Buying a for sale by owner house - offer letter?

I found a for fsbo house to buy and am planning to use a real estate attorney to review or to draw up a contract. My question is about the offer letter. I have financing, and know that title and inspection are the other things I need to worry about after that. The sellers are using a standard offer letter form that they got from office max or whatever, so not much detail. I have heard that you need a real estate attny to look over the purchase and sale agreement but what about the offer? I don't want to leave something giant out of there and then end up regretting it later. Can anyone tell me if there are specific things that I should put in there in addition to the basics that I mentioned above? My listing agent mentioned having stipulations on earnest money, what happens if a timeline is not met for inspection or whatever, etc. I am wondering if there is anything else that I need to worry about...thank you!Buying a for sale by owner house - offer letter?
An offer is kind of like a worksheet that leads up to the contract which is a different form. Just make sure you initial any negotiation changes. Put stips in like earnest $ will be refunded if (title is not marketable, inspections produce more than (amount you are willing to spend to fix something if seller not willing to fix it). Be sure to list what fixtures/ window treatments will stay. Have seller initial along with you every little detail. You say you have financing. Get your lender involved. They are going to make sure everything will get done properly.Buying a for sale by owner house - offer letter?
Many FSBO's will pay a percentage of the sale to your Realtor. I actually SHOW my clients FSBO's....the way I look at them is (1) they want to sell, and (2) they represent themselves and want to save on commission. Most that I've worked with are happy to pay my 3% for an able and willing buyer. If not, you have the option to pay your own Realtor-representation.





Would you go to court without an attorney? Buying a home is often the biggest investment people ordinarily make. Having your own qualified representation is important. Real Estate Attorneys are not required to do a diligent inspection of the property....they just inspect your paperwork. The property is just as important. There could be factors about the home, land, neighborhood, etc. that an attorney may not be aware of that a Realtor experienced in that market WOULD know.





A Realtor would be familiar with the area, and also would have access to ALL the necessary contracts to protect your interests. I represented a Seller recently. The buyers came from out of the area with their out-of-the-area Realtor. They offered on the property. Since the Realtor was not knowledgeable of our area, he didn't know that these properties were not connected to sewer but were on septic systems. He did not ask for a septic certification in his offer. I did not point out his mistake because it would save my client $450 and I do not represent the Buyer. When the loan was ready to fund, one of the conditions was a septic certification which the Buyer had to pay for. It could have been worse. If the system had failed, the repairs or replacement would have been on the Buyer, not the Seller. The buyer didn't know. An experienced LOCAL Realtor would have known this immediately. He also would have seen it in the MLS and would have made a note of the septic on the TDS.





I have heard some hair-raising horror stories where people have given large deposits, signed ';contracts'; and moved into properties believing the property would be theirs in two months after move-in only to find out the people they gave the money to were not even on title to the property.





Protect yourself. Hire an experienced Realtor to represent you. Your Realtor will negotiate his or her fee with the Seller. And if the Seller refuses, you will always have the option to pick up the fee yourself which could be added to the agreed-upon sales price.





The TDS is one of the most important disclosures you will need from the Seller. If you don't know what that is.....