19 January 2007

i love portlandiers! they are always so helpful. i got some advice from someone who's house i am interested in buying (maybe)... if anything, for those of you who are like me who know nothing about buying a home, here's something to chew on for starters:

hi Natalie... ya know, I really don't have any particular advice for you. My
house on Rodney that is for sale is the first home that I have ever owned,
and I originally bought it from my landlord about 4 years ago.She sold it to
me on a land contract until I was able to secure financing. That is the
hardest single part of the homebuying process from my experience. Getting
Financing arranged.So, perhaps for starters I would recommend to do some
investigation into different lenders and what options are available to you.
It is a strong asset to you as a buyer to have yourself preapproved for a
mortgage loan so you know exactly what price range to be looking for as well
as the fact that you could offer a quick close on any potential real estate
purchase. This is the first time I have ever sold a home, so I too have been
doing my homework on the matter. I have so far to date been attempting to
sell the house without putting it on the multi-list, in other words, I
havent signed any agreements with any real estate agents. As a seller, I
believe I am responsible to pay any agents fees, even a buyers agent, at the
time of "closing" when the title and property formally change possession.
Those fees, prorated taxes, title transfer and insurance, and property
insurance etc are all handled from the proceeds of the sale and are lumped
together and called closing costs. At this point, since I have not signed
with an agent, I am still willing to pay normal and customary fees to a
sellers agent at the time of closing, should you or any other potential
buyer wish to have a real estate professional involved with purchasing my
home. Having a realtor involved does offer some protection in terms of
liability when it comes to the paperwork involved with sales agreements,
earnest money deposits, escrow accounts and contingencies of the sale, etc
and the other legally binding contracts involved. It does also of course,
raise the costs of the sale to me as the seller by 5-7% which is approx
$10,000 or so... which of course is significant, which is why I haven't
listed my house with an agency as of yet. Personally, I would rather offer
the house for that amount of money less than pay a real estate broker that
much money for the amount of work they do. However, the RMLS is a huge
marketing tool and no other form of advertising gets nearly the same amount
of exposure. So, I am supposed to be meeting with an agent this afternoon to
discuss marketing stragies and market value of my home, etc.

Anyway, I hope this rambling note has had some value to you, and I
hope that you are still interested in looking at my house! Do feel free to
call if you would like to set up an appointment with me to check it out.
Otherwise, best of luck in your endeavors to find a new home!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Selling a house in Oregon does not require the assistance of an attorney because Oregon is an escrow state. The advice about getting preapproved is excellent, and you should certainly do so. The person selling the house should get in touch with an escrow company, and he or she is under no obligation to pay for the buyer's realtor fees, unless he or she consents to it. In other words, that person can say that any realtor fees must be paid above the asking cost. Also, he or she may negotiate with a realtor for a lower than 3 percent fee -- that's 3 percent per side, for a total of 6 percent. Some realtors will take less (and should!).

As for you buying a home, you need to get your financial ducks in a row and visit a local bank. You should develop a relationship with a lender. I strongly advise against national lending entities (countrywide, etc.) and, if you can, avoid a mortgage broker. Go straight to the bank.

HL

natalie said...

thanks so much for the advice!