You definitely have the right to find that out as a consumer and there is nothing illegal about that!
Once you call realtors office they would want you to come in. Let them know that you are only inquiring about their services and prices upfront.
DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING!!!
The rest has been addressed by Deborah.

You have received good answers and all are correct. I don't understand the TD on Ian's answer. I completely agree w/ his statements. I also don't understand the TD on the Question. I think it is a valid question for a seller to ask. Of course, I understand we can't answer. But, I, as a consumer, generally want to know what a typical fee is for a product of service of any type.

Since we cannot answer your question here, what I suggest you do is phone a handful of agents in your area and inquire about their fees or fee range. Quite typically, over the phone, a Realtor may tell you that they don't know until they look at your home. While industry rates are not fixed, any individual broker can fix the rate schedule for his/her office. Or, any individual agent, when allowed to do so by their broker, can establish their own personal rate schedule, or fee range. The industry may not establish any type of scheudle, but individual businesses can.

Realtors will often charge a higher rate on a property if they anticipate it will be more difficult to sell. If the Realtor will be present at all showings, needs to engage in much niche advertsiing, and the property may have a very limited or specific buyer pool, the expenses associated with marketing it may increase. Other Realtors have fee ranges that vary according to what is provided. i.e. A fee may be higher if it includes a single property website, floor plans, video and virtual tour. A fee may be lower if it has fewer bells and whistles. The investment in additional marketing expenses may bring a greater return in the sale price of the property by attracting more potential buyers. It is also possible to flat fee list a property, but in so doing, be sure you understand what you are giving up.

Most importantly, you are paying for representation. The value of that represention is the sum of all of the Realtor's skill, experience, abilities, and commitment. Some Realtors will not discount the sum total value of what they have invested years to accumulate. Many Realtors have invested hundreds upon even thousands of hours over a period of years in "non compensatory" time to learn what they know and develop their skills. This time investment comes from studying inventory, cycles, constantly monitoring the market, and viewing homes, reveiewing summary reports, cycles, etc. Additionally, many Realtors have spent counteless hours in educational classes, attending real estate training, trade conferences, computer classes, as well as non-industry general sales or negotiationg classes.

As a consumer, your choices will range from flat fee lisitng arrangments of only a few hundred dollars to fixed fees, to prepayment consultant fees, to a percentage of the sales the price in the form of a commission. The commission fee is probably the most common, but even it will range quite a bit.

I suggest that sellers evaluate the Realtor fee and services/value provided in total. You can gather some general data in telephone calls, asking for ranges, and if a Realtor is full service, discount, etc.

Best of luck. There is no right or wrong decision, only the one that is right for you and your property.

Deborah

The "average" agents will be the first to drop their commissions. The GREAT agents will hold firm on their convictions, fight for the best price during negotiations, and are most likely smart enough to realize that they need that full commission to properly market your home.

Hi Ted,

Agents and Brokers are not allowed by law to answer that question.., its like price fixing. However you can do a google search for that question and come up with tons of info.

This is a bit off topic, please forgive me but it seems to tie in.
There is a lot of things licensed agents and brokers cannot say or put into advertising that the public would just NOT believe - besides commissions or fee structure. Maybe one day I will write a book about it all, ....but for one is all the words we cannot say in ads such as: (no joke, this is real....)

Able Bodied
Adult
African
Age
Agile
AIDS
Alcoholic
American
Ancestry
Arab
Asian
Bachelor
......................etc

Female
Filipino
Filippino
Foreign
...............too many to list....
Woman
Women
Working
Young
Youth
_________
The Fair Housing Act and Washington’s Law Against Discrimination prohibit discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of housing. These laws prohibit the use of certain “red letter words” that could tend to discriminate against various protected classes of persons. For example, it is illegal to state a preference or limitation on account of race, color, or national origin. These restrictions apply not just to classified advertising but also to NWMLS listings. An MLS in Oregon was fined by HUD for violations of the Fair Housing Act contained in listings published by that MLS.

Because of the potential for liability, all NWMLS members must exercise great caution in the wording of their listings. There are some obvious “red letter words” that should never be used in a listing, e.g. restrictions against children or people with disabilities or any reference to “families” or family status. However, some red letter words are not as obvious. For example, the phrase “quiet neighborhood” can be construed to discriminate against children, and the phrase “close to Catholic church” could indicate a preference for a certain religious group. By way of example, a list of potentially offensive words is set forth below. When you review this list, remember that it is by no means exhaustive and the context in which these words and phrases is used is equally important.

Sorry about going off topic, this was just a partial list of words provided by our local MLS as mandated by HUD.
Don

There are no averages...this is a negotiated rate...dependent upon a variety of variables including how, what and where a property is to be bought, sold or leased.