Normal to pay a brokerage service fee of $500?

[Christopher Rucks]

Hey friends. I'm an NYC-based investor working on investing in the Philly market. I'm building my team in the area. An agent I've been working with said that her brokerage charges a $500 fee if I go under contract for a property. My mentor said that doesn't sound right and sounds like double-dipping. Any thoughts here?

[Russell Brazil]

Quote from @Ash Hegde:

@Russell Brazil do you charge that at closing or when you go under contract? I think the timing is the issue here more than the fee itself. 

 We charge it at closing.

However with out of state investors we collect a retainer fee up front. We do this to weed the time wasters.