Lead Turns Love Story

Join Katina as she sits down with Coldwell Banker Cranberry’s Manager, Alishia Schultz, for a heartfelt conversation 💬✨Discover how a career in real estate led her to the love of her life ❤️🏡—and how one unforgettable phone call changed everything 📞

Let’s tackle a topic that most Realtors try to skirt around: The seller’s closing costs. (Insert dramatic music here!)

Why is talking about numbers so difficult? Because… this is where the Realtor’s commission comes to fruition.

True confidence lies in communication, & true professionalism lies in the delivery. If a Realtor is confident that what they provide is nothing but exceptional service – then they should be able to speak confidently to the commission charged & what they do to earn that fee.

It took me a long time to be able to confidently speak about my commission without getting a little shaky at the topic. However, the conversation is MUCH easier the longer I’m in the business, the more services I offer my sellers & the more statistics & testimonials I can offer prospective clients to put some more proof in my pudding.

Commission is just one line item in a seller’s closing costs. Some costs are negotiable, others are not. Some are based on a percentage & others are a flat fee.

NEGOTIABLE/OPTIONAL CLOSING COSTS:
There are several fees that are not standard or, not required at all. A savvy seller will work with their Realtor to find which menu items should be included in the listing:

Listing Commission:
This is probably the most obvious one. A Realtor’s professional fee is typically a percentage of the sales price. It is negotiable at the time a seller is signing that listing contract. A seller’s goal is to find the Realtor that is the most VALUABLE – not the CHEAPEST. There’s a big difference, & I’ll need another show/blog to deep dive into this topic.

Buyer’s Commission:
In the olden days, a listing agent would negotiate 1 lump sum with the sellers to pay all of the commission for both Realtors in a transaction. Today, The Realtors’ commission in a transaction has been de-coupled, meaning, it’s considered as 2 separate fees rather than just one lump sum. This is great news for sellers.

Although it’s very likely that a buyer will ask a seller to contribute to their Realtor’s professional fee – it’s not automatically assumed to be paid by the seller. They can now negotiate this line item with an offer, giving them more financial control of their fees & putting more financial responsibility on the buyer.

Seller Assist:
Speaking of buyer financial responsibility… seller assist is something else that a buyer can request with their offer, but it’s not mandatory for the seller to gift any additional funds to the buyer. This usually shows up as a percentage, but it’s not uncommon for it to appear as a flat fee.

Perks/Incentives:
Adding perks like a home warranty is a great idea to not only help attract buyers & add some marketing benefits to the listing. Depending on the plan you include & if you’re offering additional coverage for things like a pool, well or appliances: you’re looking at a minimum of $500.

MANDATORY FLAT FEES:
These are just the cost of doing business & include things like the deed prep, municipal certifications, the brokerage fee, settlement fee, notary fee, tax certification… As I write this today in 2026, totaling these up with bring you to less than $2,000. A listing agent won’t be able to give you the exact penny because many of these fees are paid to the title company. It’s the buyer’s choice as to which title company is used, but you can have your own attorney prepare your deed. This may give you an extra $50-$100 if you feel that the title company is too expensive, & you want to shop around.

MANDATORY FEES BASED ON A PERCENTAGE:
The transfer tax is the big one here. If you want to trick a Realtor, ask them what the transfer tax amount is. This is kind of a trick question because:
1. It varies from area to area (especially in specific locations in Allegheny County!)
2. The transfer tax amount is split between the buyer & seller.

In most of Western Pennsylvania, the transfer tax is typically 2%. This means that the seller is responsible for 1% of the sales price.

CLOSING COST FORMULA:
When it comes to what you’ll net, you can expect to pay:

Sales Price
• % of Sales Price for Listing Agent Commission
• % of Sales Price for Buyer’s Agent Commission (if negotiated)
• % of Sales Price for Transfer Tax
• % of Sales Price/Flat Fee for Seller Assist (if negotiated)
• $2,000 in Estimated Flat Fees
• Flat Fees for Incentives (ex: Home Warranty)
• – ?? ??? (Mortgage Payoff)

Don’t forget your mortgage payoff or any equity lines of credit. That all gets paid at closing so that the house is transferred free & clear of any/all liens.

If your eyes are bugging out of your head from all of the subtracting you’re doing – this is where a Realtor’s experience is worth their weight in gold. They should be able to offer you options to help safeguard a seller’s bottom line. I have several ways that I do this, & I’m saving these tips for next time!

Katina Hunter
Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com

Here’s our deep dive into a five-county snapshot of the Western PA real estate market.

🏡 Beaver County
The market isn’t just growing; it’s a complete glow-up. The average sales price hit $250K—up 8%, & the median sales price is up a whopping a 14%. This gives sellers a LOT of confidence & buyers don’t seem to have an issue stepping up to the plate with more money for Beaver County properties. Just one example of what I was saying earlier – Don’t Wait for the Rate!

