I have put my house up on ForSaleByOwner.com and a real estate agent has contacted me. She has a client who would like to see my house. Does agreeing to have her show my house obligate me to her at all in terms of commission or any other financial way?

Asked by Tina in Brunswick, Maine
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The first thing you should ask this agent is if they really have a buyer, or are they trying to solicit your business and get your listing. Many agents try to "trick" sellers by saying they have a buyer when truthfully they do not. They're just want you sign a listing agreement with them.

If the agent does indeed have an interested buyer, then you probably will have to pay a commission if you actually sell to that buyer. Before the agent brings the prospective buyer to see your house, the agent will ask what commission rate you are willing to pay him or her. We've seen the average rate for this type of one agent-sided transaction to be 2.5%. Of course, you can offer whatever you want and the two of you can negotiate.

Now let's assume that you get two offers, each at $320,000, and one came from an agent-assisted buyer and the other was an independent buyer. You'll naturally you'll want to do business with the independent buyer because, at a 2.5% commission rate, you'll have to fork over $8,000 to the agent. So make sure you calculate such costs when weighing different offers.

Hope this helps!
Eric