Buying A Home Without A Realtor Or Buyer's Agent

[TexasHorseLady]

I've done it both ways, with an agent and without an agent. When we did it without an agent, everything went (relatively) fine, but now that I know more about what CAN go wrong, I count my blessings that we lucked out and it went okay.

I still say get your own attorney to look over the contract, at the very least. After all, it was written by your friend's attorney, whose responsibility is to write it for their benefit, not yours.

Pretend this isn't your friend, and a business deal, and chances are better that he will still be your friend when all is said and done.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by telesis37

Here's my situation. I'm buying my friend's house. I love the house, I'm getting it for a steal, and I am paying cash for it. They got a real estate attorney to write up the contract.

I do not know anything about your local market. Market values are however, declining in many areas, right now. Professional relocation companies, that acquire serious thousands of properties on behalf of corporate sponsors, are increasingly requiring 3 independent appraisals and average the results to determine fair value, at a point in time. And even then, property tends to sell for less than the average appraised value.

When and who determined the market value of the property you want to buy? What objective criteria are you using to determine you got a steal of a deal?

Under the circumstances, your contract should minimally be subject to attorney review/approval and an appraisal. If the property appraises for less than your purchase price or some other fixed amount, you need the ability to cancel the contract....not be locked into paying more than it is currently worth, unless you choose to do so.

Your friend, the seller, hired an attorney to look out for his/her best interest. Who is looking out for you?

[Sandy Nelson]

Telesis,

I would advise you to get title insurance and to have your own attorney review the contract.


Sandy

[FalconheadWest]

Are you sure you're not just buying land with a mobile home as personal property? Have you looked into that? If there's a VIN, it's a vehicle and not a house. Are you sure proper documentation was done for the permanant structures that were added on to this vehicle? Do you have proof of these permits to make it "real property" to be sold as a house?

[scgraham]

1. What about a seller's property disclosure statement?
2. Any environmental issues? Lead based paint?
3. Is the property in a floodplain? (Since there is no lender, this probably will not be checked out; contact FEMA)
4. Who is paying the settlement fees?
5. Who will review the settlement statement to ensure its accuracy?