To sell a house off market, you handle the entire transaction privately without ever listing it on a Multiple Listing Service: you price the home with an independent appraisal, reach buyers through private channels, vet them yourself, and close through a title company using the same contract and disclosures any residential sale requires. The legal framework doesn’t change because the marketing did. What changes is that the safeguards a listing agent normally provides are now yours to build into the deal.
Price the Home With an Independent Appraisal
Without the competitive pressure of an open listing, pricing is the single most consequential decision you’ll make. A professional appraisal gives you a defensible number based on comparable sales, the property’s condition, and the local market. Expect to pay roughly $300 to $425 for a standard single-family appraisal, more for larger or complex properties.
That cost pays for itself in negotiation. Buyers in private transactions, especially investors, will push back on any price that isn’t grounded in data, and you’ll negotiate from a weaker position without an independent valuation. If the buyer is financing, the lender will require an appraisal anyway. For cash deals, having your own appraisal ready before offers come in signals that you’ve done your homework and discourages lowballing built on cherry-picked comparables.
How to Find Buyers Without the MLS
The hardest part of a private sale is reaching qualified buyers without the built-in audience an MLS listing provides. You have several routes.
Pocket Listing Agents
Some real estate agents specialize in off-market transactions and maintain private databases of buyers looking for specific property types. They market your home within their network rather than on public platforms and vet buyers for financial readiness before arranging showings. The national average total commission currently runs around 5.5%, but which party pays what is now negotiated upfront rather than assumed.
iBuyer Companies
Companies that make direct cash offers (often called iBuyers) use automated valuation models to price your property and can close in as little as a few days. Their service fees average roughly 6% to 8% of the sale price, and the total cost can run higher once repair credits and closing costs are folded in. You’ll almost certainly net less than a competitive sale, because the iBuyer needs room for profit and risk. The trade is speed and certainty: no showings, no financing contingencies.
Real Estate Investors and Wholesalers
Investment groups actively seek off-market properties for rentals or renovations. You can find them through local real estate investment clubs, online investor forums, or by networking with property managers.
Wholesalers work differently. They sign a purchase agreement with you, then assign that contract to an end investor for a fee, never actually buying the property themselves. Any contract a wholesaler presents will include an assignment clause allowing them to transfer it to someone you’ve never met. You can negotiate restrictions: require your written consent before assignment, or cap the assignment fee. Without those protections, you have no control over who ultimately buys your home.
Verify the Buyer Before You Sign
In a listed sale, agents handle buyer qualification. Off market, this falls to you, and skipping it is the fastest way to waste weeks on a deal that collapses at closing.
For cash buyers, request an official proof-of-funds letter from the buyer’s bank. It should be on bank letterhead, signed by a bank officer, and show the account holder’s name, the account type, the current balance, and a statement that the funds are available and unrestricted. Screenshots of a banking app or unsigned printouts don’t cut it. The letter should be dated within 30 days of your agreement. If the buyer says their funds are tied up in another property sale or an investment account, pause.
For financed buyers, ask for a pre-approval letter, not a pre-qualification. A pre-approval means the lender has reviewed the buyer’s income, credit, and assets and has issued a conditional commitment. Financing can still fall through, so build a contingency timeline into your contract.
Disclosures and Documents You Cannot Skip
Off-market sales carry the same documentation requirements as any other residential transaction. Skipping a step because no agent is overseeing the paperwork is where private sales go wrong most often.
The Purchase Agreement
The purchase agreement (sometimes called a residential sales contract) is the backbone of the deal. It identifies buyer and seller by full legal name, describes the property using the legal description from the current deed, states the purchase price and payment terms, and sets the closing date. The legal description must match the county tax records exactly, meaning lot, block, and subdivision, not just the street address. A mismatch can delay or void the deed transfer. Standard templates are available through title companies or your state’s department of real estate, but having a real estate attorney review the contract before signing is a smart investment in an off-market deal.
Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
Federal law requires every seller of a home built before 1978 to provide the buyer with a lead-based paint disclosure before the buyer is bound by the contract. You must share any known information about lead hazards, provide an EPA-approved information pamphlet, and give the buyer at least 10 days to conduct a lead inspection (the parties can agree to a different timeframe).1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property This applies to every sale, listed or private. Violations carry civil penalties up to $22,263 per occurrence under current inflation-adjusted rules.2eCFR. 24 CFR 30.65 – Failure to Disclose Lead-Based Paint Hazards
Property Condition Disclosures
Most states require sellers to complete a property condition disclosure form covering known defects: roof leaks, foundation problems, water intrusion, electrical issues, and similar concerns. The form and the defects it covers vary by state, but the principle is consistent. You must disclose what you know. Failing to disclose a known defect exposes you to fraud claims even years after closing. Fill the form out honestly and keep a signed copy.
