Can I sell my home to whomever I want?

[Lara]

Don't let them underestimate the value of your house. In the 80's in CA, I was told by my realtor that my house was worth 600k. I told him I thought I could get more from the specs I researched. He said no way but I insisted we list it at 650K. He laughed and said none of the realtors agreed. I still insisted.

They had an open house for their clients prior to putting it on the market. I got 2 offers for full price and was told to pick the one I wanted. They didn't have bidding wars back then. I chose the one who offered to pay cash. Done. The realtors shook their heads and said "This market is crazy".

Of course it's worth millions now but c'est la vie....I'm happy as a clam where I am today.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Another possibility that would allow you to choose your buyer is to offer to do a lease-to-own and that way you would be able to lease the property to whomever seemed like a good buyer for what you are looking for, and part of their rent would go towards the down payment, usually a little more than normal rent, so that the extra can go to the down payment.

Even a sale where you agree to carry the contract would give you the option to choose your buyer. I sold a house that way before, and it worked out fine.
I put an add in one of the little free bulletins (this was back before some much was done online) and then made appointments, showed the property , and took offers.

We were able to see which people were really interested in living at the house, and seemed like they would be good buyers. If you need cash afterwards, you can always sell the contract.
You lose some money that way, but if you got a good price for the house, you could still come out as well as if you took a lower offer when you sold it.

Doing this is accepting a big risk because you don’t know what the market will do in the period of time that the buyer has to use the option to buy.

We sold a house this way and a year later the market dropped so much that of course the buyer not only didn’t want to pay the agreed upon price but didn’t want the house at all. That left us stuck with 2 houses for 10 years because we couldn’t sell either house.

 

[againstthegrain]

Also, remember that the inspector is working for the buyer...not you.

The inspector is a small business and he is working for himself. He is dependent on referrals from RE agents who's entire mission is to close a sale at any price w the least conflict possible. They don't go back to inspectors that cause them agita. The fact that the buyer is paying for the inspection is a mere formality.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

Once your house is under contract then you are bound to sell to that buyer BUT...you can certainly turn that buyer sour on his desire to want it causing him to back out of the contract on his own. Any demands he makes say, "no it's sold as is and at full price". If he doesn't meet his "Due Diligence" date on time you can end the contract. If he doesn't meet the contract deadline for the sale then the contract is null and void.
You can also disclose things about the house that you didn't have to disclose that may change his mind.

Another possibility that would allow you to choose your buyer is to offer to do a lease-to-own and that way you would be able to lease the property to whomever seemed like a good buyer for what you are looking for, and part of their rent would go towards the down payment, usually a little more than normal rent, so that the extra can go to the down payment.

Even a sale where you agree to carry the contract would give you the option to choose your buyer. I sold a house that way before, and it worked out fine.
I put an add in one of the little free bulletins (this was back before some much was done online) and then made appointments, showed the property , and took offers.

We were able to see which people were really interested in living at the house, and seemed like they would be good buyers. If you need cash afterwards, you can always sell the contract.
You lose some money that way, but if you got a good price for the house, you could still come out as well as if you took a lower offer when you sold it.

Thats a great idea especially after reading the OP’s wants and desires for the house. Good thinking HFL!

 

[John cycling]

Can I sell my home to whomever I want?

Yes.

1. The Realtor CANNOT give you ANY information about the buyer and they should NOT give you info about the seller, if you are a buyer. PRIVACY laws now in effect.

This depends on which agent is representing whom, and what information is being discussed.

2. IF you list with an Realtor, they will market the home for "list price." According to most contracts, YOU MUST ACCEPT the offer if it is for full asking price or more.

That is not correct. You certainly are not required to accept any offer, regardless of the price.
The commission to the listing broker depends on receiving an offer for full price, but invariably the commission is only paid when the sale is completed.

 

[John cycling]

When you plan to list, get value appraisals from three realtors. Why they’re giving you their pitch on why you should list with them, ask for the rules in Texas re selling. It’ll help you get a feel for them too.

Personally I would interview at least 3 or 4 agents. Each of the agents should present a comparative market analysis (CMA) which shows the listing prices of current homes on the market, the listing prices of off market properties that didn't sell, and the sale prices of comparable properties that closed escrow. This is important to determine a reasonable listing price of a property.

If an agent doesn't present a CMA or doesn't do a good job at preparing one then pick someone else. Also look at the number of closed sales history in the past year and client recommendations (online) of each agent. Appraisals can be expensive and are not necessary. They are usually only done by lenders when evaluating a buyer's loan application.

Realtor agents get paid 5.6% of the total sales price

The commission is entirely negotiable between the seller and the broker.
When I was selling real estate my commission was 4.4%, while most other brokers were charging 6%.

 

[Mel N. Choly]

Personally I would interview at least 3 or 4 agents. Each of the agents should present a comparative market analysis (CMA) which shows the listing prices of current homes on the market, the listing prices of off market properties that didn't sell, and the sale prices of comparable properties that closed escrow. This is important to determine a reasonable listing price of a property.

If an agent doesn't present a CMA or doesn't do a good job at preparing one then pick someone else. Also look at the number of closed sales history in the past year and client recommendations (online) of each agent. Appraisals can be expensive and are not necessary. They are usually only done by lenders when evaluating a buyer's loan application.


The commission is entirely negotiable between the seller and the broker.
When I was selling real estate my commission was 4.4%, while most other brokers were charging 6%.

Great advice, John. Thanks a lot.

 

[Debrah N.]

When we sold our house in AZ, it was sold within 24 hours. There wasn't even time for pictures to be taken and posted. The buyer had cash and paid full price. That was good for our bank account but what wasn't good was it was December and there wasn't much choice in houses in the area in PA that we wanted to be in. It was tough. We thought our house in AZ would take longer to sell so we'd have more time.

What happened was we got a not so great realtor in PA. They had good reviews and being 2000 miles away we were going to rely on him helping us. It was a disaster. He lied about everything. He fought us every step of the way and we should have fired him in the beginning. We were too nice and it added a lot of added stress to our move. He wouldn't do a video walkthrough. Said he didn't know how (he was 70, afterall) and he didn't know how to do an electronic Earnest money transaction. He wouldn't have the roof inspected for us. He wanted to know why we needed to know that. It was a constant battle for information.

We were running out of time so we didn't have an inspection done, which was a huge mistake on our part. This house cost us over $80,000 in renovations and repairs. I'll never get that back when (if) I sell it.

All I'm saying is....yes, it's sort of an important thing to know about buyers but it's more important to know you have a realtor that will tell you the truth.

We had the same experience when we sold our apartment in BC. Went in the first week of listing, it was December and worse yet, our province was hit with massive flooding that washed out roads and highways and we were moving to the next province! AND the deal we accepted because it was so good, the buyer wanted to move in, in 25 days! We loaded everything into the truck and then weren't sure the police would allow us onto the highway. Very stressful time.

 

[MissRJ]

I know that in the US I can’t discriminate based upon race, gender, family status or nationality, and I certainly don’t want to. I don’t want to sell my home to a company that will rent it out. I prefer to sell it to a buyer that will live in the home. I know that a company might offer me a better deal than an individual. I know that I can’t dictate what the new owner will do with the home, but if I can prevent it becoming a corporate rental property then I would like to do so. I’ve lived in my home over 30 years and I’ve never sold a home, so I’m now learning as much as I can about the matter.

I realize that I am entering a thread that is over one year old.
In the past, I thought about who I would want to sell my home too.
Now that my life s completely worse-and different I am willing to sell my home to he one who offers me the most money.