Should We Use a Real Estate Agent for a Private Home Sale?

Yes, and negotiate a reduced fee since the marketing disappears. The real work is contract drafting, verifying your buyer's lender before you sign, and holding every deadline through closing. Neither a title company nor an attorney covers all three. Nearly 60% of private sales involve a buyer the seller already knows, and execution is what breaks them.

Private Sales Almost Always Start the Same Way

The scenario repeats constantly, and it rarely begins with anyone planning it. On the Discover South Florida Podcast, Larry Mastropieri described how these conversations open.

"Seller finds a buyer. It's a neighbor maybe, or somebody that just knocked on the door. Hey, I want to buy this home and I can buy it from you direct. You don't need to pay a realtor. We'll just get a title company to do the title work and be done with it."

National data confirms how common that setup has become. Private sales fell to just 5% of transactions in 2025, an all-time low, though roughly 60% of those involved a buyer the seller already knew. Neighbors, relatives, and friends account for the majority of this category.

Sellers across Broward County field this pitch regularly. Larry's response to the title-company plan is a single question that unravels it.

"Okay, cool. Who's drafting the contract?"

Neither Party Usually Knows What to Do Next

The paralysis arrives immediately, and Larry captures both sides of it.

"The seller's like, okay, send me an offer. And the buyer's like, how do I send an offer? I don't know anything about this."

Improvised paperwork follows.

"The seller gets an offer from the buyer that they just kind of googled online or had ChatGPT create."

Even the correct form solves less than people expect.

"I don't have any experience as a seller selling tons of homes. What contract do I use? I'll use the standard contract. Okay, but still I don't know how to understand this, fill this out, what this means."

Larry sees the same gap on both sides of these deals.

"Usually when both parties are coming separate without a realtor, they both don't have experience at this, so everybody needs help."

Is an Attorney Enough on Their Own?

Legal counsel feels like the obvious substitute, and Larry disagrees while being careful about it.

"All respect to attorneys. They have a place and a skill set that I do not have."

His objection concerns volume and proximity instead of legal competence.

"They don't do 2,000 plus transactions. They're not in the market. They're not negotiating terms on a contract 150 to 300 times a year like I am."

Nobody From the Firm Visits Your House

Physical property issues sit outside what document review can catch.

"The attorney's not coming to your property and saying, hey, you are signing this contract, that's super standard, but in your case this is a real problem for you. You got X, Y and Z going on. We got to deal with this."

The substitute falls short of the same job.

"They're asking you like, hey, any issue? Should we be aware of anything? They're not physically showing up to your house."

Volume Builds Contract Fluency

Larry argues that daily repetition produces a different kind of knowledge, and he explains what earns it.

"They have less experience with this contract than we do. We do hundreds of these contracts."

Disputes teach the rest.

"We do a deal, things get weird. We got to figure out who's in the right, who's in the wrong. Attorneys get hired, and now we're involved. It's me, the buyer's agent, the attorney representing the buyer, the attorney representing the seller, the title agent, the lender, everybody's involved."

The conclusion follows from where each party enters the story.

"The attorney is not doing this ever. They only see the negotiation when it gets to the crazy point."

His own practice keeps disputes from reaching that stage.

"I'm 99.9% of the time not allowing it to get there by consulting my in-house legal counsel. I get a 15-minute download, then I go back to the buyer's agent. Hey, this is where this is going if we go there. You're going to lose. This is why."

The Incentive Runs the Wrong Direction

Compensation structure shapes behavior, and Larry names the difference plainly.

"Attorneys tend to kill deals more than they tend to get deals done, because they get paid hourly. They don't have an incentive to do the deal. I'm incentivized to make this thing happen."

He immediately qualifies the generalization.

"I have lots of attorney friends and lots of those attorneys are awesome. They're level-headed and they get it. But there's a lot of them out there that justify their fee, which means they make things complicated unnecessarily."

