A For Sale By Owner Guide To Buying Florida Property
Many people buying Florida property have been attracted to properties listed for sale by owner as a way to find that extra special bargain. The concept is that without the added burden of Realtor fees, the owner will be prepared to deal at a lower contract price. However, things are not always what they seem so make sure you understand the potential pitfalls if you go down this route.
The contract price is one of the first things to be sorted. A year or two ago when prices were rising almost weekly, sellers had a strong hand and buyers often gave in to ambitious owner-determined prices as a way to simply get into the real estate market.
Now it’s a buyers market, though, and getting the valuation right is what matters above all else. A for sale by owner property is no different than a Realtor listing: unless you have money to waste, reaching an agreed price that reflects current market conditions should be at the top of your list.
How do you make sure you’re offering the right price? You can check out:
* County records of recent sales.
* Online real estate sites such as zillow.com, trulia.com or realtor.com
* Local newspapers that contain classified property ads.
* Realtors: take a note of Realtor phone numbers on properties close to your home for sale by owner and ask them for the price of their listing.
Even though the information you collect by these methods may cover properties very different to the one you have in mind, at the very least you do have some starting data to work with.
In addition to the question of pricing, there are other issues to deal with in a for sale by owner transaction:
1. Will you be able to work with the seller or is he just testing the market without any real intention to proceed?
2. Negotiation: are you prepared to haggle and get the lowest price you can? Can you do this without offending the seller?
3. Buying Florida property involves fees additional to the purchase prices - what are the the expenses involved in a for sale by owner purchase and who pays what?
4. Contracts: What form of contract will you use? Which conditions should you (as the buyer) insist upon and which are less important? When do the buyer and seller become legally bound by the contract?
5. Does the sale of a Florida property require attorney involvement? How much can be handled by a Title Company?
6. Timing: how soon do you want to buy the house? How should you agree a closing date?
7. Performance: what are your rights if the seller backs out of the contract after its signed? How do you guard against this?
8. Finance: how will the timing of your loan financing fit in with the contract closing date? What happens if there is a delay?
9. When you schedule a Home Inspection and the report shows that repairs are required, who is liable to pay for the repairs?
There are no “one size fits” all answers to these questions but if you have some experience already of real estate transactions, or if you’re confident you can work your way through the questions and come up with the right answers, then go ahead and jump right in.
But if the process of buying Florida property is new to you and you are not sure what to do, you should almost certainly consult a Realtor or an attorney to help you through the task. Unless you are one of the minority, getting the purchase right first time and avoiding a costly mistake will make a huge difference to your finances!