Buying a FSBO
 

I am about to buy a FSBO. I saw it advertised in the paper and went to the open house alone. However, I did have a Villages agent and MLS agent looking for houses for me. What is my responsibility to those agents as far as fees? Also how do I handle the closing? Title search, etc. Do I use The sellers lawyer or hire my own? Any advice greatly appreciated.

Fsbo
 

Your seller should be able to direct you as for the process in closing this sale. If they cannot, they should not be selling FSBO as the deal could also lead to probloems for them as well as you. Call a closing company and they can also direct you.. I,ve used Feeedom Title several times in Lady Lake, excellent company..

You don't owe any fees to the real estate agents because they work for the sellers. The FSBO seller should have already set up a title company to handle the paperwork and the closing. If not, you need to engage a title company to handle the sale. But, the first thing you need is a sales contract, signed by you and the seller, where you provide some earnest money that you pay to the title company to hold in an escrow account. Do not pay any money directly to the seller. The title companies are very good at making sure the sale and title transfer are processed legally, will answer your questions., and will provide a standard FSBO sales package with the required forms. I would have an inspection of the house as a contingency in the sales contract using the standard sales contract wording. If you don't feel comfortable with the process, you may need to hire an experienced agent on a fixed fee basis to guide you through the sale. Some people will tell you to hire a lawyer, but I don't think it is necessary.

I bought my fsbo in TVs years ago. I wrote the contract on a paper bag!

Keep it simple. Deposit, closing date, home/termite/moisture inspection and what is included in the sale price.

I agree that the seller should not be selling a FSBO without a title company. But, as a buyer, you can select your own title company and control the entire sale, as long as the seller agrees to it.

OP, you or your title company should check that ARC approvals were obtained for any and all changes to the outside of the house and the landscaping, and that the appropriate permits were obtained and completed, and finally, that there are no outstanding liens against the property. Many contractors or subcontractors take out liens in case they are not paid for work performed, however they sometimes forget to remove these. Also, there have been a few reports where previous owners made changes without ARC review, and the new owner becomes responsible if a complaint is filed.

Outstanding advice!!

I just sold my house FSBO. As seller, I hired McLin Burnsed Attorney in Leesburg for $600 to complete the purchase agreement. Once both parties sign that agreement, the attorney turned it over to the title company. The title company handles everything else affiliated with the sale. Any costs related to home inspection, title search, etc.are handled as closing costs, which the buyer pays some and the seller pays some. TV owns Peninsula Title so that is who we used as the title company.

Great post
 

Make sure that any addition or change done had a building permit and it was completed, when we sold our home in South Florida, a building permit was taken out but not finished in 2001 by a previous owner, the problem was that a contractor got a permit for a side porch, but the owner did not award him the contract and another contractor got a separate permit and the other one was left open, even after I showed them pictures of the only side porch in the home, so I had to hire a lawyer $300 later it was resolved and we were able to close. Most people don’t realize that these counties here are a pain to deal with and I feel for the contractors involved.

You don’t owe them anything just say thanks for your help. You need to get a contract. You can go to any closing company around the villages to get that make sure the seller completes a disclosure statement and get an inspection Freedom title is one I used nice ladies

Really? First, hire a lawyer well versed in real estate transactions. Second, follow what he/she suggests.

And in the contract You sign, I suggest that everything is contingent on an inspection and everything is ok at the end of the inspection. For example, say some of the windows had cracks in them that you didnt see that in your walk around...and the inspection recommends replacement. Make sure if the owner says he wont replace them, you can get your deposit back and back out of the sale If you chose to do that, or you can renegotiate the asking price based on the items that need to be repaired/fixed to get them to your satisfaction. Not sure how to fit that in but just a suggestion so you don’t get stuck on a large item.

since the property is for sale by owner & they are not using an agent or paying a RE to sell the property, you are dealing directly with the owner. Seller should use McLin Burnset who does the Villages closings. They charge $600 they prepare the sales agreement, accept deposit check and then when signed turn contract & deposit check over to Peninsula Title who handles the closing. I just sold mine that way, very easy and you let the people that know what they are doing handle all the paperwork & closing costs. Hope this helped you.

Did you sign anything with the other agents like a buyers agent form? If you did not you owe the agents nothing. You should never buy a home without a title search and a home inspection.
You do not need a lawyer if you have a title company search the title but it is k to use the same lawyer.

I do this work everyday.

Maybe some people have had different experiences with lawyers. But, over the years, I have had at least three horrible experiences trying to hire a lawyer to handle a simple transaction. They wanted to charge outrageous fees, and often on an hourly basis. If you do hire a lawyer, make sure you get a firm fixed price for the transaction.

They should know what to do;they should have a standard Real Estate for sale contract with the standard closing costs etc;then they turn it over to a Title Company (just like Real Estate Agents do) and they do everything else;I've sold all my homes myself (I did have a RE license in the the past); 1 in NY, 1 in MD, 2 in FL;all went smoothly; They do all the work; Search the title for any defects or “clouds”
Provide the buyer with title insurance to protect against fraud and forgeries
Safeguard money and documents in escrow
Oversee the final phase of closing and fund distributions

Did you sign any agreements with the agents? If not, there is no fee. If you did, review the agreement you signed. I don’t know about here, but in Iowa a standard clause in the agents agreement requires the buyer to pay a fee even if they find the house themselves or through another channel. We always had that struck out, or used a different agent if they wouldn’t.

