Can you write your own contract?

Question

I apologize if this sounds silly but I honestly do not know. I imagined this was not possible without an agent but after listening to some podcasts I've heard mentions of doing this and using sample contracts. Is this true? Is it worth it? too risky? i ask because at this point I'm frustrated with having worked with many agents and having closed on no properties. I do all of the work and my agents basically wait for me to call them with my offer and property address. I think they are taking advantage of me doing all the searching or maybe I'm expecting too much. Fact is the Investor market in my area is drying up/ moving into cash offers only and I try to put out as many offers as possible but is asking my agent to draft 5-10 offers a week asking too much?

Btw these agents aren't even showing the homes, not until the contracts are accepted and if I need info such as hoa or availability I usually contact the listing agents myself to save time. Waiting on my agent has cost me a few properties as I missed deadlines.

Thanks for your help.

Btw these agents aren't even showing the homes, not until the contracts are accepted and if I need info such as hoa or availability I usually contact the listing agents myself to save time.  Waiting on my agent has cost me a few properties as I missed deadlines.

Thanks for your help.

Mark Ferguson · Answer

I have a couple of insights that may be helpful as an agent and reo agent. I have no idea if this applies to you, but if it does maybe it will help.

1.  99% of banks won't look at a contract if you don't have an agent representing you with a state contract. 
2.  What kind of offers are you making?  You say you are makin 5-10 offers a week. Are they decent offers or low ball offers?  If you are making 5-10 low ball offers a week most agents aren't going to jump over backwards to help you.  It's a lot of work with almost no chance of getting anything accepted.  
3.  You say agents not agent. Are you using multiple agents at the same time for different properties?  An agent is not going to be loyal to you and work to find you deals if they think there is a chance you are going to take the info they gave you and go write an offer with another agent.  The biggest turn off to many agents is a buyer who uses whatever agent happens to be closest or name is in the sign.  The only deals they will send you are their own personal deals that probably aren't that great.  It's. usually best to find an agent who will work hard for you and in turn you use that agent for everything.  That way you are both motivated to work together.

Will Barnard · Answer

This answer is gong to be a generalization as there is no one single answer. If you make offers on REO and short sale properties, you will likely need to use the common contract that agents use in that state. If you are dealing with private and motivated sellers, perhaps FSBO deals, you can certainly use your own contracts.

Simon Campbell · Answer

I agree with Mark  Ferguson about not always offering list price. Even when markets are hot, you still need to carefully count the costs and returns on each investment. I am afraid that in some of these hot markets, investors are snapping up property in a feeding frenzy with little regard to actual cash flow.

Danielle Prendergast, great to hear you have solved your problem.  A buyer's agent under contract is a great business strategy. Good move and good luck!

Mark Ferguson · Answer

Good to hear you found a good agent.  It never hurts to lowball once in a while, I do it on aged MLS properties.  By lowball I mean 80% of list price.  It sounds like your market is to hot for that!

Danielle Prendergast · Answer

Thanks guys for the advice, Mark  Ferguson that info was amazing, and Simon Campbell and J  Scott I think I've finally landed a good agent so far. This week she drafted me about 7 offers already and she has no problems with it. I said agents because I have used many over the span of 2 years, not signing agreements thankfully. The one I currently have would like for us to sign something and I have no problems doing so now that I know she is willing and open to writing these contracts and she understands the urgency. Lastly, in the beginning I may admit I was low balling just a little but that quickly changed this year and I am now offering over the asking price. It is good to know I have the option to write my own contracts in the future on at least some types of properties.

Good stuff!

Simon Campbell · Answer

If you are going to submit offers on a MLS listing, you will need to use the standard contract used by Realtors. Additionally, you will need to submit an offer through an agent.

If you are making offers on non-MLS properties, you can use your own contract. Just make sure that the contract not one you type up in MS Word.  It needs to be a legal contract that protects both the buyer and the seller. There are several websites that offer purchase contracts.  These include www.uslegalforms.com and www.lawdepot.com.

My advice would be choose a good local agent and enter into a buyer's agency contract. This will have the agent work for you. It also means that you need to submit all offers through that one agent. Of course, you will also need to make reasonable offers if you want to close a transaction.

J Scott · Answer

Danielle,

If you're making offers in metro Atlanta on MLS listed REOs, it's not surprising that you're not getting anything under contract these days.  If you were, I'd likely suggest that you're not getting very good deals.  I work with a number of investors in your area (based on your profile), and I can honestly say that there are essentially no good deals available on the for under $150K -- which is where you'd likely need to be in that area.

I would recommend focusing on marketing strategies that are off the MLS these days...

Can you write your own contract?

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