I've been getting a lot of questions lately about how I get paid and who foots the bill. It never occurred to me that it was an area of confusion, and since it seems like it makes people a little uncomfortable to ask, I thought I'd just go ahead and straighten the issue out.

When a homeowner lists their property for sale with a real estate company, they agree to pay a certain percentage of the sale price as commission. This commission money is taken out of the seller's profit at closing and divided between the seller's and buyer's agents. The agents only get paid if and when a house is sold.

If you are shopping for a house, it doesn't cost you anything to use a real estate agent. If you are selling a house, you only have to pay the commission if the agent sells your home.

It sure seems like a good deal to me. We get paid based on our performance. It gives us a whole lot of reason to do a really good job for you and make sure you get exactly what you want. 

Just imagine if mechanics only charged when they fixed your problem and if attorneys only charged when they won your case. What if doctors only charged you when they made you healthy, or if your dietician didn't get paid unless you lost weight... it'd be awful nice, wouldn't it?