[angel222]

I'm in the process of purchasing a home in the villages that is being sold by owner. I am from NY where all home purchases are done with lawyers whether for sale by owner or a realtor. Here in Florida I went to a title company, put money in escrow there and signed a contract made by the title company with the sellers. Several things have come up - one electrical problem found through the home inspection and one roof warrantee question found through article in POA bulletin (home is in Hemingway). Dealing directly with the seller has been stressful.

I would like to hear comments from others who have purchased for sale by owner properties here in the villages. Positive or negative comments and suggestions would be appreciated...thanks!

[graciegirl]

If I were to purchase a resale here from a for sale by owner, I would use McLin and Burnsed Law Firm who do this kind of paperwork all of the time and I would have a home inspection a contingency in the contract and I would hire one of the several good home inspectors and I would buy title insurance. The closing is about $750. The home inspection is a couple hundred, the title insurance is a thousand or more. If you have a loan there are charges for that too.

[rtime]

On the roof question call the people at the village warranty and they can tell you if you have a roof that may be in question. We also live in Hemingway but have a different roof than the one in question.

[784caroline]

Hopefully you had a home inspection contingency clause inserted into the contract. The sellers must clear the inspection before the contract is finalzed. The electrical problem should not be a major issue.

NOW the roof issue....well I would check with home warranty to see if the type of shingles used on your house are the same ones having problems. If not, there is not much you can do. If they are. you should get a professional roofing inspection done and see if there is a problem or not. (this is [potentially a $10,000+ issue) REMEMBER: Not all roofs in your VIllage are being replaced. If your roof shingle is suspect, you should determine if the recall or replacement is valid to only the original owner or 2nd owners like yourself.

If you have no home inspection contingency in your contract, then your only possible out may be the fact that the homeowner did not disclose a potential faultly roof..but then you would have to prove the homeowner knew the roof had problems!! Not everone reads the newspaper and there was no general announcement/recall

To get out of the contract you would need verifiable proof that the roof is faulty(this is more than simply the word of a home inspector)...and this could take some time for the shingle Manfacturer has to personally inspect each roof. Otherwise if you are still uncertain all you can do is walk away from your deposit...and void the contact.

.

[cab1948]

I live in Hemingway also and recently called the Warranty Dept 352 753-6222 about our roof. They told me my roof wasn't affected because they didn't use Owens Corning shingles (which are the ones with the problem). Mine were another brand. You do need a lot number, when you call to check. You will love this area, it is centrally located and convenient to shopping.

[justjim]

Read carefully your sales contract. If you are uncomfortable with the situation, hire an attorney who deals in Real estate. Mclin Burnsed are excellent as mentioned in a previous post.

Title companies usually do a good job here in Florida. They will also answer any questions you may have.

[Jejuca]

The title company should be advising you since they executed the contract. Call them and explain your concerns.
We did a for sale by owner and also found it stressful. We used Tri County Title and highly recommend them. They helped us with any concerns we had including contacting the seller to explain that he was legally obligated to make any repairs up to whatever percentage the contract stated. The standard real estate contract has a contingency clause about repairs.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Hopefully, as was previously mentioned, the contract you signed had clauses in it for whatever inspections you and the seller would agree to be prudent.

We used McLin Burnsed as well when we purchased. It was also a private sale - no realtors involved. We worked with the sellers to agree to the major contractual points we wanted in the contract and McLin Burnsed offered their insights and drew the contract up. It worked fine for both us and the sellers.

Bill

[gomoho]

You must do a transfer of warranty for the roof to be covered by the 2nd owner. Our MLS realtor was aware of this and handled it - the roof issue came up just before closing so we escrowed the amount of $ to replace the roof and the seller's funds were released when the work was completed.

Another example of unless you really know what you are doing it is best to be represented by a REALTOR.