[Cateca]

We will likely be buying TVs home directly from owner, i.e. without a realtor.
Would appreciate list of steps to take/persons to hire. Title search, appraisal, inspectors, lawyer? Could anyone help? Thannks

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Cateca

We will likely be buying TVs home directly from owner, i.e. without a realtor.
Would appreciate list of steps to take/persons to hire. Title search, appraisal, inspectors, lawyer? Could anyone help? Thannks

Perhaps you already have a home in mind and have negotiated a good price. If so, congratulations. If not, a word of warning. There is a reason why most homes end up being listed through VLS or MLS and selling with an agent.

FSBOs are traditionally often overpriced because the owners set their own value without the benefit of looking at existing sale prices. And owners usually feel that their home is a castle and over value improvements they've made. Often, it is when the owner looks at comarable sales with an agent that an owner realizes the truth about market value.

Good luck with your purchase.

[drdodge]

you should retain an attorney who handles closings. your cost will vary with title ins it will be around 900.00 dollars

[Russ_Boston]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

Perhaps you already have a home in mind and have negotiated a good price. If so, congratulations. If not, a word of warning. There is a reason why most homes end up being listed through VLS or MLS and selling with an agent.

FSBOs are traditionally often overpriced because the owners set their own value without the benefit of looking at existing sale prices. And owners usually feel that their home is a castle and over value improvements they've made. Often, it is when the owner looks at comarable sales with an agent that an owner realizes the truth about market value.

Good luck with your purchase.

I've never liked the argument about the value of a realtor being the asking price. For example: Let's say that I think my house should fetch 400K and I ask 415K but the comp value is more like 380K. So it doesn't sell fast enough so I bring in a Realtor who says to list it at 385K. It then sells for 380K minus the 23K in commission for a net of 357K? Never made much sense to me. If it were only about comps then you can easily get this info on the internet in today's world.

Now I'm not saying there aren't good reasons to hire a Realtor. To me the other benefits (mostly peace of mind) justify the commission but setting the initial price (assuming the home owner isn't an idiot) should not be the main selling point of choosing an agent.

But this is hijacking the thread so back to the question that was asked. I would think that buying a home that is listed FSBO is a great idea. You know what you want to pay and you're not going to be talked into a higher price just because the FSBO owner didn't know how to set the price. Just contact a good closing attorney and home inspector before signing on the dotted line. I've sold one/bought one house by myself and it worked out great.

[aln]

In my FSBO both parties used McLin & Burnsed PA.
It went very well.

We hired our own home inspection.

And I don't agree with Barefoot about FSBO's being over priced.
Some are - They're fishing
Some aren't - just have time to sell and this time of year it should not be hard.

You just have to know prices and value. Check out others for sale in the neighborhood and compare and get the home inspected.

[eweissenbach]

I have sold four homes without a realtor. I used to be a realtor, plus I have spent many years in marketing, so have a lot of experience in staging, pricing, conducting open-houses, etc. In each case I retained a competent realtor and negotiated a price (always less than 1% of the sales price) to take over as soon as a buyer and price was set. The realtor wrote the contract, did the title work, set up the appraisals and inspections, and set the closing. Once the buyer was secured the realtor did everything and I had no hitches. In three of the four cases, the buyer did not retain an attorney, and no problems occured. The one who retained an attorney had some headaches in that the attorney demanded the standard approved contract be amended needlessly (to justify his fee IMO), causing some delays and hard feelings between the realtor and attorney. When I sell my current home to move to the villages I will do the same.

[paulandjean]

I also disagree with barefoot. fsbo homes are not overpriced.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by paulandjean

I also disagree with barefoot. fsbo homes are not overpriced.

I apologize if you felt I was saying all FSBO's are overpriced. I don't believe that is the case. I agree with Aln, some are and some aren't.

I was just offering my humble opinion: "FSBOs are traditionally often overpriced" because that was my experience in the twenty years I was a Real Estate Broker.

It is often difficult for owners to evaluate their homes unemotionally when they set value. But if they know prices and values, as Aln suggested, and price their home reasonably, a FSBO can be a good deal.

[BB14616]

I believe that that McLin & Burnsed, who handles the closings for The Villages new homes sales, also handles the paperwork for FSBO. If it was me, before I signed a letter of committment I would get a house inspection done.

[JohnN]

good advice above, I've bought via FSBO in the past and it's pretty simple

and as some say, some FSBO's are overpriced, some are not,

best wishes

[suebanj]

I worked for Tri-County Land Title prior to retiring and they handle FSBO's. They will work with you from preparing the contract through the closing. Yes, you should definitely have a home inspection done.... If an attorney is needed, Millhorn Law Firm is affiliated with Tri County. They will be there throughout the process and will ensure everything goes smoothly!!

Tri-County's number is 753-4411.

[Mintjulep]

Our gardenia was a FSBO, and aside from it being in a location that we really liked,,, it was a good deal.

We used a title company to do the closing and all went smoothly.
They also helped iron out some financial things in the initial contract before we all signed. (The seller had hired them in advance).

The title co. had their affiliated attorney do the title search, etc., since we didn't live here yet and had no idea of which attorney to use.

We had a home inspection co. do an inspection.

No problems....