the house.

How are multiple offers handled in a divorce?

• All of them presented together, to both owners
• A neutral rundown of each offer's strengths and risks
• No pressure, and nothing said to one owner that isn't said to the other

And one thing that never happens: I don't represent a buyer on a divorce listing. The CDRE® Code of Ethics doesn't allow it, personally or through a team, so there's no buyer of mine in the stack to steer toward. For multiple offers in general, read how multiple offers work.

What happens when you disagree on an offer?

It happens a lot. One of you wants the higher number, the other wants the cleaner terms. One wants to counter, the other wants to sign. When it does:

1. Back to the data. The net, the risk of each contingency, the timeline, and what showings and feedback have told us.
2. Clear deadlines. When the offer expires and what a counter does to it.
3. The attorneys, when needed. If the two of you can't decide, the decision goes where your agreement or order sends it.

The best fix is agreed ahead of time: in the written plan, before listing, the two of you agree how fast each of you answers an offer. A buyer won't wait forever.

What should you agree on before the first offer arrives?

• How fast each of you answers an offer or a counter
• Who handles attorney review for the two of you as sellers
• How a counter gets approved, and in what form
• What closing dates your agreement or order allows
• Where a decision goes if the two of you deadlock

Put it in the written plan both of you sign before listing. When an offer lands on a Friday night, nobody has to invent the process.

Can offers be negotiated separately with each spouse?

No. A counter-offer is one decision by two owners. If the buyer's agent calls one of you directly, the answer is the same: send it through me, in writing, so both owners see it.

What happens after you both sign?

Attorney review. The buyer's and sellers' attorneys have three days, counted from delivery of the signed contract and not counting Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays, to review and disapprove it; if neither does, it becomes binding (N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.2). Read attorney review during a divorce home sale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you tell us which offer to take?

I tell both of you the same thing: how likely each offer is to close and what I'd watch. The decision is yours together, or follows your order.

Can the buyer's agent talk to only one of us?

In a sale I run, every offer and counter goes through me to both owners in writing. If a call comes to one of you directly, send it back through that channel.

What if one offer is higher but riskier?

The summary shows the risk next to the price: financing, contingencies and timing. A higher number that doesn't close nets nothing.

Do buyers pay less because it's a divorce sale?

Buyers don't see why a home is for sale. They respond to price, condition and how organized the sale is.

This is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Your attorney has the final word on your contract and on who can accept an offer.

About the author

Dennis Mark Interdonato is a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® who leads The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living in Point Pleasant, NJ, helping buyers and sellers throughout New Jersey make their next move, with Monmouth and Ocean County as home base. See how he handles home sales during a divorce.

Keep reading

• The Divorce Guide
• Start with a home value both of you can see
• Pricing a divorce home sale
• Have a question this didn't answer? Send it to Dennis Mark.