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what does the lawyer do? The title company searched (? may be the wrong word) the title, provided contract forms which we filled out together at my home, took my buyer's money, paid off one small lien on my property, and mailed me a check after closing, which took place at their office.
I know my deal was small potatoes and I had an eager buyer, but what exactly does a lawyer do that the title company did not?
This is to Native NY, I am currently offering my house of 35 years for sale & I had read books and planned to do FSBO because our market is so hot, and the 6% commission would be so very huge. Also I have had some very good & very bad experiences with realtors.
In completing my research I have found that most houses in my area sell "off-shore" in China, Hong Kong, etc with all cash offers & just viewing the video. That's when I decided to bring in a realtor who speaks Cantonese & Mandarin & Korean. I found a website that I believe is national (can I mention its name on this forum?) and they asked what I wanted in a realtor and realtors gave me online bids. My emphasis was that I wanted it marketed internationally & commission below 4%. I got proposals from 5 Realtors, their offers included staging, landscaping help, photos, videos in different languages posted to Asisn MLS, flyers, etc & of course commission bid.
So my house is on the market now in Asia, creating what my realtor calls "pent up demand" and will go to conventional MLS on Monday, it is also on Facebook and my Realtor is holding a VIP tour for people expressing interest before the open house. Staging is beautiful, and all of this BELOW 4% commission. It has been nice to have my realtor handle inspections & disclosures.
Good Luck on your sale. Mine is so far MUCH less stressful than I had anticipated. So very glad I found this Realtor & jumped off the FSBO plan.
This is to Native NY, I am currently offering my house of 35 years for sale & I had read books and planned to do FSBO because our market is so hot, and the 6% commission would be so very huge. Also I have had some very good & very bad experiences with realtors.
In completing my research I have found that most houses in my area sell "off-shore" in China, Hong Kong, etc with all cash offers & just viewing the video. That's when I decided to bring in a realtor who speaks Cantonese & Mandarin & Korean. I found a website that I believe is national (can I mention its name on this forum?) and they asked what I wanted in a realtor and realtors gave me online bids. My emphasis was that I wanted it marketed internationally & commission below 4%. I got proposals from 5 Realtors, their offers included staging, landscaping help, photos, videos in different languages posted to Asisn MLS, flyers, etc & of course commission bid.
So my house is on the market now in Asia, creating what my realtor calls "pent up demand" and will go to conventional MLS on Monday, it is also on Facebook and my Realtor is holding a VIP tour for people expressing interest before the open house. Staging is beautiful, and all of this BELOW 4% commission. It has been nice to have my realtor handle inspections & disclosures.
Good Luck on your sale. Mine is so far MUCH less stressful than I had anticipated. So very glad I found this Realtor & jumped off the FSBO plan.
Sounds exciting. and while you decided against FSBO, you are still going a less traditional route after researching your options. I think, ultimately, that is what this thread is about.
what does the lawyer do? The title company searched (? may be the wrong word) the title, provided contract forms which we filled out together at my home, took my buyer's money, paid off one small lien on my property, and mailed me a check after closing, which took place at their office.
I know my deal was small potatoes and I had an eager buyer, but what exactly does a lawyer do that the title company did not?
May vary state to state.
Lawyers advise on all obvious and potential legal problems. One lawyer I had advised me on large items like the specific wording in the Offer to Purchase and later in the binding Purchase & Sale agreement, another advised me on smaller things (both of them spelled these things out in the contract, whereas I would not have known to do so), like any contingencies I wanted, and negotiating with the other party's lawyer to modify contingencies that the buyer wanted.
The title search was part of what was paid for in the "closing costs," and in my case was arranged by the lawyer. The generic Offer to Purchase Form and the final Purchase and Sale Agreement can be found online, but again it's generic and not specific to any one case. The lawyer also held deposits in escrow.
I had not thought of hiring a title company for this process. I'd like to know more. Most lawyers handling straightforward sales around here charge from $800–$1500K, or more if there's complications.
PS: Under no circumstances would I take legal advice of any kind from a realtor.
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