Real Estate advice....

[andrewg]

Question to those that can help. My girlfriend owns a home that she really wants to get out of. Her son wants to buy it from her. The money owed on the loan is $230,000. The value of the property is about exactly what she owes. She wants to sell her home to her son for just what she owes in order to make it affordable for him, yet pay off her debt. She realizes there is no real equity and will make no money on the deal. Assuming her son has a lender and a realtor to make this happen, does my girlfriend REQUIRE a realtor (selling agent) of her own to sell the house OR can her sons realtor handle BOTH transactions? The reason I am asking this question is that if she get's a realtor of her own, the price of the house would have to be raised in order to pay her realtor, correct? So the $230,000 house would quickly become maybe thousands more. This is why she is trying to figure out if using one agent to attend to both transactions may save her and her son money. She wants to obviously get out of this house without paying to do so.
Any advice or ideas would be appreciated.

 

[opus1]

It's my understanding that the realtor commission is paid by the seller, usually 5-6%. If there are two realtors involved, the commission pot is still the same and it's between the two agents on how it's split, although it's usually 50/50.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[expat]

WHY have a Realtor at all!!

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: expat
WHY have a Realtor at all!!
A good point. Perhaps just a real estate lawyer would suffice?

 

[mrsilv04]

Forget the realtor. That's an enormous waste of money on this transaction (and most other transactions as well). A good real estate lawyer is all that is needed.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I agree with Expat, no need to get any realtor involve in a transaction that both seller and buyer(mother and son) agreed on price. You only need to open Escrow and both parties pay the fees associated with Escrow, you don't even need a real estate lawyer involved in this type of transaction.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: expat
WHY have a Realtor at all!!

My girlfriend has no familiarity with real estate and would have great difficulty taking on this task. She would be overwhelmed without assistance.

 

[BISCUT]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Forget the realtor. That's an enormous waste of money on this transaction (and most other transactions as well). A good real estate lawyer is all that is needed.


Absolutely. Realtor gets paid for marketing (and a few ancillary items). No marketing needed in this case. In this instance both buyer and seller can suffice with a single attorney to deal with the bankers and their legal dept.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I agree with Expat, no need to get any realtor involve in a transaction that both seller and buyer(mother and son) agreed on price. You only need to open Escrow and both parties pay the fees associated with Escrow, you don't even need a real estate lawyer involved in this type of transaction.

I'll tell her this.....her son has already got one involved however.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: opus1
Originally Posted By: expat
WHY have a Realtor at all!!
A good point. Perhaps just a real estate lawyer would suffice?

+ 1 an hour or two of their time is all that should be needed.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: expat
WHY have a Realtor at all!!

My girlfriend has no familiarity with real estate and would have great difficulty taking on this task. She would be overwhelmed without assistance.


So she is willing to pay $13,800 for some hand holding?

 

[BISCUT]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: expat
WHY have a Realtor at all!!

My girlfriend has no familiarity with real estate and would have great difficulty taking on this task. She would be overwhelmed without assistance.


The attorney is more than capable of drafting the bill of sale papers and all the [censored] that goes along with it.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
her son has already got one involved however.

Drop him. The RE agent has nothing to do in this case, so he shouldn't be getting paid. If you keep the RE, the son (or mother) will end up paying his commission for no good reason.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: expat
WHY have a Realtor at all!!

My girlfriend has no familiarity with real estate and would have great difficulty taking on this task. She would be overwhelmed without assistance.


So she is willing to pay $13,800 for some hand holding?

I got the point.

 

[99Saturn]

I agree on just the real estate lawyer being the best path. Most of the work the realtor does, and even a good portion of the lawyer's job (probably varies by state) is getting to the contract.

The realtor really becomes an in between that says things along the lines of, you know you have start working with a bank, lets set up the inspection, etc. Some additional work may fall to the lawyer and/or a mortgage broker, but doubt that's a big deal.

Only question in my mind would be shopping around for a rate and reputation on a lawyer (assuming she doesn't have one in mind already) since the lawyer might see it as doing double work (buyers and sellers atty.).

 

[zb11]

I have lived for most of my life in Washington state. You do not need a real estate attorney, you can have all of the forms filed and filled correctly at an escrow office/title company. They will be able to complete the title docs, file all of the documents with the county, and make the bank transactions. I sold a house on my own several years ago and past a bill of sale I completed with the buyers, the escrow company did all of the rest.

Good luck....... John

 

[SatinSilver]

These guys are correct. Since the realtor didn't help her son find the home then he/she shouldn't get a commission. In WA call up a title company and they can handle everything. NY may require attorneys but not so in the state of WA. I worked for Key bank for a long time in their real estate division.

A purchase agreement will need to be completed and signed by both parties. Which are very easy to do. This is where a real estate attorney may help. But most title companies can help you with this esp if they employ an attorney.

 

[wkcars]

Check to see if the mortgage is assumable, if it's an FHA or VA loan it's likely that it is.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: wkcars
Check to see if the mortgage is assumable, if it's an FHA or VA loan it's likely that it is.

No...the loan is not assumable. Good idea though.

 

[andrewg]

Thanks so far to all that have quickly responded. I just sent her son an email and advised him about all that was said here and not really needing anything more perhaps than a real estate attorney.
Lot's of things to discuss with the girlfriend and her son. Bottom line is being able to sell the property and not owe any fees. She'd like to be free and clear with the debt.