After looking at all the financial aspects, I am now planning to sell my rental property to my renters (for details, see the previous discussion <a href="../../../discussion/385/sell-my-house-now-or-keep-leasing-it-out-at-a-loss/#Item_46">Sell my house now or keep leasing it out at a loss?</a>). What is the best way to do it as no realtors are currently involved. Should I look for a "bargain" realtor like a friend of a friend? Redfin? Help-u-sell? Others? I've bought and sold houses before, but always with a realtor. Anyone do it all on their own?
What is the best way to sell a house in June 2007?
- Thread starter TRock_IHB
- Start date
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nirvinerealtor_IHB
New member
<p>TRock,</p>
<p>My suggestion is to <strong>do it right</strong> so the buyer can not come back and sue you (4 year statue of limitation). You must disclose everything and do the contract correctly. A bargain realtor is a very bad idea as you get what you pay for.</p>
<p>Here is my suggestion to do it yourself.</p>
<p>1. Open escrow with First American. Let them handle both title and escrow. Title rate is a killer but escrow rate is very cheap. Ask them to prepare all the disclosures for you.</p>
<p>2. Must have a real estate attorney to draw the sale contract for you (cost about $400). This way, buyer does not get any funny idea 2 years from now. If price goes up, you will not hear from the buyer, otherwise, expect it.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to <strong>do it right</strong> so the buyer can not come back and sue you (4 year statue of limitation). You must disclose everything and do the contract correctly. A bargain realtor is a very bad idea as you get what you pay for.</p>
<p>Here is my suggestion to do it yourself.</p>
<p>1. Open escrow with First American. Let them handle both title and escrow. Title rate is a killer but escrow rate is very cheap. Ask them to prepare all the disclosures for you.</p>
<p>2. Must have a real estate attorney to draw the sale contract for you (cost about $400). This way, buyer does not get any funny idea 2 years from now. If price goes up, you will not hear from the buyer, otherwise, expect it.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
awgee_IHB
New member
And buy the Nolo Press book. I think it is called "Sell Your Home Yourself". There is tons of good information in it. I think there is a thread in here about folks who have used redfin or other bargain re brokers and if I remember correctly, they all seemed pleased with the service.
bishie_IHB
New member
Here's my advice:
1) In a falling market (such as the one in OC) use a realtor and consider offering an above market commission to the buyer's agent. Many realtors sort the listings by commission split.
2) Price your house competitively with what market is. Not what houses on your street sold for in 2005 or 2006. Buyers will go for the houses that are competitively priced.
3) I am a huge fan of First American but I am usually very skittish about having the seller pick the escrow company as a buyer. Let the buyer pick the escrow company but make sure it is a reputable one.
4) A bargain realtor will scare off other realtors from showing your house. Even if it is a 1%/3% commission split as the buyers broker you will often have to do more work such as writing the contract in most cases. Bargain realtors often are very unwilling to work on any changes to the standard contract or work with sellers to understand the financial impact of doing renovations that may be desired by the buyer. They also often are less informed on pricing in your specific area.
5) I would say have a real estate attorney review the contract not draft it since you are the seller. Many transactions process on the standard CA purchase and sale agreement so you may not need to use a lawyer at all. I tend to prefer that since it is more "standard" so the buyer is less likely to claim they never saw "nonstandard language."
1) In a falling market (such as the one in OC) use a realtor and consider offering an above market commission to the buyer's agent. Many realtors sort the listings by commission split.
2) Price your house competitively with what market is. Not what houses on your street sold for in 2005 or 2006. Buyers will go for the houses that are competitively priced.
3) I am a huge fan of First American but I am usually very skittish about having the seller pick the escrow company as a buyer. Let the buyer pick the escrow company but make sure it is a reputable one.
4) A bargain realtor will scare off other realtors from showing your house. Even if it is a 1%/3% commission split as the buyers broker you will often have to do more work such as writing the contract in most cases. Bargain realtors often are very unwilling to work on any changes to the standard contract or work with sellers to understand the financial impact of doing renovations that may be desired by the buyer. They also often are less informed on pricing in your specific area.
5) I would say have a real estate attorney review the contract not draft it since you are the seller. Many transactions process on the standard CA purchase and sale agreement so you may not need to use a lawyer at all. I tend to prefer that since it is more "standard" so the buyer is less likely to claim they never saw "nonstandard language."
bluesky_IHB
New member
<p>awgee</p>
<p>Do you remember who the author is for the book? I looked the title up in Amazon.com and hundreds of very similar titles turned up, none exactly as "Sell Your Home Yourself." All the similar titled books have a little more phrase than just that. If you post the name of the author, we won't end up with knock-offs of what you meant to recommend. Thanks.
</p>
<p>Do you remember who the author is for the book? I looked the title up in Amazon.com and hundreds of very similar titles turned up, none exactly as "Sell Your Home Yourself." All the similar titled books have a little more phrase than just that. If you post the name of the author, we won't end up with knock-offs of what you meant to recommend. Thanks.
</p>
bluesky_IHB
New member
<p>I apologize for the large font in my previous post. That was not my intention. I can't seem to correct it. Strange, isn't it. This one is okay.</p>