Buying land without a realtor

Post topo’s and Aerial photos for free advice. Food plotting, land manipulation, water holes, ect.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


186buck
Posts: 217
Joined: Fri May 07, 2010 5:48 am
Status: Offline

Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby 186buck » Wed May 18, 2011 7:46 am

Has anybody ever bought land with out the use of a realtor? I'm in the market for a small piece of land that I can turn into a deer camp. We already have an area we like to hunt so location is already picked. The land is pretty cheap but the realtor seems to think they need to make 2K to make the sale on a 5 acre piece that will sell for less than 10K. Seems a little high for me.


User avatar
JRM6868
The Terminator
Posts: 1400
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 3:44 am
Location: S.E. Ohio
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby JRM6868 » Wed May 18, 2011 1:23 pm

I thought realtor fees were around 7%. 2k does seem high for a 10k sale.
Sometimes you can talk to the bank and they can do the paperwork. The owner will still have to pay the commision usually if the realtor brought you to the property. Another thing to do is wait for the realtor contract to expire if you know the owner and can save you both fees.
186buck
Posts: 217
Joined: Fri May 07, 2010 5:48 am
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby 186buck » Thu May 19, 2011 3:35 am

No bank involved in the deal. We would pay cash for the property. Also it isn't list thru the realtor so I can talk to the land owner. But he knows the realtor and may not be up for cutting her out of the deal. The realtor claims her E&O insurance is more than 1K for the deal. That seemed a little much for just insurance.
User avatar
JRM6868
The Terminator
Posts: 1400
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 3:44 am
Location: S.E. Ohio
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby JRM6868 » Thu May 19, 2011 4:59 am

186buck wrote:No bank involved in the deal. We would pay cash for the property. Also it isn't list thru the realtor so I can talk to the land owner. But he knows the realtor and may not be up for cutting her out of the deal. The realtor claims her E&O insurance is more than 1K for the deal. That seemed a little much for just insurance.

I would still talk to your bank they may be able to do it all in house for a small fee since there is no loan involved. They know what to do with all the title searches and such.Not any bank may want to do it because there's no loan involved but yours should because you bank there.

Worth a phone call at least
186buck
Posts: 217
Joined: Fri May 07, 2010 5:48 am
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby 186buck » Thu May 19, 2011 5:17 am

Good advice thanks. I also heard from another realtor and he suggested to go thru an attorney. But I like the bank idea it will probably be cheaper than an attorney.
ttsbuck
500 Club
Posts: 1115
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:02 pm
Location: TWO RIVERS WI
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby ttsbuck » Sat May 21, 2011 1:32 pm

I used to hold a realtors license. Definitely talk to your bank they can help with the closing. Also I assume you will be using a title company for an abstract or title insurance. I know years ago they would do closings. There is no need for the realtor if you are dealing directly with the landowner. What the realtor said about the E&O insurance sounds untrue.
ttsbuck
500 Club
Posts: 1115
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:02 pm
Location: TWO RIVERS WI
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby ttsbuck » Sat May 21, 2011 1:35 pm

I should have added using an attorney is a good idea, for the small fee he will charge you can be assured that your interests will be protected.
tim
500 Club
Posts: 2731
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:43 am
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby tim » Sun May 22, 2011 6:33 am

if its not listed with a realtor now i dont see why one would even be involved once the seller found a buyer, they found there own buyer(escentially doing the realtors job) by advertising on their own why would they want to invilve a realtor now, if thats the case they should have had one from the getgo?
Bryant9
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 5:44 pm
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby Bryant9 » Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:06 pm

Fortunately my realtor was very good and helpful. I have bought a home in Arizona. Luxury Arizona real estate agents helped me a lot in providing a reasonably priced house as per my needs.
User avatar
DEERSLAYER
Super Moderator
Posts: 8352
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:22 pm
Location: Western L.P. of MI
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Thu Jan 23, 2014 10:51 pm

I would go to a title company. They do all the work on closing anyway.
You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Admiral
User avatar
Stanley
Honorary Moderator
Posts: 18734
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:18 am
Facebook: None
Location: Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby Stanley » Fri Jan 24, 2014 3:42 am

Lot of factors involved, land will need to be surveyed, title search need to be conducted, an attorney is a good idea to make sure you do everything correctly. If you go through a realtor they will take care of all this stuff. Do not just hand over the cash without a legal description and a title. Get a contract in place first and then work out how you want to proceed from there.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
User avatar
DEERSLAYER
Super Moderator
Posts: 8352
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:22 pm
Location: Western L.P. of MI
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Fri Jan 24, 2014 10:11 am

Stanley wrote:Lot of factors involved, land will need to be surveyed, title search need to be conducted, an attorney is a good idea to make sure you do everything correctly. If you go through a realtor they will take care of all this stuff. Do not just hand over the cash without a legal description and a title. Get a contract in place first and then work out how you want to proceed from there.

