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Hawaii “For Sale by Owner” Attorney

For a Hawaii real estate owner, if you plan on selling your residence you may want to:

  • Hire a Hawaii licensed real estate agent to sell your house (and pay roughly a six percent commission split between seller’s broker and buyer’s broker); or
  • Sell the house on your own (and save three percent if you just pay for buyer’s broker commission, or six percent on commissions if you refuse to pay for buyer’s broker commission). This is commonly known as “For Sale by Owner.” Some Hawaii realtors actually allow such sellers to list the property on the MLS network which can increase the number of potential purchasers for your property.

Attorney Advantages for Hawaii Real Estate Sellers

From a seller’s perspective, if you have found a legitimate buyer for your Hawaii real estate on your own, you can either:

  • Hire me to document the transaction as a realtor would, but not have to pay me any commission. You would just pay me for my legal advice on an hourly rate. The less hand-holding you need the more you save. You receive legal advice AND documentation from me; or
  • Hire a Hawaii real estate broker and possibly pay a 3% commission. However, if you used a broker, you would only receive the paperwork for the three percent commission. You will not receive any legal advice. The standard Hawaii realtor’s Purchase Contract specifically provides that your real estate agent is not providing you with legal advice, and you should seek legal counsel. Thus, you are being encouraged to hire an attorney too!

Once I have provided legal advice and assisted in documenting the transaction, escrow would be utilized (just as it would if a Hawaii real estate agent were representing the seller) and the rest of the process is basically when the purchaser conducts its due diligence on the Hawaii real estate.

Hiring a Hawaii realtor is especially inefficient when the sale is between family members, and both sides are using a family friend to be the dual agency broker. That “family friend” may receive a six percent (6%) commission for processing paperwork, even though as a dual agent they have probably utilized the standard “Dual Agency” disclosure which provides that he/she cannot really take sides.

Talk to us if you are selling, want legal assistance and documentation, and do not want to pay the 3% or 6% commission for just the paperwork.

Contact us today about the sale of your Hawaii real estate. Learn how we can help you and even save you some money.

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