Real estate agents zero in on the three D’s

Michael Bolla of Luxury Lofts and Homes (far right) hosted a gathering at 436 West 20th Street (building photos credit: Patrou Phelps) for female divorcees, at which matchmaker Janis Spindel (third from right) and Isabel Gilles, a New York Times best-selling author (second from right), spoke.

From the New York Web site: Divorced female, seeking apartment, immediately, any size, any neighborhood, any rent.

In a down market, some real estate agents say the only real motivators for people to sell or seek property may be the three D’s: death, divorce and debt. But they are tricky markets to reach.

To home in on those potential clients, some real estate agents accentuate the positive, selling their services as matchmakers. Others make it clear on their Web sites that, though they’re not lawyers, they’re familiar with the legal twists and turns of divorce.