JewelryQueen!

[Blossom]

Please I need to pick your brain about real estate. I don't know if procedures differ from state to state but hoping you can help with general info. I 'assume' my realtor will be of some help but I'd still like your expertise.

If I accept an offer from prospective buyer what happens next? I am speaking with my realtor first thing in the morning & I don't like surprises!

[JewelryQueen]

@Blossom

Sorry I didn't get back sooner but I walked some cherry pie to my geezer friend down the block. He likes to yak and so do I.

Some procedures vary state to state but the vast majority are the same. First thing you need to know is if the Buyer's offer is what you asked for in the Purchase and Sale Agreement, or if they offering less than your full purchase price. This is a counter offer and your Realtor should already have already asked you if this is acceptable.

Once both parties agree on the price the next step is to open an escrow account that the Buyer deposits their Earnest Money into. This account (and any monies and documents deposited into) are usually handled by a real estate attorney, title company, or escrow company depending on which is customary in your state. This is your Closing Agent. Unless specified otherwise in your Agreement, if the sale falls through due to no fault of the Seller, the Seller gets to keep the money. This is called a Non-Refundable Earnest Money deposit.

The next step is usually for an appraisal to be done to verify that the property is worth what you are asking (although this can be done at several stages of the process). The Seller pays for this and it is usually paid out of the proceeds from the sale. The Buyer may also request a home inspection but they normally pay for this.

Then unless it is a cash sale, the Buyer needs to obtain a loan. The Buyers may already be pre-approved for a loan, which will make the process go faster. It is usually to the Seller's advantage for the Buyer to get a Conventional loan versus a VA or FHA loan as the VA or FHA limit some of the closing costs the Buyer can pay as a condition of the loan, which leaves the seller to pay for these costs. Hopefully your Realtor explained this to you already. Once all the conditions of the loan are met the Lender sends loan documents for the Buyer to sign. Your Closing Agent will draw up the documents you need to sign to put the property in the Buyer's name (ie a Deed to the property, etc,) Once all the paperwork is approved the Lender wires the money to pay you your proceeds to the Escrow agent, who then calls the County to record the documents putting the property in the Buyer's name. And Voila' you are done!

This is a rough overview and special circumstances may apply as this is an "Estate" sale. If your have any more questions, please feel free to ask me.

I need to do a disclosure here that I am not an attorney and that my Limited Practice Officer's License is not current so I am not currently an officer of the Court and I am not offering legal advice.

[Blossom]

JewelryQueen, thank you so much for taking your time to give me a head start of what to expect.

My realtor is calling in the morning to discuss an offer on my late parents farm. He has not to this point given any information on how things proceed if I accept an offer. I feel like I'm entering into uncharted territory & don't want to be duped into paying certain things if not necessary.

Thank you for the info

[JewelryQueen]

Hoping I didn't throw too much at you at once. I also sure wish I had a way to see any documents you are asked to sign.

Keep in mind the Realtor works for you and if you need time to think about anything, (or consult with a friend) that is perfectly acceptable.

Good Luck!!

[JewelryQueen]

Awesome

Don't forget to keep me posted on how things are going as I was actually starting to feel useful again. (combined with being a terrible snoop as well.)

[Blossom]

Hoping I didn't throw too much at you at once. I also sure wish I had a way to see any documents you are asked to sign.

Keep in mind the Realtor works for you and if you need time to think about anything, (or consult with a friend) that is perfectly acceptable.

Good Luck!!

@JewelryQueen

More help please! (I'm sorry, maybe just once more?)

The prospective buyers want me to pay half of survey cost. The only deed I have is the original. There have been 2 different conveyances over the years but PVA acreage (which is I'm told, frequently wrong) doesn't match acreage from deed after subtracting the 2 conveyances. And they want 30 days for due diligence (after earnest money). Do both of these things seem reasonable? If I haven't confused you I'll be surprised because this whole thing is confusing me.

I plan to counter with something. Have until 5pm (cst) tomorrow to wrap my head around it all. I wish you were my realtor or at the least I could re-pay you for sharing your knowledge.

[JewelryQueen]

Blossom

The 30 days for due diligence after the earnest money deposit is pretty standard as long as they are actually depositing money and not a Note (promise to pay) as those can be hard to collect on if the deal flips.

The PVA question is hard to answer without knowing the purchase price, approximate total acreage for sale, approximate acreage in question, and current survey costs in your state. Are the buyers worried about how much land they are getting, or where the property lines are? If you have a preliminary title insurance report that addresses this issue and what their conditions are for insuring the property for the Buyers, you might call the Title Company.(It might be unavoidable to not do a survey in order to sell to anyone.) Do you have any idea how much this survey would cost? It may not be unreasonable at all to split the cost if it MUST be done and not just because the Buyers want one. Your counter offer might say you will pay half the survey cost or X amount of money WHICHEVER IS LESS.

I hope I am not confusing you even more. PLEASE feel free to ask any questions you think I can help with. I really don't mind.

[Blossom]

Blossom

The 30 days for due diligence after the earnest money deposit is pretty standard as long as they are actually depositing money and not a Note (promise to pay) as those can be hard to collect on if the deal flips.

