A few months ago, a homeowner in Orlando called me completely frustrated.
Her house had been listed for almost 60 days.
Showings had slowed down.
No offers.
And now her agent was telling her the same thing every seller eventually hears:
“You may need to lower the price.”
Her home was listed at just over $500,000.
Dropping the price by $15,000 or $20,000 felt painful — but she was starting to think she had no choice.
The Math That Changed Everything
Before signing a price reduction, she finally sat down and did the math.
Her listing agreement said 6% commission.
At $500,000:
That was $30,000 in fees.
And she had a moment of clarity.
She told me later:
“I realized I was about to give up $20,000 on the price… and still pay $30,000 in commission on top of that.”
In her words:
“I’m negotiating against myself.”
Why the House Wasn’t Selling
The crazy part?
There was nothing wrong with her home.
Good condition.
Nice neighborhood.
Priced reasonably for the market.
The problem wasn’t the house.
It was buyer hesitation and market shift.
And instead of changing strategy, the only advice she was getting was:
“Lower the price.”
The Search That Led Her to Me
That night she went online and searched:
“Sell my house in Orlando without paying 6%”
“1% real estate agent Orlando”
“Discount real estate broker Florida”
That’s when she found me.
Her first question was:
“If I save on commission, does that mean I can be more flexible on price?”
And the answer was yes.
The Strategy That Actually Worked
We listed her home under my 1% full-service plan.
Same MLS.
Same exposure.
Same buyer pool.
But now the math made sense.
Instead of cutting the price by $20,000, she saved over $25,000 in commission.
That gave her:
- Room to negotiate
- Confidence to accept offers
- Leverage instead of pressure
The Real Numbers
Original listing price: $510,000
Expected 6% commission: $30,600
My 1% listing fee:
$5,100
Her savings:
👉 $25,500
She ended up accepting an offer slightly below asking —
but still walked away with more money than she would have under the traditional model.
The Line She Said at Closing
At the closing table she laughed and said:
“I didn’t need to lower my price. I just needed to lower my commission.”
That one sentence pretty much sums up the entire Florida market right now.
The Lesson Most Sellers Learn Too Late
Most people think their only lever is price.
But in reality, you have two levers:
- Price
- Fees
And cutting unnecessary fees is usually the smartest one to pull first.
