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Thursday, July 12, 2018

By Virginia Parker


Most homeowners hire Realtors to help them sell their properties, but it isn't a requirement. If you object to paying a commission, and already have a buyer ready to sign a contract on your house, you can handle the transaction yourself if you choose. Filling out Missouri real estate contract forms for sale by owner homeowners recommend must be done carefully and with some thought.

It can cost you a lot of time and money if the purchase agreement you and the buyer sign isn't filled out properly. Everything that is pertinent to the transaction needs to be in the agreement. You can begin with basic information. You must put your name on the agreement as the seller. This has to be your legal name, or company name, not an abbreviation or nickname. You have to include a legal description of the property.

There should be a description of all payment terms. You certainly have to put the purchase price in the agreement. You also need to have the amount of earnest money put down and who is holding the earnest money. You need to determine who is going to pay the property taxes. It is customary for a seller to pay through the date of closing. After that the taxes are the responsibility of the buyer.

As a seller you have a legal obligation of disclose any adverse information you have about the property you are selling. Some states require seller to disclose what they know, or should know. Other states have made it a requirement that the seller go out of his or her way to discover any possible defects, and then disclose them. Leaky roofs and basements are the most common defects.

Any contingency relating to the transaction must be in the purchase agreement. A property inspection is a contingency. Contracts usually have language giving the buyer a certain number of days to get the property inspected, and accept the conditions or inform the seller of any objections. Financing is usually a contingency. Most contracts are contingent on the buyer's ability to get financing at a particular interest rate.

A house built before 1978 must have a lead based paint disclosure form attached to the contract. This gives the buyer a time frame to inspect the property or waive any inspection. The buyer has to disclose any homeowner's association fees and how much they are. If something like a golf membership is being transferred from the seller to the buyer, that must be disclosed.

The purchase agreement must have a closing date and information about who is paying the closing costs. Thirty to sixty days is a normal time frame to close a residential property. If you have agreed to pay some of the closing costs, that information must be outlined in your document.

You can save some money by handling the sale of your house yourself. This is especially true when you already have an able and willing buyer. The safest thing to do is take the money you saved by not using a Realtor and hire a real estate attorney to read and approve your paperwork.




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