Homeowners and Realtors can cooperate to their mutual benefit. Let the Realtor show your property. If it results in a sale, you and the Realtor can settle for half of a regular sales commission. Since the Realtor did not list your property and incur the usual expenses of marketing it, he or she should be happy with the selling side of the commission, or 50 percent . If a typical full commission is 6 percent, for example, your Realtor probably will accept 3 percent for being the procuring agent for the sale.

In my case, when showing a property that is For Sale By Owner, I enter into an agreement with the seller called a "Permission To Show Unlisted Property." Under this agreement, I can show the property to a particular prospect who is identified to the seller. If my prospect buys the property, the seller pays me an agreed-upon commission, usually 3 percent.

This is a good way for a property owner to get the property sold for a partial commission. If you are selling property yourself, ask me about the details of this agreement.