Source
r/personalfinance•
upperouterright

Thinking about selling our house in a private sale to a friend

Housing

Wife and I are moving cross county, we live in a sellers market and houses are flying off the MLS in our neighborhood. A good friend heard I was selling and asked if he could see the house before we put it on the market. I would love to do a private sale, skip the 6% and give him a break on the price. The house is in very good shape. Is this a good/bad/crazy/ novel idea? What are the trip hazards. My friend is a business man who understands contracts, I see this as a plus. We will do what the contract says... Would appreciate your experience.

Posted Aug 30, 2018, 12:33 AM UTC

26
Mrfrodough•

Just make sure that the contract is air tight that you can't be fucked. Even though it's a friend it's just business

7
iaalaughlin•

As long as you find an experienced attorney for this, it should be fine.

Expect about 1-2% of house value in total costs.

4
Upstate_NY518•

It's nothing personal, just business.

2
Coomb•

If you are giving your friend a break on the price, just be aware that it may qualify as a gift, and that may have tax implications for you. It is unlikely that you would end up having to pay any tax, unless you have already given away tens of millions of dollars, but you may have to fill out a form depending on the amount of the discount you give to your friend.

1
itsananderson•

Did something similar about 5 years ago on the buying end. Can save a ton on realtor fees. We paid a mutual realtor friend a flat fee and he walked us through the normal comps process to come up with a fair market price. Definitely pay someone (realtor/attorney) to draw up a contract. Buyer will still need to pay for an assessment and inspection to get the mortgage approved.

1
atlien0255•

We did this recently to save the 6%--but we also used a good friend who is an experienced real estate attorney to do the closing. It was so easy. I highly recommend if you can get an attorney you trust!

1