Why doesn't real estate just sell for the asking price instead of having to go thru all the paper work...?

Question

Wouldn't it be easier to just put a price on it and sell it for that price? We don't go thru all of that when purchasing cars or anything else. Where did this practice start?

Answer 1

people want to get the best price they can. if they listed the least price they would accept, they will lose out if someone would have been willing to pay more. hence, you list it at a most desired price, but are willing to negotiate down if necessary to a will accept price. if you have several bidders that really want a house, you are much more likely to get the asking price, or possibly even more.
the paperwork (i assume you're talking about signing an offer contract and putting down earnest money) is to set the terms that go with your offer and prove that you are serious about buying the house. otherwise, someone could make an offer on a house without any personal ramifications if they pull the offer later, in the meantime, if the seller accepted that offer and sent other potential buyers away, the seller will later be screwed when the first offer pulls out.

Answer 2

We do go through the hassle with cars - when they're used.

The issue is that, with the exception I suppose of some new homes, every house is unique. So its hard to know what 'the price' should be. In very liquid real estate markets (i.e. where there is a _lot_ of buying and selling) its actually simpler to auction the house - assuming there are a few interested buyers, it goes to whichever is willing to bid the highest. This is clearly 'fair' since they pay the minimal price at which only they want it - at any lower price, who gets it? When markets are less liquid and turnover is slower, there is the 'dance' as the buyer and seller try to reach a price they are both comfortable with.

What could work, in theory, would be to have real estate 'arbitrators'. A private buyer and seller could agree to accept a third party experts valuation of the home. The problem is, sellers are normally hoping to find someone who is willing to overpay, and buyers are sometimes looking for a deal from someone who is looking to move fast.

Answer 3

Land is important, it is immovable, they are not making any more, and it is uniquely identifiable by location. It is used as a basis for taxation, and social status. Not too long ago, the vast majority of the population worked by farming land.

Precively how much land goes with a parcel, and precisely what the boundaries and limitations are, is critically important. Taking just a few square feet away can mean that it cannot be used for a given purpose. Rights of easement are important to everybody served by that easement. Wars have been fought over simply the right to pass over a piece of land.

Because of its importance, its permanence, and its value, there has been a lot of fraud committed over land, therefore the systems of title and escrow. Add that to the fact that land is taxed by most governments, and you have the justification for public records systems.

Because of its permanent and immovable nature, banks will loan money against land on better terms than anything else. But since a fair number of people over the years have gotten money for land they don't own, or gotten more money for land than it is worth, they have instituted safeguards such as the appraisal, inspection, and lenders title insurance. It still happens, by the way. Last week I looked a a property in a fantastic location, but really old and run down. By the market, I'd say it was maybe worth $600,000 - but the owners convinced someone to loan them $1.8 million dollars on it.

Every part of the process has a reason it is there. There is no need for anyone who is not a professional to learn them, but the reason those professionals exist is so that you don't have to know what they know - and that runs true for everyone from the escrow officer to the title officer to the agent, and trying to shortcut the process is a recipe for disaster. Just ask the people who got burned, and whose cases are the reasons for all that paperwork and stuff. And people still get burned today. Most often, the people who try to shortcut the process to save a few dollars. "You don't need that appraisal! You're paying cash!" "You don't need that inspection! Solid as a rock!" "You don't need an agent! Trust me!"

Answer 4

Because everyone wants to make money. The seller wants to sell the property for more then its really worth which would be more then the appraised value. The realtors want to get their cut so they want the sales price raised another 3%-6% on top of the sellers asking price. However, the buyer wants to purchase the property for less then its worth so that he/she might turn around and sell it and make profit. Also, theres other middle men wanting to make money from the buy/sell. Including the title and closing companys. The insurance companys. The tax collector and assessor. The home inspector, etc. etc. Its not an easy market anymore.

Answer 5

Owning property is a very big deal and a very involved process because everyone who is involved in the transaction wants to get paid. Therefore you have to pay the taxes, interest, etc. and then you want to make sure that the house has a "clean title" (so to speak). Whenever you buy property you have to be certain that it is yours and nobody else can make a claim for it. It would be horrible to spend $325,000 on a house and then someone comes along and LEGALLY takes it away from you without any recourse.

Answer 6

My opinion is that the answer lies within contract law. When you want to sell a property you "offer" to sell your property your contract is to "offer" your property for sale not to sell your property.
The best way to explain it is this:
If I list my property for sale I offer to sell my property in accordance to the terms listed in the agreement with the real estate company. Along comes Tiddlywink agent armed with an offer meeting the exact terms that I asked for. Do I have to sell? The answer is no all I have to do is pay the commission.
As to where it originated from: Given the ability to change your mind hints that perhaps a woman's prerogative might have been involved.

Answer 7

lots of paperwork needs to be filled out and gone over, for ownership of the land/property, and the house. all this needs to be legal and official, so im guessing it's a lot more important than a car. you own a house for fifty years, not a car.

Answer 8

cause no one pays the asking price, they want to feel like they got a great deal.

Answer 9

Think of what you're saying......if I'm selling a house for 300K and you want my house but you only have 292K.....in your system I wouldnt be able to sell my house to you!

Answer 10

Because after inspections there are always repairs to be made or things that are not code.