purchasing a home directly from owner

[oink]

My experience with Hawaii Realtors has not been real good. That said, I would not recomend a buyer engage in a transaction without representation, unless it's a very experienced buyer. With Hawaii law providing for "Buyers Agents", that is what I would recomend. Do use one that has good references or has been proven trustworthy. An experienced Real Estate attorney can offer protection and piece of mind, but the attorney must be well experienced in Real Estate. Attorneys who are retained for representation in a Real Estate transaction, but who are not experienced Real Estate attorneys, have been known to totally screw up perfectly sound transactions due to their adversarial mentality. Just make sure you ask the seller to tell you everything about the property in writing...i.e. a seller's disclosure and make the disclosure part of the contract. In some cases, the disclosure is just that...a disclosure that carries no penalties if the seller forgot something or wasn't truthful. So have it made a part of the contract. Dependent on how you are purchasing the property, as-is or the seller is willing to make repairs, make sure you know how many days you have (as negotiated in the contract) to have any and all inspections. Use a reputable home inspector and termite inspector to do a thorough inspection (you do have the right to be present for the inspections) Depending on how you purchased the property, the seller will be responsible for repairs (if any found) OR if purchasing as-is...possibly to renegotiate the price dependent on what the inspectors find. You also want to have title and lien searches done, and pins, staking, or survey to find possible encroachments. Also make sure you check for assessments...whether city, county, subdivision, electric, road, etc. Assessments are something the seller should disclose if they are already recorded, but if you do your homework ahead of time you can use that information as a negotiating tool. Lava and flood zones may also affect your home insurance rates so be sure you've checked those out too. Be sure to visit your property at all hours, even night time, so you're not surprised by other neighborhood or environmental factors...i.e. frogs, barking dogs, road noise, loud or rowdy neighbors. As you can see representation has its advantages. A real estate attorney generally will assist you in the legal matters, but they may be unfamiliar with many other aspects of the home buying process.

S. FL Islander to be