Some issues you should consider before selling your home in Texas
Texas, like all states, has its own real estate laws and practices you must follow when selling a house. Here’s an overview of the basics—from working with a real estate agent to making legally-required disclosures to closing the deal.
Most people who put their home up for sale in Texas, choose to work with a licensed real estate broker or an agent. A good real estate agent is knowledgeable about assessing the value of homes in your area, can effectively market your home to prospective buyers, handle other important issues such as reviewing purchase documents and negotiating with buyers.
Before you sign a listing agreement with any real estate agent, you should request references from other sellers and check out the reviews on the Internet.
Once you choose a real estate agent that you feel comfortable working with, you will be asked to sign a "Listing Agreement" giving the agent the right to market your home and handle the sale. Most real estate agents use standard forms that are provided by their Association of Realtors. Listing agreements typically include the following terms:
Texas state law requires sellers to disclose any facts or conditions about their property that have a substantial impact on the value of the property and that others cannot easily see. To help sellers make all the required disclosures the Texas Association of Realtors offers a disclosure form and your real estate agent will supply that to you. Details included on the form are:
87% of sellers in Texas use a real estate agent when selling their house.
If a buyer wants to purchase a property in Texas they will make a formal offer to the seller, generally in writing. The buyer will specify the offer price, proposed down payment as well as any contingencies for instance a satisfactory inspection report. Other contingencies can also include the buyers' arranging financing or selling their current house.
As the seller, you may reject any offer outright, accept it as is or respond with a counter offer. A counter offer accepts some or most of the offer terms but suggests changes such as a higher price or a different closing date.
A purchase agreement is drawn up upon acceptance of a final offer. The agreement will contain key terms of the sale such as the agreed upon price, contingencies, financing terms, dispute resolution and the closing date.
Once a purchase agreement is signed by both the buyer and the seller, the transaction will go into escrow.
Escrow is the time between the purchase agreement and the closing on the house. You choose an escrow or title agent to serve as intermediary and supervise the process of closing.
The buyer generally has more to do during this time than the seller. By the close of escrow, the buyer will need to finalize financing, remove all contingencies, have the house appraised and get title insurance - usually under set deadlines. Some issues may come up that may require negotiating such as who will pay for any repair problems. The buyer may insist that you pay for a repair or lower the purchase price. If you can't come to an agreement, the buyer may have the right to back out of the deal.
By the closing or settlement, you and the buyer should have fulfilled all the terms of the purchase agreement. At the closing, all final documents and funds are exchanged between buyer and seller. The buyer pays you the purchase price, and you give the buyer a deed and other transfer documents and clear title to the house. Then, any outstanding loans on the property are paid along with commissions to the real estate agents.
Unlike other states, Texas doesn't require sellers to include an attorney. Even though it isn't a requirement, you may decide to hire an attorney to assist with closing details. Also, if you are selling your home without a real estate agent, it may be useful to hire an attorney to help with the legal paperwork.