Commission Saving Calculator

Why Sell By Owner?

Deciding if you should use a traditional 6% broker or selling your home By Owner is now much easier. When you sell with ByOwner, you are not alone. Our simple listing tool can have your home on the market the same day and we are here answer any questions with live customer service agents. ByOwner offers the same marketing exposure you get with a traditional broker, without paying those outrageous fees. Did you know the average home sale price in the USA is approximately $260,000, and the average seller is paying a commission using a regular broker of $15,600. (there’s a lot you could do with and extra $15K)

When you sell your home “for sale by owner”, the commission savings go right in your pocket. The average sellers who list their home and pays a traditional real estate broker 6% are ending up with $15,600 less in their pocket than those who use ByOwner.

ByOwner is a real estate brokerage*, this enables you to get you the same exposure as a traditional broker. With ByOwner, you pay a flat listing fee instead of a 6% commission, saving the huge commission.

We have all the same tools as other brokers….. When you list with ByOwner our team places your home in the local MLS, Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, Trulia, and hundreds of other websites. We have yard signs, custom flyers, and include the local real estate contracts and forms.

With ByOwner we expose your home not only to your local market but to the world. Placing your home in the local MLS gives you the same local exposure your neighbors have to all of the real estate agents who work your area.

How do real estate commissions work?

Most of your neighbors are who are working with real estate agents are offering a commission to them when it sells. When a commission is paid, it is usually split between the office that put your home on the market and the office that has the buyer. In most cases these are two separate broker offices, with the seller paying both of them at closing. Generally commissions are calculated based on the sales price and average close to 6% nationwide. For example, if your neighbor sells their $300,000 home paying a 6% commission, they will pay the brokers involved $18,000. The listing side will receive 3% ($9,000) of the sales price and the buyer’s side receives the other 3% ($9,000). (See the chart above)

Should I work with local “Buyer” agents if I want to sell my home By Owner?

The short answer to this is a simple, “yes”…. Our goal is to help you sell your home rapidly while saving you the astronomical 5-7% commission charged by others.
We encourage our sellers to present their homes to the public as competitively as their neighbors, and if that means offering a reduced commission to a “buyers” agent, to level the playing field, then do it. When you list with ByOwner, we will ask you if you’d like to offer a fee to a “buyers” agent. This lets them know they will be getting paid if their buyer closes on your home. We want to give your home the same exposure and chance of selling as your neighbors, but that doesn’t mean you have to pay a 6% commission to sell it. A large percentage of our sellers sell without a buyers agent, ending up only paying our flat listing fee and no buyers agent fee.

Do I have to offer a 3% fee to a buyers agent?

No you do not! Most people don’t know it, but commissions are negotiable. Requiring a “fixed” commission is actually illegal in the United States. It is not a constraint of any MLS system for their members to offer a specific rates to sell a home. Instead of requiring you to offer a 3% fee to a buyers agent, we let you decide the fee. Many of our sellers offer only 1.1%, 2%, or 2.5% fee. And if you find a buyer on your own, where no other broker is involved, then you don't pay a buyer's broker fee

What is the minimum I can offer a buyer’s agent.

Each MLS requires all of the agents who use their systems to state a cooperating broker (buyers agent) fee on every listing. The minimum fee we allow on MLS listings is 1.1%, this will encourage other brokers to bring their buyers and not ignore your property. (if you sell on your own, (without a buyers agent), you pay NO Buyer agent fees).