In most circumstances you can sell a home without a lawyer, but we recommend one. At $250 to $500, or even $750, a good real estate lawyer is cheap compared to a real estate agent's $7,000 fee. We recommend a lawyer for the following services:
Acting as Escrow Agent to hold a down payment, binder, or earnest money deposit.
Providing legal advice of the type offered by real estate agents.
Hosting and handling the Closing, or representing you if the Closing is to be handled by the lending institution's lawyer. (In states where a Title Company or Escrow Agent handles closing functions, the need for a lawyer is diminished, but in our opinion, still a good investment at the $400 level. )
You should get a discount for documents you prepare and fill out versus those the lawyer has to prepare.
If the lawyer's fee seems high, find another lawyer.
Find lawyers at Lawyers.com or American Bar Association
Local mortgage brokers are more than happy to offer free advice on real estate mortgages, plus web-sites like iOwn and QuickenMortgage offer more choices than the average real estate agent can provide.
Audrie.com can be your marketing and advertising consultant. See our Seller's checklist for a road map to selling your own home.
Levels of Motivation
A savings of $7,000 on a $100,000 house is big incentive to avoid real estate commissions, but not for everyone.
A person who paid $60,000 for a house selling for $100,000 today, might shrug off the $7,000 real estate commission: "... let a realtor handle the messy details."
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