<p>The only time I ever used a real estate lawyer for a specific sale was when I sold a house in Canada that was part of an estate. As far as I could tell, you MUST use an attorney for a real estate transaction there. I did consult attorneys on points related to real estate for the estate properties in the US, but never had them involved in a specific transaction and the paperwork for it.</p>
<p>Thanks, @LasMa. I like yours too…,are you a tapper? My DD was a tap dancer (and jazz, lyrical, but NO WAY BALLET 
I loved watching her stomp around as a toddler in her shiny tap shoes…sniff sniff. Miss those days.</p>
<p>Ok back to houses. @hayden, good luck! Are you ready to move now if the deal works out? I don’t think we will be ready before next summer. But, if the price was right…</p>
<p>So Hayden…next stop…Oxford Ga? </p>
<p>Ha, Dstark, nice memory! We’re not sure yet. I’d love to go back there, but we’ll have a while to make up our minds We decided to rent first nearer to H’s job. He’s been driving 90 minutes each way for years. He’s not retiring yet, unless things change at work. If people at the top try for other jobs, if you know what I mean, things can change a lot, especially if they get those jobs. </p>
<p>@shellz, not a tapper, but a tapmom. D also took jazz, lyrical, etc, and a ton of ballet. At her studio, there was no way around it. I miss those days too…</p>
<p>Ok…</p>
<p>Cutting that 90 miuntes down would seem like a good thing to do…health wise. :)</p>
<p>" think it may be regional, shellz. On another thread which tangentially includes discussion of a house sale, everyone who lives in the west has never used a lawyer, and everyone who lives back east always uses one."</p>
<p>Attorney’s are required to close in New York. Not sure about other states.</p>
<p>Nope, not in CA. I’m sure it’s different if there’s something complicated about the transaction, but for our straightforward sales/purchases, the subject hasn’t even been mentioned.</p>
<p>@LasMa … I’m a tap mom too 
And from So CA. I wonder if we were ever at the same dance competitions! Ok, here I go derailing my own thread again.</p>
<p>It’s OK, shellz, no one’s listening. Our regional competitions were usually in Tahoe or Reno, but we went to Las Vegas for nationals several times. </p>
<p>Regarding who hires whom where, I did a quick search since the discussion got me curious. There is an easy to look at map on this site if you click on See who handles the closing in your state.
<a href=“http://www.closing.com/faq/realestateattorney”>http://www.closing.com/faq/realestateattorney</a></p>
<p>@DeborahT …thank you! Great info right there ;-)</p>
<p>We’re selling our house as a tear down (we do have a real estate attorney but no realtor). Our two top offers are cash from a developer, and 90% mortgage from an individual (he has a pre-approval letter). The mortgage offer is 2% higher than the cash. I’m starting to think the extra $13,000 is not worth the risk of the mortgage getting delayed or appraisal problems et al. Both offers are at or above our original target and we’re ready to go looking in our relocation market. Would you take the higher or safer route?</p>
<p>I’ve found in our limited experience, that the agents all suggested numerous improvements. But you need to be careful. Numerous improvements can indeed make a home sell faster. That is typically very helpful for the realtor, but not necessarily for the seller. Many of the suggested improvements would have cost far more than the difference we could expect in the sales price. It has to be balanced with the cost of holding on to the home for a longer sales period(taxes, utilities, etc.). </p>
<p>I would definitely take the cash offer, no question about it. Based on my limited understanding, I think the buyer is going to have a hard time getting a 90% mortgage on a tear-down property. At the very least you should talk to a mortgage broker familiar with the property. A 2% discount for an all cash offer seems fair, especially when compared to a competing offer with a small down payment and a loan and appraisal contingency.</p>
<p>nottelling, great idea to check with a mortgage broker! We’ve talked in the past with a guy at our hometown bank about getting a small mortgage ourselves for the next home. He should be very familiar with mortgages and the local tear down market - I just left him a message to get his advice.</p>
<p>Here’s the problem I see… there are still costs (ads etc), and the FSBO buyers think they should get a 6% “savings’”… you might have more hassles and not be ahead in the game. </p>
<p>Successfully Selling by Owner is based on your local market. I can only speak to my local real estate market, Southern California</p>
<p>1) You do not need a real estate agent to market your property. BUT, you should be willing to do everything the agent will do. You want the house to look absolutely perfect. Remove all of the clutter and personal items. Hire the same photographer that works for the real estate agents to take outstanding photos. Your marketing will be on the Internet. Most buyers these days are going to get their first impression by those photos on the Internet. Make them sexy! Look through listings in your area and see which ones had the best photos. Sometimes the photographer is shown.</p>
<p>2) Research escrow agents and title companies. You need to do a title review on your property before you list the house to make sure there are no hidden surprises. Hidden surprises could be that one of the banks on your old loan forgot to record the reconveyance when you re-financed. Strange encroachments or liens suddenly showing up on the public record.</p>
<p>3) You are going to have to offer a commission to the buyer’s agent. If you don’t, every agent in town is not even going to mention your property or do a showing when they are taking their potential buyers around to view houses. It doesn’t have to be the full 3%, it could be as low as 2% if you have a special property that is priced right for their buyers.</p>
<p>4) We don’t use real estate attorneys in California for any regular residential transaction. The title company and escrow agent are covering these services.</p>
<p>5) Try to find the ‘Flat Fee Listing’ service in your area. They will help you with all the forms and to create a listing with photos into the local MLS. Most of the Trulia, Realtor.com, Zillow websites are fed from the MLS data and you will get national coverage.</p>
<p>6) Contact whatever good friend or relative you know that recently sold a house. Ask them where you can get copies of all the disclosure forms required to sell the house (that they should have in their package). In California you must disclose every single thing you know about the house. You are not liable for something that you did not know about or could not conceivably have known about.</p>
<p>In our market area there are not many FSBOs. In general most FSBOs are a waste of time. These are usually Sellers who are living in lala land and are asking the moon for their house. When you talk to them, all they want to tell you about is the gold plated faucet they put in the bathroom and how “Bob down the street sold his house for $$$$$$ three years ago and he didn’t have a gold faucet in his bathroom!!”. They are out of touch with the current market and are very unrealistic. They probably didn’t get an agent because they didn’t believe the reality of what their house is worth.</p>
<p>It is very uncomfortable for buyers to walk through a house when the Seller is standing there hovering over them blabbering about the gold plated faucet. It’s a big turn off.</p>
<p>Your best bet is to embrace the buying real estate agents. Its in your best interest if buyers are brought to showings with their agent - you can leave the house and feel safe about it. If they bring a buyer they will guide the transaction and provide all the documentation needed.</p>
<p>FSBOs need to have a game plan for who gets in their house. A ‘potential buyer’ knocking on your front door at last minute unannounced asking to look through your home after seeing your FSBO sign in front yard…the ‘potential buyer’ could really be a thief or worse. Realtors can hopefully screen potential buyers and give sellers advance notice for any showings.</p>
<p>Oh wow @lizard That is new food for thought. Yikes!</p>