buying first house without realty or lawyer
 

Is this possible? My son is trying to buy his grandmas house from her estate and there is a short window where he can buy it without it being listed. The estate has agreed that if he buys it any realty or legal fees saved will be gifted to him so we are hoping to save as much as possible.

Thanks for any advice

He can certainly do it without a realtor, it may be a worth the cost to use a lawyer though. Generally I'd say the costs of the legal fees are pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of property purchases.

No realtor needed.
 

Find a local lawyer to do the sale and purchase and mortgage stuff.

Get 2 or three quotes from local lawyers. Should be easy and under a few grand.

Don’t let this slip away from the boy.

I agree with the others who say you will need a lawyer. Depending on whether or not there is a mortgage involved, it can be done for as little as $1,000

Normally lawyers don't like being involved in both sides of the transaction, but you might find one who will do the whole thing.

ARG

No Need for realtor
 

He does not need a realtor, but does need to have it done through a lawyer. The cost is minimal relative to the value in question. It may be that the lawyer for the estate/executor (assuming there is one) can also act for him as purchaser, as there is little likelihood of any conflict of interest. If he is financing the purchase through an institutional lender, they will require legal representation anyway, as well as a proper written purchase and sale contract, and so it can't be avoided even if it was a viable option.

Simple Bill of Sale and Transfer of land, assuming no mortgage or liens on the house, should be able to get it done for $500 by calling around. You can do it yourself but if you have never done it before, paying the lawyer will be a whole bunch better idea.

You want to ensure you have a real property report (basically a survey) to make sure the house has no issues with location, garage or fence encroachment etc. If you are buying it at market value make sure you get it appraised or get a copy of the one from the estate so you are sure you can mortgage it, no mortgage then it is your choice. Also, how well do you know the house. Are you positive it has no major issues like Aluminum wiring, Asbestos insulation, cracked foundation etc. If positive fine, if not may want to give it a real thorough inspection by someone that knows what they are looking for.

Get the lawyer you will need a proper title search done and a proper title transfer .

is the estate just picking a random price out of the air that your sons happy to pay? He could be over paying if that's the case.

"without a lawyer". Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Hire one. No realtor needed

You don't need a Realtor but you do need a Lawyer in this scenario.

Figure out what the house will sell for on the open market (Not list but sell) . Deduct the price of BOTH sides of the Realtor fees. There is your number.
Easy

1000 bucks for a lawyer is good insurance everything is done right.

if not, they are liable, not you.

We had a realtor assess my uncles house and used a notary public, unfortunately my mom had taken it out of the estate so she got dinged good.

Deffiently use a lawyer, just to make sure the t's are crossed and i's are dotted.

A lawyer is a must, they are there for a few good reasons and most of all to protect you the buyer..

My lawyer charged me only $1000. Last year.

He held the money in trust until every thing checked out .

Just think about it . You hand over the money to the guy that says he owns the house then he takes off . then you find out he was only renting the house.

You get a lawyer and he is on the hook for handing over money to the wrong guy.

:thinking-006:

Getting a lawyer is the smartest thing you can do to protect such a large investment/asset.
If you are in the Calgary area I can give you the name of a great lawyer with great rates.

Thanks for the advice, I will call my lawyer and set it up.
The house is 30 years old and has been in the family for 20ish so asbestos and hidden maintenance won't be an issue (my brother has had to go in and change every light bulb so we are up to speed).
The price will be discounted based on an appraisal less realtor cost less a favor to help my son get started.
Thanks again

So here's so advice from a Real Estate Broker.

I do by the way agree that you probably don't need a Realtor in this case. But retain a lawyer who is not involved with the estate and is representing your son only.

And finally, remember the appraised value is the highest value obtainable, not necessarily the selling price. Most homes appraise for $2,000 - $5,000.00 more than the selling price.

So if your family sells the house, less a gift to your boy of say $5,000, and then knocks off the realtors' fees, what they're really netting is a full price offer on the first day on the market. They're making out OK

Appraisal and market are 2 different animals.... The house it worth what it will sell for on the OPEN market.

x 1000
You don't need a realtor; you have done the hard part already.

Add to that, why would you give a perfect stranger $20K and never see it again. I lend a guy $20 and I am expecting it back.

A lawyer is a MUST....for $1,000-$2,000 you are protected...

I have sold numerous houses ....it is easy. What ever you don't include on the Bill of Sale, your lawyer will catch and correct.

Good luck,

Lawyers are great for facilitating the process. Not sure what people are thinking about when they say ‘protected’ though.

In 2007 I sold a condo in Edmonton that we bought for our daughter to live in while going to u of a, I used com- free, their cost was a flat fee of $595, they provided all the documents, put the signs up and made sure everything was good with the paper work, the money was transferred to our lawyer and then to us, easy as pie, total cost $1700 all in, had I used a real estate their commission would have been $15,000 and the end result would have been the same, way better that 15k in my pocket than in Joe smucks pocket.

So the estate is going to save 5% of the purchase price by selling it to your son. $300,00 house=$15,000. They’re not really saving him the realtor fees( buyers never pay a penny, only the seller pays). Property appraisals can swing 10% higher or lower on any property. Get your own appraisal and don’t tell them the purchase price. Don’t just use any lawyer, use a real estate lawyer.

I don't quite follow what you're saying. If he pays full value of 300,000 for the house to the estate and the estate pays 15000 to the realtor the estate gets 285000 and he paid 300000.
Doing it this way he pays 285000 and estate gets 285000. No loss to the estate and he paid 285000 instead of 300000 so he is 15000 ahead?
Definately going to get an appraisal as if this isn't done properly christmas dinner could be awkward next year.

Got the estate and him to use the same lawyer. Cheap and painless. Not worth it to not use a lawyer imo.

Just as long as he gets a deal and it’s not just the estate winning. When he goes to sell he will likely have to pay realtor fees. So factor that in when your buying.
It’s an absolute buyers market right now all across Alberta.

Gamma. Your own the right track. Your welcome to PM me your contact number and I can help walk you through this. Your comment about Christmas dinner is 100% right. But don't get a "Appraisal" that won't help anyone. Get a true number.