Do not use freedom title get an independent assessment - no people involved with TV

Check with re attorney ! Title companies provide no legal clearance

There are no disclosures so buyer beware. You don’t owe fees to anyone unless they sell you a property.

A title company will provide the service if filling out purchase agreement and all documents you need. I just bough fisbo

Freedom title did a great job with two homes we sold. They are located in Leesburg.

As a Realtor in Chicago, many FSBOs are willing to pay the 2.5% - 3% buyers fee, or some negotiated rate. It may be much easier for you to have an experienced Realtor to work with - paid by the seller.

I have bought two homes for sale by owner here in The Villages and used Advantage title company right here in the villages to do my closings. We just downloaded our own standard Florida sales contract online and used that along with the paperwork the closing company provided to us it was very simple and they are very good and efficient. You don't need a lawyer unless you have some complicated issues as the title company will search out most everything for you. Good luck and hope you enjoy living here in The Villages as much as I do.

I agree it is an individual decision. Personally, I have purchased a home three times from the owners rather than going through a realtor or real estate agent. I have also gone through an agent at a realtor office. None went poorly, but the one on one with the home owners were all far superior transactions. No middle people with a variety of agendas which may not align with your own, etc. made it so simple and straight forward. I did hire my own attorney every time. I found this very affordable compared to the number of "cuts" that come out of a deal through a realty office. Now of course those who work as agents will definitely disagree with me, some would even try to frighten people if they can, but after hiring an agent twice, I'd never do it any other way again after experiencing one to one transactions. Again I want to repeat, I did hire my OWN attorney and feel the reasonable cost was well worth it for the peace of mind. I also had an independent inspection, something I found in several states where I have lived, is a VERY difficult thing to find.... an "inspector" who is not in some way connected to local banks, or local agencies, or to a particular agent and does not have a vested interest in seeing that the deal DOES go through no matter what, is a hard individual to find....but well worth the trouble and research. Shop and long and hard for an "inspector" is what I learned. Finally someone put me in touch with a man who taught building trades at a local community college and had a very independent business doing inspections.... he was not connected to any real estate agency, agent, or bank. Took some time, but well worth it !

Definitely GREAT advice, do not ignore !

Same with attorney, check CAREFULLY for any ties to developers, to various realtors, to agents.... this takes some time and research but you will be very glad you went to such "extremes" is all I can say !

Can you share who did your inspections. He sounds very good. Thanks

An excellent thread topic, some great advice and will bookmark in case we end up purchasing a FSBO ourselves.

You would only have an obligation to a RE Agent if he/she brought the house to your attention or noted it for you as a possible purchase. Yes, you and the seller can agree to just about anything, but don't get stuck with something that a buyer doesn't normally take care of, and don't overlook something that may not appear to be a problem "to the untrained eye".

We bought our first home in California (1980's!) through FSBO, and were fortunate that the sellers were honest and trustworthy.

We bought our home in TV with a RE agent who represented us as buyers. We then sold our (second) home in California using a RE agent for us as sellers. In both cases, the agent has fiduciary responsibilities to ensure you have full knowledge of the home, itself, and what is normally your responsibility or the seller's responsibility, among other things. Avoiding RE pitfalls can be very valuable, and our hard working RE agents have definitely been worth their commission.

Also, a RE agent for TV will have very good "local" knowledge about the homes, requirements to position you advantageously with insurance (newer roof), what is typical for different neighborhoods (plumbing?), what the problems are in an area, etc. A RE agent is REQUIRED to disclose these things, and will provide information on your options and advise when requested.

We were going to sell our California home ourselves and we were so glad we used a RE agent. The agent warned us about poor risk buyers and some buyers with a history of pulling out of the deal at the last possible moment, with sellers not able to keep the earnest interest money (fighting it legally would have slapped a lien on the house and prevented selling it in a timely manner), and other things we could not have known except through unfortunate experiences (which we're glad we didn't have to endure). On the flip side, in your situation, if you learn of something at the last moment that makes you decide not to buy, especially if it was not communicated to you by the seller, then will your funds be returned to you?

For us, the peace of mind was unquestionably worth it. (Paul Brady 352-753-2270 was our TV RE agent, representing us as buyers. I highly recommend him.)

Good luck with your purchase!

If you say you have a realtor that realtor will receive his commission. Your choice. All the seller for a 3% reduction. If they won't give it then call the realtor and invite him in good luck

When someone says they have an agent looking for houses for them, it usually means that the agent is representing the people who are selling those houses. So, unless they can sell you a listed house, they are not entitled to a commission. If the agent wants get a commission on a FSBO, they need to ask the FSBO owner if they can show the house to you and arrange for a commission from the owner if you buy the house.