Selling your Home, Simplified Purchase Procedure

If you’ve decided to contract the services of a real estate agency, you usually don’t have to worry about the purchase procedure. However, if you’re doing everything by yourself, you may get a tad bit confused.

Selling a property is not a very simple task, as it involves a lot of paperwork. You may have to exert a little extra effort in securing all the permits but it is doable.

Assuming you’ve already completed all the pre-selling activities (fixing your home, advertising, conducting open house events and showing your house to guests), here’s what you should do when a buyer is interested in purchasing your home.

In a perfect world, a buyer would gladly pay the asking price, with no questions asked. But since this is not a perfect world, expect buyers to make a counter offer. This could be done through their agents or a simple one on one discussion with you (the seller).

If you find his counter offer amenable, you can ask him to give you a small token amount (a deposit), the figure to be agreed upon by you and your buyer. You and your buyer should then set a date when you should meet again, hopefully by then; all the necessary documents have been prepared and are ready to be signed.

Once the deposit has been given, you should contact a real estate lawyer and have him draft the purchase contract. You can download some forms from the internet but to be safe, it is best that you consult with a real estate professional. This way you avoid making costly errors.

When all this has been ironed out, you will then meet with your buyer (who will most probably bring his own lawyer or agent) and discuss the terms of the purchase contract. You may have to meet with your buyer several times but this is all part of the purchase process.

The moment everything is agreeable to both parties, the contract is signed and the down payment is given. You and your buyer can then discuss when they can move in.

The keys to your house, as well as transfer certificates or titles can be handed over to the buyer once the balance (as paid by the bank or by the buyer itself) has been settled.