How to Sell Your House with Prudence and Caution

A lot of us seeking to sell our houses have wondered what we should do except, possibly, hiring a real estate agent and thinking about the day after when we have sold the house. In fact, without having specific plans and objectives, selling a house might not be a pleasant experience, and we might not obtain the dollar amount we reasonably deserve. Hence, to facilitate the selling process, let us explore the steps we should take.

SETTING SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AT THE OUTSET

• Do you want to wait for the right seller and the right market to sell?
• Do you want to sell hassle-free and get what you put into the property?
• Do you want to wait, wait and wait for the seller you have in mind, but which the market may not bring you in the foreseeable future?
• Do you want to — and can you — move out on a few weeks’ notice?
• Do you have a place to move into?
• Do you want to time the sale of your home and the purchase of another?

SETTING A REASONABLE SALES PRICE

• Do your homework.
• Do not rely only on what real estate agents tell you. It might be that you are told a house is worth a lot, so that you list it — except that they ask you later to lower the price to sell it.
• Do not overprice it, because it might languish in the market.
• Do obtain a professional, reliable appraisal, if possible.

SETTING SIGHTS ON FLAWS AND PROBLEMS IN THE HOUSE

• Do inspect your house carefully.
• Do identify any problems or flaws — such as leaky roof, dry rot, asbestos, flooded basement, termites, septic problems.
• Do notify the potential buyer of such problems or flaws.
• Do take disclosure very seriously —because, if you do not disclose these and possibly other problems, your sale might be sued for fraud, in a number of states.

SETTING YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER COSMETICALLY

• Do major repair work before the sale, if it makes sense economically.
• Do beautify your walkway outside your house. Plant some flowers and trim the shrubs.
• Do paint inside, if possible.
• Do remove extra stuff from your house to make it look neater and larger.

SETTING YOUR SIGHTS ON WHAT IS LEFT AND WHAT IS TAKEN

• Do decide what you are leaving behind and what you are taking with you.
• Do leave behind drapes designed for your house and custom cushions. Such incentives attract buyers to be amenable to your pricing or even concerns, to some extent.

SETTING YOUR FINANCING IN PLACE

• Do calculate what you pocket and what your expenses are.
• Do calculate real agent’s fees up to 6% of the selling price.
• Do calculate the amount that you owe the bank and calculate the net, which you receive after all of these expenses and, probably, other expenses, such as moving and packing.

Doron F. Eghbali Real Estate Law

What Does Escrow Encompass in Los Angeles Land Sales and Real Estate Transactions?

Many real estate transactions, to some extent, involve escrow. In fact, escrow is a term often used but not often delineated. Let us further educate ourselves on what escrow entails and how we could intelligently and prudently exploit it in our real estate transactions.

WHAT IS ESCROW?

Simply, escrow refers to the entire arrangement in which the deed is deposited and then delivered. Therefore, escrow is a particular kind of delivering the deed. More particularly, escrow is the deed deposited to a custodian to be delivered to another party after that party has satisfied certain contractual conditions.

WHAT ARE SALES ESCROWS?

Commercial or sales escrows are the most typical type of escrows. Some of the characteristics of commercial or sales escrows are:

• They are handled by a lending institution, attorney, title insurance company or professional escrow company.
• They are used especially to settle or close all types of real estate sales.

WHAT ARE SOME ADVANTAGES OF SALES ESCROWS?

• The escrow agent can compute various charges and credits to each party and can handle the mailing of checks, recording of documents and other administrative aspects of transfer.
• The escrow agent may receive all of the documents and payments from the parties, and the parties may not necessarily meet for a formal meeting.
• The escrow agent or the escrow company, in some instances, should be working with title insurers to avoid the possibility of closing without the knowledge of some adverse recorded instrument.

WHAT ARE SOME DUTIES OF ESCROW AGENTS?

• The escrow agent is an agent of both parties until the close of the escrow.
• After the close of escrow, the escrow agent becomes the agent of the seller in terms of providing the money to the seller, and becomes the agent of the purchaser in terms of providing the deed.
• The escrow agent’s FUNDAMENTAL DUTY is to strictly adhere to escrow instructions and to not violate the escrow instructions to damage either of the parties.
• The escrow agent cannot interpret parties’ contracts or give consents or waivers on their behalf, generally.
• The escrow agent is a fiduciary to parties. However, the escrow agent, generally, is not required to provide legal or financial advice or even to correct errors in documents drawn by parties.
• The escrow agent may be liable to parties for damages.

Our Lawyers are Experienced in Los Angeles Land Sales Laws and Legalities

Law Advocate Group’s Lawyers are based in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Our attorneys have acquired over 80 years of combined experience in legal representation, and specialize in Los Angeles Land Sales Law and Legalities. Our skills and knowledge are a top resource for our clients that has been recognized by industry peers and judges. If you have a criminal matter specifically involving Los Angeles Land Sales Legalities, please take a moment to fill out the form below so that we may get in contact with you.