For Sale By Owner re house?

[why?]

Originally Posted by soundman98

my experience with home inspectors is that all of them will always find something. some of those things are to justify their position.

if you know any general contractors, try asking them to come by to take a look at the house. they'll generally be more knowledgeable with the current codes and requirements

Both can be useful. And no they won't always find something if nothing is wrong. And they would be liable if they missed something huge. It depends on the location. Where I live, many houses have massive foundation issues, because basements are not common and the ground can easily be shift and crack the foundation and the house. Sometimes these issues cannot be seen by normal people. No one in their right mind would buy a house in this market without paying someone to make sure the house is sound.

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

My thoughts so far.

A solicitor is mandatory.

In the state where I live if one is selling a house then it is a requirement that Building, Pest and Energy Rating inspection is carried out.

A Real Estate Agency can not legally give a valuation. They can only give appraisals. One has to used a certified valuer to get a valuation.

I have been given a name who is a one person real estate agent whose fees are supposedly march less than big names in town. I am yet to have a chat.

This website is the largest FSBO site in Australia. I am yet to have a chat with them.
https://www.forsalebyowner.com.au/
From their website 1174 for sale, 672 sold over the preceding 12 months.

And yeah, I will have plenty of time on my hands.

I am still pondering the situation. I suspect I will not be able to make a completely rational decision. The thing that irks me the most is the real estate agent getting more money for selling more expensive houses when the work they do is the same regardless of sell price.

The work they do is not the same. Just like anything else, the more something is worth the more little extras are needed to get people to be interested. Someone selling million dollar plus mansions is going to treat everyone far differently than someone selling starter homes. Open houses are going to be totally different. The staging and presentation of your house will be totally different. The realtor's clientele will be totally different.


It's the exact same thing as if you were going to buy a Bentley compared to walking into a Toyota dealership. Totally different experience in most ways.

[ROFL it's Waffle]

Originally Posted by Silvermk2

Problem is a lot of house buyers have a realtor helping them to find a house and no realtor will even mention your place since there is no commission in it for them. In a hot market it could be not that bad though.

We bought our first house from my uncle (who recently inherited it), no realtors on either side. We were both going in blind, so 100% of the sale went to him. Still need real-estate lawyers to make it official. Good lawyers will walk you through the process, just know that they charge their fees every second they talk to you.

If you can swing it, family/friends/friends of friends are easy potential customers. Free advertising.

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by humfrz

That would be a unusually straightforward real estate transaction.

So, you the seller, have the deed to the property. How is the buyer to be certain that the deed (the title) is free and clear (no encumbrances or liens on the property) without a title search by a title company?
That's their responsibility but I would be more than happy to cooperate

Without an home inspection by a certified home inspector, how is the buyer to be certain that safety issues or code violations do not exist on the property?
same as above

If the buyer hasn't received a "property disclosure" form from the seller, there my be hidden material defects in the property that aren't readily apparent.
again, same...

How can the buyer be sure that their are no back taxes due?
and same... Is that really something real estate agents to? prove that their are no back taxes on the property???

Who will handle the utilities transfers?
I presume the buyer would need to work with the utilites companies... How is this the seller's responsibility?

If earnest money is involved, who will hold the earnest money.
No. unnecessary complication

OK, now, you as the seller.

IF ….. ?? ... the buyer is going to pay cash, do you have "proof of funds" that the buyer actually has the cash?
no, but if they don't have the funds, they don't get the house

When do you actually "sign over" the title and give it to the buyer, during the funding/funds verification process?
Yes. would that not work?

The property won't transfer until the title is filed with the county (in most places in the US), who and when will that be done?
Now that's interesting... I would need to learn more about that

Now, mr seller, IF the buyer is going to finance the property, THAT opens up a whole new set of things that could go wrong with your example of a simplified transaction.
Yeah, so they would have a lender who would transfer the funds to my bank at the time of the title\deed transer...

Too many for me to go into here. -

Oh yes, I could tell real estate transfer horror stories all night long -

Wanna hear about the time this kid pulled a gun on me, when I was representing FHLMC, repossessing a property he was using as a meth lab?

