selling house documents needed Help & Advice ~ Sell Your Home Quickly!

Truly, hearing the words "We love your house ... we'll buy it" is any home seller's dream. But what happens once a buyer indicates a real desire to purchase your property?When this happens, it is customary for home sellers to request buyers to give, or for buyers to offer the seller, a small amount. This amount is called a deposit. A deposit, otherwise known as earnest money, is given to show a sincere intention of completing the purchase transaction. It can be likened to a reservation fee.There is no prescribed amount; the deposit can be as small as $500 or as large as 5% of the total purchase price. The final figure will depend on you and your buyer. Once the buyer hands you a check covering the requested amount, what should you do with it?Ideally, set it aside, or have someone hold it in trust. Until the transaction has been completed, the deposit is not yours. When you have your purchase contract drafted, make sure that the deposit your buyer made is mentioned, and explicitly specify the conditions wherein the deposit can be returned in full or when the deposit will be forfeited in favour of the seller.Normally, deposits are returned when the transaction cannot be completed due to external factors that are beyond the control of the buyer. An example would be when the buyer is unable to get the appropriate financing.Deposits are forfeited when the buyer backs out of the agreement for no just cause (just didn't want to buy the house anymore), or reneges on a clause stated in your purchase contract (did not pay the deposit on a specified date).In case the transaction pushes through, the deposit should be credited to the buyer, meaning the amount should be deducted from the total purchase price. It is only when this occurs that you can finally consider the buyer's deposit, as yours.

As an intelligent person I know you are aware that real estate agents are not fast or inexpensive, and banks are not exactly renowned for their lightning fast processes either, but what else can you do? Depending on your situation one solution is to sell the house quick by offering a discount to cash buyers. Remember even a well qualified buyer takes time, even months, to get a bank loan approved and get through escrow. Are the traditional methods the best or only options you have? Maybe if you knew of someone that might be able to get enough cash together to make you an offer. If only it were that simple. You might even be able to close on the deal by the end of this month! But that only happens in fantasy land, right? Actually you are in luck as real estate investors are very much in the practice of doing just that. In fact this is just one of many examples of how and when a real estate investor may be involved in any number of properties. For now we will focus on one specific scenario and that will be buying a property in cash for a quick and easy transaction. Often times when a property is going to be sold at a discount it is referred to as wholesaling. In a typical wholesale deal a real estate investor will have a contract for the property owner to sign granting the investor control over the sale of the property for a limited time. The contract will usually consist of terms which generally boil down to an agreement to sell the property for a specific price and within a specific time frame, generally thirty to sixty days.The idea of having a contract to sell your property, much less sell it at a discount, probably sounds a little scary or even strange. Be assured that these contracts are short, simple and to the point. If they were not then no one would sign them! Also keep in mind that you do not have to sign a contract before the ink is dry and there will be some time to think it over. Have it reviewed by your own legal advisor to help put your mind at ease. These short and sweet contracts will not take a legal professional much time, and subsequently not much of your money, to have it reviewed. Signing a contract provides incentive to a cash buyer as no one is going to want to put a lot of time and effort into a deal that they do not have confidence in. A signed contract means the deal is half done already and assures the buyer that the seller is serious. In this situation the buyer now knows that the property is available to them and due diligence may be conducted prior to closing the deal. The advantage of this type of a transaction to the seller is the speed. The whole process of discovery, offer, entering into a contract, performing due diligence, and final decision is most often going to be much quicker than dealing with a conventional loan and real estate agents. Both the seller and buyer score a win.