You don’t need a realtor - the title company can handle all the closing. Closing costs can be spread MANY ways (some are always sellers costs, some always buyers costs but other can be peid by either or both) - so best to get agreement with seller and split the costs down the middle.
While I agree that you don’t need a realtor, you may want to engage with a RE Attorney to insure that all the ducks are in a row for your closing.
Some times tax records are useful for comps. Real estate ads can be very helpful, and very available on line.
Perc test are important. Sometimes simply looking at the lay of the land will tell you all you want to know. What grows there? Willows? Run!! Soft maple-proceed with caution. Oaks? Probably OK. Same with hard maple.
You don’t need a realtor but you should have a lawyer. Since the property is close, you should know the name of a lawyer. Occasionally one lawyer is shared.
The market value is what you are interested in. Among other things, you would use the appraised value and even the taxed value to help determine that, but at the end of the day, the market value is what a buyer and seller agree on.
[QUOTE=vicarious;8016543]
You don’t need a realtor but you should have a lawyer. Since the property is close, you should know the name of a lawyer. Occasionally one lawyer is shared.[/QUOTE]
We used an attorney whose specialty was real estate law… best money we ever spent as they had no vested interest other than to protect us
I was always under the impression that wooded land cost less per/acre than that of cleared land.
[QUOTE=gumtree;8014141]
I have found when there is only one agent involved you can pretty much always knock off at least 3% off the price. Because they know most of the time the buyer comes with their agent and the 6% commission will be split. [/QUOTE]
Here if the buyer does not have an agent the selling agent gets the commission for both sides of the deal. This means that in the agent’s mind YOU are a prefered buyer because he makes twice as much.
This worked well for us. We made an offer on a property when the seller reduced the price in the listing–so did two other potential buyers on the same day. We were the only one of the three without an agent. Guess who got the property?
In many areas, lack of a well and utilities will not allow you to get a loan from any commercial institutions. If you have cash, or can find a private lender perhaps but you would need to keep that in mind.
We are trying to buy another farm without a real estate agent. We found the tax assessment is nowhere near the property value. But we had a Comparative market analysis done to get a better idea of what to counter the owner’s ridiculous price with.
We did not want to get an appraisal done just yet, because the lender will want their own appraisal, and why pay for two? You can download contracts specific to your state, and customize with the contigencies, terms, etc.
[QUOTE=Serigraph;8014355]
It is 27.29 acres. I think about 7 is cleared and the rest wooded. From the GIS and when I walked the property it looks like more than 7 is cleared although that is what the tax card says.
Also does anyone know if that tax card says what the appraised value is - is that the true appraised value? I know for our farm it is way less than if we were to put it on the market.[/QUOTE]
No it’s not.
Pay for an appraisal, if you don’t have a mortgage on it so they aren’t getting one. Also make sure you get a survey that is recent (within last 3 yrs provided there have been no structures added to it.
Get a real estate atty to do contracts/review contracts.
[QUOTE=gumtree;8014141]
I’ve bought property in a number of states. Rarely used an agent. Especially as more and more information became available on the internet. I just contacted the seller or the listing agent. I have found when there is only one agent involved you can pretty much always knock off at least 3% off the price. Because they know most of the time the buyer comes with their agent and the 6% commission will be split.
In your case the property is only 1 mile away from yours. I assume you know what your property is worth so, all things being equal, that land is worth around the same. Most sellers I have found expect buyers to offer at least 10% lower.
You draw up an “Offer to Purchase Contract” with all of the normal contingencies. The most import, “this offer and purchase is subject to the property appraising at or above the purchase price” Buyers also like to include “subject to financing”. As a seller I don’t like “subject to financing” unless the buyer agrees to allow the property to remain on the market until the buyer presents a letter from their lender that financing has been approved.
An mutually agreed deposit amount is made with the signing of the agreement/contract. It should be clearly stated in the agreement the terms upon which the deposit will be returned. As to “holds” the deposit IMO it is best to find an escrow agent. Some banks will do this, small attorneys, depending on the location there are business’s that specialize, act as Escrow agents for a small fee. If you do all the “leg and paper work” a real-estate agency might do it for a small fee. I am sure there are internet reference sites that will walk you through the process.
The above is just the basics. You will need to check, zoning, ingress, egress requirements, encumbrances and or deed restrictions, depending on the location water rights, if the owner of the land behind it has access to their property through this one, etc. If utilities have to be brought in across the adjoining properties make sure ALL of the utility easements are in place. You will need one for each property they cross even if it is only one foot on someone’s property. You might not need the utilities but it will effect the re-sale price if sold to someone that will in the future. Title insurance does a pretty good job of doing most the research before signing on.[/QUOTE]
The listing contract between the seller/listing agent states the commission. Generally the listing agent gets the full amount if the buyer doesn’t have their own agent. They may tell you that you are getting 3% off, but most home list prices have that much built in for negotiation anyways. (You’d need to check the HUD settlement stmt at closing to be sure only 3% was paid, and by then it’s too late, unless you want to throw a kink in your closing.).
The only time you are guaranteed to not be paying a commission is doing a deal by owner, but then the onus is on you to ferret out info and make sure that you get good comps, and that the contract is fair and legal. A real estate atty is a must if there is no agent involved on the buyer’s part.
