Buying Short Sales From For Sale By Owners
A FSBO is an acronym for "For Sale by Owner," and it means the seller is unrepresented by an agent. If you, too, are unrepresented by an agent, winging this process on your own, the best advice anybody can give you is to hire a real estate lawyer. In fact, even if you are working with a real estate agent, you should obtain legal advice from a person licensed to give it to you, which is to say don't ask or rely on your agent for legal advice.
Moreover, bear in mind that the seller is probably not your friend. Your objectives likely oppose those of the seller's. A seller in foreclosure may be desperate for a sale, but that doesn't mean that a seller won't try to take advantage of you or later come back to sue you. Plus, there is absolutely no guarantee that the seller's lender will agree to accept less than the amount owed on the home.
The last thing you need is to be packed, ready to move, only to discover at the 11th hour that the lender has decided to renegotiate your contract and ask for more money. Here are guidelines you can use to protect yourself and get out of the transaction if need be . . . read more
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Comments
Hi Elizabeth,
Its weird that you mention FSBO’s short selling. Although I guess its possible, I have never actually seen a home owner trying to negotiate with the bank directly, especially without the knowledge of an experienced agent.
I thought I would let you know that I too came across a property that was being short saled by an agent from ReMax. We had verbally ratified the an offer, through not typical in real estate (I wanted a quick settlement for more leverage) and I sent over the contract. 5% off asking price at an already discounted market rate, 15 day closing & no contingencies. 4 days later (and 11 days from closing) THEY RENEGOTIATE THE PRICE!!!!
I turned down the counteroffer and decided on something else but it was truly unexpected.
Thanks again for the great articles
Developersagent
That’s why experienced agents will always get a contract in writing because they have worked in the business long enough to know it’s not valid otherwise. But FSBO short sale sellers are not uncommon. Lots of unrepresented sellers believe they can handle a sale by themselves, and some of them can - but not very many of them are successful.