We are wanting to sell our house but really cannot afford the realtors fees. Has anyone done for sale by owner? I want to make sure everything is done correctly. Any advice? I know that having someone assume our loan is an option also but I don't know anything about that either. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
To those who answered: Thank you! I have spoken to my bank & my loan can be assumed without my being liable. I have thought about Craigslist but I just don't know what paper work is required to do everything legally. Also, I WOULD MUCH RATHER use a realtor but one gave us a closing quote of approximately $9000 which we CAN NOT afford! Also, this is our second house we have purchased. To the person who said the seller is resonsible for realtor's fees, In our past purchases & selling both buyer & seller had a portion of realtors fees. Thanks for the advice so far!
My husband and I bought our home from the home owner and assumed thier loan. The closing fees were very little, because it was just a transfer of names. We found the house thru the local paper. It worked out great for both of us. Good luck
A.,
Quite a while back, we tried to sell a house with "for sale by owner" and had no luck. I don't think it gets on the MLS. That could have changed.
Be careful about letting someone assume your loan. Make sure you won't be liable if they don't make the payments.
Have you thought about Craig's List?
Victoria
p.s. If you use CL you would need a real estate attorney.
1. Nearly all loans generated over the last 15 years are non-assumable. READ your loan paperwork, it spells it out in great detail.
2. You can sell your house FSBO, but getting to actually close will be tougher. I talked with a title rep a couple weeks ago and she mentioned 90% of FSBO's don't close because the paperwork wasn't complete, completed correctly or in a timely manner.
3. The seller of the house pays all the realtor fees by tradition. This means even if you don't have a realtor representing you, if by chance you have a person come through who IS represented then it's customary to pay their fees. Be prepared to pay for their time, because in reality it's double the work for them to work with you.
4. There is a lot that goes into selling AND closing a home. Having the experience of a Realtor on your side will lessen the chances of a hiccup. Given how poor the housing market has been lately you should be able to find a decent Realtor who can work with you on the fees.
Good Luck!
All I can say is be careful. We tried selling our house and it was on the market for quite a while with no offers. We ended up selling it on a wrap (It's kind of like a real estate contract) and they were supposed to finance it in thier own name within 5 years. They ended up vacating the house after a year and left it a total mess and needing of repairs which we had to take care of to put on the market again. It's finally in the process of a short sale but who knows how that's going to turn out. If you do decide to go a similar route you can always see how much a lawyer would charge for all the paperwork (I think it's cheaper than a realtor) but if someone is looking for a house and already has a realtor then you need to pay at least the 3%. Good luck!