Oh, I will always recommend the services of a real estate attorney or a licensed real estate broker/agent to represent you in buying or selling properties.


humfrz - retired

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. It's an interesting topic to me but you don't have to respond to all of my notes... This is all just a curiosity for me.

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by JoeC

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. It's an interesting topic to me but you don't have to respond to all of my notes... This is all just a curiosity for me.

You presume a lot of things. Say the buyer doesn't transfer utilities and you have unpaid bills now and debt collectors calling. Things like issues/defects you assume are buyers responsibility, maybe they are maybe they aren't. They could claim that by not giving them a property disclosure you knowingly withheld critical issues. There are many legal unknowns to people who don't specialize in things and even if you are correct that doesn't mean people can't try and sue you for it. Having a licensed professional helps limit liability imo.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by JoeC

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. It's an interesting topic to me but you don't have to respond to all of my notes... This is all just a curiosity for me.

As Finch said!
Most (if not all) of your "that is their problem" notes could very, very quickly turn into your problem if they find an issue and you haven't covered your ass appropriately.
It isn't like you are selling a used X box!

[NoHaveMSG]

A lot of the detail that @humfrz pointed out are usually required for the bank to loan the money to the buyer. So if you accept the offer it does become your problem.

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by why?

The work they do is not the same. Just like anything else, the more something is worth the more little extras are needed to get people to be interested. Someone selling million dollar plus mansions is going to treat everyone far differently than someone selling starter homes. Open houses are going to be totally different. The staging and presentation of your house will be totally different. The realtor's clientele will be totally different.

It's the exact same thing as if you were going to buy a Bentley compared to walking into a Toyota dealership. Totally different experience in most ways.

It is not how they do their work, it is the amount of time it takes. Does it take twice as long to sell a property worth twice as much?
How many hours time does it take for an agent to sell a house? I have no idea. 10 hours? 20 hours? 50?

I have only been told the commission from one agency. Their commission for a 1 million dollar sale is $30,975. For a 2 million dollar sale it is $57,975.
I don't understand the justification for the huge difference in commission.

Sure, that's the way it is, maybe has always been but I look at those numbers and it hurts my eyes.

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

It is not how they do their work, it is the amount of time it takes. Does it take twice as long to sell a property worth twice as much?
How many hours time does it take for an agent to sell a house? I have no idea. 10 hours? 20 hours? 50?

I have only been told the commission from one agency. Their commission for a 1 million dollar sale is $30,975. For a 2 million dollar sale it is $57,975.
I don't understand the justification for the huge difference in commission.

Sure, that's the way it is, maybe has always been but I look at those numbers and it hurts my eyes.

The how also makes a difference. Normally open house costs are out of their own pocket. Maybe you need hor dourves and champagne for a house of that nature. And the amount of time could vary. You never know when the right buyer is there.

Probably partially a flat fee + % since it doesn't exactly double but is really close. And similar to what US real estate agents would charge.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

It is not how they do their work, it is the amount of time it takes. Does it take twice as long to sell a property worth twice as much?
How many hours time does it take for an agent to sell a house? I have no idea. 10 hours? 20 hours? 50?

I have only been told the commission from one agency. Their commission for a 1 million dollar sale is $30,975. For a 2 million dollar sale it is $57,975.
I don't understand the justification for the huge difference in commission.

Sure, that's the way it is, maybe has always been but I look at those numbers and it hurts my eyes.

If you are selling a $2million house then odds are a $57K commission isn't going to hurt much. It is how commission works. They are not on an hourly rate so how long they work means nothing.


It took our poor broker almost a year to sell our last house. It was a low value home in a down market and just nobody was interested at all. She probably spent a couple of hundred hours showing it just have to cut her commission in half to get us to take a low offer.

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

If you are selling a $2million house then odds are a $57K commission isn't going to hurt much. It is how commission works.

$57k is $57k. Sure, as a percentage it isn't much but the way I see it is still a lot of money. Is it good value? Well, that's a different kettle of herrings.


