How do you hire a full-service realtor and only pay half a commission? It is always surprising when a homeowner is going to hire a realtor? to sell his property, especially when he next complains bitterly about paying 5% or 6% to someone who he believes does little or no work. Usually the seller marks up the property to cover the commission which over-prices the property and the result is it doesn't sell.

Usually, the commission paid to a realtor? is split equally between himself and his "broker", who is the licensed agent in charge of a particular firm. If the commission on a sale is $20,000, the realtor? and the broker each get $10,000. Newer methods of payouts to agents include paying "desk fees" to the broker in exchange for higher payouts. For example, if the agent pays $135/month as a "desk fee" he may be entitled to a 95% commission while an agent paying $60/month may only entitled to a 70% payout.

If the agent doesn't sell the property he listed, but another agent does, the buying and selling brokers each get half of the commission and the 3% commissions are again split with the agent so he gets 1 1/2 % net. So for a $20,000 commission the split looks like - $5,000 each to the two brokers and $5,000 each to the two agents. This is a simplified summary of the process but illustrates the payout procedure. If the agents are on a higher payout because of their monthly desk fees, their portion of the commission is increased and their broker's portion is reduced proportionally. Industry statistics show that 95%+ of the time the listing agent does not sell the property! So the real money for a realtor is in getting the listing and having another realtor? sell it. The largest commission producers in the industry sell listings and not properties.

The way to save at least half of the realtor's commission is to list with a flat-fee broker who will list the property on the MLS? (Multiple Listing Service) and Realtor.com? but who does not show the property. The buyer for your property will come from a "buyer's agent" who brings a client to see your home and make an offer. He is interested in receiving his usual 50% of the full commission or 3% of the sales price. If you offer a 3% commission to the buyer's agent, you have saved 3% by not having to pay the seller's agent (listing agent)! In the above example of a $20,000 commission, the agent who brings the buyer still gets $10,000 but you are saving $10,000.

What if you are unfamiliar with the sales and contracting process and you need help? For the $10,000 commission savings you can hire an attorney to review any contract and give you advice usually for less than $500 so you are still ahead $9,500. But better yet, the attorney can give legal advice that your realtor? can not, and you have recourse against your lawyer if something goes wrong.

So to save at least 50% of your commission, should you decide to have a realtor? sell your house, use a buyer's agent only and offer him a 2.5% or 3% commission. Another unique benefit of only paying a buyer's agent is that if desperation sets in and you need to sell quickly, you can increase your payout to the buyer's agent and attract many more buyers than using a seller's agent. The highest commission seen in the past year is a 12% commission to buyer's agents for condo units. In the depressed condo market these days, it is not uncommon to see 10% commissions to buyer's agents. So if you have decided to sell your home on the MLS using a realtor?, you can save substantial money and sell your home faster by focusing on paying only a buyer's agent to sell your home.