Golddust- I understand the point you are making regarding my sister's responsibilities vs. mine. My sister did live in the same town as my mother and I live across country. This is always difficult. I had the burden of not being close and I lived with that guilt. I did a lot for my mother. I bought all of her clothes and sent them to her as I like fashion and it was something that I could do to help out. I worked in the medical profession for 20 plus years so I handled all of her medical affairs including insurance, prescriptions, etc. I also brought my mother to my home at least 4 times a year for a period of 2 wks. So I wasn't an absentee daughter. My sister lived in the same town as my parents all of her life and had five children. When the children were young she always had a built in babysitter and I am talking for weeks at a time when my sister and hubby would travel. So there were perks in the younger years of living close. Also, things just always magically disappeared from my mother's home and made their way into my sister's home after my mother went into assisted living. Even the diamond earrings and such that I gave to my mother as gifts from me magically disappeared. I have a picture of my mother in the diamond earrings that was taken the day before she passed and yet when I arrived home 2 days later, the diamonds were gone and nobody knows what happened to them. Hmmmm. I guess I am saying that she felt a sense of entitlement and I am now beginning to wonder when that sense of entitlement ends. I guess if I let this ride the entitlement will end now. There is nothing left. Thankfully I will never have to go through this again. Such a shame.

Would be nice if the OP would come back and update the post... I agree that it sounds like one sib is out of the loop, who knows if she was asked if she wanted to buy the house before it was listed. We also have no clue how much they are asking for the house and how much the commission is, we could be talking about $20,000 or more. I understand that people have seen / had bad experiences when selling houses to relatives or settling estates but not everyone has bad motives. If my aunt expressed an interest in buying our house, you bet I would try to do it without having to pay a commission, commissions can run the price of a house up, especially if the parents originally paid next to nothing for it. You would be able to figure out what the houses should be selling for with comps, then figure what the going rate of commission is, then come to a fair price somewhere in the middle since you'll have to get an appraisal & an attorney to do the work. If you do not have a commission to pay and can wait until the contract is truly expired, it may be more money in all of your pockets, or you can cut a relative a small break. The agent hasn't sold the house and very well may not. Then what if it's not sold in 9 months time? How much lower will your market go when you could have sold the house to the sister and been done with it? How do you know the agent is doing all that they need to do in this market? I know of another scenario like this and looked at the listing & was not impressed. Everything was rushed, pictures were lacking as was advertising. This is a horrible market to sell in and if you can come to an agreement either using the agent or not, it will be less of an expense in the long run as you won't have an more carrying costs

Markup is a part of life desert dance ! Why are you so averse to paying it? What you should focus on is are you getting fair value for the price you are being charged on the product or service you are buying. BTW - all retail IS NOT marked up 3 times. Sometimes its only once depending on the distribution channel, and if you are talking about percentages , some things are only marked up 10-20% like appliances ! Also consider that " markup"allows you to walk into the Depot and browse their selection on tile, cabinet doors, countertops, and appliances for free. All those displays , lighting, brochures, rent, costs $$$. Now , you can easily find an outfit with lower overhead which might translate into lower markup, and it might not. You'll drive yourself crazy trying sort out all the costs that go into a renovation budget on top of the design decisions that need to be made. Do you question your mechanic's markup on oil or bolts when you get an oil change? You could save a lot of money if he bought all his oil when it was on closeout or March Madness sale at walmart instead of his regular supplier. How about the fees your broker/ IRA/ 401k charge to administer your retirement plan. And other accounts? Ever hire an attorney and seen what you are charged for a copy or a postage stamp? It's easy to nitpick pricing - there IS ALWAYS someone/where with a lower price. Why dont you tell us what business / industry company you or your spouse work in and let us compared its pricing with the rest of the market.

MY my my.. how fabulosa!! She looks so real, I thought maybe Betty was crying tears to match her dress and lipstick. LOL. Na... Has anyone ever done a glass piece WITHOUT an OUCH?? I am just starting out, and I had all my fingers bandaged at one time, made it hard to pick up the pieces!!! Great work!! YOu're client will be speechless!!