James....
Dennis's previous answer to you was quite good. Keep in mind the more work you have to do on behalf of a client the higher the commission that can be charged. Also, the depth of the market dictates a commission amount. If you have a property that does not require a lot of commission push and there is a large body of cooperative agents that will contact you from a posted sign and listing on services such as LoopNet, you can charge a smaller commission. All commissions are negotiable between you and your client. In a raw land deal commissions paid can with the size property you are suggesting fall in a normal negotiating range from 4% (easier listing, less work for all) - to 10% (more work - more commission incentive required for all). Keep in mind the owner does not benefit and you are not able to go to the bank unless a deal is closed, so you should convince an owner to not let a good marketing driven incentive stand in the way of a good listing!
Good luck James..... Rob Baird, CA RE License #544165 (One of the oldest, active licenses in CA) 951 515-5855 Email: rob@capratecommercial.com
Jan 13, 2011