Joined Jul 2008
You can call me "Al"
Forum Thread
Buying a home, no agent involved. Advice needed.
June 29, 2015 at
09:48 PM
OT is fine ... so long as it makes me laugh.
Okay, so the seller called about the house we want and she made an offer. It's slightly more than we were willing to offer, but not grotesque. She said she will split the cost of whatever the title company charges to research the title and will also split the attorney's fees. She absolutely, positively refuses to use an agent. She said if we hire one, we have to pay 100% of her commission.
I told her we needed to talk it over, get some estimates from the title company and see what hiring an attorney will cost. I realize we have to pay for an appraisal and the inspection. Actually, at this point, do we even need an appraisal?
We had an appraisal done by a licensed realtor when we were there a few weeks ago. The owner wasn't happy with what the realtor said so she's decided to go with an appraisal she got last July because it's higher.
Have any of you ever bought a home without using an agent?
Can a real estate attorney handle everything?
Are RE attorneys cheaper than RE agents?
At what point in the purchase do you hire the attorney?
Even if we pay her asking price, she's taking a HUGE loss. MASSIVE! I realize that's not our problem but we do want to be kind. We know our original offer is above the appraisal we got but we want the house ... she needs to sell the house ... and we're not assholes.
Any advice to offer?
Okay, so the seller called about the house we want and she made an offer. It's slightly more than we were willing to offer, but not grotesque. She said she will split the cost of whatever the title company charges to research the title and will also split the attorney's fees. She absolutely, positively refuses to use an agent. She said if we hire one, we have to pay 100% of her commission.
I told her we needed to talk it over, get some estimates from the title company and see what hiring an attorney will cost. I realize we have to pay for an appraisal and the inspection. Actually, at this point, do we even need an appraisal?
We had an appraisal done by a licensed realtor when we were there a few weeks ago. The owner wasn't happy with what the realtor said so she's decided to go with an appraisal she got last July because it's higher.Have any of you ever bought a home without using an agent?
Can a real estate attorney handle everything?
Are RE attorneys cheaper than RE agents?
At what point in the purchase do you hire the attorney?
Even if we pay her asking price, she's taking a HUGE loss. MASSIVE! I realize that's not our problem but we do want to be kind. We know our original offer is above the appraisal we got but we want the house ... she needs to sell the house ... and we're not assholes.
Any advice to offer?
About the OP
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You are too emotionally attached to this house! Walk away! Or at least look at what else is in that area.
One thing I regret to this day is buying a house without a buyer's agent. Take that for whatever it's worth. It is my first house. I felt like there were A LOT of things I didn't know and had I had an agent my life would've been much better or perhaps even easier.
Like others said, if you're going to be financing your home you need the bank's approved appraiser to look at it.
I believe RE agents get a cut (percentage) of price sold whereas attorney is a flat fee. The attorney is hired for the closing, from what I can slightly remember, the attorney was never involved with anything until signing the papers but I can be wrong.
Thanks honey! What time will you be home for dinner?
There are only 2 other houses for sale on that street at this time. One is a two-story and we want (need) single story. The other is considerably cheaper but also considerably smaller and was a rental for 5 years so it needs a LOT of work. There is only one lot available for sale and it's waaaay overpriced. We have spoken with the owner and he won't consider anything less than what he paid 10 years ago. He's a veterinarian and said "well, I don't need the money so I can sit on it until I get what I want."
We've been trying to buy a home in this neighborhood (water side) for almost 4 years. They have either been too expensive or not the right floor plan. Homes do not come up for sale very often on that street. We are down to 11 months before we back to Florida, time is running out.
Yes, we are emotionally attached to the house we have been renting but we also love the neighborhood. We would consider another house on that street, IF it met our needs and was the right price.
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And of course if you've managed to save a mil for your retirement, spending an extra $20k here and there isn't a big deal. But if you've got $300k in retirement, this becomes a bigger deal.
Actually, we did see a pit bull in that neighborhood once. It was running loose. Never saw it before and have never seen it since. Lots of greyhounds though. Must be a greyhound friendly neighborhood.
TR is my SD hubby, he can do whatever he wants.
TR is my SD hubby, he can do whatever he wants.
I am not that kind of girl.
Okay, NOW I have to go and remove the "no OT" from the title because I can't resist you guys when you play.
1. Access to houses for sale, which you don't need.
2. Offer contingent on financing (which you can do yourself)
3. Offer contingent on buyer's inspection (which you can do yourself)
Everything else is really negotiable. You can choose to have the closing at the attorney of your choice, on the terms of your choice, and even specify who pays what at closing based on the contract. I can send you a sample contract if you like.
I highly suggest you get a home inspection. A good home inspector views his job as convincing you NOT to buy the home. He'll tell you essentially everything wrong with it and what it takes to fix it, You can then use his report as a way to negotiate price or a way to fix the items that really need to be fixed, or both.