Having had a reasonable amount of experience with the after effects of consumers who have bought privately, it's a sad story.

One couple flew over from Scotland, looked at houses through an agent, then bought a house privately. Since they were paying cash, and there was no agent representing them, the price they ended up paying for this private sale was more than what it was worth. The checks and balances would have been having the agent who showed them houses representing them, for a fee, or if they had gotten a mortgage then at least an appraisal would have been completed. In this case they paid about 15% more than what it was worth. Seller made money. Buyer lost money when it was time to sell. The cost of having a REALTOR® involved would have ACTUALLY saved the buyers money.

A home owner decided to put their house on the market privately. It was known that the property had Vermiculite insulation. The seller sold it with the vermiculite being a secret and undisclosed. When a property is listed with a REALTOR®, sellers are required to disclose pertinent facts about their homes when listed, and most issues are easily overcome, given time, education to the buyer and experiences of the REALTOR®.

Are you sure you want to buy privately?

Kevin Stacey, REALTOR®