Typically, a listing agreement has a period of time after expiration where you would owe commission ONLY IF the potential buyer had viewed the home BEFORE the listing expired. If you find a buyer on your own now, you won't owe commission. However, you need to be sure they didn't attend one of the open houses etc or have a private showing. Your former agent has access to all the sales data from the MLS, so they will be able to check up on you to make sure you are honoring the contract. If your buyer is really "new" to the property, you don't need to involve the agents. Even if your state has a "standard" contract, you should still have a RE lawyer represent your interests. It will only be a couple hundred bucks and will protect your biggest asset. As to how to proceed, ask the potential buyer to submit a formal written offer. That will let you know pretty quickly who you are dealing with.

Update: Thanks for the advice on seller financing. I was having trouble with my realtor and it clouded my vision. I took the house off the market. I am going to continue doing all the repairs, spending $3,000. a year. We got a fourth offer. She said it wasn't that great, and I didn't see it. (I think it was with seller financing.) You were right about the family. That night, I heard a bunch of people outside my home as I was trying to sleep. A man's voice said, "Stephenie, your house isn't selling. "125,000." It was so creepy! Thank God I didn't get into that mess! The agent was trying to control who I chose as an agent for the cabin I'd found. She also wasn't conveying my messages to the agents who had made offers. She kept trying to get all buddy buddy with me, and discussing inappropriate subjects. (Her daughter on meth and pregant with twins, her sex life, her grandchild that she has custody of because she was going into foster care...") I kept trying to get her to focus on the business of the sale and she would veer off. It's like she wanted a therapist or a friend. She said that the buyers who had made offers talked to the next door neighbors and they had nothing nice to say about me or my property. (He was intercepting them during showings.) I was worried that would happen. That's why I was moving, to get away from them. My mom said they may buy the REO cabin as an investment property. They could pay cash. They helped me buy this one, and are very happy with how it looks now. It was an eyesore when we bought it.

I think assessments are based on a 1/3 retail value but our last batch was ten years ago. Reassessments are this year and it should increase a bit but it is still over priced, should be 20,000,000 most likely. from our boat as a child I do not remember the roof so orange. When we sail the area now it has been that color though for years. My friends have an island house that was built in the 20s in the same cluster. Their wood work is still stained. I think this was more of a sea captain manse style originally. I always think of the ghost and Mrs Meir when I image the interior of old island houses. I think that this is why when people consider light, airy blue and white interiors as coastal I cringe. I have grown up with an image of water homes being dark and dreamy not light and airy.

Sounds like the perfect plan unless you have a potential buyer who has his own plan. Market conditions can change overnight as they did with the covid shutdown. The buyer could lose his job and the financing fall through. His house sale could be delayed. After the contract and the home inspection, the deal can fall apart. Your contract might be hit with a family crisis or a serious material shortage which delays you for seven weeks. The CO might be delayed by a snarly building inspector. Our first house sold in a week, our second only had one below market offer, our third house had one offer which we rejected then we waited 18 months for another offer, our fourth sold in perfect timing for our new build move-in, and our fifth had a cash offer with ten day settlement-take it or leave it. I’m glad you have a plan, the old adage is, “ man plans, God laughs”. Good luck.