or other source to educate me about selling a house.

I've never had to deal with anything more complicated than a handshake rental.

Don't need to qualify for a license, just need to know what to expect in terms of title search, survey, listings, closing costs, commissions, that sort of thing.

Real estate commissions are usually 6% of the sales price. Your realtor should advise you on the title search, survey etc.

Sending you an email

quote:

Originally posted by P226RN:
Sending you an email

Got it, Thanks!

Also, incoming...

I'm not familiar with Maine RE laws but feel free to email me any general questions you have. If you'd like help finding a highly qualified agent I'd be happy to assist you.

quote:

Originally posted by rebo:
I'm not familiar with Maine RE laws but feel free to email me any general questions you have. If you'd like help finding a highly qualified agent I'd be happy to assist you.

Thank you.

Early days yet.

In general, we're thinking about selling our place, buying a corner of our daughter's lot in town (9 acres) and putting up a new modular. It all hinges on being able to sell this place for enough to cover the expenses of a new place. Debt is not an option. Not that we couldn't...we just won't.

We're gonna start with an unofficial, undocumented "freebie" appraisal from an experienced friend. If that indicates that we may be able to sell for enough to fund the new place, we'll move on to an official, licensed professional appraisal and go from there.

If that happens, I'm sure I'll have questions out the ying-yang.

Hire an agent. They can explain all that to you.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Hire an agent. They can explain all that to you.

If/when it appears that the idea is feasible, that's exactly what I'll do. No FSBO for me.

Real estate transactions are sufficiently complicated that there is no way you can learn all the various aspects by reading a book.

I say this after 40 years of constant involvement in all sorts of real estate transactions in nearly every capacity, buyer, seller, broker, lawyer, lender, title insurer, nearly every kind of property and as counsel to one of the successful parties in the World's Hardest Real Estate Transaction.

Your best hope is to find an experienced and trustworthy real estate broker, or attorney, to guide you through what can be straight forward but can also be fraught with difficulties. They are out there. Try to find one you can rely on.

I absolutely agree that I need a professional.

What I'm looking for is a primer on the subject so I can ask reasonably intelligent questions.

There are different parts to a real estate transaction.

Buying/selling and the transferring of title.

The RE agent handles the buying selling and the RE attorney handles the transfer.

If a mortgage is involved there is always a bank attorney involved.

You can always just let the bank's attorney handle the paperwork but always remember he represents the bank not you. You have to pay him anyway.

A simple closing with a mortgage, it may not be worth hiring your own attorney.

He will make sure the title is clear and you will pay for title insurance.

If you are going to sub divide land you will need a surveying engineer and an an attorney.

The surveying engineer will draw the plans and the attorney will handle the transfer and recording.

Most towns have a well know RE estate attorney.
If you don't know one, ask a couple of local banks who they use.

If no mortgage is involved you will definitely need a good RE attorney.

One caveat of subdividing land, you need to make sure it meets current zoning rules if there are any.

If you don't meet zoning rules the municipality will not issue a building permit.

There are attorneys that specialize in RE land transactions. I would use one if subdivision is involved.

sig2392, thanks for your input.

I'm considering selling my existing home to do an outright purchase (no mortgage) of a new modular.

My daughter has checked with the bank that holds her mortgage and they said that as long as the reappraisal after subdividing an acre for us to build on doesn't change drastically, they'll approve a release deed.

She's also checked with the town and zoning/permits won't be an issue as long as the usual setbacks, codes and inspections are adhered to.

If this goes forward, there will definitely be a professional real estate agent and very likely an attorney involved.

Do you have gigabit Internet, a paved road, and lots of street lights?

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
sig2392, thanks for your input.

I'm considering selling my existing home to do an outright purchase (no mortgage) of a new modular.

My daughter has checked with the bank that holds her mortgage and they said that as long as the reappraisal after subdividing an acre for us to build on doesn't change drastically, they'll approve a release deed.

She's also checked with the town and zoning/permits won't be an issue as long as the usual setbacks, codes and inspections are adhered to.

