Can I do this without a realtor?

[NLaw88]

I’m planning on purchasing the home I’m renting. But my landlord will charge us more if we use a NACA realtor as they charge a brokerage fee. So we are planning on going at this alone. Has anyone done this on their own without a realtor? If so, who did you go to for advice on the P&S agreement, grants, and the whole purchase process? Would a NACA Realtor or the RED department help even though they aren’t our realtor? And what is the best way to reach out to them? I’ve sent emails once a week for the past 4 weeks, but haven’t heard anything back yet.

[Nelsont]

I don’t believe you are allowed to represent yourself. Maybe. But bank of America will require a contract with official state clauses, regulations and seals and you will need to provide as part of the process listings directly from MLS and other things that require a RE license not to mention getting yourself approved as a naca agent if that’s even allowed.

And oh btw selling a house to a naca member is cheaper because there are no closing costs…boa pays the brokerage fee…

[BakerTheBaker]

I seem to recall a thread recently saying even licensed Realtors weren’t permitted to represent themselves with NACA. You do need a Realtor, and in addition to their services being valuable, the cost of having one is pretty negligible by comparison. If your landlord is only increasing the asking price by the amount of the actual cost of the fees and Realtor, as Nelsont mentioned, its much less than closing costs outside NACA would be. As for asking for help from a Realtor not representing you, that opens up a lot of liability, and you’re asking someone to give you professional services for free.

[Taco]

I wondered the same thing since the two homes I was interested in were for sale by owner or the builder. My MC strongly encouraged I use a realtor and I’m glad I did. NACA is unheard of in my area so the challenge was fining a realtor willing to sit through the webinar and learn the process. The seller was willing to contribute so much towards costs and that mostly covered her fees/commission. You may also see if a realtor will charge a flat fee so any additional seller’s funds can be used for buy down.

I thought a realtor wasn’t needed, but boy I was wrong. She asked for things that I wouldn’t have thought to ask for. Not only did she draft the necessary documents, she was able to negotiate new flooring and upgraded appliances for me. Since you are already living in the home, a realtor may be able to negotiate some improvements or items without it straining your relationship with your landlord.

🌮taco

[LosAngeles2020]

@nlaw88 Hi, I am looking to go through my process without a realtor. I know you mentioned that you wouldn’t advise it but it seems to be the only way I get an offer accepted in Los Angeles. Any tips you can provide? Also, I wanted to know how to do provide proof of the earnest money deposit?
Any help would be great!

[NLaw88]

@LosAngeles2020 be ready for the closing process to take a bit longer. I’m not sure what the rules are in CA but in FL we don’t require a attorney. You may want to consult your MC just to get some guidance on that. Also, the most valuable part of having a realtor is this person has the experience and knowledge of the local market and can fight on your behalf with the seller or their agent. I am purchasing the home I’m renting so there was no need for the third party as my landlord already knows me and wants to sell the home to me. Another seller may not be as kind. Also, conditions will come up all throughout the process for certain documents and paperwork to be filled out that your realtor would’ve known to fill out, but you may not have known on your own. I wish more people who closed without a realtor would comment here, so we’d know how long closing took them. But I’m on day 65 now and although I’m close to the end, we still haven’t closed.

[NLaw88]

Also with the earnest money deposit we had a debacle of our own. We couldn’t figure out how to find a NACA title agency. So we did some research and called a few. One of them said yes they are a NACA agency. Well after submitting the escrow deposit to them another company contacted the seller and he called us immediately to see if they were legit. There was an extra day of running around contacting my MC and calling the other place to find out that first company wasn’t NACA approved. We had to grab all the paperwork from them, write a new check for the second company and I took pictures on my phone of the front and back of that check to send to my MC. We also needed to show the bank statement where the check cleared the bank as proof that we paid it.

[ibuyhome]

I would highly advice getting a realtor. You process would be so much smoother having another person on your team to help fight on your behalf. I can’t imagine doing this process alone without one. I guess the only way I would even consider going without a realtor is if I had the knowledge that a realtor had to close on a house. There’s a lot of moving pieces to it though.

[LosAngeles2020]

@nlaw88 Thank you for your timely reply!
CA does not require an attorney although I do have one who I am free to call at any time for consulting. I have already found two willing sellers who are not only willing to sell to me, but that have experience with NACA and I was able to negotiate a seller’s concession. So that part is done. My MC has closed several homes were the member did not have a realtor. My MC is also very helpful and responsive. She has already chosen the Escrow and title company will use because all her previous members who closed without a realtor have used them before and the sellers have also agreed to use them.
So, although I do believe it won’t be as smooth of a transaction, I’m already in a great position considering I have already found two properties willing to sell to me. One os which has not hit the market yet and will take another month before we even open escrow. So this property is just my back-up in case the other property falls through.

[NLaw88]

@LosAngeles2020 so we learned there is a transaction summary that they’ll request during credit access, and they’ll need the seller’s agent details if they have one. That includes license, address, and email. Our seller is a realtor and broker so he provided that info on himself. Also, with no realtor to push your MC or the underwriter it may take a little more pushing to get an update on things. Do your own research on the regular non-NACA loan process from YouTube videos as many of those steps are the exact same, just NACA does them twice. Once during credit access and again during bank loan process.

[LosAngeles2020]

@nlaw88 Yes, I am aware of the TS. My seller is also a broker and said he already said he will provide this. I have read the RED Handbook several times to do my best to minimize errors and to do all that I can to expedite my process. My MC has been very responsive. We communicate via email and I meet with her once a week via GoToWebinar.
I will also do what you suggested and watch non-NACA loan processes on YouTube. Thanks for the suggestion!!

[Author]

Posts