Seller’s Affidavit
At or near closing, you’ll sign a seller’s affidavit (sometimes called an affidavit of title). In this sworn document, you confirm that you’re the legal owner, that no one has disputed your ownership, that there are no undisclosed liens or judgments against the property, that you’re not in bankruptcy, and that property taxes are current. The title company relies on this to issue a clean title insurance policy and to disburse your proceeds before the new deed is officially recorded at the county. That gap between signing and recording is exactly what the affidavit covers.
Contract Terms That Do the Heavy Lifting
Without agents managing the transaction, the purchase agreement carries more weight. A few provisions matter especially in off-market deals:
- Earnest money deposit of 1% to 3% of the purchase price, held in an escrow account managed by a title company or attorney. This gives the buyer skin in the game and compensates you if they walk away without a valid reason.
- Inspection contingency deadline set at a specific number of days (10 to 15 is standard) for the buyer to complete inspections. After the deadline passes, the buyer loses the right to back out over inspection findings.
- A firm closing date with a penalty clause specifying what happens if either party misses it. Per-diem charges for delays are common.
- Assignment restrictions if you aren’t comfortable with the buyer flipping your contract to an unknown third party. A clause can prohibit assignment outright or require your written consent.
A handful of states require a real estate attorney to handle the closing, and even in states where it’s optional, paying for a few hours of legal review is cheap insurance against contract language that could hurt you later.
Closing Through a Title Company
Once both parties sign the purchase agreement, the transaction moves to a title company (or an attorney’s office, depending on your state) to coordinate closing.
Escrow and Title Search
The title company opens an escrow account to hold the buyer’s earnest money and any additional deposits. An escrow officer acts as a neutral intermediary so neither side’s money changes hands until all contractual conditions are satisfied. The title company also searches public records to confirm you have clear ownership: no unpaid tax liens, no mechanic’s liens from old renovation work, no judgments or other encumbrances. If the search turns up a problem, you’ll need to resolve it before closing, often by paying off the lien from the sale proceeds.
The title company issues a title insurance policy protecting the buyer (and the buyer’s lender, if applicable) against ownership claims that surface after closing. Title insurance is standard in virtually all residential transactions, cash or financed.
Prorated Taxes and Closing Costs
Property taxes are split between you and the buyer based on how many days each party owned the home during the tax year. The standard calculation divides the annual tax bill by 365 to get a daily rate, then multiplies that rate by the number of days you owned the property from January 1 through the day before closing. That amount appears as a debit on your closing statement and a credit on the buyer’s. If you prepaid taxes for the full year, the buyer reimburses you for their share.
Other closing costs include the title search and insurance premium, recording fees for the new deed (these vary by county), notary fees, and any transfer taxes your state imposes. In an off-market sale, who pays which closing cost is entirely negotiable. There’s no default split unless your contract specifies one.
Final Signing and Recording
The escrow officer coordinates the final signing appointment, where you execute the deed, the seller’s affidavit, and any remaining transfer documents. The buyer wires the remaining purchase funds into escrow. Once everything is signed and funded, the title company submits the new deed to the county recorder’s office. Legal ownership transfers when the county records the document. Your net proceeds are wired to you after recording is confirmed, typically the same day or the next business day.
Tax Reporting After the Sale
Selling a home triggers tax reporting obligations that don’t disappear because the sale was private.
Capital Gains Exclusion
If the home was your primary residence and you lived in it for at least two of the five years before the sale, you can exclude up to $250,000 in profit from capital gains tax, or $500,000 if you’re married and file jointly.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 121 – Exclusion of Gain From Sale of Principal Residence Profit means the sale price minus your adjusted basis, generally what you paid plus the cost of major improvements, minus any depreciation you claimed. Most homeowners selling a primary residence owe nothing in capital gains tax. If your profit exceeds the exclusion or you don’t meet the ownership-and-use test, the excess is taxed as a long-term capital gain.
Form 1099-S
The IRS requires someone to file Form 1099-S reporting the gross proceeds of the sale. In most transactions, the settlement agent or title company handles this. If no settlement agent is involved, the responsibility falls in a specific order: the transferee’s attorney, the transferor’s attorney, the title or escrow company, the mortgage lender, and finally the buyer.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-S Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions Using a title company for your off-market sale effectively guarantees this gets filed correctly.
FIRPTA Withholding
If you’re a foreign national selling U.S. real estate, the buyer is required to withhold 15% of the total sale price and remit it to the IRS under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act. An exception applies when the sale price is $300,000 or less and the buyer intends to use the property as a personal residence.5Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA Withholding Domestic sellers avoid this by signing a FIRPTA affidavit (sometimes included in the seller’s affidavit) certifying U.S. citizenship or residency. Forgetting this certification can result in the buyer withholding 15% of your proceeds as a precaution, leaving you to recover the money by filing a tax return.