The PVA question is hard to answer without knowing the purchase price, approximate total acreage for sale, approximate acreage in question, and current survey costs in your state. Are the buyers worried about how much land they are getting, or where the property lines are? If you have a preliminary title insurance report that addresses this issue and what their conditions are for insuring the property for the Buyers, you might call the Title Company.(It might be unavoidable to not do a survey in order to sell to anyone.) Do you have any idea how much this survey would cost? It may not be unreasonable at all to split the cost if it MUST be done and not just because the Buyers want one. Your counter offer might say you will pay half the survey cost or X amount of money WHICHEVER IS LESS.

I hope I am not confusing you even more. PLEASE feel free to ask any questions you think I can help with. I really don't mind.

Preliminary title insurance report? You got me there!..so I'm gonna say I don't have that.

PVA has approx 20 less acres but as I mentioned, (according to my realtor) they are frequently wrong. I think acreage according to deed & conveyances is correct. I guess it's like they are willing to pay $XX per acre & the total acreage will depend on correct acreage (from possible survey) which will then determine what they pay. I don't understand why price must be based per acre...why can't my realtor just say 'here's the property, if you want to know the acreage that's your business if/after you purchase'...seems simpler to me.

Another thing, they want a closing date May 15th. That seems like a longer time than I would have thought but maybe it isn't.

Realtor gave me ballpark figure of survey & I just don't remember. Keep in mind I had to get up at daylight (never my best time for business) to call realtor back because he needed to be on the road 30 min later.

I'm sorry to get you mixed up in my mess. I hope you know how helpful you are to me!

[Gemsnob]

Blossom

The 30 days for due diligence after the earnest money deposit is pretty standard as long as they are actually depositing money and not a Note (promise to pay) as those can be hard to collect on if the deal flips.

The PVA question is hard to answer without knowing the purchase price, approximate total acreage for sale, approximate acreage in question, and current survey costs in your state. Are the buyers worried about how much land they are getting, or where the property lines are? If you have a preliminary title insurance report that addresses this issue and what their conditions are for insuring the property for the Buyers, you might call the Title Company.(It might be unavoidable to not do a survey in order to sell to anyone.) Do you have any idea how much this survey would cost? It may not be unreasonable at all to split the cost if it MUST be done and not just because the Buyers want one. Your counter offer might say you will pay half the survey cost or X amount of money WHICHEVER IS LESS.

I hope I am not confusing you even more. PLEASE feel free to ask any questions you think I can help with. I really don't mind.

Preliminary title insurance report? You got me there!..so I'm gonna say I don't have that.

PVA has approx 20 less acres but as I mentioned, (according to my realtor) they are frequently wrong. I think acreage according to deed & conveyances is correct. I guess it's like they are willing to pay $XX per acre & the total acreage will depend on correct acreage (from possible survey) which will then determine what they pay. I don't understand why price must be based per acre...why can't my realtor just say 'here's the property, if you want to know the acreage that's your business if/after you purchase'...seems simpler to me.

Another thing, they want a closing date May 15th. That seems like a longer time than I would have thought but maybe it isn't.

Realtor gave me ballpark figure of survey & I just don't remember. Keep in mind I had to get up at daylight (never my best time for business) to call realtor back because he needed to be on the road 30 min later.

I'm sorry to get you mixed up in my mess. I hope you know how helpful you are to me!

I don't know how many acres you're talking about but is it possible the buyers are wanting to parcel it out or build a subdivision on it? That would explain why they want to know a definite answer to the amount of acres.

[Blossom]

Blossom

The 30 days for due diligence after the earnest money deposit is pretty standard as long as they are actually depositing money and not a Note (promise to pay) as those can be hard to collect on if the deal flips.

The PVA question is hard to answer without knowing the purchase price, approximate total acreage for sale, approximate acreage in question, and current survey costs in your state. Are the buyers worried about how much land they are getting, or where the property lines are? If you have a preliminary title insurance report that addresses this issue and what their conditions are for insuring the property for the Buyers, you might call the Title Company.(It might be unavoidable to not do a survey in order to sell to anyone.) Do you have any idea how much this survey would cost? It may not be unreasonable at all to split the cost if it MUST be done and not just because the Buyers want one. Your counter offer might say you will pay half the survey cost or X amount of money WHICHEVER IS LESS.

I hope I am not confusing you even more. PLEASE feel free to ask any questions you think I can help with. I really don't mind.

Preliminary title insurance report? You got me there!..so I'm gonna say I don't have that.

PVA has approx 20 less acres but as I mentioned, (according to my realtor) they are frequently wrong. I think acreage according to deed & conveyances is correct. I guess it's like they are willing to pay $XX per acre & the total acreage will depend on correct acreage (from possible survey) which will then determine what they pay. I don't understand why price must be based per acre...why can't my realtor just say 'here's the property, if you want to know the acreage that's your business if/after you purchase'...seems simpler to me.

Another thing, they want a closing date May 15th. That seems like a longer time than I would have thought but maybe it isn't.

Realtor gave me ballpark figure of survey & I just don't remember. Keep in mind I had to get up at daylight (never my best time for business) to call realtor back because he needed to be on the road 30 min later.

I'm sorry to get you mixed up in my mess. I hope you know how helpful you are to me!

@JewelryQueen

Forgot to mention, my realtor told me it's an all cash sale...if that makes a difference about anything?

I think it's a group of out of state hunters going in together. It seems to be the trend in this area because they are able to pay more for land than most locals.