mxbob
Member
I own free and clear my house and property. I am thinking about selling it all to a friend. How do I go about it? With out involving a real estate agent . It seems to me that I can avoid a realitors fee.
Bob
Bob
-
Forum Update: We've upgraded the software to improve security, performance, and the overall experience.
👉 Read why we made the change | Support the Forum
Real estate
- Thread starter mxbob
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
THE PILGRIM
Member
You need a Real Estate Lawyer.
He-She can walk you through the appropriate steps.
Cash Buyer? Piece of Cake.
Buyer getting a Mortgage? More complicated.
He-She can walk you through the appropriate steps.
Cash Buyer? Piece of Cake.
Buyer getting a Mortgage? More complicated.
Good advice from Pilgrim. I suggest following it. The couple hundred you spend there will save thousands at closing.
A mortgage can complicate things, but certainly not bad enough to be a deal breaker. The burden is upon the buyer to get you paid. Do not let his/her lender impose conditions or restrictions upon you as a seller. I had that happen, and dealt with it by telling the buyer to figure it out with the lender and get back to me within a short defined time frame. Mine was deemed a bit complicated by a lender because I was selling several separate adjacent parcels of land. Neither my attorney or I saw a problem, but the lender to the buyer was making demands that we simply rejected as unnecessary and unreasonable. The buyer was able to talk sense to his lender, and had to, because others would have taken the deal.
A mortgage can complicate things, but certainly not bad enough to be a deal breaker. The burden is upon the buyer to get you paid. Do not let his/her lender impose conditions or restrictions upon you as a seller. I had that happen, and dealt with it by telling the buyer to figure it out with the lender and get back to me within a short defined time frame. Mine was deemed a bit complicated by a lender because I was selling several separate adjacent parcels of land. Neither my attorney or I saw a problem, but the lender to the buyer was making demands that we simply rejected as unnecessary and unreasonable. The buyer was able to talk sense to his lender, and had to, because others would have taken the deal.
Ziggy2525
Member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2016
- Messages
- 1,530
- Reaction score
- 3,247
I’m sure it varies by state. In my state the title insurance companies will do private sales pretty inexpensively. They prepare the paperwork. They coordinate all the things that your location requires. They’ll file the deed transfers. Etc. You could do all the items on your own, but it’s a bit complex. Even if you use a title insurance company to do the transfer, you may still want to talk to a real estate attorney.
Huskerguy
Member
Not sure how things work in WA but here in KS I purchased a rental house under weird circumstances. The woman who owned it was in the nursing home and decided she would not be coming home and asked a friend if he would buy it. He didn't want anymore so we were talking a price when she passed away. I forgot about it and a month or two later the daughter called me and asked if I was working with her on the house and I said yes. She asked what we agreed on and I told her. From there it all went through the title company and I believe we split the fees. Piece of cake. I didn't need an attorney nor did she.
Here in PA you use a title company for real estate sales. The fees are much lower that traditional lawyers fees. Law firms also do the same work in NJ. The only places I have experience. You don't need the expense of a realtor for a private sale.
gregintenn
Member
Go to the courthouse and get a copy of your deed. Take it to a real estate title company and have them do the legal part for a small fee.
Old Arkansawyer
Member
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2015
- Messages
- 2,197
- Reaction score
- 4,750
If the buyer can't get a regular mortgage you can sell it on a
contract for deed. The buyer makes payments to you at some
interest rate and when it is paid off, buyer gets the deed. You
have made some extra income over the sales price.
If buyer fails to make the payments, you get the place back.
Now in this case you may need legal help.
contract for deed. The buyer makes payments to you at some
interest rate and when it is paid off, buyer gets the deed. You
have made some extra income over the sales price.
If buyer fails to make the payments, you get the place back.
Now in this case you may need legal help.
Sold one!
Sold a house I owned in Maryland.
Simple as could be.
Told the buyer to deliver a contract to me. With me paying ZERO costs at closing. Though that is a customary seller expense in Maryland I specified I would not pay a dime. I accepted contract.
Buyer selected title company; I went to settlement.
Deal was signed and sealed. Saved me more than $35000.00.
Be safe.
Sold a house I owned in Maryland.
Simple as could be.
Told the buyer to deliver a contract to me. With me paying ZERO costs at closing. Though that is a customary seller expense in Maryland I specified I would not pay a dime. I accepted contract.
Buyer selected title company; I went to settlement.
Deal was signed and sealed. Saved me more than $35000.00.
Be safe.
A lot of the time Title Companies get it right but its always best to have an attorney look over the contract and make sure it has the protections you want. Title Company contracts are typically canned contracts, lacking specific language that may be necessary to carry out the parties intent. Boundary issues are a common problem that title companies tend to neglect and there are many more. You might save money on the front end but it can cost a lot in legal fees on the back to clean up the mess.
