How to Buy a For Sale By Owner House in New York
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For Sale By Owner means the homeowner sells directly, without a listing agent, so there’s no listing commission baked into the price. It doesn’t mean you should skip your own representation. Since the August 2024 NAR settlement, whether the seller contributes to your buyer’s agent fee is a negotiated conversation, not an automatic assumption.
No listing agent at the table doesn’t mean no risk at the table.
What FSBO actually means for a buyer
An FSBO is a home the owner sells without a listing agent marketing it, negotiating for them, or managing their side of the transaction. Sellers choose this mainly to avoid paying a listing commission, which can translate to a lower asking price. That discount isn’t automatic, though, and isn’t always as large as buyers expect. The seller has no obligation to pass any savings along rather than simply keeping them.
FSBO sales accounted for roughly 9% of total home sales nationally, per NAR’s own research. That’s a real but modest share, in NYC and nationally alike.
You don’t legally need an agent to buy an FSBO home, but in practice, almost always yes. The reason isn’t the seller’s honesty, it’s what an agent actually does. They run comps, coordinate the inspector, appraiser, and title company, and negotiate on your behalf.
They bring market knowledge the seller has no particular interest in you gaining mid-negotiation. Going solo makes you your own transaction coordinator for one of the largest purchases you’ll make.
Who pays your agent, the part that changed in 2024
The seller’s contribution is now a direct conversation, not an assumption. Before August 2024, sellers routinely covered the buyer’s agent commission as a matter of course. Since the NAR Sitzer/Burnett settlement’s practice changes took effect, that’s no longer automatic. It’s negotiated, and buyers must sign a written buyer-broker agreement, with compensation fully disclosed, before touring homes.
In a genuine FSBO deal this matters even more than in an MLS-listed sale. There’s no MLS listing offering compensation to anchor expectations either way. The seller’s willingness to contribute to your agent’s fee is something you settle directly. Do it before you fall in love with a specific listing, not after you’ve made an offer.
The steps to buying an FSBO home in New York
- Get pre-approved for a mortgage. It signals you’re a serious buyer, which matters more with an FSBO seller who has no agent pre-screening interest for them.
- Sign a buyer-broker agreement, if you’re using an agent. Post-2024, this is required before your agent can show you homes. It’s also where you settle the commission question above.
- Tour the home, and actually use the owner. Nobody knows a house’s quirks like the person who’s lived in it. Ask about the noisy radiator, the contractor who fixed the roof, the neighbor who throws parties. Open every closet and run every faucet regardless of how friendly the conversation gets.
- Schedule a home inspection, every time. Work from a real inspection checklist, not a casual walkthrough. A seller without an agent also doesn’t have anyone reminding them what they’re legally obligated to disclose. An honest “I didn’t know” is a genuinely common excuse. It explains a lot of undisclosed problems in owner-run sales.
- Verify, don’t just trust. An FSBO seller’s view of their home’s condition and value is sincere but not always factually accurate. “The boiler is basically new” is what most homeowners say, and the boiler is usually not new.
- Make your offer using real comps, not the seller’s asking price, which is sometimes based on sentiment rather than market data. FSBO sellers who raised kids in the home or repainted every wall themselves overprice more often than you’d think. It’s not out of dishonesty, just a different relationship to the number.
- Close. Same finish line as any other purchase: final mortgage approval, a clear title, and closing costs. There’s just one less commission line item in the math.
The paperwork nobody warns you about
New York real estate contracts are dense even with a listing agent explaining them. In an FSBO deal, you’ll often receive a contract from the seller’s own attorney with no one explaining the terms in plain English first.
A real estate attorney isn’t optional here. They review the contract, run a title search confirming no liens exist, and serve as the safety net a listing agent would otherwise provide. Skipping this step to save money is exactly backward on the largest NYC purchase most people ever make. Run your own numbers with NestApple’s closing costs calculator before you finalize anything.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Potentially lower price (no listing commission baked in) | Seller may still price emotionally, not to market |
| Direct access to firsthand home knowledge | No listing agent enforcing disclosure obligations |
| Less competition, since FSBO listings often get less exposure | Buyer-agent compensation is now a negotiation, not a given |
| More room to negotiate directly | You, or your agent, handle all the coordination solo |
If you’re also weighing whether listing FSBO makes sense from the seller’s side, our why selling FSBO is a mistake guide covers that angle directly. For every other step in buying or selling, our selling & commissions hub covers pricing, agents, and timing together.
If you’re buying an FSBO listing with NestApple’s representation, our buyer rebate pays you up to 2% back at closing. That’s representation that pays you back, rather than only costing you.
Common questions
Do you need a realtor to buy a house that’s FSBO? Not legally, but a buyer’s agent still protects your side of the negotiation, coordinates inspections and paperwork, and brings market knowledge the seller has no reason to volunteer.
Does the seller pay for my buyer’s agent on an FSBO deal? Not automatically. Since the 2024 NAR settlement, it’s negotiable, and worth agreeing with the seller before you tour, since there’s no MLS listing to set an expectation either way.
What are the risks of buying a house without a realtor? Missed disclosure issues, overpaying against an emotionally priced listing, and handling complex legal paperwork without professional backup; a real estate attorney is worth having even if you skip an agent entirely.
Is an FSBO home cheaper than an agent-listed one? Often, but not always. The seller may save on listing commission, but nothing requires them to pass those savings to you rather than keep the difference.
Should I still get a home inspection on an FSBO house? Always. An FSBO seller has no listing agent reminding them about required disclosures, which makes independent verification more important, not less.
Nicole Fishman Benoliel co-founded NestApple in 2017. She's a lawyer admitted to the New York bar - her law degree is from La Escuela Libre de Derecho in Costa Rica, with further study at IE Business School in Madrid and an LLM from Fordham in New York. She does not act in a legal capacity at NestApple; every client is referred to an attorney who handles real estate deals full time.
