Great work and congratulations, sounds like you are off to the races. The system is the same if you are buying the property privately or not. Dust off your ACRE manual, and dive headfirst into the due diligence and offer writing tabs, that is where you will find much of the details to help you.
Couple of tips I can give you:
- Never give deposits to the seller, always have the deposit go to your lawyers trust account.
- This next tip may sound like a contradiction to the the whole process of 'private sale'... If I were you I would seriously consider 'hiring' a Realtor to help you out with this transaction... EVERY property I have ever bought (even the ones through private sellers) have gone through a Realtor.
They are experts at what they do, and have written/ negotiated/ closed/ arranged inspections on hundreds of properties... and know what they are doing. I have many times paid for, out of my own funds, for my Realtor's time to help close the deal. If you are not sure what this would cost, ask your Realtor if you bring them a private sale and would they be interested in helping you write the offer and close on the the property for a $/hour basis... or how much would this service cost.
My personal realtor whom I have now been using for more than 12 years, would do this service for me for free (as I have bought and sold many houses through him)... but I pay him anywhere from $500 - $1,500+, depending on how much work is involved on his part.
Hope this help, and best of luck!