I have a question, maybe some of you can answer for me. I have a townhome I have found an interest in. If I pay the realtor an option fee (down payment )for this townhome upfront, do they take it off the market for sell. Another question is could I sign for a contract now for that would state it starts in October 2002 (or is this too far away) w/o having to make monthly payments until I was able to move in October 2002? Would an realtor hold the property off the market this long if I made a down payment now or is it wise to not pay any upfront fees. I am asking this question because I am currently in a lease for an apartment that doesn't end until around September.
ESCROW usually lasts 90 days MAX... A "CONTRACT" FOR SALE TAKES IT OFF THE MARKET...(if it is accepted by the SELLER) OCTOBER sounds like too far off...(unless it is a "NEW BUILD")
It is highly unlikely the seller would hold this for 6 months while they had to continue making payments, what advantage would it be to them? Best bet is to wait until you near the end of your lease to start looking. Who knows, it is possible this townhome won't sell between now and then. If that happened, the owners would probably be extremely motivitated by then. Gib
Nice townhomes are hard to come by and this once has been only the few that has met my needs and spacious without spending an arm and a leg. It is two yrs old looks like barely lived in and they even dropped the price for it by 5,000 that is why I am trying to think of some options I may have before someone purchases it. I could may sublease my apartment. (This are college apts) because rent is only 315, but the monthly rent for the townhouse will be 1200 a month. I not sure if this makes a difference or not but it would be a lease to purchase for this property
Try posting your question here: http://www.creonline.com/wwwboard/index.html Someone may be able to come up with some creative suggestions. Hope this helps. Gib
First, you won't be paying the realtor anything to "take it off the market". If you make an offer and the seller agrees, you pay them an earnest money deposit that is NOT the downpayment. However, it does count towards your downpayment. For instance, if you're going to put down $5000, and the earnest money is $1000, you'll need to bring $4000 to closing. Now if the seller agrees to hold the property until October (which I doubt) then its no problem. However, if it's such a great deal, its quite possible someone else may want it also. Subleasing your apartment is definately an option. Make sure there are no rules against doing that in your building. I'd just talk to your realtor (you DO have a buyers agent right?) Tell your realtor what you're proposing and have them take it back to the seller and see what they say. THEN you can decide what you need to do. Be ready for viable options because I really really don't think they're going to go for that. Good luck!
You mentioned "Option Fee". What state do you live in? I am a Real Estate Consultant (Realtor) here in Texas. Laws vary from state to state but I will try and answer your question. First, just some "life tips". NEVER GO SHOPPING FOR A HOME UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO PURCHASE! KNOW WHY? BECAUSE "THIS" KIND OF THING HAPPENS! LOL First let me give you a little Crash Course. You need to be working with a Buyer's Agent. But "only" if you are truly ready to buy. If not, it's really not fair to waste his/her time. Remember most don't get paid until the DEAL'S DONE. However, you can make ANY offer you want in a contract. Whether they go for it or not is in the negotiating. What are their circumstances for moving? Do they need to get out quick? etc. Call your apartment complex and tell them the situation. You've found a house you really like, blah, blah, blah. They may allow you to get out of your lease if you've been a good tenant and under the condition that they can find an occupant. An Earnet Money contract is usually presented "with" the contract to show the sellers "good faith" that you are serious about buying the home. If you decide NOT to purchase the property after the contract has been executed, you would forfeit your earnest money. Unless, the contract was terminated mutually or there were circumstances provided for in the contract that allowed you to terminate it. Shantel was on the right track. Your earnest money goes towards your "closing costs". Your "closing costs" are made up of (1) the down payment, which can be 5%, 10%, 20% etc. of the Sales Price and (2) the other costs of getting your loan, property appraisal, surveys, inspections, loan originations fee, etc. Now for the "Option Fee". The "Option Fee" is IN ADDITION TO, the "Earnest Money". It allows you to terminate the contract for OTHER reasons than what the contract allows, without you "losing" your Earnest Money. You could even consider signing a lease-agreement after the sale of the home if the sellers would agree to it. This would allow you to purchase the home now, but the sellers would rent it back from you after closing. Depending on their situation, they might be very open to that. Hope this helps. Keller
Keller, I am in Georgia, this is all new to me. I am only 23. Ok you are saying option fee and Earnest Money are different. Oops!!! I was thinking it was the same. She told me I would need earnest money between 2000-3000 which is no problem. So is the Earnest Money Contract signed early on before closing on a Lease/Purchase agreement ? Usually how long( time frame wise 60 days, 90days) after signing an earnest money contract will the seller wait or allow for you to enter the Lease/ Purchase agreement contract? I know George stated something about an escrow & maximum time frame being 90 days.
