Personal Matter - Selling My Mom's House in Western New York

[John Franczyk]

My 88-year old mom just moved out of her house and into a retirement facility. My brother, sister, and I are discussing whether to list the house or to sell it to a neighbor who seems interested, albeit at a lower price than what we would list it at.

None of us live in New York State any more. I am familiar with my own environment (Wisconsin) but would like some information on how things are typically managed in New York.

My questions:

1. What is the standard realtor commission in western New York State (Buffalo suburbs)?

2. Should we get a lawyer to help with the sale, or will a title company do most of the heavy lifting for us?

3. Any unusual closing costs that we should anticipate?

Thanks for any info.

[Mike Cumbie]

HI @John Franczyk,

Sorry to hear you guys are going through this. I would recommend you call a couple agents to give you a CMA so you have an idea of what it is worth before selling to a neighbor.

1. That depends on many factors, each brokerage has different rates. Now if you are dealing with a vacant -property (They don't have to call and arrange every showing and work around schedules they may give a break). It will depend on the individual agent. In NY we don't have a "standard commission",  and they are pretty big about not claiming there is one for anti trust reasons. 

2. You will need a lawyer to handle the closing here.

3. If you figure 7.25% total costs is what I recommend people use to get a good idea of what they walk away with at the end, but everything is negotiable. 

Best of luck