🏡 Lawrence County
The average sales price in Lawrence County is climbing as well – flexing at an 11% increase. There was also a huge jump in the median list price… get this… a 60% increase. This is a big, flashing neon sign for our investor friends – properties have historically been on the cheaper side in this area, & now there’s trends showing that the median listing price has jumped to $160,000 & are SELLING at those prices. That’s a pretty nice return on investments… If you’re an investor, I’d set your sights on some specific locations in Lawrence.

🏡 Butler County
Homes here are selling for, on average, 98% of the asking price. So, the listing price vs. selling price ratio has stayed pretty consistent in the last year. There’s just not a lot of wiggle room on price, & I hope to see that the sellers continue to price their homes well here. We’ve seen more transactions than we’ve had in a while with the amount of homes sold up by 10%. Buyers are attracted to Butler & willing to pay the price.

🏡 Allegheny County
Allegheny is by far the most consistent of all of the counties we’re looking at. Everything is steady: Average sales price: Same at $411,000. Listing price vs. selling price ratio? Same! Just under 99%. Even the number of properties sold compared to prior year is extremely consistent. That is one of the things that makes Pittsburgh such a great real estate market – we don’t experience the massive swings that have been reported in other markets across our country. Western PA is the steady hand in real estate which is good news for everyone involved!

🏡 Mercer County
Delving into Mercer County, buyers have the most negotiating power here. On average, we’re seeing about 4% off of the sales price. Meaning, the average $200,000 home in Mercer is selling for about $192,000. Imagine what you could do with a home with an extra 10 grand in your pocket to make things exactly your style? There’s more give in Mercer than I’m seeing anywhere else.

Now that you’ve heard the nitty-gritty, if there are buyers out there waiting for prices to go down… sorry, guys, but the trends are saying that prices are steadily increasing. This is across the board. I would highly recommend jumping on the buying bandwagon sooner than later.
“… But I’m going to wait until the rates go down.” My team has heard this a million times. Friends – listen up! Even if rates go down in the future – which is NOT a guarantee at all – you’re going to get burned by waiting with the steadily increasing sales prices.

Katina Hunter
Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com

Realtors… Good, Better, Best

The Fold Podcast Episode #21

Real Estate Diaries Episode #21

The Fold Podcast Episode #20



This story is not my own. It’s from a realtor named Angie Mazzenga & can be found on the Wall Street Journal or Realtor.com. It does, however, feature a home that was sold right here in our home state of Pennsylvania.

Haunted listings aren’t unheard of. But this one? It came with a full paranormal disclosure. The owners insisted that a ghost named George—yes, he had a name—lived in the attic. He was “mostly friendly,” they said, but he occasionally slammed doors, whispered in hallways, and once locked a plumber in the bathroom.

Angie, ever the professional, listed the home with full transparency. Her description read: “Charming 4-bedroom Victorian with spirit. Paranormal activity reported. Buyer discretion advised. The listing went viral. Paranormal investigators booked showings. TikTokers filmed séances in the foyer. One couple made an offer—on the condition that George would “not interfere with their cats.” But here’s the twist: during an open house, Angie herself heard footsteps upstairs. She went to investigate… and found no one. The attic door was locked from the inside.

Eventually, the house sold—to a buyer who said they “weren’t afraid of ghosts, just bad plumbing.” George, apparently, approved. No paranormal incidents have been reported since.

So what’s the takeaway? In real estate, transparency matters—even if it involves the undead. And sometimes, the strangest listings attract the most enthusiastic buyers.

To read more about Angie’s haunted listing, check out The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com’s feature.

If you’re loving these tips, buckle up—because I’ve got a whole treasure chest of real estate wisdom waiting for you! Whether you’re a video binge-watcher, a blog reader, a Facebook scroller, or just someone who loves a good deep dive—I’ve got you covered.

Just Google Katina Hunter Realtor or The Katina Hunter Real Estate Team and prepare to enter the real estate rabbit hole.

And hey—don’t be a stranger! Call or text me anytime at 724-888-9020. Seriously, save me in your phone right now under ‘REALTOR’—you never know when you’ll need me. Even better? Shoot me a quick text to say you heard the show. That little ping would absolutely make my day!

This is Katina with the Katina Hunter Team at Coldwell Banker Realty, author of “The Real Estate Diaries” & “The Pennsylvania Real Estate Show.” I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

