Video Summary

Can a seller avoid paying closing costs by having the buyer pay them cash on the side outside of closing?  It’s sort of like avoiding paying – evading taxes by not reporting income to the Internal Revenue Service and that could be considered a crime to do that.  Likewise, you are defrauding the Department of Revenue in that you are obligated to pay the documentary stamps on the sales price.  And you are not to avoid those, because you are really evading those if you have a transaction on the side wherein the buyer pays the sellers the cash and is not reporting with the closing agent.

There’s also any number of other problems with that, such as the currency transaction if you are actually dealing in cash, and that anything $10,000.00 or more you have to fill out various currency forms with the bank if it has to be deposited.

So the answer to your question is you are committing a crime or a fraud against the state of Florida by doing that, and you need not contact my office to handle such a transaction because I am not going to be part and parcel of it.  I would also caution you to do that because if there is ever a problem later on about the transaction, trying to show that cash or the actual sales price, you are not going to be very successful whenever you have been involved in this transaction, particularly whenever the buyer then turns around, and he sells it and wants to take credit for the cash that he paid.  Do you really think that he’s going to be looking out for the seller?  So it’s just a very bad idea, and I can’t say enough bad things about it and would encourage you don’t engage in that activity.

So if you would like to close a transaction and pay documentary stamps on the full purchase price, give me a call at 727-847-2288, and I’ll be pleased to handle it for you.

Video Summary

Can I buy a home if I have bad credit?  The answer to that question is of course you can.  However, you are going to be somewhat limited in that you are going to have to have a cash down payment and find a seller who is willing to finance the property if you don’t have sufficient monies to pay cash for the property.  The time that the credit’s going to hurt you is, if you have to go to an institutional lender, and they look at credit scores in order to determine whether or not you qualify for their loans.  It’s getting more and more difficult to qualify for an institutional loan or going through a bank.  So you are probably limited to talking to sellers who are willing to finance the property.

Another way that you can go about this is to enter into a lease with an option to purchase, wherein you give the seller a small down payment.  And then they can apply a portion of each monthly payment to your purchase price and then hopefully hold owner financing, but build your credit back up so that you can refinance the property and pay the seller in cash after a certain period of time under a lease with an option to purchase.

So, yes, you can buy property.  However, your options are limited to sellers who are willing to enter into owner financing or leases with options to purchase.  If you would like to discuss this further, well, give me a call at 727-847-2288.  Thank you.

Video Summary

Am I required to purchase a survey if I’m purchasing a home?  No, you are not, unless your lender insists that you receive a survey.  Now sometimes the lender says, “No, you don’t need a survey,” however tells the closing agent and the title agent that they must delete the survey exceptions on their title insurance policy, in which case the title agent will say, “Well, we will need a current survey in order to be able to provide that coverage to the lender.”

You may be required to get a survey by the closing agent and title agent as a result of the lender insisting that this exception to the title insurance be deleted.  It has been my experience that lenders do require this exception to be deleted so that, in most instances, if you are going through a bank to get a loan, they are going to require a survey, which just shows that there are no encroachments.

However, if the seller has a current survey, which means that there have been no changes in it, then the title company and the lender may agree to use the old survey with an affidavit signed by the seller and you saying that this survey is accurate and thereby avoid the cost of having a new survey performed.

A survey is really very interesting and informative in that it’s a bird’s-eye view of the property.  It shows you the dimensions of your particular lot, where your house or the improvements are in relationship to the boundary lines, but also show where there are easements, also fences, sidewalks, where the street is.  I always like to see a survey and go over with it with a buyer whenever they are buying property because they usually just deal with the legal description, which doesn’t let them know the size of their property, and so therefore it is very informative.

So you are not required to have one.  I think it’s a good idea to have one.  Unless your lender insists that you have a survey, you don’t have to purchase one, the cost of which is about $300.00 to $350.00.

So if you are looking to buy a piece of property or sell it, well, give me a call at 727-847-2288.  Thank you.

Video Summary

Who pays for title insurance?  Well, title insurance is issued in conjunction with the sale of real property.  The sale of real property is governed by a contract between the buyer and the seller.  The provisions in the real estate contract indicate who is to pay for the title insurance premium and the closing cost as well as the other closing costs such as the documentary stamps.  It is controlled by contract.

The Pasco County or Tampa Bay Area it is customary for the seller to pay for title insurance.

If it is a cash transaction the only closing costs the buyer would have would be a home inspection, a survey, termite inspection, and the recording of a deed.  That is the custom in this area, although it is controlled by contract and if you are selling your home you can show that the buyer is to pay for the closing costs and pay for the title insurance.

The title insurance cost is usually shifted to the buyer if you are buying a new home from a developer; they usually shift that cost to you, to a buyer.

Hopefully I have answered your questions about who pays for title insurance and if you are selling your home and would like for me to prepare the contract please give me a call at 727-847-2288.

Video Summary

Should I sign an exclusive buyer representation agreement?

Exclusive buyer representation agreements are usually executed if you have an unusual request as a buyer, certainly in commercial transactions where they have to search to find a particular piece of property.  If you are in need of finding a piece of property which needs to fit your particular needs, I would think that you would want to sign an exclusive buyer arrangement because they will have to do a lot of work to try and locate and find a particular property and they have a certain real estate commission.

If, however, you are simply in the market to buy a home and you are looking at the various listings, I would hesitate to sign an exclusive buyer arrangement, since you can look at any number of properties on your own or if other properties come up from other agents then you are certainly in a position to switch.

The other problem with exclusive buyer representation is if you become disenchanted with your agent, who is your exclusive agent, you have a difficult time in getting rid of them or having to pay them, particularly if there is a particular piece of property.  I would suggest that if you do not have any particular needs or specific type of property that is going to take great deal of research, you may not need to sign a buyer representation agreement.

If you have any questions give me a call at 727-847-2288.