Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

[QUOTE=Boiler;5146084][QUOTE=David Richardson;5145446]
Speaking for Colorado:
Selling prices are online, through County web site.
Closing Costs I would have to check, we cetainly did when we sold, but it was in percentage terms nominal.

Selling prices may be available online but they won't be there right away. In GA there is often a 45 - 60 day time lag before the sale is recorded. You might need to know the prevailing sales prices sooner.
Re closing costs - a seller can make a major contribution to closing costs and also may have agreed to allowances for new floors and so on and agreed to repairs following inspection etc. These are items are not shared in the public arena. Only the sales price is recorded not the 'below the line' items. To make a good comparison , you need this info. Realtors have it.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

Not harping you, just seeking clarification and curious.

Did you disclose everything which was found on your pre-market inspection? All though pre-market inspections are often a good idea - it can work against a seller per se as all finding then become adverse material facts and subsequently have to be disclosed. If you took care of items, doesn't necessaryily remove your obligations, you also want to provide proof that it was properly corrected.

Sold prices are on the county site; BC is fairly quick with recording its info but it won't show any applicable concessions such as any closing costs, allowances etc. The local MLS now requires such info to be disclosed because such amounts could be factored and considered by an appraiser and be reflected in the appraised value.

The thing with closing costs and seller credit/paying, one should ask the question who is entitled to any tax deduction and did a buyer give a seller an additional deduction?. Verify with an accountant... (that is why you have a copy of the HUD).

You of all people should know that Realtors can not give legal advice/rights. The liability for one (and may be held accountable); also you can be done for practicing law w/o a license.


Buyer Beware. Never assume good faith, verify everything which is said to you and get everything done in writing - it doesn't exist unless its in writing.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

Just remembered one other useful non-commercial site that I used to get the real info on property values is the LA county office of the assessor;

http://assessor.lacounty.gov/extrane...maps/Pais.aspx

Click on 'view property maps and data' on the top left, enter the address and it will tell you what properties sold for in that neighborhood, when the last time the house sold and the price. Never compared it against Zillow.

Another site I saw on 60 minutes recently is Redfin, this site is giving realtors some grief as it cuts them out, can't remember the exact details as I'm no longer in the market, but it's another resource;

http://www.redfin.com/homepage_alt.html

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

Bit state specific this one, old bean. Here in AZ, a licensed real estate bod can certainly give legal advice concerning the buying, investing in, and selling of property.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

I think Arizona is the only State with no UPL regulations.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

It has UPL. But the rights of real estate bods are written in to the State Constitution.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

I have done it twice, so first I fixed everything I thought of that may be an issue.

First time around we made up a pack for interested buyers, we included the Inspection report and our comments.

Second time around the Inspector was having a hard time, the Realtor had paid for him to do it as part of his costs.

He managed to find 5 things, mind you one of them was a smoke Detector that had come loose, 5 minutes to right it up and photo, 5 seconds to fix.

Of the remaning items, 2 I will fix, minor issues, one was more of a question that I can not answer and one related to something that was a grey area as far as code is concerned.

But of course any buyer will have their own report commisioned, the inspector has got to find something to justify the fee, I know they will not be deal breakers, or negotiating points.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

[QUOTE=Tarkak9;5148392]Not harping you, just seeking clarification and curious.



You of all people should know that Realtors can not give legal advice/rights. The liability for one (and may be held accountable); also you can be done for practicing law w/o a license.

It is not practising law to tell buyers and sellers about the RE contracts that exist in Ga ( I'm only speaking for GA, remember) The buyer and seller needs to know what type of transactions are available - example; For Sale by Owner. A Realtor needs permission from the Seller to show that home. There is a specific, enforceable contract to allow that. Once agreement is reached to show - one time only or a set number of days - the Realtor can show the property and offer a purchase and sale agreement if the Buyer wants to buy the home. At that point, the Realtor is representing the Buyer and that affords them all the protection GA RE laws provide, including the right to sue the Realtor if they err. If there is a genuine legal question in the sale somewhere, I work for a Broker big enough to have their own legal dept and they would provide counsel. That is quite rare tho' but if you need it...........
I am not saying that you cannot enact a transaction as a Seller or Buyer without a Realtor - it is done about 9% of the time but it is not always the smartest move. Where there are legal problems later - suits re Sellers Property Disclosure etc - they are often where the Buyer went it alone.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

