What is the process for conducting a private real estate transaction in California?
rauldr07 asked:
I am considering buying a condo from an ex-coworker and we are trying to do it at the minimum cost by not involving real state agents. What is the best way to do this? Deal with a real estate lawyer? Draw up a residential purchase agreement and then deal with the title and escrow company ourselves? I’d be interested in hearing from anyone that has gone through this process themselves, thank you.
Create a video blog…instantly.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Real Estate.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
I am considering buying a condo from an ex-coworker and we are trying to do it at the minimum cost by not involving real state agents. What is the best way to do this? Deal with a real estate lawyer? Draw up a residential purchase agreement and then deal with the title and escrow company ourselves? I’d be interested in hearing from anyone that has gone through this process themselves, thank you.
Create a video blog…instantly.
November 1st, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Caffeinated Content for WordPress
First let me Say, It is Very Stressful. If you go to the Library, and Ask for a Reference Book that Explains the Process, I know they can Direct you. THere are some SERIOUS LAWS involved in a Real Estate Transaction. Please Be Cautious. You can Be Sued over the Smallest in acuracy in a Real Estate Transaction
November 4th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Create a video blog
Hiring a real estate attorney is a great idea.
You could also find a local for sale by owner company and go there. They have all the contracts, attorneys, etc… Most allow you to pay them alacarte for the specific services you need.
You can also pay a realtor a consulting fee to assist you with the contract and other issues.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:46 am
Caffeinated Content
It is not stressful as the first answer said — they didn’t say how they would know this…
In California, every real estate transaction has to go through escrow and they are going to charge you and the seller fees and do all of the work involved in title searches, transfer of funds, etc so you do not need to hire a lawyer.
My husband and I bought a townhome in CA without a real estate agent — the sellers did it “for sale by owner” and the real estate agent that was selling them their new home just gave them some basic real estate docs, which I am sure you can purchase online (one to fill in our info as we made the offer), that’s about the only one I remember, after that we decided to use their same lender and then the lender recommened Chicago Title and they did the escrow. 5 years later everything is peachy!
We also bought a condo in AZ without a real estate agent on our side, the sellers agent just tok in our offer, we had some negotiation and again, went into escrow for all of the legal details and to finalize the deal. You’ll want to be sure and have an inspection, but that’s just common sense.
Try contacting an escrow company directly with the seller (your friend) and see what it would take for them to get you into escrow — call a few escrow firms and compare services and prices. In some states (mostly east coast) where it is not mandatory that real estate transactions be handled through escrow, it does make sense to get an attorney; but not in CA.
Good luck!