OT: for sale by owner house

[texbike]

We have some friends that just bought an off-market house on our street. They REALLY wanted to be on the street and were as flexible as possible on the transaction. They gave the owner a six-month lease-back to allow her enough time to move after being there for close to 25 years.

They also wrote her a letter and made an unsolicited, above-market cash offer on the house. Crazy times!

Texbike

[ripvanrando]

I would not close on a house with the previous owners still residing there. If they do not move out as agreed, you might never get them out depending on the laws in your state and especially if they have kids. I'd pay the extra mortgage fees to extend the closing, if possible.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by B4_Ford

What is your job so I can make wildly misinformed and inaccurate generalizations about it?

Guess you are a realtor. I tried a FSBO in the late 70s, in Tampa, interest rates were in the high teens/ W/o a real estate agent, I would have been screwed(stationed in Japan for next duty station).

Same for 1993, retired, was moving, quit jobs...then home buyer backed out at last minute. REALLY great agent, went back thru the guest list for an open house, called everyone of them and found a buyer. WHEN real estate market in San Diego TANKED due to the Soviet Union dissolving and defense industry tanked around SD.

HA..when in the bike shop trenches..when some guy brought in a gooned up DIY bike repair or build, I would ask them what they did for a living..and I'd say, 'tell ya what, you don't do bike wrenching and I won't do 'IT' stuff'...

[SlowPokePete]

Originally Posted by B4_Ford

What is your job so I can make wildly misinformed and inaccurate generalizations about it?

Ever wonder what it's like to be a public school teacher?

SPP

[boywander]

FWIW, a friend of mine bought and sold using https://www.forsalebyowner.com
He saved so money not going through the system..

[jtakeda]

I don’t know much about rent backs but I have about a million FSBO or owner carry property stories that I could tell you but don’t want to publish online.

There are times it works and times you get screwed.

[cp43]

Originally Posted by yngpunk

Why not just push for a further out closing date as part of the sale contract? May need to pay extra fees to have your mortgage rate lock for longer than 45-60 days, but shouldn't be too unreasonable. This is where a mortgage broker may be helpful in helping you find a lender who is amicable to this. This way, sellers know they need to move once contract is signed, but have additional time and you can confirm that house is empty and as negotiated condition before closing, but sellers are responsible for maintenance and upkeep until closing date Also, gives you an "out" (but may cost you your earnest money) if you find something else/better between contract signing and closing date.

We did this with our house. We signed a contract around January, but since the seller was a school teacher, we agreed to close in June. It worked out very well for us.

Chris

[C40_guy]

So exciting @Tickdoc, we will keep our fingers crossed for you!

[Tickdoc]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

So exciting @Tickdoc, we will keep our fingers crossed for you!

thanks, it has been such a weird feeling to be "houseless". Nice being "mortgageless", but odd, nontheless. It did allow me to clear up some debts and reprioritze things. My biggest task will be to not junk stuff up in the future.

[ceya]

Get a plat of the property also.

A plat map, known simply as "plat", is a map drawn to scale by a civil engineer and shows the divisions of a piece of land - and in your case, your new property!. ... It will show you how the tract of land is divided into home lots, the size of your property's land, streets, rights of way, flood zones, and boundaries.
https://www.gobalboa.com/blog/2017/5...-your-property

[Tickdoc]

Just a little update….wife is on board.

Struck up a deal with the sellers yesterday. Nothing written down yet, but we agreed on a price. Now I have to get busy with financials, real estate atty, inspections, title search, etc.

They estimate 2 months to get out. I can wait that long.

Spoke with an architect today, showed her some pics and she sounded pumped to see what can be done.

Spoke with a builder and that is going to be the toughest part. Build out prices are crazy as can be and purely estimates these days.

House is dog ugly right now, but there is potential. Comes with a bike barn, a greenhouse, another three bay barn for storage, two ponds and a long private gated driveway.

After riding by this place for years, I can’t wait to get back to a doorstep ride ready place…I really miss that. 8 miles to work on lightly travelled roads and hills up or down all around.

Thanks for all the advice and can’t wait to get the ball rolling on this one!

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

After riding by this place for years, I can’t wait to get back to a doorstep ride ready place…I really miss that. 8 miles to work on lightly travelled roads and hills up or down all around.

Thanks for all the advice and can’t wait to get the ball rolling on this one!

Fingers crossed for you. It sounds like a great opportunity.

There's nothing like a doorstep ride-ready place. It's really nice to start with "nice miles" instead of a "junk miles" transit. It can put you in your happy place from the get go.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

Spoke with an architect today, showed her some pics and she sounded pumped to see what can be done.

Spoke with a builder and that is going to be the toughest part. Build out prices are crazy as can be and purely estimates these days.

House is dog ugly right now, but there is potential.

I hope it all works out for you.

My only comment, which I'm sure you've already thought about, is this:

Time schedule and budget permitting, I'd suggest that you do as much modification work as possible before you move in. Any significant work while you're there is a big hassle.

However, one benefit of making changes after you've lived there a while is that by then you're likely to have a better feel for what needs to be changed and what's just fine as it is.

Good Luck

[gavingould]

on our third transaction with a trusted realtor and attorney team. they've added a lot of value as the realtor is a former home inspector, and is also handling a lot of dealing with local tradespersons fixing up a few things on a condo we are selling from across the country.

never done a real estate deal without realtor/attorneys. could be great and money saved if buyer and seller are savvy and honest.

[yngpunk]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

Just a little update….wife is on board.

Struck up a deal with the sellers yesterday. Nothing written down yet, but we agreed on a price. Now I have to get busy with financials, real estate atty, inspections, title search, etc.

They estimate 2 months to get out. I can wait that long.

Spoke with an architect today, showed her some pics and she sounded pumped to see what can be done.

Spoke with a builder and that is going to be the toughest part. Build out prices are crazy as can be and purely estimates these days.

House is dog ugly right now, but there is potential. Comes with a bike barn, a greenhouse, another three bay barn for storage, two ponds and a long private gated driveway.

After riding by this place for years, I can’t wait to get back to a doorstep ride ready place…I really miss that. 8 miles to work on lightly travelled roads and hills up or down all around.

Thanks for all the advice and can’t wait to get the ball rolling on this one!

I'd get an attorney to write up and/or review a sale contract so you can "lock" in your deal and agree on terms and potentially ward off other offers and cold feet on sellers part. No need to start spending on other services until you get a signed contract, which should be your first priority.