Expert: Michael McClure - 2/21/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello-
I am a first time seller & looking for any advice you can give me.  I have a 1996 16x75 2 br/2ba home on 1/2 acre lot in St. Martinville, LA I want to sell.  I moved on to the lot about 18 months ago & have not done much to the home & grounds since then.  The house is in good condition (needs minor cosmetics) & I recently put a metal roof on it.  that's a big thing down here.  In this area one can see many new houses with metal roofs. I have a loan with my local bank for the lot & a mortgage with some company that does not have a local branch.  These balances will have to be paid off at purchase.  And I am not sure exactly how I would go about doing that with the mortgage company. I am rather ignorant of the whole procedure & process to selling a home of any sort.  Can you tell me what I need to do?  How to go about doing it? I have a neighbor whose son is coming to look at my home in a couple of days.  He is very much interested right now.  I haven't even given him an asking price!  What is the best way to determine a price?  I don't want to price myself out of the market but also don't want to ask too little. do I have to involve a real estate agent? a title company?  Please help me!  Thank you

ANSWER: Hi Cindy....actually, this becomes a real estate question when you tell me that it's on real property.  My sales are in communities where the park owns the land.
It really should not be a big deal, however. Shop for an agent that you communicate well with, not someone who will just list it and put it on the MLS for others to sell.   You ask the agent to provide you with "comp. reports" for your area, and establish a fair price.  You can negotiate the commission, and other closing costs with them.  They will open escrow when the sale is made, and deal with all the paperwork involved. Escrow will pay off the various liens on the title....suggest you do a short term listing until you know that this company is working hard for you....I would suggest a 90 day contract to see how much it's shown....then you can always change if your not happy. Hope this helped...."~ Michael

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, that helps a lot but I don't really want to list with an agent.  I would like to know what to do if the buyer that is coming by in a couple of days wants to purchase the property.  If that doesn't work out I might consider an agent.

Answer
Don't know how you will determine a sales price, but if you do have a valid offer:  take a cash deposit, get a purchase agreement online or Staples, etc., put down as much info as you can....ser. #, make, year,etc.  I would definitely open escrow somewhere, as they will eventually need to clear the title and do a tax search.  "~ M