Planning to sell my house in Georgetown during spring thru summer of 2012. What % of the selling price should I reserve for agent commissions?

A full service agent will charge you between 5% and 6%

Georgetown in Alberta or Ont? In Anycase you could contact me for help.

Fee for service or commission is a funny question. Depending on location Full service is 5 or 6% but it would be silly (and unethical) not to tell you that their are options. Some place charge a flat fee. Make sure you understand the entire contract before you sign for a flat fee. Before I was an agent a friend of mine was burned by a bad flat fee agent. Just make sure you are getting what you want. There are also some agents that advertise "Full Service" as low as 1%. First of all, the 1% is only if they find a buyer and secondly you need to decide if the service they are providing is worth the 3.5% you likely will end up paying with the AS LOW AS 1% guys.

Remember, you get what you pay for, there is a reason a Lexus will cost three time as much as a Kia. There is also a reason some agents earn a full service 5% fee and other agents only charge 1%.

A home is generally the most valuable single asset a family will own. Do your research and hire an agent who will really provide you with the level of service you really want and deserve.

I hope this helps you plan for you move in the spring. Good luck, and feel free to e-mail me any questions you may have. apatterson@sutton.com

Commission is negotiable. Ensure you read the contract, feel comfortable with the agent and negotiate the fees. We can do a fee sheet for all services (lawyer, Appraiser, etc) have some cash on moving day for those unexpected things that pop up.

It looks like you will be selling your house in Alberta, so the best is to call a few local Realtors and check with them; a regular fee is usually 5%.

There is no "set" fee, each real estate person sets their own fee to be charged and service to be given as per the Competition Bureau agreement in fall of 2011. Of course you get the service you agree to pay for and cheap is not always best.

There are no set fees every Sales representative sets their own fees. The average is 5%. Yet, its negotiable depending on the price of the home, the market, if your purchasing another, etc...
Be careful and make sure you know what is being offered when a Sales Representative offers you much less then the avaerage 5%.
To market your property properly the Listing Brokerage should offer the cooperating Brokerage, what the rate is offered in that area to Buyer agents.

For example if the average is 2.5% offered to the cooperating Brokerage ( Buyer agent), and the Listing agent offers you 3.5% he should offer 2.5% to the cooperating Broker ( Buyer agent), which leaves the Listing Brokerage 1% that may not even cover the cost of the Listing agent, which can affect the Listing agents motivation to work hard for you.

gbrown@sutton.com 905-619-9500