@StartingOver10 wrote:Actually commissions are not regulated at all. It is a free market negotiation between the listing agent/office and the seller.
dpeezy got it right when he said that you don't want a discount broker. The agents that are most likely to discount their commission are usually either new or not going to give you very good results. The discount that the listing agent mentioned (1% if s/he is both the listing and the selling agent) is the exception to the rule.
Most experienced agents will get you a higher dollar for your home and will recognize what offers are worthwhile and which are worthless (yes, we get offers all the time by buyers that can't close).
If you are tight for funds, you want the best realtor to be on your side. Not the discount broker.
The way the fees are split is usually:
- Listing Broker
- Listing Agent
- Selling Broker
- Selling Agent
- Sometimes there are referral fees on either the listing side or the selling side
If you have a smaller percentage being offered to the selling agents through the MLS it will affect the number of showings you receive. Ask your agent to explain this concept. It really happens. You can negotiate a very small commission, but then virtually no one would show it except for the sharks that will low ball you. I saw a commission in the MLS a few months for where the seller offered the selling agent a very small fee on the order of, but less than, $10 (yes, you read that right). Guess what kind of showings that seller got? We know of course that what the seller is saying. They are saying they don't want the house shown by others.
Edit: Quick (real) story: I sold a home to my buyer and the listing agent was a discount broker - believe it or not the broker had the property priced under market value by about $25k. So yes, the seller saved 1% on the commission but lost $25k of proceeds because their Realtor was uninformed and not involved in the negotiations at all. That was a very expensive lesson to the seller. You don't want to be that seller and I see it (mispriced properties) all the time.
Offering a realistic market rate is one of your marketing tools. Your Realtor will have other tools to sell your home too.
S10,
Curiosity question but what are some of the positives and red flags you look for in an offer if it's not super sekret? 
I sorta know what should be there and can read a credit report and asset declaration with the best of them, but didn't seem like there was that much to it when I was going through the buyer side of the transaction other than proof of buyer non-suckedness?
