Selling home FSBO and may have offer?

[RetireAge50]

Congratulations Fermion for selling your house and for having a smart and stubborn woman. Those are excellent qualities and she will treat you very well. Enjoy sailing the world together!

 

[ivinsfan]

That's for sure, especially since the first looking made a quick full offer, and the second looker seemed ready to.

It's the OP's business, but I'd rethink this "wife is always right" policy. It's one thing when she's wrong about a tax issue that'll work itself out when you fill out the forms. It's another when it's probably leaving 10s of thousands of dollars on the table. Maybe I'm out of line, but I feel like if this was a woman posting about her husband being this way, a lot of people would be telling her to assert some control. I don't know why it should be different with the roles reversed. That's all I have to say, and in disclosure, I'm divorced and probably not one to listen to for relationship advice.

I'm interested in this thread and want to see if everything works out for the OP. FSBO is an area with a lot of interest on this board. Let's not go down a road that will lead to this thread being closed, please...

 

[pb4uski]

......We had a couple of agents do a walk through last year and they suggested because of the work needed on the house that we list it under $300k.

So we came up with $295k - $15,000 saved in commission and decided a quick sale by owner at the $280k level would be better than potentially spending many months on the market to get top dollar. ....

That is sort of the math we used when we sold our main house 4 years ago. We got a seemingly low-ball no-financing contingency offer with no realtors involved in September just before we were about to list it with a realtor. The way I figured it, it was unlikely to sell in that market in the fall and if it sold in the spring for what I thought it would sell for after deducting commissions and more importantly carrying costs for 6 months (power, heat, snowplowing, taxes, insurance, etc.) we were netting the same amount and a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush. In retrospect a very good decision for us.

 

[harley]

Well congratulations on the offer. I hope we're as lucky. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[harley]

Huh. I got a call a couple of hours ago from my prospective buyer. He's floating a price to me, $235K. I had previously told him I wanted about $250, but I thought that my price was high to leave some negotiation space. If he actually comes through with that offer, I'm going to accept it. Amazing.

So I put a book on request at the library - For Sale by Owner by Robert Irwin | 9781427797469 | Paperback | Barnes & Noble. I'm going to get that one tomorrow, and read it real fast. I might buy another one online if it appears I need to know more.

This is trippy. I really didn't expect anything to come of this. Of course, we'll have to see whether it will appraise high enough to allow him to get his financing. If it comes up just a few $K short, I'll be willing to work with him, especially since we won't be paying agent fees. I hope it all works out.

 

[haha]

Well here's hoping that you soon have the money in your account.



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[cyber888]

Find an Attorney that specialize in Closing Real Estate transactions. An Attorney will take care of payments, escrows, titles, etc.

 

[cyber888]

4,500 sq.ft. for $285K .. 40 min from Seattle .. are you serious? That's cheap. I bet the buyer feels lucky.

House is under contract now. We are splitting the 3% with the buyer and they struck out a few clauses we did not feel comfortable signing. They really really want the house, and I guess getting over a half acre on a top salmon/steelhead river, a 4500 sq-ft house with 5 car garage, all about 40 minutes from Seattle was a good enough deal at $285k.

I am pretty confident the sale will go through since they have 20% down for a conventional loan, but you never know about these things. Still, it looks like we will be homeless in 45 days

Now we can go park our RV in front of haha's condo in Seattle, or partake in Seattle's waterfront free RV park for homeless drug addicts (I have a mean coffee addiction).

 

[harley]

House is under contract now. We are splitting the 3% with the buyer and they struck out a few clauses we did not feel comfortable signing. They really really want the house, and I guess getting over a half acre on a top salmon/steelhead river, a 4500 sq-ft house with 5 car garage, all about 40 minutes from Seattle was a good enough deal at $285k.

I am pretty confident the sale will go through since they have 20% down for a conventional loan, but you never know about these things. Still, it looks like we will be homeless in 45 days

Now we can go park our RV in front of haha's condo in Seattle, or partake in Seattle's waterfront free RV park for homeless drug addicts (I have a mean coffee addiction).

Now I see why people were lining up to buy a house on a salmon river near Seattle. I guess it could also explain why the homeless drug addicts are camping on the waterfront.

Salmon Caught Near Seattle Are Full Of Cocaine And Antidepressants

 

[Fermion]

Deal might be in trouble. Buyer got a quote for flood insurance of $5300 for $250k of coverage. Isn't that just insane? I know FEMA is trying to subsidize Katrina by juicing everyone else but really?

Our last premium in 2015 was $1025 but our elevation certificate needs updating to show we do have flood vents (I uncovered them from the shrubs). Our flood insurance should be around $500 to $600. Not a dime of claims since the house was built in 1985.

I am hoping we can get a updated certificate fast and then find a insurance agent who knows how to submit it to FEMA so the seller can get affordable insurance. Other than that, we would need to find a cash buyer or do owner financing?

 

[harley]

Wow! That's crazy high. I know the gov't changed the rules about flood insurance recently, but in our case even though it nearly doubled the premium it was only from ~$450 to ~$800. We're not in the most dangerous zone, though. Hope you can get that straightened out.

 

[haha]

Would you want to write flood insurance? It seems like likely the only "affordable" flood insurance for a river frontage home would be taxpayer assisted. Flooding has been a common problem up here, and climate seems to be changing in ways that are not likely to make flooding less frequent or serious.

Fermion, I hope your guys gets what he needs to buy your place.

