When you sell your house as a Sale By Owner you don’t have the benefit of being familiar with the real estate contracts and forms that are used in sales transaction. It may be a good idea to contact an attorney that specializes in real estate to help draft, or at least to review the required paperwork.
The worst time to familiarize yourself with all the contracts and forms that are used in a real estate transaction is at the time a buyer is ready to present an offer. You may be receiving an offer from a real estate agent representing a buyer, or you may be receiving an offer directly from a buyer that isn’t being represented by a real estate agent. In either case it’s best to have a working knowledge of the contracts and forms before an offer is presented.
In my state of Colorado our Real Estate Commission has made all of the real estate contracts used by real estate agents available on their website so consumers can download them and review them. I don’t know if that is available in all states.
If your state’s Real Estate Commission doesn’t provide contracts and forms on their website here is an alternative that might be helpful: USLegalForms.com. This website has contracts and forms for all 50 states. There is a modest cost to download the forms but it is well worth the cost to provide you with an opportunity to read through and gain an understanding of the contracts and forms ahead of time and I would highly recommend it..