If this goes forward, there will definitely be a professional real estate agent and very likely an attorney involved.

In your daughters situation, you should only need a RE attorney, not a realtor.

For selling your house, you could do FSBO and would recommend an attorney for sure. If you sell through a licensed realtor and it's a normal deal, shouldn't need an attorney.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Do you have gigabit Internet, a paved road, and lots of street lights?

Paved road, yes.
Street lights, sorta. One about 50 yards away.
DSL internet which is blazing fast for this area. Lotta folks still on dialup or satellite.

If you use an attorney, please get one that is expert in RE law. It is like going to the Doctor. Do not go to a foot Doctor if you have chest pains. Same thing applies to attorneys.
Rod

quote:

Originally posted by sig sailor:
If you use an attorney, please get one that is expert in RE law. It is like going to the Doctor. Do not go to a foot Doctor if you have chest pains. Same thing applies to attorneys.
Rod

Yes, I agree with this and what Jallen wrote wholeheartedly. Real Estate transactions (and leases) have changed and keep changing from month to month since 2009, it's almost impossible for anyone to keep up with the latest real estate laws unless they deal with it daily.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
sig2392, thanks for your input.

I'm considering selling my existing home to do an outright purchase (no mortgage) of a new modular.

My daughter has checked with the bank that holds her mortgage and they said that as long as the reappraisal after subdividing an acre for us to build on doesn't change drastically, they'll approve a release deed.

She's also checked with the town and zoning/permits won't be an issue as long as the usual setbacks, codes and inspections are adhered to.

If this goes forward, there will definitely be a professional real estate agent and very likely an attorney involved.

It sounds like starting with appraisals is where you need to be.

You can contact an appraiser directly and ask for a restricted user, reduced scoped appraisal. You need to know what the market value of your home is currently with intentions of selling in XX months (could be a factor depending on your market area and house, in some cases a disposition/quick sale value is needed for marketing times that are longer than you typically want to wait), and another which gives the value scenario that your daughters bank is concerned about.

A GOOD real estate broker/agent (not sure about terms in your state) should be able to tell you what price they think they can get for your house. Don't confuse that as a market value, its a sales opinion, there is a significant difference.

If you were in my state and contacted me for these products, my firm would do the appraisals for you for less than half of what we charge the bank. Restricted scope, single user....greatly diminished liability = significantly reduced fee.

I'm really not sure what book to recommend, most books on this type of thing are written by real estate agents trying to drum up business for themselves and convince people that their services are needed. In your case, I'd definitely use an agent for the sale of your home....your agent will have a better idea of how to sell your house with an appraisal. Keep in mind that if your agent wants to USE the appraisal to help sell...the price of the appraisal goes up significantly.

The only part I see an attorney for is in the transfer process of the newly subdivided parcel to your name. No need for an agent there (really not their specialty) if you use an attorney for that process. Title services should be cheaper for that transaction also.

Do your homework on the agent. Be careful with your choice, and read the fine print. Some agents/brokers slip some pretty shady stuff into their contracts these days. Probably always been that way, but I've noticed it more in recent years.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
sig2392, thanks for your input.

I'm considering selling my existing home to do an outright purchase (no mortgage) of a new modular.

My daughter has checked with the bank that holds her mortgage and they said that as long as the reappraisal after subdividing an acre for us to build on doesn't change drastically, they'll approve a release deed.

She's also checked with the town and zoning/permits won't be an issue as long as the usual setbacks, codes and inspections are adhered to.

If this goes forward, there will definitely be a professional real estate agent and very likely an attorney involved.

If she is demising property for you to build on, make sure both parcels have legal access as if there are two unrelated parties occupying the land and each has the correct and proper legal access for ingress/egress. I've seen it happen before where one of the parties got beat out on this.

I am not an agent. Ivam sharing past experience as a buyer. We had to pay for our apraisal.

I would hold off getting an "official" one and let the buyer bear the cost. Plus I seem to recall them "sticking" for some amount of time, so you could lock yourself in at a low price for a bit.

Ymmv, this was my experience in TN and GA.