Legal Fees when selling a house privately

[Koflach]

Hi All,
My wife and I are discussing the pros and cons of selling our townhouse privately as we know a couple who are interested in purchasing our place. Does anyone know what we would incur in legal fees (and any additional fees) when selling our home with no realtors involved on either end? Thanks.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Koflach

Hi All,
My wife and I are discussing the pros and cons of selling our townhouse privately as we know a couple who are interested in purchasing our place. Does anyone know what we would incur in legal fees (and any additional fees) when selling our home with no realtors involved on either end? Thanks.

I did a private transaction recently myself.

At minimum, both sides have to hire their own notary to perform the transaction as the money needs to go through intermediaries and the title needs to be verified. The cost for the seller is about half the cost for the buyer - probably 500-700 bucks. The only exception to this is if both parties perform the transaction at the land title office in New West in the presence of a land title officer who can verify the title on the property. Though you will probably want to hire notaries because the notaries will ensure that the money exchanges hands properly. If you do it in-person at the land title office, you will literally need a suitcase full of cash, or you will need to rely on a bank draft which the risk for clearing lies all on you once you sign away the title.

Though you can technically write the contract on the back of a napkin, you should probably at least find a template standard real estate purchase and sale agreement so you can cover the basic terms and conditions. Though it's typically buyer-beware, you should probably at least agree to disclose certain things, such as the Form B, the price agreed to, and what the sale will include (appliances, fixtures, parking stalls and storage lockers assigned to your unit, etc.) If you aren't aware, any strata property that is sold by a realtor includes a Form B which provides key information about your unit and the complex to potential buyers such as the strata fees, 2 years of strata council minutes, current strata bylaws, the current strata budget, depreciation reports (if any), and any formal alterations that you have done to the unit that were submitted and approved by the strata council. It's also a good idea to find a template property disclosure statement for strata properties so you can make known, in detail, the state of the property you're selling. You want to ensure that your ass is covered - that you informed the buyer of the state of your unit - in case something happens to the unit down the road and the seller tries to take you to court. The legal test for such things is good faith - that you made reasonable efforts, "in good faith", to inform the seller prior to the transaction.

You, as the seller, should make certain guarantees - for example, that the appliances are in good order and that you will not make alterations to the property once you have agreed to terms and conditions. You do not need a lawyer to guide you through this, though if you want a greater level of comfort, you can probably hire a lawyer for a couple of hours to help you draft the agreement. You're probably looking at 200-400 bucks in legal time.

It's not complicated, but it does take a bit of time. Good luck.

[Koflach]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

I did a private transaction recently myself.

At minimum, both sides have to hire their own notary to perform the transaction as the money needs to go through intermediaries and the title needs to be verified. The cost for the seller is about half the cost for the buyer - probably 500-700 bucks. The only exception to this is if both parties perform the transaction at the land title office in New West in the presence of a land title officer who can verify the title on the property. Though you will probably want to hire notaries because the notaries will ensure that the money exchanges hands properly. If you do it in-person at the land title office, you will literally need a suitcase full of cash, or you will need to rely on a bank draft which the risk for clearing lies all on you once you sign away the title.

Though you can technically write the contract on the back of a napkin, you should probably at least find a template standard real estate purchase and sale agreement so you can cover the basic terms and conditions. Though it's typically buyer-beware, you should probably at least agree to disclose certain things, such as the Form B, the price agreed to, and what the sale will include (appliances, fixtures, parking stalls and storage lockers assigned to your unit, etc.) If you aren't aware, any strata property that is sold by a realtor includes a Form B which provides key information about your unit and the complex to potential buyers such as the strata fees, 2 years of strata council minutes, current strata bylaws, the current strata budget, depreciation reports (if any), and any formal alterations that you have done to the unit that were submitted and approved by the strata council. It's also a good idea to find a template property disclosure statement for strata properties so you can make known, in detail, the state of the property you're selling. You want to ensure that your ass is covered - that you informed the buyer of the state of your unit - in case something happens to the unit down the road and the seller tries to take you to court. The legal test for such things is good faith - that you made reasonable efforts, "in good faith", to inform the seller prior to the transaction.

You, as the seller, should make certain guarantees - for example, that the appliances are in good order and that you will not make alterations to the property once you have agreed to terms and conditions. You do not need a lawyer to guide you through this, though if you want a greater level of comfort, you can probably hire a lawyer for a couple of hours to help you draft the agreement. You're probably looking at 200-400 bucks in legal time.

It's not complicated, but it does take a bit of time. Good luck.

Thanks Tapioca, I appreciate you going into such detail.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Koflach

Thanks Tapioca, I appreciate you going into such detail.

Cheers. If you want further information or have any other questions, feel free to send me a PM.