Ha

 

[Fermion]

Would you want to write flood insurance? It seems like likely the only "affordable" flood insurance for a river frontage home would be taxpayer assisted. Flooding has been a common problem up here, and climate seems to be changing in ways that are not likely to make flooding less frequent or serious.

Fermion, I hope your guys gets what he needs to buy your place.

Ha

At $5,000 for $250,000 of coverage for a house that has a 0.1% chance of suffering any damage, yes, I would love to be able to write flood insurance.

And technically I guess I could. If I do owner financing and don't require flood insurance, then essentially I am providing them flood insurance and taking the premium in the form of a slightly larger interest rate. Well, not really. They would not have coverage for their possessions in the event we get a biblical flood and if they walk away from the house after it is destroyed, they would have lost their deposit.

 

[haha]

At $5,000 for $250,000 of coverage for a house that has a 0.1% chance of suffering any damage, yes, I would love to be able to write flood insurance.

And technically I guess I could. If I do owner financing and don't require flood insurance, then essentially I am providing them flood insurance and taking the premium in the form of a slightly larger interest rate. Well, not really. They would not have coverage for their possessions in the event we get a biblical flood and if they walk away from the house after it is destroyed, they would have lost their deposit.

Well, I have no idea what the house's exposure is, so you are likely correct in your assessment.

If you agree that no flood insurance is needed for your owner financing, will the buyers still want to go to close?

When I first moved here from CA, I was interested in a place along the Cedar River. If you come from someplace dry, a river is really attractive. My wife said, no way, José.

But really, in Seattle area we are all in a similar and perhaps more exposed position, with earthquake rather than flood, or perhaps earthquake followed by flood.

Ha

 

[kgtest]

Sounds like fun.

hah!

 

[harley]

I got a contract on the house today. I guess this might really happen. I forwarded it on to the lawyer I found to do the closing. I'll have to do a few things before the sale. The buyer wants the septic tank inspected and pumped, and the furnace inspected. I don't think the septic needs pumping, as the house has sat empty for the past two years and before that it was just my mom. But I'll get it inspected, anyway. The furnace is a good idea, as it also hasn't been used in the past two years. I don't know if having a full tank of oil sitting for that long is a problem or not. I hope not.

I was out there this past weekend with my family to spread Mom's ashes in the river. My 8 month pregnant daughter was with me, so I turned on the water in the house since she needs to pee every 10 minutes. In the process I discovered a pipe had frozen and burst over the winter, even though we turned off the water and blew them out with an air compressor. So I've got to get that fixed too.

Other than that, it sounds like a likely deal. This will be my first no agent sale. It should be interesting. I hope it works out easily and without complications.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Congrats on the offer, Harley! I hope everything goes smoothly for the sale. And that you find no more surprises like the busted pipe!

 

[Fermion]

Nice, grats harley.

Our sale seems to be going along smoothly now and closing is in 2 weeks, then we are homeless.

 

[W2R]

Great news, Fermion and harley!

 

[haha]

Yes, congratulations to you both. If this were easy more people would do it.

Ha

 

[fisherman]

Congratulations on selling FSBO. We just closed on our lake house by owner and it went very well. Saved a bundle on commission. This is our fourth sale by owner. It takes some work and the right personality but it is possible to sale by owner. Now to contract the new lake house without a builder.

 

[harley]

And now come the inevitable potential problems. The buyer is using a VA loan, and according to my lawyer the VA won't approve a loan unless the house is in pristine condition. Which it's not. It's an "as-is" sale. The big specific problem has to do with the underground oil tank. Supposedly it has to be pulled out of the ground inaccordance with EPA and Va. DEQ regs, and inspected by a licensed engineer. I'm not sure if it gets put back afterward or if they want an above ground tank. But in as much as it's in the back of a house on the side of a mountain it would be a PITA to remove. And I'm sure not paying for it.

I don't know if all these issues are real or not, just a heads up from the lawyer. I've passed the information on to the buyer so he can talk it over with his loan people. Now we wait.

 

[MichaelB]

And now come the inevitable potential problems. The buyer is using a VA loan, and according to my lawyer the VA won't approve a loan unless the house is in pristine condition. Which it's not. It's an "as-is" sale. The big specific problem has to do with the underground oil tank. Supposedly it has to be pulled out of the ground inaccordance with EPA and Va. DEQ regs, and inspected by a licensed engineer. I'm not sure if it gets put back afterward or if they want an above ground tank. But in as much as it's in the back of a house on the side of a mountain it would be a PITA to remove. And I'm sure not paying for it.

I don't know if all these issues are real or not, just a heads up from the lawyer. I've passed the information on to the buyer so he can talk it over with his loan people. Now we wait.

Underground oil tanks are quite common among older homes in the NE and Midwest, and I've never heard of any requirement to pull one out for inspection when a house is sold.

 

[Fermion]

Before I accepted our buyer's offer, I made sure they had a conventional loan with 20% down. No FHA or VA BS for an as-is sale. The only real issue we had was the high flood insurance, which was fixed with a simple new survey plus me uncovering the vents (reduced the rate they were getting quoted from $5300 to $380)

 

[harley]

Update: Got the signed contract. There will be an inspection of the oil tank, but just a check for leaks, and I'm sure there aren't any. Now comes the tricky part for the buyer, getting the VA to sign off on the loan. Not my problem, but I hope it goes well. The timing sucks, since DGD#2 will be entering the world in a few days, and I'll be at DD's house for a few weeks. Mostly just standing around or doing handyman projects while DW does the heavy lifting of helping with the baby, but still, I'll be distracted and not at home where all the paperwork is. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that it all goes smoothly.