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Types of Transactions
Cash Sale: In most cases, the seller is going to be looking for what is called a cash sale.
That means the buyer needs to come up with 100% financing. If the buyer can get an FHA
loan, the down payment will be approximately 3%. A conventional loan from a bank or
mortgage company will require a down payment of between 0% and 20% depending on the
loan product.
Real Estate Contract - Seller Financing: In some cases the buyer may make an offer on a
home and ask that the seller carry the purchase price. In that case, normally the buyer will be
putting down between 10%-20% and the seller will "carry a contract". In that case the parties
will enter into a contract for monthly payments. When the contract is paid, then the seller will
provide a deed to the property. Real estate contracts can be risky and you should get an
attorney to review the sale prior to entering into such a contract.
Cash Sale: In most cases, the seller is going to be looking for what is called a cash sale.
That means the buyer needs to come up with 100% financing. If the buyer can get an FHA
loan, the down payment will be approximately 3%. A conventional loan from a bank or
mortgage company will require a down payment of between 0% and 20% depending on the
loan product.
Real Estate Contract - Seller Financing: In some cases the buyer may make an offer on a
home and ask that the seller carry the purchase price. In that case, normally the buyer will be
putting down between 10%-20% and the seller will "carry a contract". In that case the parties
will enter into a contract for monthly payments. When the contract is paid, then the seller will
provide a deed to the property. Real estate contracts can be risky and you should get an
attorney to review the sale prior to entering into such a contract.
What will my Payments be?
Using a Realtor:
There are very good reasons for a SELLER to list their home with a realtor. A good realtor
won't just list a home on the multiple listing service and forget about it. He or she will perform
the following services
For a BUYER, getting the assistance of a realtor should be viewed with some caution. While its
extremely useful to have the assistance of a good professional in locating and showing you
potential homes that fit your needs and ability to pay, you should remember that in most
cases, the realtor is working for the seller, and will be paid based on the sales price of the
home. In Oregon, the law allows realtors to work for both buyer and seller. A buyer who is
working with a realtor should ask that realtor whether they are working for the seller only, the
buyer only, or both the buyer and the seller. Then the buyer should ask themselves how much
information they should divulge to the realtor, especially in regards to how high they are willing
to bid on a property.
As LAWYERS, we are not allowed to represent a buyer and a seller. So we work only in your
best interests and will not work for both sides in a transaction. So even if you have a realtor
who you are working with, you may still want to hire an attorney, whether its us or some other
firm, to review all the documents before you sign.
Finding a Home
We invite you to look at our client listings of course, but there are many on line resources to
finding a home. We'd also recommend that you visit the websites of realtors and brokers. But
there are many other sites on line where you can go as well.
Multiple Listing Service Most areas have whats called a multiple listing service, or MLS. All
licensed realtors can, and do, list the homes they have for sale in the MLS. You can search
the MLS listings in your area on line. Go here, for access to the Oregon/Washington MLS
search engine.
Other Good resources:
www.Craigslist.com This bulletin board type services will list homes that you can sort
by county, and price. You can also look for homes all over the world. Has homes listed by
realtors and FSBO's.
www.Trulia.com. You can search for homes for sale, by interactive map.
www.zillow.com. Can find homes for sale, estimated values for homes and something
called make me move where people can go and put a price on their home that they'd sell for,
even though the home isn't "for sale"
FSBO sites: There's almost too many to list. So the best thing to do is to go to your
favorite search engine and search for FSBO, or homes for sale by owner. You may want to
include a geographic location as well to narrow the results a bit.
Print Media: Don't forget the "old fashioned" way of finding a home. Your locan and
regional newspapers, as well as realtor printed inserts and magazines that are available at
your local supermarket, among other places.
There are very good reasons for a SELLER to list their home with a realtor. A good realtor
won't just list a home on the multiple listing service and forget about it. He or she will perform
the following services
- Help you set up your home so that it shows to its highest potential
- Help you set a selling price that is competitive in the market.
