Real Estate Contract Without an Agent: What You Actually Need

A real estate agent's value in a transaction is often overstated until you need to fill out a purchase agreement — and then it becomes real. The contract is where most FSBO sellers either get protected or exposed.

You do not need an agent to have a legally binding real estate contract. But you do need a complete, correctly executed one. A poorly drafted agreement costs you money in one of two ways: the buyer exploits a vague clause to back out and recover their earnest money, or post-closing litigation reveals a disclosure gap that wasn't papered over properly. Here's what the contract actually needs to contain and where to get it.

Where to Get the Purchase Agreement Form

You have three practical options.

State-standard forms via your flat-fee MLS broker. If you're using a flat-fee MLS service to list the property, most of them provide state-standard purchase agreement forms as part of their package. These are the same forms that licensed agents use — drafted or approved by the state's real estate commission or a real estate attorney association. They're legally sound and designed for your specific jurisdiction.

Your state's real estate commission website. States like Texas and Ohio publish statutory forms directly to the public. The Texas Real Estate Commission's form 20-14 is freely available for download and is one of the most comprehensive standardized contracts in the country.

A real estate attorney. For an atypical property — one with tenants in place, a probated estate, an active lien, or an unusually complex structure — a real estate attorney should draft or heavily modify the contract. Attorney fees for a residential transaction typically run $500 to $1,500, which is a small fraction of the commission you're avoiding.

Do not download a generic contract from a document website and use it unmodified. State-specific contract requirements vary significantly — what's standard in California may omit mandatory elements in Massachusetts or Wisconsin.

The Core Elements Every Contract Needs

Whether you're using a state form or working with an attorney, the contract must address the following:

Parties and property identification. Full legal names of all buyers and sellers, plus the property's legal description (not just the street address — the legal description from the county deed or assessor's records). Get this wrong and the title company will flag it before closing.

Purchase price and earnest money. The agreed price, the earnest money deposit amount (typically 1% to 3% of the purchase price), who holds it (usually a title company, escrow agent, or closing attorney), and the deadline for it to be deposited. The contract must specify that earnest money is refundable or non-refundable depending on which contingencies the buyer has exercised.

Inclusions and exclusions. Anything not bolted down is personal property and can be taken unless it's explicitly listed as included in the sale. Fixtures like built-in appliances, ceiling fans, and light fixtures are commonly assumed to convey — until they don't and the buyer calls after closing. Write every item that stays and every item that leaves into the contract.

Contingencies. These are the buyer's legal escape clauses. The three standard ones are:

• Inspection contingency: The buyer has a specified window (usually 7 to 14 days) to conduct professional inspections. If they find material defects and can't reach agreement on repairs or credits, they can terminate and retrieve their earnest money.
• Financing contingency: If the buyer's mortgage is denied after a good-faith effort, the deal unwinds and earnest money is returned.
• Appraisal contingency: If the property appraises below the contract price and the buyer can't cover the gap, they can exit the contract.

As a FSBO seller, you may have leverage in a competitive market to negotiate these contingencies. A buyer offering to waive the appraisal contingency, or to shorten the inspection window from 14 days to 7 days, is making a materially stronger offer than one who keeps all contingencies at maximum length. The contract is where these terms get locked in.

Closing date and possession. The target closing date and who gets possession when. These are often the same day but don't have to be — post-closing occupancy agreements (where the seller stays in the property for a few days after closing) are common and must be documented in the contract.

Closing costs allocation. Who pays what. State customs vary significantly here. In some markets, sellers traditionally pay transfer taxes; in others, they're split. Buyer closing costs can also be rolled into the seller's contribution if the parties negotiate it that way. Whatever the agreement is, it needs to be written down.

Lead-based paint disclosure acknowledgment. Federal law (42 U.S.C. §4852d) requires that contracts for homes built before 1978 include a specific Lead Warning Statement. This must be signed by the buyer. If you omit it and the home was built before 1978, you are in violation of federal law regardless of what state you're in.

The Disclosure Package: Separate But Equally Important

The purchase agreement is one document. The disclosure packet is separate — and in most states, it's legally mandatory. Sellers must complete a state-mandated disclosure form covering known material defects in the structure, systems, and environmental conditions of the property.

Approximately 43% of FSBO sellers acknowledge making legal mistakes due to the absence of professional guidance. The disclosure form is where most of those mistakes happen — not because sellers lie, but because they don't know what counts as a material fact that must be disclosed, or they use an outdated form.

The rule of thumb: if in doubt, disclose it. An over-disclosed contract is never the basis for a lawsuit. An under-disclosed one frequently is.

For FSBO sales in particular, having a real estate attorney review your completed disclosure forms before you sign any purchase agreement costs a few hundred dollars and eliminates the single largest source of post-closing litigation risk.

Buyer Agent Commission Language After the NAR Settlement

Since August 2024, the rules around buyer agent compensation have changed fundamentally. Offers of compensation to buyer's agents can no longer be displayed on MLS listings, and buyers are now required to sign written representation agreements with their agents before touring properties.

What this means for the purchase agreement: if you've agreed to pay the buyer's agent anything — a flat fee, a percentage, or a closing cost concession — it goes in the contract or in a separate addendum. It does not belong on the MLS. Many FSBO sellers are now negotiating these terms directly with buyer's agents before the property is shown, then formalizing it at the purchase agreement stage.

If you've decided to offer zero buyer agent compensation and the buyer is unrepresented, no buyer agent commission language is needed. But be explicit — an ambiguous contract that doesn't address agent compensation creates disputes at the closing table.

When to Get an Attorney Involved

You should involve a real estate attorney in any of these situations:

• The property is in one of the 11 states that legally require attorney supervision of the closing (Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia)
• The title has a lien, an unpermitted addition, a disputed boundary line, or other encumbrance
• You're selling to a relative or close friend and want the transaction to be legally clean for both parties
• The property is part of a probated estate
• You receive multiple competing offers with materially different terms and need help structuring a counteroffer

An attorney's job in this scenario is not to replace you in the transaction — it's to make sure the paperwork doesn't become a liability after the sale closes.

The FSBO Complete Guide includes a full walkthrough of the purchase agreement elements, the disclosure forms you need by state, and the counteroffer language that protects sellers when buyers push back on price, repairs, or closing timeline.