Very easy to do, have sold three homes without a realtor.
First thing is determine fair market house value.
In this case, you and your friend could independently research value by going through the on line real estate listings for your area such as Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com, finding best matching comp's (similar homes of sq', lot size, age, bedrooms and bathrooms, etc).
Once completed, sit down withyour friend and go over the comp's and come to a fair price agreement.
Next, go to your a local title company and have them provide you with a sales contract and walk both of you through it. If comfortable doing so then, and your friend the buyer has already arranged his financing or has evidence of cash, you could execute the contract there in the office and put the house into escrow, and it would proceed just as if two realtors made the deal.
First thing is determine fair market house value.
In this case, you and your friend could independently research value by going through the on line real estate listings for your area such as Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com, finding best matching comp's (similar homes of sq', lot size, age, bedrooms and bathrooms, etc).
Once completed, sit down withyour friend and go over the comp's and come to a fair price agreement.
Next, go to your a local title company and have them provide you with a sales contract and walk both of you through it. If comfortable doing so then, and your friend the buyer has already arranged his financing or has evidence of cash, you could execute the contract there in the office and put the house into escrow, and it would proceed just as if two realtors made the deal.
I'm as tight as the next guy, but somethings are better taken care by a professional. Your lawyer is required to protect you, and 99.5% of them do an excellent of that.
hoosierone
Member
Doing it without a lawyer is fine, if you know what you are doing and there aren't any issues that come up. If you don't understand the pitfalls possible in a contract, you need a lawyer. When I was in mortgage lending, the first piece of paper I looked at when a deal was brought to me was the contract. As a lender, I was concerned that we could live with the terms of the contract. I could go on and on, but you get it.
Get a lawyer ........ maybe $500 to $1500....... going to be a "bunch less" than 5-6% to a realtor.
Still going to be some transfer taxes.....
doublesharp
Member
I was a broker for years and my advice is use a title company. The ones I use have an attorney on staff and if you are contemplating a deal an accredited title company can't handle, don't do it. 
LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
Not true in all states. Here in Colorado a "contract for deed" or "installment sale contract" must be enforced in the same manner as a "deed of trust" usually associated with a mortgage, with foreclosure actions administered by the public trustee, etc.
Regardless of where you reside, consult a competent attorney practicing in real estate law, and anyone who purchases real estate without a commitment for title insurance is an idiot who deserves what might happen down the line.
Realistically, if you own a $200K property and the real estate brokers charge a 6% commission ($12,000 usually split between the listing broker and selling broker) you will walk away with about $188K less usual closing costs (about 1% or $2K).
Title insurance costs might be $1K or so (negotiable between buyer and seller), and a lawyer might charge $350 per hour for the time necessary to prepare the documents and close the transaction (actually, the title insurance company will handle just about every except the contract documents, with a minimal "closing fee" added). Unless there are some really ugly issues clouding the title to the property you should be able to close a $200K house deal for no more than $6K to $7K total, legal fees and title insurance costs, assuming a truly willing buyer and seller.
Of course, you can always do the "do it yourself" routine, and maybe you will walk away without lawsuits nipping at your heels for a few years, or maybe not. After all, the definition of a "contract" is nothing more than the agreement between the parties, but when it is written in Crayon on a Big Chief tablet you may have some difficulties at the courthouse as lawyers parse the language.
Do it right the first time so you can walk away without having to look back.
hoosierone
Member
With today's low mortgage rates, why would a buyer need to buy on contract? If they default, you are stuck with a lot of sport and you will lose money in the end.
In the very first title abstract I ever did, I came across this exact situation. When looking through the land records, I found the owner back in the late 1920's gave a recorded installment sale contract to a husband and wife. Nothing ever happened on the record to this installment sale contract. The giver of the installment sale contract later on made a deed to another party, and from there a chain of transfers by deed came down to 1976 when I did the abstract. But all this time, the installment sale contract was a matter of public record and a cloud on the title to the property. My boss knew the family of the installment sale contract purchasers, so I ended up calling the purchasers' son. He told me that he remembered living on the property, but his parents couldn't make the payments (this was the time of the Great Depression), so instead of deeding the property back, the purchasers and their family just up and left. Without any recorded return of the property or any court proceeding to terminate the installment sale contract, the title to the property was clouded for decades.
If you are buying a property, get an idea as to the experience of the people in a prospective title agency. With my last employer I had a full time job filing claims with the title insurance underwriters because of title issues that impaired the lien of the mortgage that was going to be foreclosed.
St0rmshad0w
Banned SCAMMER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You don't necessarily need a real estate layer as stated above, any lawyer would do.
