Lithia, FL · Member since 2016 · 90 posts · 4 votes
Hello, I am a new investor and I will be investing in land. So lets say i have a buyer who will sell me his property for $1000, What do i do next? I am lost here
Your finished after that, assuming nothing goes funky in the process
Also, if your planning on buying/selling in the future it will pay off to have a good relationship with an Escrow Officer, they are a really good outlet for questions and getting this work done for you
you call a title company if the property is in FL and send them the contract and they will pull title and you'll pay them the 1,000 plus title fees. title company will pay the seller and whammy you have some property!
@Uriah D.Thanks! So i just send the seller the purchase agreement they sign it with a notary and then they send it back and i send them the the check? And then go to the title company?
Call a title company near you, the fees are based upon the sale price of the property.
They will want the details of who is paying what and how much the transfer is for. Here in CA the check for the initial deposit from the buyer goes to the title company and they as the escrow holder will hold the money, Im assuming FL is the same as CA.
Usually we will need a signed contract before opening the order, so first step for you is to have the contract signed, in CA the contract does not need to be notarized.
@Justin WhiteAwesome! SO its that simple? I just have them sign the purchase contract and give the title company the contract and the check and then i get the deed? and how do i decide which type of deed, a warranty deed or a quick claim deed?
I actually work at Fidelity Title, so we just need a signed contract and we will get the title search going. From there the buyer will bring in the initial deposit and once the title search is completed the escrow company will create all of the paperwork needed to transfer the ownership (warranty, grant etc, or whatever is needed in that state). They will then have you sign all of the paperwork and the buyer will bring in all of the money needed to close then you can close the transaction.
I know all states do it a bit different, in CA we record after reviving all of the money and paperwork, other states have a GAP policy.
If you would like I can look up a contact for you. Let me know the county and I will get a contact for you to e mail/call.
@Justin WhiteI am in Hillsborough county Florida, if you could get someone to help me through this that would be fantastic! I am really fuzzy in this area
I'm in hillsborough and it is as easy as everyone is stating. Just call up any local title company to you, most have near the same rates, and will walk you through the process as they would have to for most first home buyers.
Our T/E fees in CA would be about 1,000 which is quite a bit considering the sale of the property is 1,000. But that is pretty much as low as it goes, then again that is CA, FL might be different. Would you still like a contact over there?
@Justin WhiteDo you know how complicated it is to close in house? I would like to close the deal myself without going through a company to avoid the $1000 fees
Steven Paul
I spend about 600 on attorney's fees in nc per closing as the buyer. Title fees are different and it may be more or less if the property has a bunch of issues with liens on it. But something you mentioned earlier - Don't give money directly to the seller. I usually have my attorney (I use an attorney in NC instead of a title company) handle all money transfers so I'm protected. Especially don't give money to the seller if the title company hasn't received the contract. Give yourself a week or two if possible before any money changes hands as I'm always shocked what sellers don't tell me. Like oh yeah.... I just happen to have 220k in IRS liens attached to the property.... Really?! That's it?! Come on! Best of luck to you.
Steven Paul
In house? Meaning not using a title company or attorney? Yes but, why? I want to protect my investment. That is why I get title insurance. You'll be hard pressed to get title insurance if you don't go through a title company or attorney. Listen, it's great your asking these questions, but always use a title company when the property is in FL, until you know so much about the process that you can walk the title company through their job.
@Uriah D.Yes, by not using them. I am just buying land though, its not a house or anything like that, that is why im trying to make my costs go as low as possible
It is not difficult, but it is very easy to screw up.
You would need to know exactly how the seller currently vests on title, transfer tax rates, legal description for the property, and any ancillary documents the county will require to record the deed (preliminary change of ownership, transfer tax affidavit, etc.). You will need a word or fill in pdf of the deed that needs to be recorded for that state, in CA we do Grant Deeds. If you have the info and word/fill in pdf you can do it yourself.
In CA we suggest people go to paralegals or attorneys, if they dont feel comfortable doing it themselves.
@Justin WhiteI would either do a title search my self or through a title company to make sure that person own the property free and clear and after that i can fill out all the documents correctly? Correct?
@Uriah D. is right, you are protecting your investment by going through an attorney or title company and getting title insurance. I have seen some bad situations by people trying to do their own title work. Ambiguity can create legal fees down the road if/when you try to sell the property.
Sounds like the OP should simply give his seller a check for $1000, take whatever piece of paper the seller offers in return, and he gets what (if anything) he gets for his money.
Yes you are correct, but the title insurance company will most likely charge you for a prelim/title search (we charge 500/per title search). You can ask for a property profile and copy of the most recent deed and work off of that for filling the documents.
@Justin WhiteI plan to flip these properties quickly so if i buy one for $2000 and sell for $5000 i would rather not spend $1000 on something i can do myself. I just want to know if i can do this easily and legally.