How to Buy a House Without a Realtor

Table of contents

How Do I Buy a House From an Owner Direct?

How Can I Get in Contact With the Seller of a House Without Getting a Realtor?

Do I Need a Realtor If I Already Found a House I Like and I Want to Make an Offer?

How Do I Make a Direct Offer?

What should I have inspected before I buy a home?

FAQ

How do you buy a house without an agent?

Is it OK to look at a house without a realtor?

What’s the best month to buy a home?

Is it better to buy from owner or realtor?

Can a realtor buy a house for himself?

How much do I need at closing?

Is it cheaper to sell a house without a realtor?

Is using a realtor worth it?

How do I close on a house for sale by owner?

How does making an offer on a house work?

What is the best website for buying a house?

Take-Away

Today’s homeowners benefit from a wealth of information unavailable to previous generations. Whether you’re buying a home without an agent for family reasons, career reasons or simply want to invest, knowing how to gauge the real estate market is vital. Some assume that a realtor is an irreplaceable asset in the home-buying mix, thinking there is no alternative for finding a home, valuing a property, handling the offer and organizing the closing process if buying without an agent. But today’s home-buyers do have other resources available if a realtor’s services, for whichever reason, aren’t part of the picture. Here is our guide to How to Buy a House Without a Realtor.

Hiring a realtor isn’t a legal requirement or a necessary element, even if one’s target home will be a costly purchase. In fact, the more expensive the dream home becomes, the more costly hiring a realtor becomes. Can you buy a house without an agent and navigate the twists and turns of real estate transactions without them? Indeed, you can.

It’s essential to understand why a realtor isn’t always needed. It’s no wonder the experienced, and even first-time homebuyers wonder, “Do I need an agent to buy a house?” Essentially, for their 3% fee (which can be a whole lot of cash!), they do a lot of the legwork involved in the home-buying process. They help home-shoppers identify properties within pre-specified budget ranges. They also help them make purchase offers, normally bridging communication gaps between buyers and sellers during negotiations. They help arrange home inspections—assisting prospective buyers in deciphering their results along the way. But how to buy a house without an agent isn’t as hard as you think.

Taking on these responsibilities isn’t impossible. With some extra forethought and willingness to negotiate, you can absolutely handle these tasks, buying directly from a homeowner without spending time, and money, on a middleman. “How to Buy a House Without a Realtor” is actually very simple if you use the new portal that Richr.com is launching. They will hold your hand through the process, taking the unknowns out of the experience, all online. How to buy a home without a real estate agent just got a whole lot easier.

How Do I Buy a House From an Owner Direct?

Firstly, try to get pre-approved with a trusted lender. It’s not so much of “Can I buy a house without an agent” than it is about how much you can afford to purchase. This will bolster your upcoming offer’s strength—making negotiations much more straightforward. Then you need to start looking for a property you want to view and buy. You do not have to restrict your search to For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homes. You can browse a market with FSBO listings or any property for sale on consumer sites like Richr, Zillow, Realtor, Movoto, Redfin etc.

Take a look at properties that fit your criteria. To know what they are worth, look at the price of similar properties that sold in the area, recent property values, sale prices and real estate market outlooks for homes in the same neighborhood. Then, check the county tax records. You can see if there have been recent improvements. How does the seller’s depiction of their property size up? Buying house without agent is a great advantage when working with FSBOs.

How Can I Get in Contact With the Seller of a House Without Getting a Realtor?

If the seller is for sale by owner, on Zillow or other for-owner sites, then you will see their phone number or be able to message them through the website portal to arrange a viewing. If the seller has an agent, the agent’s number will show up on the listing. There is unlikely to be a way to circumvent the agent unless you can find the seller’s phone number another way. The seller’s agent should be happy to show you the property as they will keep 6 % from the listing if you put in an offer.

Alternatively, you could use www.Richr.com to represent you. Richr will arrange the viewing for you, prepare and submit your offer, and rebate you 100% of the buyer’s agent commission at closing minus a low flat fee. This is the only way to ensure you benefit financially from being an independent buyer when the seller has an agent. That’s a significant advantage for the savvy buyer looking to buy home without real estate agent.

Do I Need a Realtor If I Already Found a House I Like and I Want to Make an Offer?

If you already found a house you like and want to make an offer, you don’t need a realtor. You do need a purchase agreement, though. Most realtors in Florida use the standard FAR/BAR AS-IS agreement when submitting offers on a home. You can’t access this without being an agent. That may be the only reason you consider, “Do I need a realtor to buy a house?” But don’t worry, there are ways around it. If the home you want to buy is on the MLS, you can go to www.Richr.com, you can use the portal to make your offer, and Richr will prepare your FAR/BAR agreement to submit to the seller via their agent.

How Do I Make a Direct Offer?

