I value companies for a living. Then I bought a house.
How a $73,020 commission turned a valuation analyst into a flat-fee broker.
In February 2020, after years of renting, my family bought our first home, on Mercer Island. The buyer-side commission was 3% — $73,020 on a $2.43M house. I didn’t know a rebate existed, or a flat fee, or that the number was negotiable. I never even asked what the 3% was for.
A few weeks after closing, it started to bother me. The math. The work on our purchase, several showings included, was maybe 20 hours. $73,020 for 20 hours is about $3,650 an hour. For many people, that’s a year’s salary. As a CPA and a CFA who has worked for a Big 4 accounting firm and national valuation firms, I have billed every client of my career by the hour or by a flat fee, priced on the work, never as a percentage of the value. Here, the fee was set by the price of the house — not by the work, but by custom.
So I got my broker’s license that year with one rule: a flat fee, whether I’m selling your home or helping you buy one. On the buying side, anything the seller offers above my fee goes back to you. The goal was simple, and probably naive: make the fee match the work. Today that’s $10,000, whether the house is $1M, $3M or $10M. For the hours the work takes, $10,000 is a good living, and it means a $1M client gets the same work a $10M client does: a thorough written valuation with the comps behind it, an honest opinion of the house before they decide, and then the whole transaction — offer or listing, negotiation, inspection, closing.
It started as a side job next to my valuation career. This year, I’ve helped 28 clients. Six years in, it still feels like a losing battle some days. Most people still assume a flat fee means less service and less competence. Then a client closes and tells me two things: they wish they’d known about this sooner, and they appreciated my brutal honesty — no sales pitch. As their advisor, I point out the downsides they might not notice, backed by facts. Whether they go ahead or walk away, I’ve done my job. That’s the part I’m proud of.
The numbers
On a $3,000,000 home, a typical 2.5% commission is $75,000.
My fee at any price, buying or selling: $10,000.
2026, through November 11: 28 clients, $47.4M bought and sold.
Text me an address
Yours, or one you’re considering: 206.402.8291. Within 24 hours you’ll have a supported value range with the comps behind it, in writing. No visit required.
Selling? Request a valuation · Buying? Send me an address
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joeleerealty
Zillow: zillow.com/profile/Joeleemercerisland
Buyer-broker compensation is offered by the seller and negotiated per transaction, not guaranteed; the balance above the $10,000 fee is credited to the buyer at closing, or as a price reduction where the lender requires. 2026 figures are through November 11; pending transactions at contract price. Joe Lee is a real estate broker licensed in Washington with VerraTerra Real Estate Services.