Am not sure if I need a buyers agent for a lease/ purchase transaction . They ( the seller) has a realtor for their property. I am asking and will be making the requests to their realtor and that realtor is giving me feedback from the seller. I know definitely if I decide to pursue this townhouse, I will hire a lawyer read over everything to make sure what is there is suppose to be there and so on.
$2-3 k earnest money sounds kinda steep. Remember, you lose this money if something doesn't go through like you need it to. Read that contract carefully. It wasn't written to protect you, it was written to protect the realtor and to make sure they get theirs, no matter what. Nothing against Realtors, it makes sense for them to do that, this is how they eat. Here's an idea: Consider putting down some small amount of cash for a option for 72 hour right of refusal. That way if someone else makes a reasonable offer, you'll have 72 hours to meet or beat their offer. However, if you elect not to meet it, you'll lose your money dedicated to the refusal option. Like the previous poster said, you can ask for anything you want in the offer, just make sure it says what you want it to. Good Luck, Dancer
2-3k sounds more like option money to me. Earnest money is usually up to a $1000, but i wouldn't put up more than $500 myself. Have to agree with above post, don't shop until you're ready to buy. You would be surprised at how many great deals that come available if you are looking for them. I'm currently working on buying a fixer upper that will have 30k built in equity. It is a bank repo, would have the repairs done by now, but had a hard time finding financing with the work needing to be done. In the time I have been working on this one, have come across 3 more repos, hopefully at least one of them will still be there once I finally close on this first one. If not, there will always be more Gib
I put $1,000 down on my house...100% refundable... The only way they could keep it, is if I BACKED OUT!!! I'm glad I bought it when I did...NOW $80,000 TO $100,000 EQUITY...
George how much was the home worth you put down 1k on? I thought this was reasonable with it being a 129k home value knock down to 124 I did some research an the other townhomes in this area sell for 129 and up.
Dancer , So if you do use the 72 option, and you bid and your bid still does not beat the other bidder, do you still lose the money?
Actually George, from how you phrased it, you didn't put the $1K "down" (as in "down payment"), you put it "up" as earnest money. True? Earnest money is refundable under varying condidtions, and it's all in how the contract is written. If you don't like how the standard realtor's contract reads, then change it! I believe in sticking to your word. If you are serious about buying, then you should follow through on the agreement you made. However, lots of shady things happen when hundreds of thousands of dollars get ready to change hands. Sometimes, the builder pulls a fast one and substitutes lower quality products on you, or you find that the seller is leaving because they are going to build a hog-rendering shop next door (which he neglected to mention). These items aren't mentioned in the contract and you would normally lose your money if you backed out. Most contracts allow you to recover earnest monies if you fail to get financing at a specified rate, which you fill in. Nobody pays much attention to that section. If you want a failsafe bailout, just fill that section in with the best prime rate available. Most of us won't qualify for that rate, and you can get your money back without looking like a jerk to the seller. This clause lets you walk away with your money. Especially if you happened to tell your mortgage broker that you need a statement qualifying you for a rate higher than the one listed on the contract. Be careful.... Dancer
;-) I'd like to forget this stuff, unfortunately, I've got to buy yet another house in my tour of the world. (Courtesy of Uncle Sam) Hopefully this'll be the last one. Goodbye Texas, Hello Kentucky! Dancer
Dancer you make it sound like you are definately ready to live TX. I was from the Dallas/ FT Worth area before I moved to GA about 2yrs again. Homes are pretty cheap there and you get what you pay for with large space. My mom hates it there and want to move away. I kind of miss it a little(at least the warm weather anyways and not paying state taxes.
would asking for a 3 term lease be considered too long? From what I read in articles and this board the realtor does not get paid until the entire transaction goes through( meaning the sale of the home) So I am thinking may not like this.
