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Email templates · Real estate agent

How to email a real estate agent to ask about their commission

You are about to sell a home or buy one, and an agent wants you to sign an agreement. The commission is the agent's fee, usually a percentage of the sale price, paid at closing. It is negotiable and always has been, though many people never ask. Since 2024, the seller's listing agreement no longer sets what the buyer's agent gets paid; a buyer signs a separate agreement with their own agent that states that agent's fee. So whichever side you are on, there is one number to ask about, plus what it covers and how long the agreement locks you in. Asking by email, before any meeting at your kitchen table, gets you a plain written answer you can compare against another agent's.

Before you send

  • Which side you are on: selling, buying, or both. The questions differ slightly, and the template below has a line for each.
  • A rough price range for the home, so the agent can tell you the fee in dollars as well as a percentage.
  • One or two other agents you plan to ask. Comparing is the whole point, and saying so keeps the answer honest.
  • The services that matter to you: professional photos, staging, open houses, a video tour, help with disclosures. Ask which are included.
  • The length of the agreement and how to end it early if it is not working. Six months is common for a listing; buyer agreements vary widely.
Subject Question about your commission and agreement terms 
Hi [agent name],

I'm [planning to sell my home at / looking to buy a home in] [address or area], in the [price range] range, and I'm speaking with a few agents before choosing one. Before we meet, could you send me the following in writing?

- Your commission, as a percentage and as an approximate dollar amount at that price, and whether it is negotiable
- Exactly what it covers, for example photos, staging advice, marketing, open houses, and negotiation
- [For selling: whether you would recommend I offer to cover any part of the buyer's agent fee, and how that decision is made. / For buying: whether you would ask the seller to cover your fee, and what I owe if they do not.]
- The length of the agreement and how either of us can end it early

I'm not trying to bargain by email. I just want to compare agents on the same terms. Could you reply by [date, a few days out]?

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A confident agent answers every line with numbers and a short pitch. That is a good sign about how they will communicate during the sale.
  • A bad answer is "let's discuss in person" or "the commission is standard." There is no standard rate. Reply once and ask for the number; if it does not come, you have learned something about the agent.
  • Compare the whole package, not just the percentage. An agent charging a bit more who includes professional photography and staging may net you more than a discount agent who does not.
  • Once you pick one, the terms go into the agreement you sign. Read that the commission, services, term, and cancellation clause match what was emailed, and keep the email.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Compare real estate agents on commission and terms 
Hi StandIn,

Please ask a few real estate agents what they charge and what they include, so I can choose one.

What I'm doing: [selling my home at an address / buying in an area].
Price range: [range].
Agents to ask: [names and emails, or ask me to suggest some, or find well-reviewed agents in the area].
What matters to me: [photos, staging, open houses, video, or anything else].
Timing: [when I want to list or start looking].

Get each agent's commission in percent and dollars, what it covers, the agreement length, and how to cancel, then bring me a side-by-side comparison.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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