If you have a buyer, you don’t need an agent

I plan to sell my house and have already found a buyer and believe we can come to agreeable terms. Do I need a real estate agent or should I just retain an attorney?

I know that the real estate industry will send me letters objecting to my response, but because you have already found a buyer, I see no reason to spend 6 percent, 4 percent or even 3 percent of the sales price on a real estate commission.

Any real estate attorney can assist you with the negotiations with your potential buyer, and can easily - and clearly at a much lower cost - prepare the purchase-and-sales contract. The attorney can also give you guidance throughout the entire process.

If you did not already have a potential buyer, my answer would be different. There, a real estate agent will be able to help you market and hopefully sell your house.

Talk with a couple of attorneys and find out exactly what their fee will be. Some lawyers charge on an hourly basis and should be able to provide you with a ballpark estimate of the fee - assuming of course that no major problems arise. Other attorneys will charge you a fixed fee for the entire process.

If you have a buyer, you don’t need an agent
Benny L. Kass