Can You Buy a House Without a Real Estate Agent?

Yes. No law in Mississippi or anywhere else requires a buyer to have an agent. About 12% of buyers do it every year, and in a few specific situations it is a reasonable choice. This post is about what you take on when you do, who you are dealing with on the other side, and how to protect yourself if you go that route. An earlier post in this series covers whether you need an agent; this one covers how to proceed if you decide you do not.

Who buys without an agent

Eighty-eight percent of buyers purchased through an agent or broker in 2025. Of the rest, 5% bought “directly from a builder or builder’s agent,” and roughly 5% bought directly from the previous owner, often someone they knew. (Buffalo Niagara Association of REALTORS®, summarizing NAR’s 2025 Profile) Among sellers who went FSBO, “sixty percent of FSBOs knew the buyer of their home.” (NAR)

In other words, the typical unrepresented buyer is not a stranger walking into a listing. They are buying a new-construction home from a builder’s sales office, or buying a house from a relative, neighbor, or landlord. Those are the two situations where going without an agent is most common, and they are different from each other.

What the person across the table owes you

If you walk into a listed home without an agent, the listing agent is required to hand you Mississippi’s disclosure form and tell you that they represent the seller. The form is explicit about what that means for you: the seller’s agent “cannot give you legal or financial advice,” and “you should not disclose any information that you do not want the Seller to know, because the Seller’s Agent would be required to tell all such information to the Seller.” (MREC Working With a Real Estate Broker form)

You are owed “a duty of honesty and fair dealing.” (MREC form) That is a real protection; a licensee who lies to you can lose their license for “any substantial misrepresentation.” (Miss. Code § 73-35-21) But honesty is not advocacy. Nobody in the room is obligated to tell you the price is high, the inspection contingency is too short, or the seller would take less.

A builder’s sales representative is in the same position. They may be friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, and they work for the builder.

What you are taking on

Experian’s consumer guidance puts the risk plainly: “Since the seller is likely working with a skilled agent who’s looking out for their best interest, if you’re buying on your own, you risk getting the worse end of the deal.” And: “Offers become legally binding once signed by both parties. You’ll need to bake all the necessary protections (such as inspection and financing contingencies) into your offer.” (Experian)

Specifically, you will be doing these yourself:

1. Pricing. Pulling comparable sales and deciding what the house is worth. Portal estimates are a starting point, not a comp analysis.
2. The contract. Mississippi’s purchase agreement, contingencies for inspection, appraisal, and financing, deadlines, and earnest money terms. The Mississippi Bar describes it as “one of the most important documents in the transaction” and says it “should include all key terms of the sale.” (The Mississippi Bar)
3. Disclosures. Reading the seller’s property condition disclosure and knowing what is missing from it.
4. Inspection and repairs. Hiring the inspector, reading the report, and negotiating repairs or credits with a party who has no duty to help you.
5. Appraisal and financing follow-through. If the appraisal comes in low, deciding what to do and renegotiating.
6. Title and closing. Coordinating with the title company or closing attorney, reviewing the settlement statement, and catching errors.

NAR’s buyer-side task list for an agent runs to 105 items, 33 of them in the “advocating for the buyer and facilitating the close” phase alone. (NAR, 179 Ways) You will not do all 105, but you will do the ones that matter.

Does it save money?

Less than most people expect. Before 2024, the seller typically paid both agents and an unrepresented buyer did not automatically get a discount. Since the settlement, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately, which means an unrepresented buyer can sometimes negotiate a lower price if the seller is not paying a buyer’s agent. But the listing agent’s fee does not change based on whether you have representation, and some listing agreements pay the listing broker the same total either way. Experian’s conclusion: “While it may be possible to save money if you buy a home without an agent, it isn’t that clear cut.” (Experian)

The clearest number on the other side of the ledger: unrepresented transactions cluster among FSBO sales, and FSBO homes sold for a median of $360,000 in 2025 versus $425,000 for agent-assisted homes. (NAR) That is a seller-side statistic, but it reflects what happens to pricing when professionals are absent.

If you go without an agent, do these four things

Hire a real estate attorney before you sign anything. The Mississippi Bar’s guidance: “Because of the complexities of a real estate contract and the overall process, enlisting the help of a real estate attorney is often a wise decision.” (The Mississippi Bar) A flat-fee contract review and closing representation typically runs $500 to $2,000 (Greiner Law Corp.), a fraction of what representation costs and far less than one missed contingency.

Get an independent inspection, including on new construction. The builder’s warranty is not a substitute. Order the inspection yourself, from an inspector you chose.

Get your own title examination. The Mississippi Bar describes the attorney’s or title professional’s role as “a search of public land records to determine whether the seller can deliver clear title and to identify liens, easements, restrictions, or other matters that may affect ownership or use of the property.” (The Mississippi Bar)

Say nothing about your budget or motivation to anyone on the seller’s side. See the earlier post on what to tell your agent about your budget. Without an agent, the only person keeping your information confidential is you.

A middle path

Representation does not have to be all or nothing. Since 2024, buyer agreements can be for a flat fee, an hourly rate, or a limited scope (NAR Consumer Guide), and a broker can be hired to review a builder contract, write an offer on a FSBO, or manage a transaction you have already negotiated with a relative. At HomesRX I do this regularly for buyers who found the house themselves and want a professional on the paperwork. Because I am the broker, I can set that fee without asking anyone’s permission, and it is written into the agreement before any work starts.

Frequently asked questions