Think of it this way - people with a calling in life go and <i>do that</i>, accepting whatever compensation that comes with it. But nobody says &quot;I really love facilitating house sales&quot;. So people become realtors <i>for</i> the money and that is what they optimize for - there&#x27;s no passion for the activity itself. And while there is probably the rare exception, you will only think you have found them.<p>Selling a house, I&#x27;d recommend skipping the realtor and hiring a good real estate attorney from the start. After you sign a realtor&#x27;s contract, their entire job is based around managing your expectations and simply waiting until they convince you to lower the price enough for the transaction to clear. If you can be honest with yourself about needing to lower the price, and can manage different people asking you to leave your house (as opposed to just funneling through a single one), you&#x27;re better off using that 5% as a direct incentive to buyers.