Home buying - For Sale By Owner

[mschmoyer]

We've found a house we like that is for sale by the owner. Its a nice older couple with some positive references (fellow Corvette friends). They want to sell their house without giving realtors 6% of the price.

We've had a Realtor working with us for awhile now that we like -- I'm definitely not fond of the idea of them making 3% of a house price when we find the house and do all the work so.. so basically, we'd like to hire someone to look over paperwork and make sure the transaction goes smoothly & pay them a fair amount. We wouldn't mind if this was our realtor if this is the appropriate person to ask (even though we're stiffing her some of her profit).

Question: Is a Realtor the proper person you'd ask to draft up a buyer's offer for a couple hundred bucks and help look the process over?

Sorry if my terminology is bad -- new at this. Thanks.

[Cooter]

Make sure you get title insurance

[mschmoyer]

Make sure you get title insurance

Yup -- know to get title insurance, 1yr home insurance, home inspection, etc etc.

I'm just saying I would not mind paying someone a couple hundred bucks to make sure I get it all lined up correctly. I've heard the term "realtor lawyer" or something like that. Is that different than a realtor? Our realtor told us she'd be drafting the papers on other homes she found. We would not mind giving her some amount of cash to draft some papers...just not the whole 3/6% realtor deal (like $15,000).

[robert]

IMO find a Real Estate attorney if doing BO
G/L. I know 6% can be a chunk to pay,
but some times they(realtors) are good to have.
I listed my house Thursday Morning, sold today..

[mk5.0]

Yup -- know to get title insurance, 1yr home insurance, home inspection, etc etc.

I'm just saying I would not mind paying someone a couple hundred bucks to make sure I get it all lined up correctly. I've heard the term "realtor lawyer" or something like that. Is that different than a realtor? Our realtor told us she'd be drafting the papers on other homes she found. We would not mind giving her some amount of cash to draft some papers...just not the whole 3/6% realtor deal (like $15,000).

Get a realtor you are the buyer. The seller has to pay the realtor not the buyer.

[mschmoyer]

Get a realtor you are the buyer. The seller has to pay the realtor not the buyer.

The seller will simply add 3-6% to the price of the house or not hassle with us. He's not trying to screw anyone, he just moved down the street and is in no hurry to sell it.

[propellerhead]

If you can't find a friend realtor, you can always get a realtor to be a BUYER'S AGENT. They'll be looking out for your interests as a buyer instead of the seller's interests.

Read up on buyer's vs. seller's agent.

[STANGGT40]

Check with your realtor and see what he/she will settle for to write up the deal. Btw, keep in mind that you've been working with this realtor for a while, according to your post. I'm assuming that he/she has searched properties for you, showed you houses, possibly written an offer or two, etc. a realtor doesn't usually just find a house and have a windfall of chooo chooo$$$$ money; there's more to it than that...they're there to protect your interests, pull comps, tell you what are the pros and cons of the property, deal with the seller/seller's rep, etc. they're your advisor on a subject that you likely don't know much about, much like an attorney, CPA, etc. Think about it this way; one misstep and you'll wish you would've dealt with your realtor from the beginning.

[kpc01]

Did you sign a contract with your current realtor?

A realtor can definitely do the contract for you but that would be their choice. If you have a friend or someone that has access to the paperwork you can have them fill it in or they could do it for you. My license hasn't been active for quite a while but if you can find someone like me I'd gladly help with the paperwork for a couple hundred bucks. Its really not that hard to do it.

the closing will still be at a title company and they really do most the work imo. May even call up a local title company and explain the situation...they may be able to help out.

[Hmbre97]

Please keep us updated on what happens and how the process works. I plan on listing my place FSBO later this summer.

[dcs13]

We did FSBO twice now, was easy. Sold one house and bought a rental this wasy. . You need a contract. If you can't find one, email me direct. I think I think have the one a realtor friend gave me. All we did was the contract, they wanted inspections, that was cool. We took the paperwork to a title company, they did all the work. They ordered the surveys and appraisals . Done deal, closed in a very short period.

[KBScobravert]

IMO find a Real Estate attorney if doing BO
G/L. I know 6% can be a chunk to pay,
but some times they(realtors) are good to have.
I listed my house Thursday Morning, sold today..

WOW, that was fast.

[beefed88]

With the age of the Internet realtors are pointless. I just need them to unlock the door for me. Just bought a rental fsbo, used a real estate attorney. Just standard paperwork nothing I was worried about.

[beefed88]

IMO find a Real Estate attorney if doing BO
G/L. I know 6% can be a chunk to pay,
but some times they(realtors) are good to have.
I listed my house Thursday Morning, sold today..

I'm going to guess the Internet sold the house, not their vast array of networking skills. TREC website for all contracts and forms.

[STANGGT40]

With the age of the Internet realtors are pointless. I just need them to unlock the door for me. Just bought a rental fsbo, used a real estate attorney. Just standard paperwork nothing I was worried about.

An attorney is definitely another good option. It sounds like you've probably been through the buying/selling process a few times and you're comfortable with it. I'm like that as well, but most people don't have the experience to handle everything themselves, even with google at their fingertips.