Once Richr has prepared your direct offer, it will be sent to the seller’s agent. You can then use the portal to submit any counter-offers until an agreement has been reached. If there need to be any riders or contingencies, these can also be entered. Once an agreement is reached, you will need to submit a deposit to escrow, an independent third party to hold the funds. This is typically done within three days of the offer being accepted. Through this process, you’re successfully buying home without agent.

What should I have inspected before I buy a home?

When going through the steps of how to buy a home without a real estate agent, having a second opinion on the home can help you feel secure. You will want to make the offer subject to a 10 to 15 day inspection period, in which you can back out of the deal and get your deposit back. Fifteen days from the date of the agreement is pretty standard. Once you’ve obtained a detailed property report, you’re in good shape to know how to proceed. If the home has a surprising amount of hidden defects—it might be a good idea to avoid it altogether. There are always more homes, after all. If you’re confident in the home you’d like to purchase, you can move towards closing.

FAQ

How do you buy a house without an agent?

Can I buy a house without a real estate agent? You certainly can. To buy a house without an agent, you’ll need to create your own offer to submit directly to the listing agent or seller. You’ll need to include the following information:

1. Address
2. The legal name of all purchasers
3. The price you are offering to buy the home for
4. How you will be paying
5. Any conditions you would like, i.e. needing a repair before the property closes
6. Anything you’d like to be part of the sale, like furniture
7. The date you will have an inspection done by
8. Your proposed closing date
9. The deadline of their response.

Is it OK to look at a house without a realtor?

You can look at a house without a Realtor and even put in an offer. There are personalized online offers that buyers can use when making an offer on a house without an agent. In 2021, it’s easier to buy property without agent and can even save you money.

What’s the best month to buy a home?

Some may argue the best time to buy a home without a Realtor is in January because prices are at their lowest with a historical lack of buyers. Others may say the Fall is best because the inventory is higher with the summer rush diminished. The truth is: the best month is the month you’re ready. Once financing is in order, and the right home comes on the market – that’s the best month. To buy real estate without an agent, you’ll need to negotiate the best deal.

Is it better to buy from owner or realtor?

When you’re buying a house without an agent, you have a few advantages. If you’re buying from a Realtor, they charge their seller a commission on the sale price – likely between 5-6%. When you buy house without agent, that realtor could cut their seller a deal of less commission or pocket the extra coin for themselves.

When you buy directly from an owner, they’re guaranteed not to have to pay a buyers’ agent 3% in commission. They may be more flexible on the price in this case. Buying a house without a real estate agent can be the more lucrative option for buyers and sellers.

Can a realtor buy a house for himself?

Just like anyone, a realtor can buy home without agent. The only difference is during the offer process, they need to disclose that they are a realtor. They can choose to request a 3% fee or waive it as part of the negotiation.

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How much do I need at closing?

Buying a house without a realtor does not excuse you from closing costs. Sellers pay anywhere from 7-9% of the purchase price, but this closing fee includes commission. If you’re a buyer, you can expect just the lawyer fees, home inspection, title, insurance – somewhere around 2.58% of the purchase price.

Is it cheaper to sell a house without a realtor?

On a $250,000 home sale, you could be saving $15,000 if you sell your house without a realtor. People are buying real estate without an agent thanks to free online offer templates and resources.

Is using a realtor worth it?

A buyer’s agent will help you find a home and make a purchase. Is that help worth thousands or tens of thousands of dollars? Again, it depends on your personality and willingness to do the legwork required to buy a home. Plenty of people buy houses without agents and are happy with the results they get. But if you have very little time to spend on buying a home, it could be worth it to hire someone to do all of the work for you. You’ll just need to be ready to pay for that help.

How do I close on a house for sale by owner?

You need to follow the legal paperwork involved and complete the official money exchange through an escrow company to close on the house. You’ll also need to arrange for a title company and title insurance policy. When working with Richr as a buyer, you get cashback that helps arrange for low-cost services.

How does making an offer on a house work?

Buying a home without a real estate agent has people wondering how to submit an offer on a house without an agent. After you prepare your offer, when working with a real estate agent, it’s best to email them and follow up with a call to ensure they received it. When it comes to how to make an offer without an agent, working with a for sale by owner is the best scenario for negotiating power. Remember – they won’t be paying the 3% in a buyers’ agent fee.

What is the best website for buying a house?

With the digital world at our fingertips, buyers are wondering how to buy a home without an agent, and if the seller is saving in commission, they’ll be saving in the purchase price. When using Richr for buying home without real estate agent, you’ll even get cashback on your purchase. On a $250,000 home purchase, you’ll pocket a $7,500 reward!

Take-Away

Now you know “How to Buy a House Without a Realtor,” buying a home directly from the seller or their agent isn’t so bad after all, is it? A lot of the process comes down to gathering as much information as possible and choosing the right partner to help you in the process. Richr is happy to be that partner, helping buyers navigate the independent buyer path whilst ensuring they get the biggest reward out of choosing independence. In doing so, you’ll save quite a lot of time and money—gaining some great knowledge along the way.