Guide to Buying/Selling

Brokerage

Agri Affiliates is a full-service real estate company, providing real estate sales & auctions, land management, appraisals, and consulting services. Real estate brokerage companies have a variety of agents who serve different geographic areas, each with their own market knowledge, abilities, and strengths/weaknesses.

All of our real estate agents are licensed by the Nebraska Real Estate Commission (REC), operating under the supervision of the managing broker and any designated brokers. Many agents are dual-licensed in other states, including Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. To maintain their license, each licensee must complete annual continuing education, and must have Errors and Omissions Insurance.

All earnest deposits and management client funds must be placed in a real estate trust account governed by the Real Estate Commission. These accounts are audited annually by the REC to enforce the rules and regulations, and to protect all parties to the money.

Agent & Agency

Agency is the defined relationship between a real estate agent and the public (seller, buyer, landlord, tenant). The two most common types of agency are Limited Agency and Common Law Agency. Agri Affiliates utilizes both types of agency depending on the service we are providing.

• Limited Agency – Agent acts as advocate for client but all decisions are made by the principal.

• Common Law Agency – Agent (manager) is authorized by the principal to bind the principal to terms or conditions in a real estate transaction.

Limited Agency as regulated by the Nebraska Real Estate Commission (NREC) identifies who a real estate agent is working for. A real estate agent working for you as a client is always working to represent your best interest. The same real estate agent working with customers must be honest, truthful and respectful to the customer and make sure the customer knows the agent is working for their client’s best interest.

Agency Disclosure Form is a written disclosure form presented to all parties who contact an agent about specific real estate. The NREC requires this form be presented of all interested parties. This disclosure form is not a contract. The signing of the document is only to acknowledge that the disclosure was presented to the client/customer, as required by the NREC. Each state may differ in their pursuance of agency in a transaction.

Types of Limited Agency:

Seller’s Agency A seller’s agent will assist in the sale of your farm, ranch or recreational property and produce a written listing agreement between the brokerage and the seller. A seller’s agent should guide you with determining the asking price of your land – based on comparable sales, market knowledge in the area and your timeline to sell the property.

A seller’s agent should make a good faith effort to assist in the sale of your property through strategic marketing efforts and will be there to help navigate you through negotiating, purchase agreements, closing, and any other aspects of the completion of the real estate transaction.

Buyer’s Agency A licensed real estate agent may work on behalf of a potential buyer. A buyer’s agent is customarily paid by a portion of the commission paid to the listing broker (seller’s agent) in the listing agreement. Any other charges or fees are permissible but must be in writing and agreed to prior to any transactions.

A buyer’s agent is there to guide you through the process of finding a desired property, negotiating, purchase agreements, closing, and any other aspects of the completion of the real estate transaction.

Dual Agency A licensed agent may represent both parties in the purchase of real estate with express written consent of both the Buyer and the Seller. A dual agent works for both the buyer(s) and the seller(s) and is required to withhold confidential information on behalf of both clients. Dual agency is at the discretion of the broker and may also be refused by the Broker, Buyer or Seller. Dual agency must be agreed upon by all parties through written consent.

Agri Affiliates welcomes the opportunity to work with outside Brokers representing buyers; however, when purchasing a property listed by Agri Affiliates, a buyer’s Broker, must be identified on first contact, must be present at the initial showing of the property, and must actively participate in the writing of offers. If any of these conditions are not met, buyer’s Broker compensation, if any, will be at the sole discretion of Agri Affiliates.

Agri Affiliates is a professional brokerage company with knowledgeable team of real estate professionals.  While we can provide services to both Buyer and Seller, we typically act as the Agent of the Seller.

Listing a Property For Sale

When a farm, ranch, or recreational property is placed for sale, the Seller’s Agent will produce a written Listing Agreement, offering the land for sale on specific terms:

• Asking Price
• Listing/Expiration Dates
• Brokerage Commission, or Compensation
• Date of Possession
• Personal Property Included/Excluded
• Growing Crops
• Legal Description and Location, and more.

A seller’s agent should guide you through the process of determining the asking price of your land. The asking price should be based on comparable sales, market knowledge in the area and your timeline to sell the property. Consideration of marketing time is critical to establishing a reasonable list price and accomplishing the seller’s goals for how fast a transaction may occur. A sales brochure will showcase the property and identify all components and property details related to that potential sale.

If the property includes a house, the Seller must provide a Property Condition House Disclosure Statement, stating the condition of the property at the time of sale to the best of the seller’s knowledge.

Purchase Offers & Agreements

The Buyer’s offer to purchase may differ from the listing agreement which identified how the Seller originally offered the property for sale. Buyers have the right to make an offer according to their own terms and conditions. The Seller has the right to accept the Buyer’s offer, counter the Buyer’s offer with terms favorable to the Seller or reject the Buyer’s offer without a counter. Ideally this process of counteroffers is repeated until Buyer and Seller agree on all terms and have a fully signed contract, which places the property “under contract”.

The Purchase offer should include items, such as:

• Exact Legal Description
• Offer Amount, Earnest Money Deposit (Down Payment), and Payment Terms (Cash or Contract)
• Date of Closing and Date of Possession
• Personal Property to be Included/Excluded (growing crops, irrigation equipment, water rights, machinery, livestock, or household items), permits such as BLM or Forest, and leases such as State.
• Oil, gas, or mineral rights
• Factors of Warranty and Title Insurance
• Details of Payment of Taxes and Fees
• Condition of the Property at Closing
• Possible Contingencies to the Offer

Common contingencies include purchasing or selling another property, Buyer obtaining financing, and Buyer having Due Diligence time to better understand the property. Contingencies can protect the buyer or the seller, but can make the contract less attractive, as it creates less certainty about the completion of the sale.

The Contract

Under Nebraska law, verbal agreements concerning real estate are not legally binding. A written purchase offer or counteroffer is a legal document once it is signed by both the buyer(s) and the seller(s), the earnest deposit has been received, and the Agent has communicated acceptance of the contract to the other party. It is recommended to consult legal advice if you have questions, before signing any contract.

Title Insurance

Typically, after the purchase agreement becoming a legally binding contract, Title Insurance will be obtained by the designated Title Insurance Company agreed upon by the Buyer and Seller in the Purchase Agreement.

The process of reviewing Title Insurance is gathering any county records from the Register of Deeds and other relevant sources to make sure the seller owns and can sell the property, as well as noting any recorded liens, easements, etc. that affect the title.

A Title Insurance Policy protects the Buyer against defects to the title and insures good title for as long as the property is owned. The cost of Title Insurance is a one-time premium, based on the purchase price of the property and is often shared by the Seller and Buyer, during the closing process. The cost is governed by the Nebraska Department of Insurance.

Real Estate Closing

Real Estate Closings are typically handled by a Title Insurance Company, agreed upon by the Buyer and the Seller in the purchase agreement. They may also be handled by a real estate broker, banking institution, or attorney. Prior to Closing, both Seller and Buyer should receive closing documents for their review, along with the closing statements for each the buyer(s) and seller(s), which will reflect the balance of the transaction for each party.

The word Closing refers to the legal process of completing the requirements as set out in the Real Estate Purchase Agreement. This includes delivery of the purchase price, and delivery of the Deed, Bill of Sale, lease assignment, etc., as specified. Many times, the loan documents are also completed at the Closing.

During the closing, conducted by the Title Insurance Closing Agent, the Buyer(s) or Seller(s) Agent is not required to be present, but the Nebraska Real Estate Commission considers it a best practice as advisors to the client(s).

Occupancy rights, or possession of the property will generally occur on the day of closing, unless otherwise specified in the purchase agreement.