How to purchase off market single family deal?

[Jeremiah Lee]

I've only purchased a home using a mortgage, so I'm very new to this as you can tell.  

Let's say you make an, "all cash offer" which you plan to fund from your HELOC on a single family home and it's accepted by the seller.

-For newbies, would you suggest using a Realtor to write up the contract?

-If I used a realtor to write up the contract, I would assume that I would pay 3% commission to my realtor and there would not be any additional commission paid.  So if I offered $100,000 for the home, I'd actually be paying $103,000 total.

-In this scenario, does the seller often use a realtor or broker? 

-I imagine the majority of this is negotiated between the buyer and seller, however what have you seen as a standard for making cash offers on off market deals?  

[Ned Carey]

When I do an off market deal, I do not involve a real estate agent and generally neither does the other side (seller or Buyer)

If you are new you may want an agent to help you, especially with the contract. Alternatively get an attorney to help you.