What You Actually Save

The traditional commission structure

In most U.S. real estate transactions, the seller pays a total commission of 5-6% of the sale price, split between two agents:

• Listing agent (seller's agent): Typically 2.5-3%. This agent represents the seller, markets the property, coordinates showings, and handles negotiations on the seller's behalf.
• Buyer's agent: Typically 2.5-3%. This agent represents the buyer, identifies properties, arranges showings, and negotiates on the buyer's behalf.

The seller pays both sides. Even though the buyer has their own agent, the seller's proceeds cover both commissions at closing. This is why commission costs hit so hard—you are paying for two full-service professionals whether you want to or not.

That $24,000 is a real check you write at closing. It does not come out of the buyer's pocket—it comes directly out of your equity. For many sellers, that commission alone exceeds what they originally put down to buy the home.

What FSBO eliminates: the listing agent fee

When you go FSBO, you eliminate the listing agent's 2.5-3% commission. You are acting as your own listing agent, so you do not pay anyone to fill that role. On a $400,000 sale, that is an immediate $10,000-$12,000 savings.

What you still pay: Most FSBO sellers still offer a buyer's agent commission (typically 2.5-3%) to incentivize buyer agents to show the property. If you refuse to pay a buyer's agent, you cut yourself off from 80%+ of the market, since most buyers use agents and those agents will not show homes that do not offer compensation.

So the realistic FSBO savings is half the total commission—the listing side. You keep the other half in play to attract buyers.

The catch: You save $12,000 only if you execute as well as a professional listing agent would have. If you misprice, undersell, or bungle negotiations, that $12,000 evaporates fast. Remember the $55,000 median price gap from Chapter 1? Poor execution costs more than the commission you save.

Flat-fee MLS: the middle path

Pure FSBO (no MLS, just yard signs and Craigslist) is high-risk. Most sellers use a flat-fee MLS service to get their listing syndicated to Zillow, Realtor.com, and other portals while still avoiding the listing agent commission.

Traditional flat-fee pricing: Many services charge $300-$500 upfront, then add transaction fees or percentage kickers at closing. By the time you add photography, yard signs, lockbox rentals, and premium placement, costs creep toward $1,500-$2,500.

Meydomo's flat-fee model: $199 to launch your listing, then $999 at closing. That is it. No percentage creep, no surprise fees. Total cost: $1,198 vs. $12,000 listing agent commission.

The higher your home value, the more you save. On a $600,000 home, you save $16,802 vs. a traditional listing agent. That is real money that stays in your pocket instead of going to commission splits.

Control over buyer agent fees

One underrated advantage of FSBO: you decide what to offer the buyer's agent. In traditional sales, your listing agent sets this (usually matching their own commission), and you do not get a say.

As a FSBO seller, you can:

• Offer competitive rates (2.5-3%): Ensures buyer agents prioritize your listing. In competitive markets, this is standard.
• Offer lower rates (1.5-2%): Risky, but possible in hot markets where inventory is tight and buyers are desperate. Buyer agents may still show your home if demand is strong enough.
• Offer zero commission: Suicidal in most markets. Buyer agents will not show your home, and unrepresented buyers are rare. Only viable if you have a buyer already lined up.

Strategic consideration: The buyer agent fee is negotiable, but dropping it too low backfires. If buyer agents skip your listing, you get fewer showings, fewer offers, and lower sale prices. The $2,000-$4,000 you save by offering 2% instead of 3% evaporates when you sell for $10,000 less due to weak traffic.

Bottom line: offer market-rate buyer agent fees unless you have a compelling reason not to. Penny-pinching here kills your listing momentum.

The execution tax: where savings evaporate

The math looks great on paper. In practice, FSBO sellers lose money in ways that are harder to measure but just as real:

• Underpricing: Price $10,000 too low and you just erased most of your commission savings. Pricing is hard, and most FSBO sellers lack access to broker-level comp data and pricing psychology.
• Slow sales velocity: Every extra month your home sits on the market costs you mortgage payments, utilities, taxes, and insurance. If poor marketing or slow response times stretch your sale from 30 days to 90 days, you just spent $3,000-$6,000 in carrying costs.
• Weak negotiation: First-time sellers give away thousands in inspection credits, repair concessions, and closing cost assistance because they do not know when to push back. Experienced agents know which requests are reasonable and which are buyer fishing expeditions.
• Deal failure: Missed disclosures, botched escrow coordination, or contract confusion can kill deals entirely. Starting over costs time and money, and relisting as "back on market" signals desperation to buyers.

The $12,000 commission savings is only real if you execute at a professional level. Execution errors cost more than commissions. This is why the FSBO median price is $55,000 lower—the savings get eaten by mistakes.

What you actually keep

Let us be honest: FSBO is not "keep the entire 6% commission." It is more like:

• Save 2.5-3% by eliminating the listing agent (if you execute well)
• Pay 2.5-3% to the buyer's agent (almost always necessary)
• Spend $500-$2,500 on flat-fee MLS, photography, and marketing
• Risk underpricing or underselling if execution is weak

On a $400,000 home:

• Traditional agent: Pay $24,000 in commissions, net $376,000
• FSBO (with Meydomo): Pay $1,198 + $12,000 buyer agent fee, net $386,802 (if you sell at full price)
• Net gain: $10,802—but only if you price correctly, market well, respond fast, and negotiate smartly

The savings are real. The risk is execution. Chapter 4 breaks down exactly where FSBO sellers lose money and how to avoid the most common traps.

Next: How FSBO sellers lose money

You understand the savings potential. Chapter 4 is critical reading: it breaks down the execution tax in detail—mispricing, slow response, weak negotiation, and compliance gaps—and shows you exactly where the $55K median price gap comes from. Because understanding the pitfalls is the only way to avoid them.