What happens after offer gets accepted

[Ben M.]

Hello, I am new and working on getting my first rental property. Wanted to see what anyone else's thoughts are but let's say I found a broken down house, contacted the owner, and got my offer accepted. 

1) Where do I get a legitimate contract to give to him with inspection and financing contingency. Would it make sense to get a realtor involved even when I initially made contact with the homeowner?

2) How do I know there are no concerns with title or other legal issues...?

3) Are there any other big concerns that I may not have mentioned?

I guess these are some of the things keeping me from pursuing a property outside of a major wholesaler or realtor. It seems to me that the guidance and knowledge of realtors are invaluable especially with pursuing the first property..

[Aaron H.]

1) Not a lawyer, but in most states you can find the same forms your real estate agent would use. E.g. in TX, check the forms from TREC. It's not that hard, but if you've never done it and are nervous, it's not a bad idea to hire a realtor to walk you through it.

2) You pay a title company to research the title and get title insurance, same as if you used a realtor.

3) Not really - but like you said, guidance and knowledge are worth a lot. You can either get that from (a lot) of self-education, or just hire a realtor. If the deal isn't good enough to support a reasonable commission, it probably isn't really a deal.