A potential buyer is no problem when listing a home

Q. We are working with a broker to find a new home. Then we plan to list our current home with her. At a recent social event, we mentioned that we plan to sell. One neighbor told us they have friends who have expressed interest in moving to our neighborhood and would like a first chance at our property. The dilemma is an ethical one. We're pretty sure if we find a buyer before listing our house, we owe the agent nothing for the sale, but we want to do the right thing. If we do not involve her, what is our responsibility?

A. There's no ethics problem here. If your agent doesn't perform any services in the sale of your home, she won't expect any fee.

When you're ready to sell, explain that you already have a potential buyer that you'll deal with directly. Most agents would agree to list the house with an extra written agreement that no commission will be due if the place is sold to Mr. and Mrs. Friend within a month or maybe two months of the listing date.

An agent is usually willing to do this because it's better than not listing the house at all. And more often than not, it turns out that Mr. and Mrs. Friend are unable or unwilling to buy anyhow.

That way you can place the house on the market with no loss of time, while you find out if the Friends really mean it, if you can agree on price, and if they're financially qualified to go through with the deal.

Q. We're trying to take out a home-equity loan. A title search revealed a lien against the house for an old mortgage (fully paid in 1998). The lender-bank's been bought up (multiple times), and we don't have an “official” release of the loan — though we have a stamped unofficial release that the county clerk can't accept. How can we get this lien released as quickly as possible?

A. Take the problem to a lawyer. If your attorney's office can't track down the right lender, the courts offer a fairly simple procedure for clearing the cloud from your title.

Q. How does rent to own work? Do Realtors help in finding rent-to-own places? And how should I go about doing that?

A. If a landlord agrees, you typically pay something more than normal rent for the property. The extra goes into an account to be used as your down payment when you buy.

All sorts of arrangements can be made, depending on the needs of the parties. Sometimes, you pay an upfront deposit. Sometimes, that's returnable if you don't end up buying, but other times it isn't. It is the same with that extra rent money.

You need all sorts of safeguards. Will the landlord keep property taxes paid? Who makes repairs? Is there any danger of foreclosure? Where will that down payment be held? Once you and the landlord agree on terms, you'd want your own lawyer to help draw up a contract before you sign anything.

My guess is that landlords won't enter into such an agreement unless you have fairly good credit and income. You can certainly phone real estate brokers, who seem active in the neighborhoods that interest you, to ask if they know of any such deals. You can also look for properties advertised as rent-to-own in newspaper classifieds and on sites like craigslist.com.

Q. I went through amiable divorce proceedings in 2008 with a split of properties and responsibilities for maintaining our house until it sold. The mortgage is in my name, but the house is in both names. I wish to keep the house and pay her what she is entitled (in order to refinance).

Can I seek full ownership through a “quitclaim” deed? How do I figure out her entitlements, if any?

A. Your ex can turn over her share of ownership by signing a new deed of any type. A quitclaim deed is often used in divorce situations.

Assuming you own equal shares, each party can hire an appraiser to determine a fair buyout price. Average the two appraisals, subtract the mortgage and any other liens currently on the house, divide by two and then use that as the value of the other party's equity.

Ÿ Edith Lank will respond to questions sent to her at 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester, N.Y. 14620 (please include a stamped return envelope), or readers may e-mail her at ehlank@aol.com.

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