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Process of buying land?

Monsterbuck

Monsterbuck

Active Member
We are looking at buying a piece of land that is for sale by owner. This is good as without realtor commissions the price can be negotiated lower but I'm not very familiar with all that is involved. Will a real estate attorney handle all the necissary paperwork for us? Does anybody know a good and reasonably priced attorney in central Iowa? What is a reasonable price to pay them for handling the paperwork?
 
We bought 300 acres 6 years ago without a Realator. Our Attorney's fees were $300. We also paid for the appraisal. There were a few other minor expenses but nothing major. Overall, it was a very smooth process. Good luck and enjoy your land.
 
Paperwork is peanuts- in the hundreds. I have a good attorney BUT in SE IA. You do NOT have to pay realtor commission- seller does.
 
Use an attorney for everything. Terms as to who pays for what is negotiable but the attorney will tell you what is standard. It will only cost a few hundred dollars and the buyer and seller can negotiate a price that will equal splitting what realtor fees would have been. Use the attorney to also draw up the purchase agreement.
 
Monsterbuck said:
Oh, and who typically pays for what (buyer or seller)?
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Normally the seller pays the realtor commission, but there are exceptions. Do you know if you will need to survey the land or not? As others have said, if it is a straight forward deal then a few hundred bucks for an attorney to help and do a title check, etc, should be good enough.
 
No realtor so no commissions to pay. Just attorney fees, glad to hear it's well under $1,000. Does the attorney generally handle arranging the appraisal, title search, etc?
 
Monster, yes to all your above questions. The attorney/realtor has ties to appraisors, title companies, etc. As stated above the seller is required to pay the realtor's commission out of his or her profit. One thing I got surprised with the first time around was the crp payment. I bought a piece that had X amount of crp per year. My first annual crp payment, which comes in October every year, was short of the stated amount. Me, with head inserted in kiester, should have realized the previous owner received an amount, based on the months he owned the property, and I received the balance for the year. No big deal cause I received the whole amount the following year, but I had made plans for the property that year based on the crp payment. Good luck with the purchase.
 
If you are getting financing, your bank will handle ordering the appraisal. If you aren't getting financing and need an appraisal, you will be responsible for that. The seller will need to get the abstract delivered to the abstract company for continuation. Your attorney will examine the abstract and prepare a preliminary title opinion, which will identify whether there are any issues with you receiving clear title. In southern IA, the seller's attorney will normally prepare all of the closing related documents and hold the closing. Sometimes the bank will wish to hold the closing if financing is involved. Costs for a buyer are very minimal. Attorney fees and deed recording are usually around $300 totaly. If you have to get an appraisal, that will be quite a bit more. Very simple process and there are plenty of good attorneys in southern Iowa that can help you. PM me if you'd like to talk through the process in person before getting started or if you'd like some attorney names to talk with. Good luck!
 
dtr said:
If you are getting financing, your bank will handle ordering the appraisal. If you aren't getting financing and need an appraisal, you will be responsible for that. The seller will need to get the abstract delivered to the abstract company for continuation. Your attorney will examine the abstract and prepare a preliminary title opinion, which will identify whether there are any issues with you receiving clear title. In southern IA, the seller's attorney will normally prepare all of the closing related documents and hold the closing. Sometimes the bank will wish to hold the closing if financing is involved. Costs for a buyer are very minimal. Attorney fees and deed recording are usually around $300 totaly. If you have to get an appraisal, that will be quite a bit more. Very simple process and there are plenty of good attorneys in southern Iowa that can help you. PM me if you'd like to talk through the process in person before getting started or if you'd like some attorney names to talk with. Good luck!
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Jesus is the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through him. John 14:6


Everthing in dtr's post is right on the money.
 
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