Any Realtors from Maine? Or anywhere for that matter?

Question

I inherited my mom's mobile home....if I wanted to sell it how would I price it? Should I find a realtor even if I already have a buyer? Do I have to get it apprasied even if I know how much the town is taxing it?

Answer 1

If you already have a potential buyer, then you probably do not need to pay a full commission to a Realtor, but there are a few things you can get help with.

First, you want to make sure that you're actually getting something close to what the property is worth. Most agents will to a "Comparative Market Analysis" free of charge, and there are also the online services like zillow.com and CyberHomes.com. While these outfits aren't as accurate as a real person that is familiar with the market, they're better than nothing, and far better than just going with the assessor's valuation.

Many times the appraisal from the county or township will be far below the actual market value of the property.

Assuming that the offer you've got is fair, then many agents will work as a "transaction coordinator" for a set fee, far less than full commission. Hey, you did most of the work, so why should you pay me or one of my collegues for services that you aren't going to be using?

Your other option is to get a real estate attorney to help you through the process, but even that isn't as expensive as you might think.

DON'T just get the "generic" forms down at the office supply place without having a lawyer check them over. Often there are county and even city requirements that those forms may not cover, even if they are specific to your state.

(No, an agent cannot help you evaluate the forms. We're qualified to fill out the forms we normally use, but anything beyond that requires a lawyer.)

If they aren't specific to your state, then they probably aren't worth the paper they're printed on, and could potentially get you into lots of trouble. Have a lawyer check them carefully, but he/she will probably just tell you to toss them out and prepare some for you.

Answer 2

If you already have a buyer, you don't need a Realtor. Why pay a Realtor's commission if you've already located a buyer? You SHOULD have a lawyer to handle the contracts and closing though. That will be cheaper than a Realtor and will protect your interests in a manner that a Realtor cannot.

If the buyer is getting a mortgage an appraisal will be required by the mortgage company. They'll generally order and pay for that themselves so there's no need for you to worry about that.

FYI, the town's assessed valuation for tax purposes is generally meaningless as far as the appraised value for a mortgage or sale is concerned. Even states that require assessed values to accurately reflect fair market value -- and I don't know if ME is among them -- assessed values are often widely disparate from true market value.