| lling your own home, you can save thousands of | | | | drafted sales agreements in the past may be risky. |
| dollars. There’s no brokerage fee or | | | | The best option is to hire someone to do the sales |
| commission to a realtor- all the proceeds of your | | | | agreement for you. In most states there are |
| home or your own. Of course, this is the best | | | | attorneys who specialize in real estate. While this |
| benefit of selling your own home. You also have total | | | | option may be costly, it’s still cheaper than |
| control of the transaction. You don't need to worry | | | | using a real estate agent and relieves you from the |
| about someone else making errors. You're always | | | | stress of drafting a sales agreement on your own. |
| available for showings answering inquiries, etc. | | | | Utilizing a sales worksheet with an interested buyer is |
| One of the most intimidating aspects of selling your | | | | a great option to nail down the details of the |
| own home is the sales agreement. Advertising and | | | | transaction. This is just a worksheet, not a legal |
| showing your home are the easy parts, when you | | | | document, but contains all the things you and the |
| find a buyer – that’s where it | | | | buyer agree on. The worksheet actually can become |
| becomes a challenge. On the surface it seems simple | | | | a tool for working out the numbers and coming to an |
| – just a sales agreement and a receipt, but | | | | agreement. Once you’ve agreed on the price, |
| when it comes to real estate the document must be | | | | deposit, dates, and other terms your worksheet can |
| legally accurate. | | | | help your attorney draft a sales agreement. |
| Actually in the early days of home buying the sales | | | | Some buyers are nervous when buying a FSBO |
| agreement was a simple one page document with | | | | home and going to a professional for the legal |
| the facts – the parties involved, the property | | | | paperwork will relieve some of their worries. Many |
| address, and the purchase price. However today, in | | | | buyers are also wary of paying an individual directly. |
| order to avoid lawsuits, sales agreements are written | | | | Your attorney can also serve as a third party for the |
| by lawyers and are often about 10 pages in length. | | | | payment and set up an escrow account for you. |
| This really puts a FSBO at a disadvantage. | | | | The best way to ensure a successful transaction is |
| Using a form from a local office store, often sold as | | | | to make sure your sales agreement is completed |
| “Sales Agreement for Real Property”, | | | | correctly. While it may be tempting to draft your |
| is a bad idea and you could be laying the groundwork | | | | own documents, if you aren’t a lawyer your |
| for expensive litigation later on. These commercial | | | | version may not stand up in court. Find an attorney |
| forms actually often contain more blank space than | | | | to help with this one step and you could find yourself |
| legal language. Even relying on a friend who has | | | | successfully selling your first property! |