- Hold an open house, both for fellow realtors and for the public
- Advertise your home
- Pre-Qualify buyers before they tour your home so only open your home to people
- Assist you in negotiating and evaluating an offer
- Assist in setting up escrow and explaining the purchase and sale documents
For a BUYER, getting the assistance of a realtor should be viewed with some caution. While its
extremely useful to have the assistance of a good professional in locating and showing you
potential homes that fit your needs and ability to pay, you should remember that in most
cases, the realtor is working for the seller, and will be paid based on the sales price of the
home. In Oregon, the law allows realtors to work for both buyer and seller. A buyer who is
working with a realtor should ask that realtor whether they are working for the seller only, the
buyer only, or both the buyer and the seller. Then the buyer should ask themselves how much
information they should divulge to the realtor, especially in regards to how high they are willing
to bid on a property.
As LAWYERS, we are not allowed to represent a buyer and a seller. So we work only in your
best interests and will not work for both sides in a transaction. So even if you have a realtor
who you are working with, you may still want to hire an attorney, whether its us or some other
firm, to review all the documents before you sign.
Finding a Home
We invite you to look at our client listings of course, but there are many on line resources to
finding a home. We'd also recommend that you visit the websites of realtors and brokers. But
there are many other sites on line where you can go as well.
Multiple Listing Service Most areas have whats called a multiple listing service, or MLS. All
licensed realtors can, and do, list the homes they have for sale in the MLS. You can search
the MLS listings in your area on line. Go here, for access to the Oregon/Washington MLS
search engine.
Other Good resources:
www.Craigslist.com This bulletin board type services will list homes that you can sort
by county, and price. You can also look for homes all over the world. Has homes listed by
realtors and FSBO's.
www.Trulia.com. You can search for homes for sale, by interactive map.
www.zillow.com. Can find homes for sale, estimated values for homes and something
called make me move where people can go and put a price on their home that they'd sell for,
even though the home isn't "for sale"
FSBO sites: There's almost too many to list. So the best thing to do is to go to your
favorite search engine and search for FSBO, or homes for sale by owner. You may want to
include a geographic location as well to narrow the results a bit.
Print Media: Don't forget the "old fashioned" way of finding a home. Your locan and
regional newspapers, as well as realtor printed inserts and magazines that are available at
your local supermarket, among other places.
Setting the Price:
If you have a realtor, she or he will perform a market comparison and suggest the
appropriate sales price. But if you want to try to sell your home without a realtor, how do the
seller and prospective buyer have any confidence that the sales price is appropriate? And
remember, if the purchase price is too high, even if you get a sale under contract, the bank
that is financing the sale will do an appraisal, and if the sales price is higher than market
value, the bank loan will be based on their appraised price, not the sales price. This could
easily scuttle a sale, or send everyone back to the negotiating table.
Appraisal: If you're selling your home by yourself, I suggest you get an appraisal right up
front. This will help you negotiate a fair price with a potential buyer, give the buyer confidence
that they are getting a fair deal, and help avoid unforeseen problems with the bank appraisal.
Internet Resources: www.zillow.com purports to give you a market price for homes. I
doubt that it is the real market price, but what it can be useful for is as a starting point and as a
place to look at relative pricing. You can view homes for sale in the area where you're located
and their list price, and compare to your home, or target home. You can also use the sorting
functions to search for comparable homes. You can also go to the MLS and do your own
market comparison by searching for homes that are in your geographic area and have the
same characteristics of your home.
If you have a realtor, she or he will perform a market comparison and suggest the
appropriate sales price. But if you want to try to sell your home without a realtor, how do the
seller and prospective buyer have any confidence that the sales price is appropriate? And
remember, if the purchase price is too high, even if you get a sale under contract, the bank
that is financing the sale will do an appraisal, and if the sales price is higher than market
value, the bank loan will be based on their appraised price, not the sales price. This could
easily scuttle a sale, or send everyone back to the negotiating table.
