Buying a FSBO House...those that have gone thru the process... help plz!!!

[Mike 01Hawk]

Here's what we know so far:

1) Have the contract read over by an attorney for any hints/help
2) Have contingencies that the house has to appraise at the agreed upon price.  The house has to pass inspection (or they have to be fixed or money brought to the table by the sellers)  No liens, legal skeletons in the closet.

Anything else?

I'm a bit daunted by this transaction.

[In2neon]

Settle down, take a deep breath, it's not that bad....

Your attorney should have some contracts laying around you can look at and familiarize yourself with most standard details...
Contrary to what most lawers, and of course,  Realtors®,  would want you to believe is you may be surprised at what you really do understand BY YOURSELF ...
Read carefully a real estate contract or 2... even online there should be something,  and get acquainted with the process...
MOST of the contract is easily understood and your offer would be given to the sellers in this format...
Inspection time periods, financing timetable,
repairs (who will and won't do what and at whose expense) whether or not your offer accepts certain things as is or not....
closing date and who keeps and how much earnest money if you fail to close for reasons you can BOTH agree upon...
Do some online home work and you will be surprised how much you can learn online...
Look @ both sides take on the sale process, and you can decide whether or not to seek the help of a realtor ( I did not when we bought a FSBO ) Our Realtor® who sold  our house was clamoring for the easy buck when we went to buy but we refused and did it on our own and would do it a thousand times again on our own...
Go online and aquaint yourself with all parts of the process AND THEN go to your attorney and have him look over the offer contract to look out for your interests that way you will not be paying him to educate you about all the terms and conditions...
If you have any business savy at all you should be able to pull it off with just you and your attorney ...
Watch out for in$pectors using fear tactics and who just happen to have a card for a buddy who can fix what he finds wrong with the house...
Also get several opinions on what may be in need of repair and you will be surprised the difference of opinions...

[Markk]

My recollection is that a home owner selling without a realtor has no obligation to make disclosures about the home's condition unless the prospective buyer requests, in writing, that the disclosures be made.

Write a letter to the owner asking for the disclosures.

[sauerkraut]

That's one reason I want to stick with a realtor when I buy my home, the process is likely to get done more smoothly. Buying a house is a big event and with FSBO both parties are not likely to know much.. Here in the USA home buying is full of complex paperwork & legal mumbo-jumbo. A few years ago a co-worker who is from Vietnaum or Thiland (one of those SE Asia countries)  told me that buying a house there is a snap, a price is agreed upon with buyer & seller and you go to court and a judge stamps the paper and payment is made and it's done. Anyhow I think your doing great, you have a lawyer he should be doing the complex stuff. Enjoy your new digs!

[waterboy]

My recollection is that a home owner selling without a realtor has no obligation to make disclosures about the home's condition unless the prospective buyer requests, in writing, that the disclosures be made.

Write a letter to the owner asking for the disclosures.

I'm skeptical of that. A recent story on the front page of the World relayed the story of someone who bought a house where a murder had occurred and the owner failed to disclose that info. I couldn't even understand why that was worthy of comment much less a cover story, and disclosure, but it was noted that the owner had no obligation to disclose in that case.  Seems like some things would be caveat emptor but others would require some 'splainin. Either way you can protect yourself with some title insurance and a good inspection. If disclosure is not legally required the owner could simply refuse to answer, poorly answer or omit damaging information. Of course without a lawyer or realtor who has experience with the issue, you'll just have to do more research of the law.

No matter how hard you try, chances are something is going to be missed, something is going to go wrong or someone is going to feel screwed.

[Conan71]

Yep, disclosures are only as good as the seller's sense of honesty and knowledge of the property.  A disclosure protects the seller just as much as the buyer.

[Gaspar]

I would be prepared for a lengthy closing too.  I asked a friend who is a realtor about this thread and he chuckled and said that closings are sticky with FSBOs.

The closing company needs to get involved early in the process, so if you don't have one, get with the seller and agree on one.  Closings of Tulsa is the best (Ann Rollings) I hear.

Because a realtor is not involved, you, the seller and your mortgage lender will be responsible for firing on all cylinders to make sure that the paperwork is all complete and onsite for closing.

I would plan at least a half a day for closing in case one party has to leave to hunt down paperwork or produce documents.  Sounds silly, but you'd be amazed at the hoops you have to jump through if someone did not sign or initial somewhere on an inspection, appraisal or disclosure.

I wish you the best of luck, believe me I know the stress, my house closes in 3 weeks, and the everything is in the hands of my realtor.  I've been to the dance a few times, and would never do it without a realtor.

[Conan71]

I would be prepared for a lengthy closing too.  I asked a friend who is a realtor about this thread and he chuckled and said that closings are sticky with FSBOs.

The closing company needs to get involved early in the process, so if you don't have one, get with the seller and agree on one.  Closings of Tulsa is the best (Ann Rollings) I hear.

Because a realtor is not involved, you, the seller and your mortgage lender will be responsible for firing on all cylinders to make sure that the paperwork is all complete and onsite for closing.

I would plan at least a half a day for closing in case one party has to leave to hunt down paperwork or produce documents.  Sounds silly, but you'd be amazed at the hoops you have to jump through if someone did not sign or initial somewhere on an inspection, appraisal or disclosure.

I wish you the best of luck, believe me I know the stress, my house closes in 3 weeks, and the everything is in the hands of my realtor.  I've been to the dance a few times, and would never do it without a realtor.

Is that your thief real estate agent friend you foolishly gave 6% to market your house?

[Gaspar]

Is that your thief real estate agent friend you foolishly gave 6% to market your house?

No, It's another dirty thief real estate agent that I work with, who never makes a fresh pot of coffee after he takes the last cup.

Completely unethical.

[Conan71]

Thieving selfish bastards.  Probably even wears a ribbed condom inside-out for HIS pleasure.

[Conan71]

Townsend??? Hoss???

Knock it out of the park, it's a slow pitch...

[Townsend]

Holy mother of crap

[Hoss]

Nah, gets a free pass on this one.  For now.

When he realizes there's no longer a WoolCo at the Traffic Circle, maybe I'll let up.

[nathanm]

I think the disclosure law applies to everyone, but in the case you mention about a murder in the house that's not covered since it's not really anything physical, or a house defect- and home inspections won't help with that. I believe that in some states if a house is "haunted" it has to be mentioned. I believe the title insurance just covers you if there is a lean against the house/land or problems with the deed.

You ain't from around here, are you?

[sauerkraut]

A realtor told me that some Tulsa homes have Aluminum wiring and that is one thing to watch out for. Home Inspections may not catch that.