[ScottBurson]

I wanted to do this the last time I sold a house -- I was thinking something like, the commission should be 1/3 of the difference between the sale price and an agreed-on minimum price. Stupidly, I didn't stick to it when the first agent I started talking to told me she wasn't empowered to negotiate such terms.

That agent was very helpful in a lot of ways, but didn't get me a particularly good price -- another, nearly identical unit in the same condo complex sold around the same time for about $30k more.

I think the next time, I will stick to my guns on the terms. That probably means I'll have to find an independent agent. This is not necessarily a bad thing; I think the agent who sold that other unit in my complex was independent.