Buying a home without buyers agent in WKY

[Cody McDonald]

Hello Bigger pockets!!

I have been laying low for a while now studying everyones advice in buy and hold multifamily properties. As well as general advice in real estate investing and I thank you all for the amount of intelligence and real world honest experiences everyone has shared.

I currently live in Western KY. I am 25 years old and have just made the step to get engaged to my fiance. She knows that I have huge goals to reach in a future of investing in real estate and we struck a deal. We currently rent in a area where home prices are generally cheap so it doesnt take much to buy a house like it would in a metro area. The deal is I buy her a home and i can then chase my dreams in the real estate world. with years of eliminating debts and shooting my credit score to the roof I am finally ready to do so.

We have came across a home in her home town fredonia ky. It is an off market deal. The sellers do not want to use a real estate agent. So i respect that and in order to get a cheaper price would not like to use a buyers agent so they will cover my closing costs. 

My question to you bigger pockets members is what is the step by step process that i should take to do the deal. If possible without an agent involved. I will be financing this deal  it is not a cash offer. All i can find on internet is one sided information from realtors. 
Thank you!

[Dawn Brenengen]

@Cody McDonald  I know I'm an agent too, but if this is your first purchase, you really should get one.  If you are determined not to get one, at least hire a lawyer to do the paperwork, but who is going to walk you through the contract to close process?  Do you know all the inspections to do, what the home is actually worth, how to negotiate with the seller? It's not just the sales price, but it's also the terms and then again after the inspections.  

If you were experienced, then I would have a totally different recommendation, but the fact that you are asking how to do this really tells me that you need the hand holding.

1. Write offer (best off using the tried and true forms an agent would use.  Attorney should also have access)

2. Get preapproval from lender

3. Present to seller and negotiate price and other terms.  Come to agreement

4. Schedule inspections/do due diligence- Home, termite, radon, well, septic, survey (and anything else that might be specific to your case - lead, asbestos, etc).  Make sure there are no underground oil tanks, encroachments on the property, etc. 

5. Get appraisal in.  If home doesn't appraise, renegotiate with seller

6. Negotiate repairs or discount off the sales price

7. Hire title company or attorney (depends on your state) to handle the closing details.  They will make sure there is clear title, liens are paid off, etc.

7. Make sure you hit all timelines in your contract

8. Get homeowners's insurance

9. Sign off at closing.

There are lots of little details in between, but these are the main points of the process.