This is all new to me.

[cjd]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

$57k is $57k. Sure, as a percentage it isn't much but the way I see it is still a lot of money. Is it good value? Well, that's a different kettle of herrings.


This is all new to me.

It costs money to sit on a house. We lost around 35% by the time we sold out last house. It sold for <1% less than our purchase price. The losses weren't the agent fees... Though yes, that could have been only 30% loss... Market changes and the weird spot out house ended up for prospective buyers ("too small" despite also being lower price per square than other options)

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by why?

Both can be useful. And no they won't always find something if nothing is wrong. And they would be liable if they missed something huge. It depends on the location. Where I live, many houses have massive foundation issues, because basements are not common and the ground can easily be shift and crack the foundation and the house. Sometimes these issues cannot be seen by normal people. No one in their right mind would buy a house in this market without paying someone to make sure the house is sound.

the biggest reason to have a home inspection is the liability. but i didn't say what i said without some experience. i work with a few realtors fixing what the home inspectors 'find'. usually, 1 item out of every list is something that doesn't need to be addressed. the most common, they state that the entire panel needs to be changed because "it's overloaded". they come to this conclusion by adding up all of the breaker ampacities and checking that it is less than the main breaker. it's not how breakers work at all...

Originally Posted by Tcoat

As Finch said!
Most (if not all) of your "that is their problem" notes could very, very quickly turn into your problem if they find an issue and you haven't covered your ass appropriately.
It isn't like you are selling a used X box!

reminds me of a good story that wasn't more than a year ago!

so my sister and her husband finally bought a house. the previous owners were quite sloppy, and used the 2 car garage for trash collection. the day before closing, they moved the entire pile of garbage to the alley for the town to pick up.

so after they closed, we all went over and looked at what it was they got themselves into. i mentioned that they needed to call the town to verify that they would need to schedule a special trash pickup for the massive pile of crap in the alley.

my sister immediately said "i'm not doing anything, it's not our crap!" to which my dad and i both started laughing, and said, "you bought the whole house! it's your name on the paperwork! like it or not, it's now YOUR pile of crap!"

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

As Finch said!
Most (if not all) of your "that is their problem" notes could very, very quickly turn into your problem if they find an issue and you haven't covered your ass appropriately.
It isn't like you are selling a used X box!

Good points, there Tcoat.

There is an old saying in real estate:

"it's not a problem until it becomes a problem".

(chew on that fer ah spell)

You can write a real estate contract on the back of an envelop and have both parties sign it, on the hood of a car, at night, under a street light.

When I worked for 10 years as a real estate broker, I was quite conservative and worked under a conservative company (Coldwell Banker). Having successfully completed hundreds of real estate deals, I never once wound up in court nor brought before the real estate commission.

Only once did the manager/broker/owner have to "call me aside", and that was because I was acting a little too chummy with her cute little receptionist -


humfrz

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

It is not how they do their work, it is the amount of time it takes. Does it take twice as long to sell a property worth twice as much?
How many hours time does it take for an agent to sell a house? I have no idea. 10 hours? 20 hours? 50?

I have only been told the commission from one agency. Their commission for a 1 million dollar sale is $30,975. For a 2 million dollar sale it is $57,975.
I don't understand the justification for the huge difference in commission.

Sure, that's the way it is, maybe has always been but I look at those numbers and it hurts my eyes.

How long does it take a broker to sell a property?

That all depends upon the situation. I've listed and sold property within an hour and had it close in 10 days. Other properties have taken months.

A word about real estate commissions (back in the day in Washington state).

First off the commission is usually negotiable. The total commission is broken into two parts, the listing commission (which goes to the listing broker and their office) and the SOC (Selling Office Commission) which goes to the buyers agent and office. It is possible for one entity to get both commissions (by being a dual agent).

The commission split doesn't have to be equal. Nor does the commission have to be a set percent of the sale price. For example the SOC could be 3% on the first $100,000 of sale price and a different percent of the sale price over $100,000. In other words, commissions can be all over the place.


humfrz