For sale by owner...

[meauxna 15]

*You* can still have a Realtor to represent *your* interests. If the seller wants to fly solo to cut costs, that is their perogative. If you are inexperienced, you would probably benefit from the guidance of a pro.

[Lillie_T 0]

If you purchase a home that is For Sale by Owner and you require bank financing (if you can't pay cash), the lender will require that the home has an inspection as well as an appraisal. An inspection checks out the overall condition of the house; roof, hvac systems, pests etc. The appraisal is used to determine the market value based on the square footage and ammenities of the property and compares similar recently purchased homes in the area to determine that acutal market value of the house. You can look up basic information about the property in your local county tax collectors web site, but keep in mind that the information that you can get there is minimal. You can see what the yearly taxes are, the legal description of the land and who the owner is as well as the 'assessed value' of the property. The assesed value is for tax purposes only and does not reflect the actual 'market value' of the property. The only way that you can use a realtor in the transaction is if the home seller agrees to pay the realtors commission, if not then if you want to use the services of a realtor you would be asked to pay their commission. But it is really not necessary if you follow the proper steps. FSBO's are not a bad idea! Most FSBO homes are listed at fair market value because the homeowner does not need to raise the price by 3-6% to cover the realtors commission. Use a reputable licensed Mortgage Broker or Mortgage Lender and you can be assured that the home is worth the price, and all applicable inspections are made prior to the closing. A bank will NOT loan money against a home that is not worth the price.

[Fandango 1,440]

i think before you buy from a private seller or a real estate firm..have it checked out..saves time and sometimes you can have the problems ided fixed prior to purchase

I'm confused what you mean by this.....normally sellers won't open their homes to inspections without having a contract on the table. Of course there are provisions in every contract that have to do with inspection times/results/repairs/etc...so of course if the home doesn't inspect well, you have an out to get your escrow back. But to do it before getting in contract? If you start having each home you're interested in 'checked out'...well that can run a lot of money. Home inspections by me are usually $300 and up. Termite inspections start at $75, appraisals $300, surveys...depends on the size of the land. That's a lot of money to shell out on a home you don't have a contract on.

_____________________

Ok, so I won't have a lot of time here cos I've got loads to do...but I wanted to add a little bit before this drops off the page....I think fsbos are a bad idea. Anywhere. Believe me, I understand the concept of trying to save some money....before I became a realtor® I tried to sell my own home by owner. I can't even begin to tell you what a fiasco that was.

But here's the thing...whether you use a realtor® or not, all parties are still bound to the same laws. Ignorance is no excuse under the law. So if you're not familiar with the concept of a sales contract/addenda/performance dates/etc....well then you're headed for trouble afaic.

I will speak from my own experience....there are many different contracts in FL....there's the FAR, the FAR-BAR, the as-is with right to inspect, God knows how many different addenda.....dates for specific performance...ie inspection periods only until a certain time....letter of commitment by the lender by a certain time, reports, surveys, appraisals, etc. Who's going to oversee the lender? Who's dealing with the underwriter when they can't get the clear to close on time? Who's holding escrow? Who's making sure that the seller is disclosing any and all facts that materially may affect the value of the home? Who's holding the seller to his/her performance promises?

My God, I could go on all day, but I won't! I'm sure you all are happy about that! But here's the thing.....I just worked with a buyer who was buying some land. He was interested in a specific piece, just so happened to be FSBO. He agreed to pay my comm, since the seller wouldn't. Well, the seller went the route of the 'real estate atty...so all docs had to be sent first to him, then to the seller. Of course, that wasn't a major problem in and of itself, but it did drag on cos the lawyer was never available, nitpicked like 50 gazillion individual words,etc. But fine, such is life.

So I meet this seller at closing...turns out the title co had made a typo in the legal description. No biggie...just one letter off. Well, the seller's convinced that we're all trying to screw her...she pitched a fit so bad it wasn't even funny....even tho the title company fixed it! Well, where was her lawyer? I dunno! So she's calling all of us thieves for trying to trick her...blah blah blah. Even though her atty had reviewed the same docs the day before and gave her the go ahead. Then the lady wouldn't disclose her ss#....thought we were gonna use it to go get credit cards in her name or something...then she initially refused to sign a tax form that's required by law...told us ER Hutton or whatever told her she didn't need one...then she refused to sign another paper making a deed correction cos her previous sale to her (another fsbo) recorded the deed improperly long story short (too late) a 15 min closing took over 2 hours. Buyer had already signed the docs by mail, so we only needed like 4 sigs. The problem was, this lady had NO ONE there that she felt was on her side...and she was of the notion everyone was trying to screw with her. Technically, I am a transaction broker, so I am not on 'a side' at all...I'm there for the transaction. But she didn't see it that way. She was also completely uninformed as to real estate & the law & I can't even imagine how this deal would have gone had the buyer not obtained my firm.

FYI, I will never work in a one-sided deal like that ever again. If the seller is a fsbo and he/she does not want to pay, I will never get myself in that situation again. I cannot really explain just how bad it was.

A house is usually the biggest purchase most of us will make, and it's sad how ppl get caught up in the whole commision issue and not look at the big picture...that there is a definite knowledgable expertise and piece of mind that goes along with hiring a realtor®.

