How to Sell a House By Owner in Maryland

Some Maryland homeowners prefer selling solo for big reasons, like skipping realtor fees and keeping more cash. Others enjoy the hands-on approach, handling showings, negotiations, and decisions their way. For many, selling without a realtor simplifies the experience and lets them adjust the process to their unique needs.

Although For Sale By Owner (or FSBO — pronounced fizz-bow) is a viable option, it’s not a popular selling approach. Only 6% of home sales in 2023 were FSBO sales, a historical low. Of those, many already knew the buyer of the home.

In this guide to selling FSBO in Maryland, we’ll cover what can be the most difficult aspects of selling by owner in the Free State, including the steps that might be harder than you think. We’ll also provide a comprehensive overview of the full process to prep, market, and close on your home without the assistance of a real estate agent.

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How does selling by owner (FSBO) work in Maryland?

FSBO is a method of selling your home without the involvement of a listing agent. In a FSBO scenario, the seller assumes the responsibilities that would normally fall to their agent, such as pricing the home, marketing it to potential buyers, arranging showings, and negotiating the deal.

Agent commissions

For decades, the seller has been responsible for paying agent commissions, which typically range from 5% to 6% of the home’s sale price in a traditional agent-assisted sale. This fee was split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. Recently, however, agent commission rules have changed following the historic NAR lawsuit settlement.

Under the new commission structure, sellers are no longer required to pay their buyer’s agent’s fee, as buyers are expected to negotiate directly with their agents. Thus, sellers working with an agent only have to cover their listing agent’s fee, which is about 2.5% to 3% of the home’s sale price, depending on negotiations.

But while these new rules aim to reduce fees, some sellers still feel the need to cover the buyer’s agent’s fees to entice more buyers or expedite a sale. Thus, if you partner with a realtor, you may be looking at paying a commission of 3% (your listing agent’s fee) to 6% (your listing agent’s fee and your buyer’s agent’s fee) of the home’s sale price.

Commission savings

By selling FSBO, you can eliminate the cost of the agent commissions since you won’t have a listing agent. If you decide to cover the buyer’s agent’s fee, you’ll only pay around 2.5% to 3% of the home’s sale price, still saving you a good chunk of money.

Buyers’ agents expect compensation for the work they do to bring a buyer to a sale, such as arranging showings and helping to tee up and qualify the buyer. Plus, when a seller isn’t working with an agent, the buyer’s agent may end up carrying more of the weight to get the deal to the finish line.

Next: Consult our guide on who pays closing costs when selling a house by owner for more details.

A FSBO sale does not mean that a seller won’t need any professional assistance. In Maryland, sellers are not required to hire a real estate attorney, but FSBO sales typically warrant legal and professional oversight of some kind to avoid an abundance of legal risk.

Most people who sell by owner will need to hire an attorney to review and prepare key documents and make sure paperwork is filled out properly, such as the seller’s disclosures. We’ll address what disclosures are required when selling a house in Maryland later in this post.