If you hire a real estate agent to help you buy, sell, or rent a house, this professional gets paid through the average real estate commission. So how much do you pay, and what for? Is there any wiggle room to negotiate this fee or the closing costs associated with it?

Today we are sharing with you everything you need to know about real estate commissions, from who pays to how much to where that money goes during a real estate transaction.

How much is the real estate commission?

Rather than getting paid hourly or weekly fees, most real estate agents earn money only when a real estate deal goes through. Plus, the process can mean weeks or months of work.

However, the commission split varies from one agent to another, with new agents sometimes earning a smaller percentage of the commission than experienced agents who sell more homes or more expensive properties.

Who pays the commission?

Generally, the home seller pays the full commission for the services of both their own listing agent and the buyer’s agent (assuming the buyer has one).

What is dual agency?

So what happens if an agent represents the buyer and the seller? In that case, the agent becomes a “dual agent” and gets paid both commissions. (Talk about a big payday!)

However, because it puts them in a sticky position of having to work for both the seller and the buyer, many agents don’t practice dual agency—and some states don’t even allow it. I believe it creates a conflict of interest. After all, clients hire me to represent their best interests. How can I do that when I’m sitting on both sides of the table?

What does the real estate agent commission cover?

Though people certainly have the option of selling (or buying) their house without a real estate agent, agents provide clients a wide range of services, including helping you price your home, marketing it (on the multiple listing service, social media, and other venues), negotiating with home buyers, and ushering the home sale through closing.

As trained experts, real estate agents can help you fetch top dollar for your house and put out fires—while also alleviating some of the stress that comes with selling a home. (It’s no picnic!) I might be biased, since I’m an agent myself, but great ones earn their keep.

Want proof? Just look at the numbers: A recent survey found that the typical “for sale by owner” home sold for $190,000, compared with $249,000 for agent-assisted home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors®. That’s in line with a recent survey from Keeping Current Matters that found that homes listed for sale with a real estate agent sell for $46,000 more on average than FSBO houses. Perhaps that explains why 92% of home sellers use an agent to sell their house.

Are real estate agent commission fees negotiable?

Commission standards can vary from state to state and among brokerages. There are no federal or state laws that set commission rates—meaning commission is negotiable.

In other words, if you’re a home seller, you can certainly ask your agent to reduce their commission, but be aware that he is not obligated to do so.

A factor to consider: Because the marketing dollars for a property generally come from the agent’s commission, a lower commission could mean less advertising for your house.

That being said, it doesn’t hurt to ask for a lower commission. Most agents won’t take offense, and the worst case is they say no. Or, if you’re truly tight on cash—say, because you’ve maxed out your budget buying your next home—you could opt for a transactional agreement, in which the listing agent will help you set an asking price, facilitate communication between you and the buyer, write the contract, and move the process along to closing for a flat fee or lower commission, but you won’t receive the agent’s full services. It’s not ideal, but it’s the right route for some people. However, not all agents offer transactional agreements, so you may have to shop around to find one.

Bottom line: It is likely that buying and selling a home will be the biggest financial transactions of your life, so be sure you find an agent that you trust will do a great job. This is not the time to shop solely on price.

Anything else I need to know about commission fees?

All of the details about a real estate agent’s total commission (and any transaction fees the agent charges) should be outlined in the contract that you sign when you hire an agent. This is typically referred to as a listing agreement, and it also specifies how long the agent will represent you. (Generally, listing agreements last 90 to 120 days.)

Also keep in mind that there are some exceptions. For instance, rental agents work differently from purchase agents. It’s usually the landlord’s job to pay the rental agent’s fee, but that’s not set in stone. In New York City, for example, tenants often pay the rental agent’s commission. It’s up to the landlord and the tenant to decide who pays the rental agent’s fee.

Furthermore, commission is usually higher when selling a vacant lot (anywhere from 10% to 20%), since selling land often takes longer and requires more marketing dollars. Some auctions charge home buyers a 5% “premium,” or commission.

As a seller, you want a real estate agent who can broker the best sales price and terms for you, but good agents aren’t cheap. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for.

What Stays With a House After Selling?

When standup comedian Nathan Brannon moved into his newly purchased home in rural Washington state, it seemed the joke was on him: The previous owner had left the pegboard on the garage wall, but had taken all the pegs.

“When I first saw the pegs were missing, I was super confused; I mean, what are you going to do with just pegs?” Brannon recalls. “Now I have a pile of yard tools on the floor in front of the pegboard.”

