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Buying house without Realtor

tman24

tman24

Well-Known Member
Feb 6, 2008
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Long story short we like a house that is for sale by owner that we began looking at before we started working with a realtor. Has anyone purchased a house without a realtor? I have read up a little online and if we do decide to move on this house, we will probably hire a real estate lawyer. What are other peoples experiences or guidance on the issue?
 
I have done it before and didn't have any problems. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

What town? I have real estate attorneys in both Des Moines and Ames that I would recommend if you are interested.
 
Doesn't cost the buyer anything to use a realtor. May as well have someone that can help you navigate the transaction. Attorney will protect you at the closing table, but the negotiation and the financing process can be more favorable for you if you have an experienced, professional advocate acting on your behalf.

If it's free, why not do it?
 
isunorth said:
Doesn't cost the buyer anything to use a realtor. May as well have someone that can help you navigate the transaction. Attorney will protect you at the closing table, but the negotiation and the financing process can be more favorable for you if you have an experienced, professional advocate acting on your behalf.

If it's free, why not do it?
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if its fsbo, seller doesnt want to pay the buying agent.
 
isunorth said:
Doesn't cost the buyer anything to use a realtor. May as well have someone that can help you navigate the transaction. Attorney will protect you at the closing table, but the negotiation and the financing process can be more favorable for you if you have an experienced, professional advocate acting on your behalf.

If it's free, why not do it?
Click to expand...

We looked at the house on our own before we started using the realtor we currently have. We brought it up to her and she recommended that if we are interested in the house that we take care of it on our own.

I am sure we could still use a realtor but she made it sound like it was bad thing to do it that way.
 
I bought our house FSBO and had no problems. The couple that owned it before us own their own buisness and used their lawyer for all the paperwork. Wells Fargo reviewed all the paperwork to make sure it was legit before they would approve the mortgage. Worked out fine for us and made extra money for the sellers. I would make sure at least you or the seller are competent on the process before going through with it.
 
I bought the house I live in now from the owners and 1 other. Find a realestate lawyer and discuss all the itmes you want included in the sale. You can also use he local multiple listing service to find comparable sales to determime if the price is right. Alway make it subject to a home inspection, appraisal, a clear title of all liens, taxes, judgements and any assoication fees. I have bought 7 houses over the years and I always go through the house with the home inspector pointing out all the things I have discovered and on several occasions I have gotten the seller to pay for repairs or lower the price before the sale went through. Make sure any ernst money is refundable if there are any problems with the home inspection or appraisal.
 
isunorth said:
Doesn't cost the buyer anything to use a realtor. May as well have someone that can help you navigate the transaction. Attorney will protect you at the closing table, but the negotiation and the financing process can be more favorable for you if you have an experienced, professional advocate acting on your behalf.

If it's free, why not do it?
Click to expand...

if the buyer is the only one bringing money to the table, and both the seller and realtor are getting paid, how the hell is it free?

the reason your realtor made it sound like you should do it yourself is because if she helped you it would be charity work; i doubt the house owner has any predetermined realtor commission setup and so she wouldn't be getting paid
 
tman24 said:
Long story short we like a house that is for sale by owner that we began looking at before we started working with a realtor. Has anyone purchased a house without a realtor? I have read up a little online and if we do decide to move on this house, we will probably hire a real estate lawyer. What are other peoples experiences or guidance on the issue?
Click to expand...
Good real estate lawyer will do it for about $500-750.
 
isunorth said:
Doesn't cost the buyer anything to use a realtor. May as well have someone that can help you navigate the transaction. Attorney will protect you at the closing table, but the negotiation and the financing process can be more favorable for you if you have an experienced, professional advocate acting on your behalf.

If it's free, why not do it?
Click to expand...
cycloneML said:
if its fsbo, seller doesnt want to pay the buying agent.
Click to expand...
This is a determining question. It's not uncommon for realtor fees to be 5-6% with half of that going to the buyers broker. If that transaction cost can be avoided, both parties could come out ahead. If a home has already been listed with a realtor, often that commission is already written in stone.

If you don't really know anything about the real estate market or the process though, a realtor could be valuable. If you only have the one home you are looking at, you might consider seeing if you can hire one on a transactional basis rather than a commission basis.

