How to Sell Your House in Maryland Without a Realtor (2026)

Updated October 2026. Maryland statutes, county tax rates and state agency guidance checked on October 23, 2026.

Yes, you can sell your house in Maryland without a realtor. As of October 2026, you’ll give the buyer the state disclosure or disclaimer form before the contract, split about $10,600 in transfer and recordation taxes on a typical $424,900 home in Baltimore County, and close with a licensed title company. Beycome lists you on Bright MLS for $99, with $0 at closing.

Jump to: 🪜 Steps · 📍 Disclosures · 💲 Taxes · 🤝 Closing · 🏠 Realtor? · ❓ FAQ

How do you sell a house by owner in Maryland?

The order matters more in Maryland than in many states, because two of the forms have to reach the buyer before the contract is signed. Here’s how we’d run it.

1. Call two or three licensed title companies early and ask for a settlement fee quote.
2. Fill out the Maryland Residential Property Disclosure and Disclaimer Statement.
3. If you’re in an HOA or a condo, request the resale package now. Associations can take weeks.
4. Price from recent nearby sales. Our home value calculator gives you a starting range.
5. List on Bright MLS so buyers’ agents, Zillow, Realtor.com and Redfin see the home.
6. Hand the disclosure form to every buyer before they sign, and get a signed receipt.
7. Negotiate price, deposit, inspection and financing terms, and who pays which closing costs.
8. Sign the deed at settlement. The title company collects the taxes and records the deed.

Most Maryland offers come on a REALTOR association contract, but a by-owner sale can use any written contract that meets state law. Our guide to the for sale by owner contract covers who drafts it and what goes in. For everything else you’ll gather, use our paperwork checklist for selling without an agent.

Which MLS covers Maryland, and how long can you stay listed?

Maryland homes go on Bright MLS. It’s the MLS that local buyers’ agents search, from Baltimore and Annapolis to Frederick and the Eastern Shore. Beycome lists Maryland homes on Bright MLS (Beycome internal data, October 2026), and the listing feeds out to Zillow, Realtor.com and other sites.

On listing length, here’s the plain answer: in Maryland, your Beycome listing lasts up to 12 months. That’s the maximum the state and MLS allow here. In most other states we can list for 24 months, so if you’ve read that number elsewhere, it doesn’t apply to a Maryland home. If you haven’t sold by month 12, you can relist.

Not sure how a by-owner MLS listing works? Our guide on how to list on the MLS without a realtor walks through it, and our national guide on how to sell a house by owner covers pricing, photos and showings.

What must a Maryland seller disclose?

The disclosure or disclaimer form

Under Real Property § 10-702, you give the buyer one state form, the Maryland Residential Property Disclosure and Disclaimer Statement, and pick one of two paths. You either disclose what you actually know about the home’s condition, or you sign the disclaimer and sell “as is.” The law covers homes with one to four units. Estate sales by a fiduciary, foreclosures and some other transfers are exempt.

The disclaimer isn’t a blank check. Even “as is,” you still have to list latent defects you actually know about. These are hidden problems a careful visual inspection wouldn’t catch and that pose a direct threat to health or safety.

What the disclosure side asks

The disclosure covers the water and sewer systems, roof and structure, plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, insects, land use, and hazards such as lead paint, radon and underground tanks. Two Maryland-specific items: whether your smoke alarms work in a power outage and are under 10 years old, and whether there’s a carbon monoxide alarm if you heat with fossil fuel.

The timing rule

The form is due on or before the day you sign the contract, and the buyer signs a receipt. If it comes late, the buyer can cancel at any time before getting it, or within 5 days after, and get the deposit back. Deliver it with your MLS packet and you never have to think about this.

HOA, condo and waterfront notices

If your home is in a homeowners association, the Maryland Homeowners Association Act package is due on or before the contract, or within 20 calendar days. A buyer who gets it fewer than 5 days before signing has 5 calendar days to cancel. Condo sellers furnish the resale package at least 15 days before closing, and the buyer can cancel within 7 days of getting it.

Every Maryland contract also carries the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area notice under § 14-117. It tells the buyer that land within 1,000 feet of tidal waters or wetlands faces extra zoning rules.

Lead paint for older homes

If your home was built before 1978, you also give the federal lead-based paint disclosure and the EPA pamphlet. The buyer gets a 10-day window to test, unless they waive it in writing.

Who pays transfer and recordation taxes in Maryland?

This is the biggest closing cost a Maryland seller sees. There are three pieces. The state transfer tax is 0.5% of the price. Your county adds its own transfer tax, from 0% to 1.5%. Then there’s a recordation tax, set by each county per $500 of price.

Who pays? Real Property § 14-104 says that unless the contract says otherwise, the parties are presumed to share these taxes equally. There’s one big exception. If the buyer is a first-time Maryland home buyer who’ll live in the home, the state rate drops to 0.25% and you, the seller, pay all of it. You also pay the county transfer and recordation taxes in full, unless the contract expressly says otherwise.

Here’s what that looks like on $424,900, the typical Maryland home value in September 2026 (Zillow Home Value Index), with FY 2026 county rates from the Department of Legislative Services.

Each total includes the 0.5% state transfer tax of $2,124.50. Montgomery County uses tiered transfer rates and a recordation surcharge above $500,000, and Anne Arundel adds 0.5% on sales of $1 million or more, so check those with your title company. Some counties also exempt part of the price for owner-occupants.

Other seller costs are your mortgage payoff, the property tax proration, any HOA or condo resale package fee, and any buyer’s agent pay you agree to. Our guide on who pays closing costs breaks those down.

Who handles a Maryland closing?

A licensed title insurance producer runs it, usually a title company. The Maryland Insurance Administration says the buyer chooses the title insurance company and that “only licensed producers can conduct settlements in Maryland.” Title premiums are regulated, but settlement and document fees aren’t, so they vary between companies.

In practice, the buyer usually picks the title company, and you review the settlement statement before you sign. If you want a lawyer to read the contract or deed for you, you can hire one. A flat fee listing doesn’t change any of this.

Do you need a realtor to sell a house in Maryland?

No, it’s not required; it’s your choice. Both paths work, and both are fair options.

A full-service agent prices the home, runs showings, handles buyers’ agents and negotiates for you. That’s real work, and it costs money. A 3% listing fee on $424,900 would be $12,747, as an example only. Selling with a flat fee listing, you take on pricing, showings and the back-and-forth yourself, and keep that money.

There’s a middle path, too. With Beycome Basic at $99, Artur, our AI assistant, helps you read and answer offers, and you get e-signature, unlimited listing changes and ShowingTime where Bright MLS offers it. Support runs 7 days a week, with Artur AI 24/7. If you’d rather have a dedicated expert negotiate for you while you keep every decision, Beycome Concierge is $999 through October 31, 2026 (list price $1,399), and $1,399 from November 1, 2026. Both are $0 at closing.

Buying your next home too? Our buyer program is open to every buyer on homes listed by other agents, with no upfront fee (the commission credit can’t apply where no buyer-agent commission is offered, like most FSBO homes, or on homes listed by Beycome sellers). Ready to list? Start on our Maryland flat fee MLS page.

Maryland FSBO questions

Reviewed by Beycome Brokerage Realty LLC, licensed real estate brokerage (MD #5022704). Licenses: beycome.com/faq/how-to/are-you-a-licensed-broker/.