[almaty 19]

wow sister lisa..sorry..i meant it is best to have an inspection by a private party...not connected with the seller..or in some cases realtor...then the report comes directly to you and you can use it in cost determiantion

[yogib37 3]

Well here is my take and my experence I had.

Bro. Dean I dont think it would matter if they used a inspector by the seller. If he just 'pencil whips it ' sorry I am in my aviation mode .. and something down the road came up, I think legaly the inspector would be liable for that.

Lisa, That was very interesting.

when my ex wife and myself sold our house in TX, we kinda got screwed big time. We were asking something like $122,000 and I think the buyer wanted 110,000 or so.. I counter at $119,000 and they agreed. they slip in a $2,500 allowance for paint and replacing the fence. I did not see that nor did my realtor. They made it same size font and color as the contract so it would blend in. I think that I saw it and questen her but she said something so I sign it.

on the home inspection, the inspector just wrote a couple of things like the window screens and the garage door does not stop and goes back up if it hits a object and the HVAC Ducts needed to be cleaned. They wanted me to pay for the screen replacement and clean the ducts. I told them to go to hell..you can get new screens at lowes or home depot for 5 or 6 bucks. and cleaning the ducts is a waste of money. as for the garage door not working if hits a object, it does, I took my small tool box and put it in the way and it hit it stop then went up. I called the realtor and she told me it is ok it will be taken out of the 2500 allowance. I said what? She said for the fence and paint..

so they got that house cheaper then the selling price. they just bought it to rent out, If I knew that I would not of accpected it.

The realator felt bad and she made a mistake, she cut some of her commison and gave to us.

If I knew about the allance maybe I would of gave $200 for paint. As for the fence, I would give a big fat ZERO.. the big goose egg cause it is not attaced to the house and is not required to have a fence. they just got me to pay for the fence.

Garland city code about a fence is... it must be at 90 degs or zero degrees.. so that means you can have one or you dont have to have one..

Ok take care

Yogi

[Jasman0717 9]

[meauxna 15]

I'm getting this bizzare image of Claudeth asking you a question and you giving her that weird rolling eyes smilie look.... and not saying a word.....

:cue scary music:

[Fandango 1,440]

wow sister lisa..sorry..i meant it is best to have an inspection by a private party...not connected with the seller..or in some cases realtor...then the report comes directly to you and you can use it in cost determiantion

Woo hoo I'm a 'sister' now

Sorry for the confusion....sometimes text is hard! When it comes to inspections & stuff....my customers will ask me 'who should I use?' and I say 'you should use who you feel comfortable with, cos it's not my decision'. If they still persist, I will give a list of known inspectors that I have worked with, but THEY pick the person....cos if there's ever a dispute, it's not *my* guy.

Edited to add: yogi, that sucks completely

Edited April 1, 2006 by LisaD

[almaty 19]

I'm getting this bizzare image of Claudeth asking you a question and you giving her that weird rolling eyes smilie look.... and not saying a word.....

:cue scary music:

or when he use to write to her....it was... ..love jim

just joking man...dean

wow sister lisa..sorry..i meant it is best to have an inspection by a private party...not connected with the seller..or in some cases realtor...then the report comes directly to you and you can use it in cost determiantion

Woo hoo I'm a 'sister' now

Sorry for the confusion....sometimes text is hard! When it comes to inspections & stuff....my customers will ask me 'who should I use?' and I say 'you should use who you feel comfortable with, cos it's not my decision'. If they still persist, I will give a list of known inspectors that I have worked with, but THEY pick the person....cos if there's ever a dispute, it's not *my* guy.

Edited to add: yogi, that sucks completely

of course sister lisa..you my favorite realtor in the world..dean

Edited April 1, 2006 by almaty2004

[giddy34 0]

Well we accually bought from a realator. However we did alot of background work for our selves as we were thinking of buying land and building and also just in case we got screwed with prices as such . Turned out we got screwed by the first realitor that we had working for us ,she drove us round and round and really didnt listen to what we wanted .. I flew home and I got so mad I rang a differnt realtor from Australia and spoke to her over the phone and she manged to find us a home within a month or so after 5 months of looking.. Very stressful indeed plus the deal got messy and it paid to have her on our side as the legal stuff is overwhelming but for the other bits well that was easy she gave us all the contacts the people we should use and so on.. Made for an easy transaction. Buying a home is stressful and just having a realitor that can explain what steps needed to be taken and when made it a good deal plus we got a nice little present as well when we moved in and she still sends out cards and stuff to keep her in mind ...

Hope this helps ..

Edited April 1, 2006 by giddy34

[Fandango 1,440]

I'm getting this bizzare image of Claudeth asking you a question and you giving her that weird rolling eyes smilie look.... and not saying a word.....

:cue scary music:

or when he use to write to her....it was... ..love jim

just joking man...dean

wow sister lisa..sorry..i meant it is best to have an inspection by a private party...not connected with the seller..or in some cases realtor...then the report comes directly to you and you can use it in cost determiantion

Woo hoo I'm a 'sister' now

Sorry for the confusion....sometimes text is hard! When it comes to inspections & stuff....my customers will ask me 'who should I use?' and I say 'you should use who you feel comfortable with, cos it's not my decision'. If they still persist, I will give a list of known inspectors that I have worked with, but THEY pick the person....cos if there's ever a dispute, it's not *my* guy.

Edited to add: yogi, that sucks completely

of course sister lisa..you my favorite realtor in the world..dean

Don't forget the ®