Both professionals belong in a complicated transaction. Sellers across Palm Beach County simply should not expect one to cover what the other does.

Vetting the Buyer Before You Sign Anything

The strongest practical argument on this page involves financing, and it applies the moment a private buyer needs a loan. Larry frames the seller's blind spot directly.

"I'm about to go under contract with this guy who I don't know, or maybe I know him, he's a friend, who knows. But I don't know his personal financial situation."

His approach removes the guesswork.

"I have a mortgage license. I'm going to talk to the lender and find out if your buyer is full of it or not, or the lender's full of it or not."

Questions That Reveal the Truth

• Is the buyer actually pre-approved, or merely pre-qualified on stated information?
• Did the lender verify assets and liabilities against actual documentation?
• Has an automated underwriting decision been run on the file?
• Which loan product applies, and does the property qualify for it?
• Where does the file sit in the approval process today?
• Why does the loan commitment period run as long as requested?

That last question does the most work. Larry describes what it uncovers.

"Why do you need 45 days for a loan commitment? That sounds a little ridiculous. What's up with that? Is he a foreign buyer? Okay, now I understand."

Sometimes the answer reveals a file that is not ready at all.

"We're waiting on an accounting document. It should be here in a week or two, can't guarantee it. Well, why don't you just call us back when your buyer's ready to purchase a property financially?"

What a Failed Financing Check Costs

The consequences of skipping that call land squarely on the seller, and Larry lists them.

"Now I just saved this seller from going into contract with a buyer who may have tied them up for months, may have ended up in litigation, or just the seller allowing people into the home, doing inspections, fixing stuff because of the inspections, and then finding out this guy can't even buy the place."

Months of lost time cost real money when conditions shift. A property that reappears after a failed private deal also carries accumulated days that buyers notice and question. Owners in West Palm Beach pay for that history on the relist.

A Private Sale Does Not Suspend Disclosure Duty

Sellers often assume a friendly transaction carries lighter obligations, and that belief creates the most expensive surprises in this category. Florida law requires disclosure of known defects that materially affect value and stay hidden from a reasonable inspection. Nothing about a handshake arrangement changes that duty.

Familiarity actually raises the stakes. A neighbor who later finds a concealed roof problem brings both a legal claim and a damaged relationship. Those disputes turn uglier precisely because each party expected better. Written disclosures guard the friendship as much as the seller.

The buyer carries responsibility here too, since a skipped inspection removes their strongest safeguard over a few hundred dollars. Both sides in Broward County private deals should insist on the same paperwork a listed sale would generate.

Setting a Price With No Market Test

A private sale skips the one mechanism that reliably establishes value, which leaves both parties negotiating from instinct. Nobody knows what a broader pool of buyers would have paid, and that uncertainty cuts in both directions depending on who anchors first.

A comparative market analysis fills part of that gap by grounding the conversation in recent nearby sales. Sellers learn whether the neighbor's offer sits at market or comfortably below it, and buyers gain confidence they are not overpaying out of enthusiasm. Either outcome beats guessing.

Consider the tradeoff honestly as well. A private sale saves marketing time and preserves privacy, though it forfeits the competitive tension that sometimes pushes a price higher. Weigh that against the certainty of a buyer already standing in front of you, since certainty carries genuine value in a slower market.

What Should the Fee Actually Be?

Traditional pricing assumes the full scope of work, and a private sale with a buyer already identified requires considerably less. Larry acknowledges that directly.

"Maybe the fee isn't the same because you're not marketing it. But it's a fee that you agree to."

Marketing, photography, staging guidance, showings, and open houses all disappear when the buyer is standing in front of you. What remains still carries real value.

• Contract drafting, review, and negotiation of every term.
• A financing verification call with the buyer's lender.
• Disclosure preparation matched to Florida requirements.
• Inspection coordination and repair negotiation.
• Title company coordination through the closing date.
• Deadline tracking so no contingency quietly expires.