“What do I have to leave when I sell my house?”

Brannon isn’t the only home buyer to discover that sellers sometimes take the strangest things with them when they vacate a property. We’ve seen home buyers ranting on social media about missing doorknobs, toilet paper holders, and even trees from the front yard.

But it can be far beyond merely annoying for the buyer. If you take something you haven’t negotiated to keep, you could tank the sale—or even face a lawsuit.

Not sure what you’re allowed to take with you when you move? Here are some rules to keep in mind before—and after—closing the deal.

1. If it’s nailed down, bolted, or mounted, it probably stays behind

When Laurel-Ann Dooley walked through a vacation property she was purchasing, there was a glaring hole where a storage shed had recently stood.

“The previous owner had sold it, even though it was supposed to stay,” recalls Dooley

While most buyers and sellers probably know that “fixtures”—immovable elements of a home such as built-in furniture, fences, or, yes, a storage shed—must stay behind, there can still be some confusion, says Bill Gassett.

“Probably the No. 1 gray area that I’ve found is the mounting mechanism for big-screen TVs,” Gassett shares. “Obviously, it’s attached, so it’s supposed to stay with the house. But commonsense says, ‘Well, if somebody has a $3,000 TV hanging on the wall, unless they’re including [the TV] with the house, [the mounting mechanism] doesn’t stay.’”

“It becomes a real battling point with buyers and sellers if it’s not specifically referenced,” he adds.

Generally, Dooley says, if a house has been modified for an item, it’s probably a fixture.

“If an air-conditioning unit is placed in a window, it’s arguably personal property and the buyer can take it with them,” she says. “But if a hole has been cut in the wall to accommodate the unit, then it’s most likely a fixture.”

With that said, you want to avoid “arguably”, “probably”, or “most likely” when it comes to selling your home, Dooley cautions. Be specific and firm.

“If you want it, say so upfront,” Dooley advises.

2. Leave Mother Nature alone

Unless the property listing specifically mentions that you intend to take the prized rose patch your Aunt Zelda gave you, sellers cannot remove any landscaping, Gassett says.

“I’ve had sellers with specific requests to take certain things that might have been a special gift,” Gassett says. “Otherwise, you can’t just dig up a plant and take it with you; it’s part of the property.”

3. Hands off anything anchored in the ground

Other backyard items are also potential sources of misunderstanding between buyers and sellers.

“Technically, if a basketball hoop is cemented into the ground, then it’s considered to go with the house. Freestanding ones sitting on the lawn, however, would be something buyers could take with them,” he says.

Ditto for swing sets: If it’s anchored in the ground, it stays.

4. Let go of your lighting fixtures

Even if you’re attached to your show-stopping dining room chandelier, don’t pack it up and leave electrical wires hanging when you leave. And if you’re thinking about swapping out that chandelier right before closing—and hoping the buyer won’t notice? Forget about it, Gassett says.

“When you buy a property, you’re buying what you saw the day you saw the property and wrote the offer on the house, so for sellers to change something out after that date is illegal,” Gassett warns. Yes—illegal. 

You can declare your intention to remove it, Dooley says, but be aware that excluded items often become sticking points between buyers and sellers.

“Instead, take that chandelier out before you list your house, and put something else there,” she suggests.

5. Do you leave curtains when you move? Yep, window treatments stay, too

You may have spent a fortune on those custom blinds in your living room, but technically, you’re supposed to leave ‘em hanging, Gassett says.

“Curtains are always considered personal property, because they just slide off,” he says. “Rods and blinds, on the other hand, are considered part of the house because they’re affixed and attached.”

Mirrors are another murky area, he adds, but pretty easy to figure out: If they’re hung like paintings on a wall, they’re personal property. Bolted to the studs? They’re fixtures.

Don’t be petty—or you might tank the sale

Often, the littlest things cause the most heated debates, or even the derailment of the sale itself.

Sometimes, as in Brannon’s case of the missing pegs, sellers remove things from the house that aren’t worth chasing after, but are incredibly annoying nonetheless, Gassett says. For instance, he recalls a seller who took the control box for an underground dog fence.

“In real estate deals, some people take it out on the buyer by nickel-and-diming on stuff,” he says. “Especially if they don’t feel the sale has gone exactly the way they wanted it to, or they have resentment towards the buyer.”

Dooley heard of a seller who removed all the lightbulbs in the house before moving.