How To Sell A House Without A Realtor In Florida

Selling without an agent is completely legal in Florida. No license, no attorney, and no realtor is required to sell your own property. Roughly 6–8% of U.S. home sales are for-sale-by-owner.

The reason people do it is obvious: commission on a $400,000 Central Florida house runs $20,000 to $24,000. That’s a lot of money to keep.

The reason most people don’t is also real: FSBO homes typically sell for less and take longer, and the paperwork is where deals die.

Here’s the honest, complete version - what to do, what it costs, and when you shouldn’t.

What you’ll actually save

On a $400,000 sale:

	With an agent	FSBO
Listing agent commission (2.5–3%)	$10,000–$12,000	$0
Buyer agent compensation (2.5–3%)	$10,000–$12,000	$0–$12,000*
Flat-fee MLS listing	-	$100–$600
Photography	included	$150–$500
Attorney/title review	-	$0–$1,500
Total	$20,000–$24,000	$250–$14,000

*This is the honest catch. Since the 2024 NAR settlement changes, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated directly and is no longer posted on the MLS. Most buyers still use an agent, and that agent expects to be paid - usually by you. Plan on offering 2–3% or expect a much smaller buyer pool. You’ll likely still save the listing side, which is real money, but “save the whole 6%” is usually not what happens.

Step by step

1. Price it correctly

This is where FSBO sellers lose the most money - usually by overpricing, sitting, and eventually selling for less than a correctly priced listing would have brought.

• Pull sold comps (not active listings) from the last 3–6 months within a mile, similar square footage, beds, baths, age, and condition. Your county property appraiser’s site has sale data free.
• Adjust for condition honestly. Your updated kitchen matters; your emotional attachment doesn’t.
• Consider a $400–$600 pre-listing appraisal. Cheap insurance against a $20,000 pricing mistake, and it gives you something objective to show buyers.

2. Get the property ready

• Deep clean, declutter, depersonalize
• Fix the cheap obvious stuff - running toilets, sticky doors, burned-out bulbs, torn screens
• Address the four-point items. Florida insurers scrutinize roof age, electrical panel, plumbing, and HVAC. If your roof is 15+ years old or you have polybutylene plumbing or a Federal Pacific/Zinsco panel, buyers will hit insurance problems. Know this in advance - it will come up.
• Professional photos. Non-negotiable. Listings live or die on the first image.

3. Handle Florida’s disclosure requirements

This is the legal part you cannot skip.

Under Johnson v. Davis, Florida law requires a seller of residential property to disclose any known facts materially affecting the value of the property that are not readily observable to the buyer.

“As-is” does not eliminate this duty. Selling as-is means you won’t make repairs. It does not mean you can hide known problems. Failing to disclose a known material defect is a common basis for post-closing lawsuits.

Disclose things like:

• Roof leaks, past or present
• Sinkhole activity or claims - significant in Polk, Lake, Marion, and Hernando counties
• Flooding history and flood zone
• Mold, past water intrusion, or remediation
• Structural or foundation issues
• Termite damage or treatment history
• Open permits or unpermitted work - very common with Florida additions and enclosed patios
• Code violations or liens
• HOA dues, special assessments, and pending litigation
• Polybutylene plumbing, aluminum wiring, Chinese drywall

Use the standard Florida Realtors Seller’s Property Disclosure form. It’s widely available and free. Fill it out completely and honestly. Over-disclosure protects you; under-disclosure creates liability that survives closing.

Additional required items: radon gas disclosure (required by statute in Florida real estate contracts), property tax disclosure that the buyer’s taxes may differ from the seller’s, and for pre-1978 homes, the federal lead-based paint disclosure.

If there’s an HOA or condo association, you must provide the governing documents and, for condos, the statutory disclosure and financial information. Condo buyers have specific statutory cancellation rights.

4. Market it

• Flat-fee MLS listing ($100–$600). Do this. The MLS feeds Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, and every agent’s search. Skipping it cuts off most of your buyer pool.
• Zillow FSBO listing (free)
• Facebook Marketplace and local community groups
• A yard sign with a phone number
• Be genuinely available for showings - evenings and weekends. Slow response kills FSBO deals.

5. Handle offers and the contract

Use the FAR/BAR “AS IS” Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase. It’s the standard Florida form, courts know it, title companies know it, and it protects both sides. Don’t write your own contract and don’t use a generic online template.

