Guide · November 9, 2026
Selling without a listing agent: buyer's agents, lawyers and other paid help
Selling without a listing agent still leaves you dealing with other professionals: the buyer's agent, a title or escrow company, and maybe a lawyer or an appraiser. This guide explains who each one works for, how the 2024 change in agent pay affects a seller by owner, and what each kind of help does.
Key points
- Since August 17, 2024, offers to pay a buyer's agent are no longer made in the MLS, and an MLS member working with a buyer needs a written agreement with the buyer before touring a home.
- A buyer's agent is paid under the buyer's written agreement. The buyer's offer may ask you to pay part of it, and you may accept, refuse or counter.
- In Florida, an agent is presumed to be a transaction broker unless another relationship is set in writing (section 475.278), with duties to deal honestly and fairly and to disclose known facts that affect value.
- Lawyers, title companies and escrow agents can help you close without making you their listing client. The Fair Housing Act names them as help an owner may use (42 U.S.C. 3603(b)).
- A flat fee listing puts your house in the MLS through a broker, and using a broker's services ends the owner exemption in the Fair Housing Act.
- A sale to BIMINIO has no agent and no commission. We pay the closing costs, and our cash offer is below full market value.
Selling by owner still involves other professionals
Selling without a listing agent means no one is paid to represent you in the sale. You still meet other professionals along the way, and each one works for someone. Before you share your lowest price or your reasons for selling, know whose interests each person serves.
| Who | What they do | Who they work for |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer's agent | Finds houses, shows them, writes the buyer's offer | The buyer, under a written agreement |
| Title company | Searches title, issues the policy, closes the sale (Florida) | Neutral to the closing; the policy protects the insured |
| Escrow agent | Holds money and papers and closes the sale (Arizona) | Neutral; follows both sides' escrow instructions |
| Real estate lawyer | Writes or reviews the contract and deed, may close the sale | The client who hires them |
| Appraiser | Gives a written opinion of value | The client who orders it, such as the buyer's lender |
| Home inspector | Reports on the condition of the house | The client who hires them: the buyer, or you before you list |
What changed in agent pay on August 17, 2024
Many listings in Florida and Arizona appear in an MLS, a shared database of homes for sale that agents use. Before 2024, MLS rules could require a listing to carry an offer to pay the agent who brought the buyer.
Practice changes adopted by the National Association of Realtors took effect on August 17, 2024. As reported by Florida Realtors, they eliminate and prohibit offers of compensation in the MLS, and they require MLS participants working with a buyer to enter into a written agreement with the buyer before touring a property.
For a seller by owner, two things follow. A buyer who arrives with an agent has already signed an agreement that says how that agent is paid. And any payment from you toward that agent becomes a term you agree in the contract with the buyer.
Read the guide: cash offer vs listing, the costs →
When a buyer with an agent calls
You can show the house to a buyer who has an agent, and accept an offer from them, without hiring an agent yourself. Expect three things:
- The agent may ask whether you will pay any part of their fee. Your answer can be yes, no, or an amount, and you can give it in writing before the showing.
- The offer may ask you to pay a share of the buyer's agent's fee or of the buyer's closing costs, as one term among the others. Weigh it against the price, the same way you weigh any other cost.
- The agent writes the offer on the form they use. Read it in full, or have your lawyer read it, before you sign.
What a Florida agent owes you as the seller
Florida limits the roles an agent may take. Section 475.278 says a licensee may work as a transaction broker or as a single agent, and may not act as a dual agent who represents both buyer and seller as a fiduciary. All licensees are presumed to be transaction brokers unless a single agent relationship, or no brokerage relationship, is set up in writing.
A transaction broker gives limited representation to the buyer, the seller or both, and represents neither as a fiduciary. The duties the statute lists include:
- Dealing honestly and fairly.
- Accounting for all funds.
- Using skill, care and diligence in the sale.
- Disclosing all known facts that materially affect the value of residential property and are not readily observable to the buyer.
- Presenting all offers and counteroffers in a timely manner, unless a party has said otherwise in writing.
- Limited confidentiality, unless a party waives it in writing.
A flat fee listing and the Fair Housing exemption
Some brokers offer a flat fee listing: for a set fee they put your house in the MLS, and you handle showings and offers yourself. The house then reaches buyers' agents who search the MLS. Ask in writing what the fee covers, whether it changes at closing, and who answers calls from buyers.
One legal point changes with it. The Fair Housing Act's owner exemption in 42 U.S.C. 3603(b) applies only when the house is sold without the use in any manner of the sales services of a real estate broker or agent. A flat fee listing uses a broker's services, so the full Act applies to the sale. Its ad rule in section 3604(c) applies to every seller in any case.
Read the guide: showings, offers and the Fair Housing Act →
Lawyers: who may do what
Both states let a lawyer do legal work in a sale without a real estate license. Florida's license law does not cover a person acting as an attorney at law within the scope of their duties (section 475.011(1)). Arizona's does not cover an attorney performing their duties as an attorney, and says that does not let an attorney do other acts that need a license (section 32-2121).
A real estate lawyer can write or review the contract, prepare the deed, explain your disclosure duties, and in Florida run the closing. The IRS lists the buyer's and the seller's lawyer among the people who may be responsible for filing Form 1099-S when they run the closing.
Title companies and escrow agents
A title company searches the public records for liens, judgments and other claims on the house, issues the title policy, and in Florida can run the closing. In Arizona, a licensed escrow agent holds the money and papers and closes the sale under both sides' escrow instructions (section 6-813 requires the license).
Both are neutral at closing. They follow the contract and the instructions. They do not set your price or argue your side in a dispute with the buyer, so bring those questions to your lawyer.
The Fair Housing Act names attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors and title companies as help an owner may use to transfer the title while keeping the owner exemption (42 U.S.C. 3603(b)).
Read the guide: title insurance when you sell →
Appraisers and inspectors
A licensed appraiser gives a written opinion of value, which can help you set a price you can defend to a buyer. A home inspector, hired before you list, shows you what a buyer's inspector will find, so you can fix it, price it in, or disclose it in writing at the start.
Both are your choice. Each is a cost you pay up front, against the chance of a smoother sale.
Read the guide: pricing your house without an agent →
Common mistakes with paid help
Each mistake below can cost money or slow the sale.
- Telling the buyer's agent your lowest price. They work for the buyer.
- Agreeing to pay a buyer's agent by phone. Put any payment in the contract.
- Paying a flat fee without a written list of what it covers.
- Asking the title company or escrow agent for legal advice. Ask a lawyer.
- Letting the buyer's agent hold the earnest deposit. Use the title company or escrow agent.
Selling to BIMINIO: no agent on either side
BIMINIO buys houses for cash in Florida and Arizona. A sale to us has no listing agent and no buyer's agent, so you pay no commission. We pay the closing costs, a licensed title company handles the paperwork, and you pick the closing date, from 7 to 35 days after you accept.
BIMINIO is not a brokerage and does not represent you. A cash offer is below full market value. If you want someone on your side, a lawyer can read our offer with you before you sign.
Want a number to compare? BIMINIO buys in Florida and Arizona, as is, with no agent and no commission, and pays the closing costs. A written offer comes within 24 hours.