selling property w/o a realtor or lawyer

[drkshdw]

How hard is it (or should I say what are the risks associated with) selling a piece of property without a realtor or lawyer?

I own a piece of junk property with a junk house on it. A neighbor has expressed an interest in buying it from me. We share maybe 15' of property line but they want to tear down the house and use the land to park their work vans and trucks on during the winter to get them off the street.

There's no liens on the property, title search when I bought it cleared all past creditors (I bought it as a foreclosure from a bank), all back taxes are paid, it's free and clear. What's stopping me from taking cash and putting their names on the deed at the courthouse? Could it be that simple?

The one realtor I talked to wanted a minimum of $2500 to do the transaction and I can't justify that for a sale of less than $10K. So what's the secret to doing this cheaply and quick? Or does it really require all that rigmarole when buying a $100K house?

[KFC911]

Quitclaim deed transfers to new owner...simple.

[Evans, Marv]

We have had businesses around here for some time that "help" you sell property by doing the paperwork at a commission of 1%, which would be $100 on a $10K amount. May be a possibility.

[Hard-Deck]

I have done as KC911 stated. No issues.

[KFC911]

Or an atty would do the quitclaim for a Franklin or so...regardless of prop. value.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by KC911

Quitclaim deed transfers to new owner...simple.

If the buyer would stand for it, yes that's the way to go.

"I'm selling to you whatever interest I may have in this property, with no guarantee that I own it free and clear or that there are no other claims to it."

[drkshdw]

Originally Posted by KC911

Or an atty would do the quitclaim for a Franklin or so...regardless of prop. value.

If it's that cheap I'll let them deal with it. I was just turned off by the realtor. Time to open up the phone book...

[Steve Carlton]

Doesn't the buyer pay title insurance? Obviously, the buyer should record the deed. Maybe ask a title company what they would charge for insurance and escrow.

[MBAtarga]

WD has a good point. If I were the BUYER - I'd require a Warranty Deed from you, as I could technically provide your buyer with a Quitclaim deed on the exact same property - and collect the $10k from him.

A quitclaim deed only transfers the grantor's interests in a piece of real estate. It does not create any warranties on the title. Only whatever part of the land the grantor owns, if any, will transfer to the grantee. A warranty deed contains a guarantee that the grantor has legal title and rights to the real estate.

[cassisrot]

It was a long time ago and far far away but we just used a title company and did a normal closing. Was t a big deal.

[porsche4life]

Yup go visit a title company. They’ll help you keep the paperwork straight.

[GH85Carrera]

When I was selling my parents house, I had it for sale by owner. I had one real solid bite, but I was as ignorant as the buyer for the legal stuff needed to make the taxes and his bank happy. I talked to a real estate friend and he offered to do everything for a flat $1,000 fee. So we just showed up at the closing company, and signed about 50 times each, and I was handed a check and all was done 100% legal and proper. It was worth that grand to me.

The paperwork alone is daunting, and just nuts how many times I had to initial or sign places on the page after page.

Conversely, when I bought my first house, I had a real estate agent find me the house. I shook hands with the seller, he financed the mortgage himself so no fees or points of other bank crap. I think I signed a few pages, and I was in my house 10 days later.

[pwd72s]

I haven't been through a lot of real estate transactions, but I've always used a contract lawyer. The one who told me; "I don't go to court, I write contracts so there is no need to go to court."

So far, he's been right.

[rattlsnak]

Seller agrees to sell for $10k, buyer pays closing costs.. (title search, deed monies, etc.)

[Steve Carlton]

As the seller, you want to make sure the transfer is clean, insured, and recorded.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by drkshdw

How hard is it (or should I say what are the risks associated with) selling a piece of property without a realtor or lawyer?

I own a piece of junk property with a junk house on it. A neighbor has expressed an interest in buying it from me. We share maybe 15' of property line but they want to tear down the house and use the land to park their work vans and trucks on during the winter to get them off the street.

There's no liens on the property, title search when I bought it cleared all past creditors (I bought it as a foreclosure from a bank), all back taxes are paid, it's free and clear. What's stopping me from taking cash and putting their names on the deed at the courthouse? Could it be that simple?

The one realtor I talked to wanted a minimum of $2500 to do the transaction and I can't justify that for a sale of less than $10K. So what's the secret to doing this cheaply and quick? Or does it really require all that rigmarole when buying a $100K house?

Contact the title company you closed with when you purchased. See what kind of deal they will cut since they did the title work already.

If they were land surveyors you could demand they work for free.


They can handle the closing the filing of the deed without the need of a lawyer or realtor. DO NOT get a realtor involved, just calling one can invoke them to demand compensation. The word "professional" in front of realtor should be in green.

[john70t]

I know someone who did that recently, but paid for a few hours of review with a good RE attorney. Money well spent, imo.
Cross the I's and dot the T's.

A note of caution:
The title company was absolutely paranoid about finalizing transactions with a routing number sent via email. It seems there is a rash of these emails being intercepted and the routing numbers changed to an off-shore bank account where the money disappears permanently. Sellers/buyers were also not confirming the completed transactions with their financial institutions in real time.

[wdfifteen]

I just bought 2000 square feet from my neighbor to incorporate into my property. I required a warranty deed on the purchased property. Without one I would not be able to offer a warranty deed on my property to a future buyer.

[KFC911]

One should always get a PPI when purchasing a used car....

I never have...YMMV.

[nota]

lawyer at closing did the papers on a house sale for 500 on a 200k house in 1999
real estate agent would have demanded 12000 and is NOT a lawyer or useful

used homes salesmen are as useful as used car salesmen
do you hire a salesman when selling a car ?
this one case where a lawyer is way cheaper then a salesman