Here's something that a lot of folks just don't know. You don't have to accept the fee percentage that an agent says he or she wants to charge you for their assistance buying or selling the house.

Many people think that the agents fee is cast in stone and not negotiable. Nothing could be further than the truth. All such fees can be negotiated. For example if you're selling your house and the agent tells you the fee will be 7% (3.5% for the buyer plus 3.5% for the seller's agent). If you think this fee is excessive tell the agent that you would like to negotiate the fee. Make them an offer. You can say "many agencies in town here work with a 6% fee, so I would like to propose that the fee for selling my house be 6% rather than 7%.

You'd be surprised at how many agents will accept a reasonable offer on a negotiated fee. But don't be surprised if they reject out of hand an unreasonable fee offer. If you try to lower the fee from 7% to 1% don't be surprised if the agent refuses the deal. He or she might believe they would spend more money trying to sell your house than they could make in fee. So they'll turn you down.