If I threw the money into SPY, it would be a 104% gain compared to walking away with an 80% gain after fees/commissions.

These are good attorneys, one of them even spent over 45 minutes on the phone talking to me about options, as well as a personal discussion about fishing, so he clearly wasn't trying to dismiss me.If you have a case, you can file a complaint with the state commission.

I just turned over a judgement to a collection agency for a 50% commission.  

If the change has occurred and buyers are now doing this, surprised not discussed more  You as the buyer is paying for the agents commission one way or another , either by a higher sales price , or by cutting a check to your agent . 

They are more motivated to get the seller to sign with someone without an agent because they get more commission.

The challenge is knowing if the listing agent actually tells your offer to the seller or not.For example, if a distressed property is $650k and you want to offer $620k, the listing agent says the lowest the seller may accept is $645k, but is that actually true or made up because the listing agent wants their commission?

If you prefer to be hands-off with full-service management, then I'd plan on paying around 20% commission as that's pretty common.

There are definitely multiple options and some will allow for a set amount of personal transactions per year to waive commission splits.

I just got done with my required annual commission update for 2024 (I know I’m a slacker, I waited until the very end of the year lol) and the teacher of the class said that a high percentage of the number of agents who had their licenses revoked in 2024 were the result of being involved in subject to transactions that went sideways.

You’ll want it to include:Purchase priceEstimated repair costs (line item)ARV (after-repair value)Financing costs (interest, points, etc.)Holding costs (taxes, insurance, utilities)Selling costs (agent commissions, closing costs)Profit margin5.