The Art of a Nearly Non-Deal
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| I think this is the one... |
Perhaps you found someone looking to sell their house
privately, someone who wants to avoid the thousands of dollars of commission a
Realtor would make for doing nothing more than getting someone to sign some
papers from a Real Estate For Dummies handbook. Perhaps this sounds like a great idea in the short term – maybe it’s
family, maybe it’s an acquaintance you've known for years.
Perhaps you should rethink that idea before everyone gets too excited and starts planning renovations or Mexican holidays.
Now I’m not advocating entirely for one way or the other – there are thousands
of private sales that go through without a hitch. There might be a few small
hiccups along the way, but as long as everyone is negotiating in good faith,
happy is as happy does. Unfortunately there are also
thousands of Realtors out there with more than a few that push potential
clients into a house that they may not be happy with in order to receive that
juicy commission. Like everyone else, when looking for a Realtor, ask for referrals. There are plenty of
good Realtors out there and there are bad ones which gives the others a bad name and is why private sales or Do-It-Yourself companies like The Property Guys have become such a popular option in recent
years.
That said, here’s some warning signs that you should be wary
of when attempting to purchase privately and trying to shave a few thousand
dollars from your mortgage by using a do it yourself kit. If you step back and remind
yourself that this is a deal worth perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars, when
and if a delay happens everyone can continue to work diligently to making the
deal happen. That said, the most stressful factors in attempting a private
sale (from my own personal experience);