The land dose not need to be surveyed unless your state has that requirement, but that would be very unusual. That is what the legal description is for. A title company would let you know if it was necessary. An attorney would not be a bad idea, but I have talked to several people that bought homes and property without a relator without any problem. They said it was very easy since the relator doesn't do any of that stuff anyway. They just hand it off to the title company and who dose all the legal stuff. The couple people I talked to that did get an attorney said it was a waste of money because all the attorney did was look at the paperwork and say "yup, it's all standard. Your OK". I bought my first house without a relator and later bought 20 acres without a relator. Several family members have bought houses with no relator also. The house I have now I bought through a relator because it was a foreclosure and the banks only use relators around here because they don't want to deal with a bunch of individuals. Otherwise I would have skipped the realator. Because I paid cash I didn't have to pay thousands in ridicules closing costs either. Instead it was around $550.

Your title company should have standardized contracts on hand for buying property. I would go down and ask their advice. They will know all that stuff.
You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Admiral
User avatar
Stanley
Honorary Moderator
Posts: 18734
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:18 am
Facebook: None
Location: Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby Stanley » Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:03 am

DEERSLAYER wrote:
Stanley wrote:Lot of factors involved, land will need to be surveyed, title search need to be conducted, an attorney is a good idea to make sure you do everything correctly. If you go through a realtor they will take care of all this stuff. Do not just hand over the cash without a legal description and a title. Get a contract in place first and then work out how you want to proceed from there.

The land dose not need to be surveyed unless your state has that requirement, but that would be very unusual. That is what the legal description is for. A title company would let you know if it was necessary. An attorney would not be a bad idea, but I have talked to several people that bought homes and property without a relator without any problem. They said it was very easy since the relator doesn't do any of that stuff anyway. They just hand it off to the title company and who dose all the legal stuff. The couple people I talked to that did get an attorney said it was a waste of money because all the attorney did was look at the paperwork and say "yup, it's all standard. Your OK". I bought my first house without a relator and later bought 20 acres without a relator. Several family members have bought houses with no relator also. The house I have now I bought through a relator because it was a foreclosure and the banks only use relators around here because they don't want to deal with a bunch of individuals. Otherwise I would have skipped the realator. Because I paid cash I didn't have to pay thousands in ridicules closing costs either. Instead it was around $550.

Your title company should have standardized contracts on hand for buying property. I would go down and ask their advice. They will know all that stuff.


The land should be surveyed to establish legal boundaries. Taxes are assessed from legal boundaries. Anytime a small parcel is cut out of a bigger parcel boundaries must be established. I would not buy a small parcel that wasn't surveyed. It is for your own protection. I doubt any lending institution would lend any money without a survey/legal description. In Iowa you won't get a loan without a survey, that is the norm. How do know where the property borders are? I would at minimum take a gps with the seller to make sure you both agree on the boundaries, even if the land was surveyed years ago. As a land owner you must know where the boundaries are.

Lets say 5 years from now you want to borrow money against the property and have no set boundaries I doubt you will get a loan. What if your neighbor drives in stakes cutting into your property with out established boundaries he could end up with some of your land happened all the time before people started doing surveys. Before surveys there were claims, some of the ground that is past down from generation to generation may not have legal boundaries.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
User avatar
DEERSLAYER
Super Moderator
Posts: 8352
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:22 pm
Location: Western L.P. of MI
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Buying land without a realtor

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Fri Jan 24, 2014 6:09 pm

Stan,
He never said he was subdividing the property out from another piece. The property would have been surveyed when it was originally subdivided and it is typically on file with the county. Typically the title company pulls that along with everything else needed.

How do you know where the boundaries are? Normally people walk the property lines with the seller and have the seller show them the corner posts with the official surveyors seal on them. If they can't find a corner post then the seller can call the county and they will help him find it. Corner posts are usually there but can be hard to find because they are often flush or slightly below ground level and covered with dirt and debris.

186buck,
I was at my dads tonight and asked him if he ever used an attorney to buy a house he bought without a relator. He said yes. When I told him other people I talked to said all the attorney did was look at the paperwork and say "yup, it's all standard. Your OK" my dad agreed, but said for him the $250 was worth the piece of mind for such a big investment.
You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Admiral


  • Advertisement

Return to “Land Management”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 22 guests