[QUOTE=David Richardson;5149095]Well I am going ahead. I have read through the standard california property sale contract. It looks pretty straightforward. I guess the one area that a realtor could help with but I find it hard to be convinced it's worth almost 20K is negotiating the conditions of sale. ie. who pays closing costs, amount of time to allow for inspections, what the seller will pay for etc. I assume it's up to me to negotiate all this with the seller now? Once its in the offer (which is the contract subject to contingencies) then its binding is it not? Is it just a case of me going through the various contingencies with the seller and coming to an agreement. ie. I will pay escrow, they pay title. They will pay for termite check and to fix any problems like that etc. or am I missing something major here. Of course no realtor is interested in helping me unless I sign up with them. Even my friend who is a realtor still demanded 3% which is just insane I think for just an hour of advice. I have no problem securing a good inspector etc. I have excellent connections with the construction trade. All information is in public domain and seems easy to find online even. I just look up the parcel on the county records website which gives the sq ft (of course there may be undisclosed extensions etc.) parcel and lot number etc.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

Great friend.

In my one experience of buying here, the realtor is really in a facilitating role. Depending on your personality you may find it easy or difficult to negotiate items. Our seller paid for the termite check and work but then some further termite damage was discovered. The realtor actually kind of cocked up there as she rushed into signing it off and there was a dispute on who paid, we had to pay some extra. But most of it seems to be standard forms which the escrow company will go through with you. If you are in an earthquake zone a geological inspection is recommended in addition to a home inspection. As you are already living next door you should have a good idea of any potential pitfalls I should think.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

interesting. So the realtor did negotiate the terms of sale, the closing costs etc.? Is there a standard way of doing things where say the seller and buyer split closing costs 50/50 for instance. I am assuming I will organise and pay for my own home inspection and geology survey since I want to be 100% sure they are what I want. The rest, escrow title etc. not really sure who should pay or what is reasonable. Where there limits as to the things they should fix before closing apart from the termite stuff. House is something of a fixer upper. Its not totally falling down but its not in perfect newly painted shape either. Garden etc. is overgrown. There are definately some code violations which we know of but probably wouldnt have them fix (stairs have no bannisters). Cursory inspection with father in law building contractor seems to suggest everything was pretty solid though. New rood looked ok, foundations looked reasonable etc. I am fairly confident its a good price for the area so not looking to bargain the guy down too much more. Dont want him getting upset and putting it on the open market for what would certainly be considerably more.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

As I understand it the seller is usually liable for the majority of the costs but it depends on the prevailing market, ie in a sellers' market they can dictate terms or if it is difficult to sell, buyers may ask for more.
You will pay for your escrow costs - check through them as they always add on loads of "filing fees" or whatever which they expect to be negotiated down on. You have to pay your pro-rated portion of the property tax as well. The seller pays for major items discovered on inspection unless you agree otherwise. For example, our banisters are further apart than current code but we prefer them as they are and don't have young children so we left that.

On a cautionary note I would say people can change when money becomes involved, realtors can help to keep things calm and detached. How "hot" is the market locally and are you sure the house would go for more on the open market? Don't forget it is the seller who pays the realtor so he would have to shell out if he did that.

It's good that FIL is knowledgeable about that side of things but legal matters can get sticky, with the sums of money involved you want to make sure it's all done right.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

In my view the Buyer pays for everything, some directly, some indirectly because the price is higher that it would need to be otherwise.

Mind you it does seem that many Realtors have issues with basic maths.

And their clients.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

As long as angelman is getting a price which reflects this, it's fine. But it's possible the seller could land him with costs he doesn't need to pay in this situation.

Tricky one.

Re: Buying a home in LA without a realtor
 

[QUOTE=angelman;5149167][QUOTE=David Richardson;5149095]
Well I am going ahead. I have read through the standard california property sale contract. It looks pretty straightforward.

I have no idea about the California contracts so I really cannot help you. If you were in GA, I'd ask for a reasonable amount of time for the financing contingency period ( unless you're making it a cash sale) - 15 days. Ask 16 days for the inspection period ( one day longer than the financing period). Offer the Seller 3 days to advise what they will repair if the inspection report points up key issues. Set the closing for about 15 to 30 days after the financing contingency date ends. Be careful about your earnest money ( try to put down as little as possible - 1% is good) and make sure you have it written into the contract that it is REFUNDABLE in the event of financing problems or lack of resolution to poor inspection. In GA, a buyer cannot pull out of a contract except for the lack of financing or failure of Seller to address inspection issues within the specified time. Any other reasons will cost you your earnest money. Good luck.