Key things to verify on any offer:

• Proof of funds (cash) or a pre-approval letter from a real lender (financed) - not a prequal
• Deposit amount - a thin deposit signals a weak buyer
• Inspection period length - 7–15 days is typical
• Financing and appraisal contingencies
• Closing date and who pays what

6. Open title and manage the closing

Florida closings are handled by title companies, not attorneys, in most transactions. You don’t need a lawyer, though an hour of one’s time to review the contract is money well spent.

Choose a title company (in Central Florida, the seller customarily pays for the owner’s policy, so you often get to pick). They will:

• Run the title search and clear any liens
• Prepare the closing disclosure
• Handle escrow, doc stamps, and prorations
• Record the deed

Do this early. Title problems - an old lien, a deceased co-owner still on the deed, an unreleased mortgage from 1998, a boundary issue - take weeks to fix and are the most common cause of blown closing dates.

7. Get through inspection and appraisal

The buyer will inspect. They will ask for something. Decide in advance what you’ll do - repair, credit, or hold firm - and remember that if they walk, the next buyer’s inspector will find the same things.

If financed, the appraisal has to support the price. If it comes in low, you renegotiate, the buyer brings cash, or the deal dies.

What you still have to pay

Even without commission, sellers in Florida owe:

• Documentary stamp tax: $0.70 per $100 of sale price - $2,800 on $400,000
• Owner’s title insurance: ~$2,075 on $400,000 (seller customarily pays in Orange, Seminole, Lake)
• Title/settlement fees: $500–$1,200
• Prorated property taxes
• HOA estoppel fee (capped at $299) and prorated dues
• Repairs or credits from the inspection

Full breakdown: Florida seller closing costs.

When FSBO is a bad idea

Be honest with yourself:

• The house needs significant work. FSBO buyers are mostly retail buyers who need financing, and financing requires the house to appraise and be insurable. A bad roof kills that.
• You’re on a deadline. Foreclosure auction, probate, a job start date, a divorce decree - FSBO takes longer, not less.
• There are title problems. Multiple heirs, an old lien, unpermitted work, a deceased co-owner. Get professional help.
• You can’t be available. If you’re out of state or can’t do showings, FSBO doesn’t work.
• You struggle to negotiate. You’ll be across the table from an experienced buyer’s agent whose job is to get your price down.

The three ways to sell, side by side

	FSBO	Agent	Cash buyer
Price	Market-ish, often slightly below	Highest	Below retail
Commission	$0–3%	5–6%	$0
Time to close	60–120 days	45–90 days	7–21 days
Repairs required	Yes	Yes	No
Showings	Yes, you host	Yes	No
Certainty	Moderate	Moderate	High
Your workload	High	Low	Very low

Choose FSBO if the house shows well, you have time, you’re comfortable with paperwork and negotiation, and you’re local and available.

Choose an agent if you want the highest price, the house is in good shape, and you’d rather pay for someone to manage it.

Choose a cash buyer if the house needs work you won’t do, you’re against a deadline, it’s occupied by a tenant or full of belongings, or certainty is worth more to you than the last several percent.

Those are genuinely different situations. Anyone telling you one option is always right is selling something - including us.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a realtor to sell my house in Florida? No. Florida does not require a licensed agent, an attorney, or anyone else. You can sell your own property.

Do I need a lawyer to sell a house in Florida? Not required. Title companies handle most Florida closings. An attorney review of the contract is optional but cheap insurance.

Do I have to pay the buyer’s agent if I sell FSBO? Not legally, but practically most buyers use agents who expect compensation. Offering 2–3% keeps your buyer pool intact.

What do I have to disclose when selling a house in Florida? Any known material defect not readily observable to the buyer, under Johnson v. Davis. Selling “as-is” doesn’t remove this duty. Radon and (pre-1978) lead-paint disclosures are also required.

Can I sell my house as-is in Florida? Yes. “As-is” means you won’t make repairs - it does not let you conceal known defects. The FAR/BAR AS IS contract is the standard form.

How do I get my FSBO house on the MLS? Pay a flat-fee MLS service, typically $100–$600. This is the highest-value dollar you’ll spend.

How long does it take to sell FSBO in Florida? Typically 60–120 days from listing to closing, longer than an agent-listed sale.

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General information about Florida real estate, not legal advice. Disclosure obligations are fact-specific and failure to disclose creates real liability - consider having a Florida real estate attorney review your disclosure and contract.

Beach Bums Real Estate buys houses for cash in Orlando and Central Florida. If FSBO or a listing is right for your situation, do that - you’ll likely net more. If you need speed, certainty, or an as-is sale with no repairs and no showings, call (689) 249-4888.