I bought my home without a buyers broker, and used that fact as a negotiating tool.
 
NebrClone said:
I bought the house I live in now from the owners and 1 other. Find a realestate lawyer and discuss all the itmes you want included in the sale. You can also use he local multiple listing service to find comparable sales to determime if the price is right. Alway make it subject to a home inspection, appraisal, a clear title of all liens, taxes, judgements and any assoication fees. I have bought 7 houses over the years and I always go through the house with the home inspector pointing out all the things I have discovered and on several occasions I have gotten the seller to pay for repairs or lower the price before the sale went through. Make sure any ernst money is refundable if there are any problems with the home inspection or appraisal.
Click to expand...

Would there be more places or websites to find the value of the home?

Kyle said:
This is a determining question. It's not uncommon for realtor fees to be 5-6% with half of that going to the buyers broker. If that transaction cost can be avoided, both parties could come out ahead. If a home has already been listed with a realtor, often that commission is already written in stone.

If you don't really know anything about the real estate market or the process though, a realtor could be valuable. If you only have the one home you are looking at, you might consider seeing if you can hire one on a transactional basis rather than a commission basis.

I bought my home without a buyers broker, and used that fact as a negotiating tool.
Click to expand...

Might have to check into this to see what that may cost.
 
Worked in the RE business as appraiser, realtor, and lender. Been around this block about 1500 times.

FSBO this could make a difference if there isn't commission set in stone on the selling side. Still, in this market, seller would be stupid to balk at a qualified offer to save 3%.

With a realtor, it's not "free" as the seller is baking realtor costs into their list price, but RARELY does a seller agree to sell a house for less because there isn't a realtor on the other side.

Because most houses transfer with use of a realtor, the entire market has realtor fees baked into prices if you want to look at it that way.

Not sure where you live, but realtors in most markets have their seller locked in at X% listing fee. They're not giving up half and putting it in anyone else's pocket if buyer-side has no representation.

If I'm the realtor, I show the seller my contract and tell them they're obligated to pay me X% of the sales price. If they're motivated to sell their house - which they should be in this market - they're going to pull the trigger. The only way I'm giving up half of my commission is to split the difference if it's truly the tipping point between making a deal or not.
 
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JY07 said:
if the buyer is the only one bringing money to the table, and both the seller and realtor are getting paid, how the hell is it free?

the reason your realtor made it sound like you should do it yourself is because if she helped you it would be charity work; i doubt the house owner has any predetermined realtor commission setup and so she wouldn't be getting paid
Click to expand...

actually it's about liability, E&O insurance doesn't cover the transaction and they could lose their Real Estate license for working outside their broker..
 
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I bought my house without an agent.

I used a lawyer to write up the offer, paid the inspection myself, and he hired a lawyer for his end of things. Just find a decent lawyer and save some money.
 
tman24 said:
Long story short we like a house that is for sale by owner that we began looking at before we started working with a realtor. Has anyone purchased a house without a realtor? I have read up a little online and if we do decide to move on this house, we will probably hire a real estate lawyer. What are other peoples experiences or guidance on the issue?
Click to expand...

does this mean that you worked with a realtor but are cutting them out now because you looked at this house before you started?
 
Yep. I've bought two houses and sold one house as FSBO. I've used same title company to help me with the transactions. There are many road blocks, but worth the $$$ you are saving.

Is this an old house or newer? I've done both, old house is def little trickier (but manageable).
 
I have bought a house FSBO. Worked great. Both buyer and seller used the same lawyer and we each paid the customary fees associated with each.

I have bought a couple of houses from a RE agent. Worked fine. You would be amazed at the fees that are subtracted from what the seller gets. But keep in mind that the advertising costs, etc. are all paid for by the RE agent. And when people buy homes, a RE agent has more contacts and more visibility.

We sold one home (in-laws house) through a RE agent. Again, the fees add up. And we actually had someone back out of the sale.......twice. The RE agent didn't get additional earnest money from the buyer and only had a simple $500 down payment required. Bad for us. I would recommend getting at least 2% or more........on every transaction.

We are selling another house FSBO at this time. We plan on cutting a deal and basically passing on much of the savings to the buyer. If it goes to a RE agent, our price will go up to recoup costs. And we would have greater visibility so the higher price would be an option.
 
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