10/23/2026
Buying a for sale by owner home? Read this first.
When there is no agent involved, the seller runs the show. They set the price with no market check. They hand you disclosures they filled out themselves. They decide how much access you get and how fast things move.
Here is what an unrepresented buyer often misses:
- The inspections that actually matter: general, well, septic, water quality, radon. Skip one and you own whatever it would have found.
- Gaps and soft spots in the seller’s disclosure. You have to know what should be there to notice what is not.
- Contingencies and deadlines in the contract. Miss one date and your earnest money can be gone.
- Whether the price is even real. No MLS history, no comp check, and if the appraisal comes in low, that gap is your cash.
None of this means every FSBO seller is hiding something. Most are not. But you will not know what you do not know, and the seller has no obligation to educate you.
A buyer’s agent is your second set of eyes and your advocate at the table. Before you write an offer on a home with no representation, at least talk to one. I am happy to be that conversation, no pressure. 616.299.3953
