How to buy a Military Home for sale by owner in US
How
to buy a Military Home for sale by owner in US
When
you are looking to buy a military house, you are likely to come
across an occasional “For Sale by Owner” sign. If one or more of
these military houses strongly appeal to you, you may be wondering
how to go about looking at and purchasing this type of home. Buying a For Sale by Owner house can present a few risks and challenges, as
you will not have the benefit of working with a real estate agent,
but it can be done if you know what to watch out for and how to go
about making the transaction go as smoothly as possible.
There
are various tips when buying a Military House “For Sale by owner”:
1.
Understand that you are Sacrificing the Services Provided by
Realtors:
If
you have been working with a Realtor while looking at other
properties, but then set your eyes on an military
property, you will not be able to turn to your Realtor for help with
the sale. Your Realtor works for commissions and in a For Sale by
Owner deal, there are none to be had.
2.
Get pre-approval for a Mortgage:
“If
there are other bidders on the property, the one who doesn't have a
pre-approval letter is odd man out. The one with the strongest
pre-approval letter, all else being equal, often gets the house.”
There
is no real-estate agent working as the “middleman” in these
transactions, you will be dealing directly with the military
home
owner yourself. This means that when you view the property, it will
likely be with the owner giving you a guided tour.
4.
Obtain a copy of C.L.U.E. Report:
A
Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, or C.L.U.E., report will
show you a five-year history of insurance claims that have been filed
for the property in question. You do need to get the seller’s
permission to run this report, but once you do, it can be obtained
for under $20.
5.
Never skip the Military Home Inspection:
When
you buy a military
house For Sale by Owner, you are taking a bit of a risk. The home owner may
have failed to reveal problems with the house and could have
potentially hidden a lot of problems or diverted your attention from
them while you were looking at the property.
6.
Enlist the Services of a Real Estate Attorney:
Your
attorney can ensure that your contract contains contingencies to
enable you to back out of the contract if there are problems found
during the home inspection, appraisal or with liens or other problems
that prevent the seller from having a clean title.
7.
Use Neighboring Sales Prices as a Guide When Making an Offer:
If
you have found a military
house
that you are interested in purchasing, it is time for you to make an
offer. The listing price quoted by the seller may be arbitrary, as
realtors typically help home owners determine what price to list
their homes at.
8.
Use a Third Party Service to Manage the Earnest Money:
By
putting your money into an escrow account, you can rest assured that
if something goes wrong between when you put the money down and the
closing, you will be able to get your money back with very little
hassle.
9.
Best Wishes for Happiness in your New Military Home:
We
wish you the best of luck in closing on your new home. Be sure to
speak with one of our local independent agents for help finding
affordable and inclusive military home insurance to cover your investment.
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