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For Sale By Owner - Prepare For Success
So you want to sell your home without a real estate agent. Like hundreds of thousands of other homeowners, you've chosen this option because you don't want to pay those large commissions to an agent. Many people who have tried it in the past will...
Gatlinburg's Real Estate Market
Real estate in Gatlinburg is thriving. While the 2000 census estimated that some 3,300 people live year-round in Gatlinburg, many thousands more visit during every season of the year. As these crowds visit Gatlinburg to enjoy the outdoor activities...
Inspecting Your New Home - 17 Areas You Must Inspect Before Taking Possession
Congratulations! You've made your decision; you've chosen your new home and your builder. So what needs to happen next? Once you have a firm contract and you have selected the features that will go into your new home, it is time for the builder to...
Renting Versus Buying A Home
Renters are often in a quandary as to whether it makes sense to continue renting or buy a home. Buying a home makes more sense, particularly when taking a long-term view. Yes, even in the current hot real estate market.
Renting – Advantages
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Why Hardwood Flooring Is Still A Good Investment
1) Hardwood flooring has a timeless air of quality
Hardwood floors have decorated some of the most exclusive mansions and estates in history and still exudes a feeling of permanence and classic quality compared to manufactured floors.
2)...
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Good Faith Deposit – Real Estate Transactions
In a real estate transaction, a touchy issue is how much trust the seller has in a buyer. The existence of a good faith deposit helps put a seller at rest.
Good Faith Deposit
If you are selling your home, condominium or other real estate, you should always require a buyer to make a good faith deposit. The good faith deposit simply establishes that the buyer is serious and, to some extent, has the financial capacity to follow through on the purchase.
The amount of the good faith deposit is dependent upon the agreed sale price of the real estate. Although percentages vary from state to state, a cash deposit equal to three percent of the sales price is typical. For instance, the deposit would be $9,000 for home selling at a price of $300,000. As with most transactions, this percentage is negotiable. I don’t recommend that you accept anything less than two percent.
Once the buyer and seller agree to the amount of the good faith deposit, you have to figure out what to do with the deposit. Importantly, the seller should not hold the deposit as doing so could make the buyer very uncomfortable. Instead, the money should be deposited with a third party and held “in trust.” Potential third parties include escrow and title insurance companies as well as an attorney if your state requires their involvement.
A good faith deposit acts like an insurance
option for a seller. Moving through escrow can take 30 to 60 days, during which the property is off the market. The good faith deposit essentially compensates the seller for this time in the event the buyer is unable to follow through on the purchase of the property.
Depending on the laws in your state, a buyer who can’t close will lose the deposit. Typically, the only exception to this is when the seller allows language indicating the deposit will be returned if the buyer can’t get a home loan. Of course, including such language can open the seller up to repeated frustration when bad credit buyers repeatedly fail to get funding.
Good faith deposits are a fundamental part of a real estate transaction. Buyers should expect to pay them and sellers should demand them.
About the Author: Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - FSBO homes for sale by owner. Visit our "sell my home" page at http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your home yourself with a free 1 month listing.
Source: www.isnare.com
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