Jessica, how much do you charge?

Well now, that's really a good one...

I don't charge half of you half as well as I should like; and I charge less than half of you half as well as you deserve.

If you aren't a big fan of Lord of the Rings, then you probably didn't catch that. It was just another one of my attempts to avoid giving a root canal without Novocain.

However as I write this, it has dawned on me, even though my playing on J.R.R Tolkien's words were meant entirely in jest, I actually stated a not-often-talked-about, but still very true, aspect of real estate commissions: Some people don't pay nearly enough and some people pay entirely too much.

I actually have quite a lot to say about real estate commissions and how brokerages love to "spread the wealth around," but if you don't enjoy a shocking scandal whistle blower reporting and if saving money isn't important to you, then you probably don't want to read that one, or this one, or this one and most certainly not this one either.

So, let me just answer your question instead.

Until the day finally comes when I can get the rest of the slumbering-Rip-Van-Winkle real estate world to wake up and join me in the 21st century, I charge the following commission rates:

I don't charge any set commissions rates.

The thought of charging 4%, 5%, 6%, 7% or whatever percent, on every home I list - regardless of the list price or the actual sale price, and regardless of how much time and effort it takes to sell it - just isn't very appealing to me. If you stop and really think about what you're actually paying for when you agree to sell your home in this manner, it shouldn't be very appealing to you either.

No, I prefer to operate more like Priceline: You tell me how much you're willing to pay and what you expect to receive for this level of compensation, and I will tell you whether or not I can agree to your terms.
That's right, everything is negotiable.

You can haggle, dicker and horse trade with me until you're completely satisfied. And if you're really feeling spunky, we can rock- paper-scissor it, and let the winner take all!

Seriously, I don't like it when people try to stuff me into their concept of what a neat little box should look like. So, I'm not going to try and cram you into one either. I'm always willing to sit down and openly and objectively discuss what you need to accomplish and the budget you would like to stay within. Together, we can tailor-make a customized marketing and compensation plan that fits your individual needs, and at the same time allows me to realize a reasonable profit for my time and effort.

Please Note: The Bold text at the beginning will link to other articles that I've previously written, but haven't been republished on this site. We'll have them up shortly.