FAQs

LOCAL PROFESSIONAL ADVICE

How do your fees work?

When you are the buyer in WA, you are not responsible for paying for your representation! As your broker, we receive what the sellers offer as compensation. In rare cases, when a seller does not offer a commission, we may have to work something out. When you are a seller, listings have a standard 6% fee. The 6% fee is split between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent with 3% going to each side. We cover various costs as your listing agent such as marketing. The only thing we do not cover is staging costs. 

However, the full 3% is not what we walk away with. To provide clarity, we have the example below that breaks down how the commission gets dispersed.

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Sale price: $1,000,000

Commission at 3%: $30,000

We have to split that with our brokerage (Windermere): -$15,000

We have to pay taxes on that income: -$4,500

Marketing materials & listing preparation: -$3,000 to $5,000 (what we usually spend)

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After the above are paid out, the broker takes home $5,500 - $7,500. Furthermore, if we have any brokers we partnered with in the transaction, we have to further split the commission with them). 

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As you can see, what a broker walks away with at the end of a transaction is much less than you’d think. Nevertheless, we are committed to going above and beyond for you. As your listing representation, our goal is to yield you the highest possible price that the market will allow. This means that agent fees essentially pay for themselves and then some because a broker’s expertise brings in significantly more money for a seller.

Can you guarantee me a successful sale?

No broker can guarantee a successful sale, but when you work with us you can rest assured knowing you are working with one of the top 5 agents in the entire state of Washington. Our many years of experience buying and selling homes puts you in the best position when selling your home with us. With the 150+ transactions we do a year, we have seen and solved almost every situation that can arise from a real estate transaction. We’ll use our expertise to guide you through every step of selling your home from pricing strategy, marketing, working with contractors, negotiation and much more. 

Our job is to make your life easier.

How many homes should I look at before I make a purchasing decision?

Every client is different. When you work with us, know that we work at your pace. We are here to guide you through your purchase by giving you not only the pros to every home, but the drawbacks as well. We understand that buying a house is a serious purchase that requires care, and it’s important to us that you are making informed decisions. We strive to make the home buying process feel as stress-free as possible by providing valuable knowledge and support throughout.