Buying or Selling a Home/Buying a House by Owner

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Expert: John Hendricks - 6/30/2009


Question
A friend of the family is selling his house and offered it to us to buy.  We are pre-approved for a loan already (FHA)but was wondering what fees are associated with buying a house by owner.  Is there still closing costs? good faith deposit? what is required by the buyer and what is required by the seller to pay? does the seller gather all paperwork? I would just like to gather all information as possible.  Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer
Dear Susie;

Thank you for your question...

The best way to find out what your actual closing costs will be is by asking your Mortgage Broker to prepare a "Estimated Closing Statement". It will identify what costs you would be responsible for at the close of escrow. In addition, ask the Mortgage Broker what required costs would be needed to be paid by the Seller at the close of escrow if any by FHA.

If you are short on cash, there is a term called "A Credit by the Seller Towards the Buyers Non-recurring Closing Costs" These closing costs are considered one time charges that do not occur on a monthly or yearly basis such as title fees, loan costs, etc... This credit is paid for by the Seller at the close of escrow and is allowable by FHA and the investor. Ask the Mortgage Broker to total the items would be considered a non-recurring closing costs prior to entering into a contract with the Seller. If you would like to take advantage of the credit, present the list of allowable closing costs provided by your Mortgage Broker to the Seller as a request instead of a lower offered price or even in addition to a lower offered price.

Ask your Mortgage Broker what is best suited for your situation. If you had a Realtor representing you, he/she would know exactly what to do under the circumstances.

One additional note, if you choose not to use a Realtor to represent you, employ an attorney to review all documentation prior to entering into a contract. It will save you time, money and much unwanted frustration.

Good Luck!

Warmest Regards;
John Hendricks

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John Hendricks

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As a California Realtor for 23 years practicing in Marin and Sonoma Counties, it is now time to provide counsel through AllExperts.com to those who need advise in real estate. My knowledge and experience includes a wide range of resale residential real estate purchases, new home sales, income related investment properties involved in 1031 exchanges, and land. Let me help you in any of these areas...

Experience

John Hendricks has established himself as one of Marin & Sonoma Counties premier Realtors. A native Californian, John is a well-known and respected Realtor in both Marin & Sonoma Counties who has resided in the Northbay since 1976. John began his real estate career in 1986, and since then has distinguished himself as one or Northern California's top producing Realtors. Before joining Frank Howard Allen Realtors, John was an associate of the Prudential California Realty from 1990-1992 where his outstanding sales achievements earned him one of the company's highest honors, the prestigious "President's Circle Membership", presented to the top 2% of associates for sales and earning excellence. Since his association with the highly regarded Frank Howard Allen Realtors in 1992, John has once again established himself as one of his company's Top 10 Producing Realtors in Marin & Sonoma Counties for the years 1993 through 2007 and now in 2008. Five continuous years of outstanding performance has now allowed John to join 15 other Realtors in the prestigious "Lifetime Hall of Fame" for Frank Howard Allen Realtors. John established a group of professional individuals who specialize in a variety of areas in real estate called, 'Lundmark-Hendricks Fine Homes' This group of professionals are dedicated to the success of representing clients with the greatest amount of care and service when either buying or selling real estate.

Organizations
California Association of Realtors National Association of Realtors

Education/Credentials
Upon Request...

Awards and Honors
Frank Howard Allen Realtors "Hall of Fame Member" Chairman's Circle for 10 consecutive years

Past/Present Clients
Joe Louis & Sharon Sigurdson We want to thank you again for your excellent representation of interests during the recent purchase of our home in Petaluma as well as the sell of our home in Mill Valley. We had the unusual pleasure of working with you during the last year both as sellers and buyers. We felt that our interests were always paramount and that we received a very fair price for the sale of the Mill Valley house as well as our purchase of our new home. This speaks particularly well of you, because of the recent unstable and chaotic real estate market. Will Finke "Quite frankly, we came out of a very difficult situation, which time does not allow elaborating on. This was one of the greatest experiences of our lives as clients. John Hendricks is one of the top businessmen I have ever met." Bruce & Nancy Rosentreter "I chose John Hendricks to sell my house. I picked him because I thought he was professional, aggressive, and that he could get top dollar for my house. He fulfilled my expectations completely." Joy Schuelke "Since we were trying to sell a high end home in a very tough market, and in the middle of a very rainy winter, the prospects seemed quite bleak. I was convinced at the time, and am even more so now, that without John's tenure, patience, and tenacity, we would have not been able to move the property." Lynn McCarthy "I cannot stress strongly enough how impressed I was with the service provided to me by John and his group. Throughout the entire transaction, John was always available, always forthcoming with excellent advice based on his years of experience, and always willing to put in the extra effort to make this a positive experience for me. I feel lucky to have had the experience of working with him." Lea Lieurance-Turk "Thank you John for your outstanding real estate services for the past 5 years I have known you. You have made my dreams come true as far as selling and buying property."
http://www.LundmarkHendricksFineHomes.com

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