Appraisal: If you're selling your home by yourself, I suggest you get an appraisal right up
front. This will help you negotiate a fair price with a potential buyer, give the buyer confidence
that they are getting a fair deal, and help avoid unforeseen problems with the bank appraisal.
Internet Resources: www.zillow.com purports to give you a market price for homes. I
doubt that it is the real market price, but what it can be useful for is as a starting point and as a
place to look at relative pricing. You can view homes for sale in the area where you're located
and their list price, and compare to your home, or target home. You can also use the sorting
functions to search for comparable homes. You can also go to the MLS and do your own
market comparison by searching for homes that are in your geographic area and have the
same characteristics of your home.
| " Home With Counsel " - Sponsored by Harris Law Firm, PC - |
Whether you're a buyer looking for additional information on financing, or a seller
trying to figure out how to set a price on your home. Here are some resources
you may find helpful.
trying to figure out how to set a price on your home. Here are some resources
you may find helpful.
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Resources, Links, Research tools,
calculators, other sites of interest,
calculators, other sites of interest,
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Loans:
There are many loan products out there. Here's a sampling of the most common
FHA: Generally available for most people. Fixed Rates over a term of years. Like a
conventional loan, except through the FHA
VA: Available to veterans. Similar to FHA, except special terms for veterans and often
times have zero down payment.
ARM's (Adjustable rate mortgages). Your monthly rates will adjust over the life of your loan.
Often times have a low teaser rate for the first few years, but be careful because your
monthly payment can go up hundreds of dollars after the teaser rate period expires. Can
also have a Balloon element (see below)
15-30 year Conventional Loans: One of the more common. You get a fixed rate with even
monthly payments over the term of the loan. Can also have a balloon element.
Balloon Payment: This refers to a loan provision that requires the entire remaining
balance to be paid off in 3-10 years. So for instance you may have a 30 year conventional at
6.5% with a 7 year balloon. That means the monthly payments are based on what it would
cost to pay the loan off at 6.5% over thirty years. But that in year seven, instead of continuing
the monthly payments you need to pay the entire balance off. Here's some information, and
a calculator that will help you determine what a balloon payment may be.
Heres a pretty good article comparing loans. But there are a lot of resources and article out
there on line that you can find as well.
There are many loan products out there. Here's a sampling of the most common
FHA: Generally available for most people. Fixed Rates over a term of years. Like a
conventional loan, except through the FHA
VA: Available to veterans. Similar to FHA, except special terms for veterans and often
times have zero down payment.
ARM's (Adjustable rate mortgages). Your monthly rates will adjust over the life of your loan.
Often times have a low teaser rate for the first few years, but be careful because your
monthly payment can go up hundreds of dollars after the teaser rate period expires. Can
also have a Balloon element (see below)
15-30 year Conventional Loans: One of the more common. You get a fixed rate with even
monthly payments over the term of the loan. Can also have a balloon element.
Balloon Payment: This refers to a loan provision that requires the entire remaining
balance to be paid off in 3-10 years. So for instance you may have a 30 year conventional at
6.5% with a 7 year balloon. That means the monthly payments are based on what it would
cost to pay the loan off at 6.5% over thirty years. But that in year seven, instead of continuing
the monthly payments you need to pay the entire balance off. Here's some information, and
a calculator that will help you determine what a balloon payment may be.
Heres a pretty good article comparing loans. But there are a lot of resources and article out
there on line that you can find as well.
| Other Useful Links. www.fsbo.com. For people who are thinking of selling their homes themselves. A food starting point. IT has a viewpoint, but good and informative site with tools and tips www.realtor.com. Great site for searching for homes, tools, advice. It is a realtor site, so they certainly have a viewpoint. But its an intelligent and informative site. Find homes and agents Oregon State Bar has information for people buyer and selling real estate. Appraisers. This site is a pay per ad, so won't cover all available appraisers in your area, but it carries a good number of qualified appraisers in Oregon and Washington |