Can you buy a house without a REALTOR® in California? Technically, yes. But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. You could also survive jumping out of a plane without a parachute. But, like your prospect of successfully buying a home without a REALTOR®, the odds aren’t exactly in your favor. Jumping into a transaction without licensed representation needlessly exposes you to risks both legal and practical. And in the challenging housing markets of Southern California, these threats are amplified. Let’s look at a few of the less obvious risks you’re bound to face if you cut corners by foregoing buyer’s representation.
When Buying a Home Without a REALTOR® the Seller Knows You’re at a Disadvantage
Would you represent yourself in a court of law? Well, buying a home without a REALTOR® can be remarkably similar. You’ll be surrounded by professionals who live, eat, and breathe real estate throughout the entirety of the transaction. And a seller’s agent, whose obligation is to the seller’s best interests, isn’t going to pull any punches. There’s no getting around it – per California Civil Code § 2079.16 an agent is legally required to disclose which side (or sides) they’re representing. Once it’s clear you’re representing yourself with little to no experience, the disadvantage couldn’t be clearer.
Trusting Legalities to Work Themselves Out is a Choice
Buyers working alone tend to believe that the system will protect them from risks during negotiations. But putting faith in the paperwork, disclosures, and contracts ironing themselves out is an immense risk. As of January 1, 2025, a buyer’s agent must have their client sign a written buyer’s agreement, a document clarifying services, compensation, and termination. When you commit to buying a home without a REALTOR®, you also forego the protective structure of the buyer’s agreement. This can leave you at the whims of the seller’s disclosures and any liabilities they may obscure.
Missing Disclosures Without Back-Up
California law requires home sellers (or their agents) to disclose natural hazards, defects, and the condition of the home. But mistakes happen. And those mistakes are far less likely to be caught if you’re buying a home without a REALTOR®. A savvy buyer’s agent may catch disclosures that a rookie seller’s agent misses. And missing disclosures in this crucial window could leave you on the hook for remediation, raising insurance costs, and even limitations on resale of the property.
Shut Out of the MLS
A REALTOR® has full access to data on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). And an unlicensed individual interested in buying a home without a REALTOR® doesn’t. It seems like a pretty simple distinction, but it effectively shuts the average person out of comparative insights, data analysis, and, in many cases, the leverage to write a compelling offer. Without a licensed agent, the self-represented buyer also runs a significant risk of incorrectly structuring contingencies, leaving themselves even more vulnerable to a bad deal. Buyer’s agents are trained to anticipate these obstacles and catch them before they happen.
Rushing (and Making Costly Mistakes) Through the Process
A buyer’s agent offers more than a voice telling you, “Don’t sign that.” But, that being said, that voice is still very much a benefit when entering into negotiations with a seller’s agent whose loyalties lie with their client. Representing oneself can be an exhausting experience. The rush to get to the finish line could see a self-represented buyer blindly signing contingency deadlines, termination rights, and disclosure obligations they don’t fully understand. And this could leave the agentless buyer on the hook for further risk. In short, buying a home without a REALTOR® leaves the buyer without a much-needed knowledgeable advocate.
Hiring a Buyer’s Agent Often Pays For Itself
So, yes, buying a home without a REALTOR® is perfectly legal in the state of California. But it’s a heck of a gamble. Purchasing a home can be a lot of things, but “easy” is rarely one of them. Whatever money one might save on a buyer’s agent’s commission could be lost (and then some) through missed disclosures, writing uninformed offers, legal liabilities – the list goes on. Therefore, going a more traditional route with licensed and skilled buyer’s representation gives a clear advantage to those who are serious about homeownership. And if you don’t already have representation, we know the perfect place to start!
With a brand that says as much as JohnHart’s, Senior Copywriter Seth Styles never finds himself at a loss for words. Responsible for maintaining the voice of the company, he spends each day drafting marketing materials, blogs, bios, and agent resources that speak from the company’s collective mind and Hart… errr, heart.
Having spent over a decade in creative roles across a variety of industries, Seth brings with him vast experience in SEO practices, digital marketing, and all manner of professional writing with particular strength in blogging, content creation, and brand building. Gratitude, passion, and sincerity remain core tenets of his unwavering work ethic. The landscape of the industry changes daily, paralleling JohnHart’s efforts to {re}define real estate, but Seth works to maintain the company’s consistent message while offering both agents and clients a new echelon of service.
When not preserving the JohnHart essence in stirring copy, Seth puts his efforts into writing and illustrating an ongoing series entitled The Death of Romance. In addition, he adores spending quality time with his girlfriend and Romeo (his long-haired chihuahua mix), watching ‘70s and ‘80s horror movies, and reading (with a particular penchant for Victorian horror novels and authors Yukio Mishima and Bret Easton Ellis). He also occasionally records music as the vocalist and songwriter for his glam rock band, Peppermint Pumpkin.
