What Do I Need to Know About Buying a Home For Sale by Owner
If you are interested in owning a home that is sold by the owner, it will not be a good move to talk to the owner and negotiate without considering some important factors that will affect your decision. Although there are listed properties marketed by agents, there are also properties that are for sale by the owner. Since an agent is not needed in the process, you can cut on costs only if you follow some guidelines that you can use as a basis for your negotiation and for you to get the best deal.
There are around 20% of properties listed as for sale by owner and if you happen to be interested in a property that falls under this category, you should consider the following criteria.
1. Budget
You have to be sure about how much you can afford. You should not commit the mistake of overextending yourself just because you really like the property. In this period of technology, you can easily determine the amount that your income can accommodate with online mortgage calculator. You can use this as a basis and work within that budget.
2. Valuation Report
Determine the value of the property in comparison to the other properties in the neighborhood. Banks and agents call this as comparative market values or comparative market analysis. This compares the property with those within 1 to mile radius and those that have been sold recently. With this information, you will know the range of values of the property in the neighborhood and you can easily determine if the owner sets an unreasonable price for the property.
3. How long is the property offered in the market?
You have to know how recent is this property sold. If the property is offered for more than 90 days, this means that there is not much interest which can be a factor of the location, community or some other things. With a long period being in the market, you can easily get a discount or lower deals that may have a high chance of being considered.
4. Need for a real estate attorney
You will need the advice of an expert in the area. It will be good to have the guidance of a lawyer from the offering stage up to the closing level. There may be some local ordinances that can affect the pricing or some other circumstances and laws that need to be considered before the purchase. Only a real estate attorney can help you with this and it will be worth doing especially that you are not knowledgeable about the many transaction details of buying a house.
When you already have the above information and the help of a real estate attorney, you are sure to be guided in making that major and important decision of buying your next or first home. You have to be sure in your steps. You have to make sure that you are making the right decision before jumping into signing the check for a home for sale by owner type of property.