When there’s no real estate agent, how does a buyer begin the buying process?

Once the buyer has decided on the house of their dreams, they need to make an offer to the seller. An offer is simply a sales contract signed by the buyer and sent to the seller.   The contract will give the seller a set number of days to respond by agreeing to the contract, or making a counter offer.  

Origin Title does not negotiate the terms of the sale, but we can prepare the sales contract for the offer to make sure the contract matches the intent of the parties.  In early May, I closed a ‘for sale by owner’ purchase where the sales contract stated that all the costs were to be paid by the buyer.  The seller wired an extra $1,000 because he said HE was supposed to pay the closing costs. It’s rare that a buyer and seller both want to pay closing costs, but a properly prepared sales contract would have prevented this confusion. 

The modern buyer who conducts business on their mobile phone may feel constrained by the paperwork required for home purchase, but the value and clarity of a written contract is worth it. A qualified real estate attorney can make sure the buyer’s interests and intent are preserved.