I am posting for the Canadians out there that watch this post...it seems the same both sides of the border. I bought my home privately just about 18 months ago & it was super simple. The seller took from a friend of his, the realtor paperwork, whited out the company logo/name, & we used that. He filled it all in & I took my copies to my lawyer to process. Voila! The process was easy, & because there is no way of getting around using a lawyer, I leaned on him for any advice or questions I had. The seller took the signed papers to his lawyer, & the rest was history. No glitches, just a couple thousand dollars to the lawyer & the house was mine.
Now for my most recent purchase I did use a real estate agent to buy because it was a friend of a friend just getting started, and I'm not sure if it's the same state side, but the buyer never pays the real estate agent. The seller pays that percentage fee to both agents. So, I did her a favor by earning her a commission & she took care of all the contacting/negotiations/paperwork for me, with no money spent from my pocket. Again, the lawyers bill was my only expense.
Hope this helps clear up any thoughts for us Canadians. I know that there are a lot of us on here following MMM, but our posts a few & far between. I wouldn't hesitate to buy/sell a home privately again, as it truly is not that difficult as long as you do your homework & have a good lawyer!
Cheers eh!