Discuss the scope openly and price it accordingly. Owners in Delray Beach and Boca Raton regularly negotiate reduced arrangements for exactly this situation.

The Buyer Usually Needs Help Too

Private buyers arrive just as unprepared, and Larry treats that as part of the work.

"The buyer's like, hey, I want to buy the property, but I don't know what to do either. No problem, I'm going to help you out here."

His guidance points them toward their own interests.

"Let me connect you with my lender. Let's get you pre-approved. You can go check other lenders, go make these guys compete, get the best rate. Let me connect you with a home inspector and just go through the process."

Both parties benefit when someone understands the sequence. A deal that collapses over an avoidable mistake serves nobody at the table, which is why buyers in Palm Beach Gardens often welcome the guidance.

What the Price Data Actually Shows

Private sales close below agent-assisted ones, though the honest reading requires context. The 2025 NAR profile put the median private sale at $360,000 against $425,000 for agent-assisted transactions.

That raw gap overstates the causal effect. Private sales skew toward lower-priced properties, manufactured homes, and negotiated prices between people who know each other. Controlled research still finds unrepresented sellers achieving lower prices on comparable homes, though the difference narrows considerably.

The price argument matters less when you already have your buyer. Execution risk is the real exposure, which is precisely why representation earns its fee in this scenario.

Not Every Agent Clears This Bar

Larry undercuts his own profession here, and the honesty is worth repeating.

"It's the fact not all realtors can say that. Most realtors can't say that at all. They have done 25 transactions. That's totally different. So you need to hire the right realtor."

Ask about volume before you engage anyone. An agent closing a handful of deals annually brings none of the contract fluency this argument depends on. A private sale also gives you no marketing performance to judge them by.

Understanding Who Represents Whom

An agent brought into a private sale often ends up assisting both parties, and Florida law addresses that arrangement specifically. Transaction brokerage is the default relationship in this state, meaning the agent deals honestly with everyone while advocating fully for neither side.

The distinction matters more than most people realize. A single agent owes undivided loyalty and confidentiality to one party alone. A transaction broker provides limited representation to both and cannot share either side's negotiating position. Sellers wanting a genuine advocate should establish single agency in writing before anyone starts working.

Ask directly which relationship applies and get the answer documented. Confusion on this point produces resentment later, particularly when the parties knew each other before the transaction began.

How a Private Sale Actually Unfolds

The sequence follows a predictable arc once someone experienced takes the wheel, and knowing it upfront removes most of the anxiety.

• Establish the representation relationship and agree on the fee in writing.
• Review comparable sales so both parties price from evidence.
• Verify the buyer's financing directly with their lender before drafting anything.
• Prepare the contract with the disclosures Florida requires.
• Open escrow and deliver the deposit to the title company.
• Complete inspections and negotiate any resulting repairs or credits.
• Track appraisal, loan commitment, and closing deadlines through the calendar.

Every step above carries a deadline that terminates someone's rights when missed. That calendar discipline is what most private sellers underestimate, since the contract runs on dates regardless of how well the parties get along.

Questions to Ask Before You Proceed

• How many transactions have you personally closed?
• Will you speak directly with my buyer's lender before we sign?
• What fee applies when the listing needs no marketing at all?
• Who prepares the contract and the required disclosures?
• Do you have legal counsel available when a question arises?
• How do you track contingency deadlines through closing?

This page covers general practice and is not legal advice. A Florida attorney should review any contract before you sign it.

You Found the Buyer, We Will Handle the Rest

Private deals rarely collapse over price, since both parties usually settle that in the first conversation. They collapse over unverified financing, a contract term neither side understood, and a deadline nobody tracked. We draft the agreement, call the lender ourselves, and run the disclosures properly. The calendar runs to closing under a fee built around what genuinely remains. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group, Realtors® at (561) 544-7000 and tell us about your buyer and we will map exactly what this deal needs.

Tags

• South Florida FAQ
• Contracts FAQ
• Real Estate Marketing FAQ