It's hard to put a price on the satisfaction of buying a home (or selling one successfully), and on the services a real estate professional provides to help you achieve this. But such professionals pride themselves on realizing these dreams efficiently and economically. So it's fair to ask what their commission covers.

The standard commission figure is one that real estate customers have been hearing a lot about recently, with discount competitors promising to beat it. In the business we often refer to them as limited-service competitors, because, for their reduced commission, they can't promise to take care of all the things a full-service agent from an established company can handle for you.

In today's busy households, simplicity and peace of mind are qualities almost as valuable in a transaction as the goods or services themselves. For a decision as major as the sale or purchase of a home, confidence and convenience become all the more important. Your neighborhood real estate professional is best positioned to use both traditional resources and state-of-the-art tools to bring you services of lasting value and combine them in a convenient "one-stop shop."

At ERA Real Estate, for instance, essential tasks which could be spread out over a wide and potentially confusing range of companies can be efficiently grouped together - like buying a house through my office and financing it through ERA Mortgage.

You also need look no further for a home warranty - my company offers a home warranty that covers many of the built-in appliances and systems of a house for any repairs needed from the time the home is listed to a year after its sale.

And since there's more to buying or selling a house than just the property itself, we've kept all the needs in mind and put each solution at your fingertips with the local and national ERA® Select Services^SM programs, which give you access to efficient and affordable providers.

Of course, in a competitive market where the Internet is increasingly popular, we have technology tools that are second to none, and can be powerfully put to work for you - from the listings on our heavily-visited Web site, ERA.com, to our sophisticated marketing programs and more.

As your neighborhood professional, it's up to me to earn your trust, and if you can find a discount firm that gives you the convenience and confidence of a full-service agent, you'd be wise to make that choice. But I feel sure you'll find your best investment is not with the company that takes two percent, but the professional who gives a hundred.

Call Katie to list your home and see her custom marketing plan (it will put your home on 13+ websites)!