Selling a home in Alaska

Although you love the pristine white surroundings, and can’t get enough of the cool crisp air that greets you every minute of the day, you feel the time has come for you to say goodbye to your Inuit and Eskimo friends, and leave your own winter wonderland of Alaska.

The minute you and your family decide to plant your roots someplace else, the first thing you have to do is sell the property you live in. Just because you live in what is erroneously thought of as a desolate state doesn’t mean that Alaska is not governed by real estate laws. As a matter of fact, real estate transactions, especially those done through real estate agents, in Alaska are slightly different from those of other states.

Fiduciary Duty

The major difference between working with real estate agents in Alaska and in other States is that agents in Alaska have a “fiduciary duty” to the seller. By having a fiduciary duty, all agents are bound by law to perform specific duties to the seller (and not the buyer, as is often the case). Apart from the duties indicated in the listing agreement of contract, additional duties and obligations include:

• accounting
• confidentiality
• diligence
• disclosure
• loyalty
• obedience, and
• reasonable care

Your Responsibility

Although Alaskan agents would represent you to the best of their abilities, you still have a responsibility which, they can only guide you with. As with any US State, you are required by law to present your buyers with a property disclosure statement. Unlike standard disclosure statements wherein you usually have to indicate if the property used lead-based paint (which is mandatory under the federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992), structural defect or problems, repairs and maintenance done on the property; in Alaska, you must also provide adequate information on the heating system, hot water heater, water supply, sewage system, and most importantly, on frozen water lines. If you are at a loss as to what to include on your property disclosure statement, consult with your real estate agent.

Purchase Procedure

When you have a serious buyer, you will receive a formal offer to purchase your home. This written offer is called a purchase agreement and this document highlights the terms and conditions of the transaction. If you are not satisfied with what is stated, you have the option to make a counter offer and have the entire deal go through a negotiation process. Counter offers (or counter proposals) usually have provisions or requests for a higher price/deposit; exclusion of some items from the sale, adequate time for you to vacate the property, and in some cases, a liquidated damages clause. This clause indicates how much money the buyer should pay in case he backs out of the agreement for reasons outside those that have been listed in the purchase contract.

Additional Costs

After the purchase of your property has been finalized, you can’t leave the State without settling what are termed as “closing costs”. These are additional charges which, if these were not included in the terms of sale or incorporated in the sale price, you are obliged to pay. Some of the closing costs include:

• Attorney's Fees
• Broker's Commission
• Home Inspections
• Recorded Release of Mortgage
• Survey
• Title Insurance, and
• Transfer Taxes

Selling by Yourself

In case you don’t want to be bothered by real estate agents and do away with added costs, you are more than welcome to conduct the sale of your property by yourself. You just need to be familiar with the processes involved, and the individuals you need to get in touch with to ensure that you are going about the transaction properly.

Selling your property on your own is do-able and, thanks to the unlimited resources on your fingertips, all the forms and documents you need to finalize your real estate transaction can easily be downloaded from the internet.

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