🏡 Beaver County
Beaver County’s feeling modest this month. The single-family market here is serving up a mixed bag this week, with the median list price jumping 27% to $228K, while the average sales price dipped slightly to $222K—a gentle reminder that pricing strategy matters. Sellers are still winning with a 98.1% sales-to-list ratio, and buyers have plenty to choose from thanks to a whopping surge in inventory. Only 25 homes sold, down 42%, so it’s a slower dance—but the music’s still playing.
🏡 Lawrence County
Lawrence County said, “Hold my pumpkin ale.” We’re seeing a 73% jump in average sales price! It’s giving Cinderella-at-midnight energy. Something magical happened here—likely a few high-end sales skewing the average. But with a median list price of $140K, affordability still lives here. For now.
🏡 Butler County
Butler County’s single-family market is flexing some serious muscle this week, with the average sales price climbing $466K and the median list price rising as well. Sellers are landing solid deals with a 96.6% sales-to-list ratio. With inventory creeping up as we’re seeing all across the board – it gives buyers more breathing room. All these numbers are solid proof that Butler’s market is both strong and steady, like your favorite fall coffee order.
🏡 Allegheny County
Allegheny’s market is in a bit of a mood this week—think confident, slightly mysterious, and full of potential. While prices are adjusting and sales have dipped, the real story is in the inventory: with nearly 23 months of supply, buyers have room to breathe and browse, and sellers need to bring their A-game. Homes are still closing close to asking, which means well-prepped listings are getting noticed. It’s a market that rewards strategy, patience, and a little curb appeal magic.
🏡 Mercer County
Mercer County’s market is having a moment—bold, dramatic, and not shy about it. The average sales price vs listing price ratio is at an impressive 100%, so sellers are clearly striking the right chord. Prices are climbing fast, but the real headline is the sky-high inventory making Mercer a buyer’s playground. Only 10 homes sold, so it’s not a frenzy—it’s a slow burn with big potential. Think of it as Mercer’s quiet renaissance: high value, high supply, and room to make your move.
 

We pull into the driveway of the place we called home for the last 6 years. I’m 13 years old. I can picture this house perfectly in my mind: it’s an English Tudor style cape cod with an iron rod railing and hilly yard. Nothing flashy. Just an average house in an average neighborhood on Mill Street in Erie, Pennsylvania.

My parents checked on the vacant house every few days after moving our family into the new dream house that they built. The Mill Street house was empty, under contract and due to close in less than a week. This was an average check-in to an average house.

What was going on INSIDE those walls that day was anything but normal.

Do you remember the scene in “Home Alone” when Kevin runs across the street to the neighbor’s house to get away from the bad guys? The robbers had turned on all of the faucets after they robbed the place, and there were waterfalls just flowing throughout the home.

Well… 5745 Mill Street looked like it had been visited by the Wet Bandits as well.

Burst pipes spewed water everywhere for half of a week. Water cascaded down the stairs. The carpets were nothing more than a bed of mush under the calf-deep interior lagoon of the family room.

I can just imagine the phone call to the buyer. “Hey… remember how you were disappointed you were that this house didn’t have a pool…? Uh, I have good news!”

Fortunately, the insurance company handled things, and the repairs were done within a relatively short amount of time, and the buyer still wanted the house.

However, if the flooding would have gone unnoticed, the house may have closed. The new buyer would pull her moving truck into the driveway ready to unload and settle into the new place – never knowing that Niagara Falls had moved into that quaint little cape cod on the hill.

My topic today: Avoiding Final Walkthrough Nightmares!
I have advice for buyers and sellers to get to the closing table without any last-second glitches… or waterfalls.

Buyers: You do a walkthrough for 3 main reasons:

1. Make sure that the junk is gone – you don’t want to be responsible for the moldy pool table that’s just too hard to move or the out-of-tune piano that no one wants.

2. Make sure that the agreed-upon items are still there. If you expected a fully equipped kitchen then the seller shouldn’t be outfitting their new home with your stainless-steel appliances!

3. Make sure that the house is in the same condition from when you wrote your offer – no water cascading down the steps or holes gouged in walls from their careless movers.

Mike conducted a walkthrough our buyer Leah. There was some random stuff in the basement – including a super old stove. Leah had absolutely no use for that! So, Mike calls up the listing agent, “Hey, can you please make sure that the old stove and random paint cans in the basement are removed before tomorrow’s closing? Instead of us coming back – can you please just send us a picture of the cleaned-out basement?” No problem, the sellers agree and before Leah signs her closing documents, they get the picture showing the shelves empty of paint cans and the basement corner which is now absent a stove.

Closing done.

Fast forward an hour. Mike gets a call… from Leah… uh oh. The stove is still there! The sellers had moved it to another area of the basement just to show a clean picture!
OH, HECK NO!!!

Needless to say, Mike was HOT and made sure that the sellers were held accountable to get everything moved – even after closing. But typically – once the documents are signed, the deal is done.
That’s why a final walkthrough is so important.

That’s a good example of things needing to be removed, but my friend Jeff Bennet had the opposite happen.
Jeff purposefully never schedules his walkthroughs on the same day as closing.

The sale of one of his listings in the North Hills had gone pretty smoothly… until he a frantic call from the buyer’s agent during the final walk-through. “The carpet!” he sputtered. “It’s gone!”
“It’s… what?!” Jeff was having a hard time processing what the other Realtor was saying. “What do you mean ‘it’s gone?’”
“There’s no carpet! Just sticky subfloor. It’s gone!”
(long pause)

“Really!? Ok, uh… let me call the seller and get right back to you.

Absolutely incredulous, Jeff calls the seller.

“Um… the buyers are doing the walkthrough and… did you remove the carpet by any chance?”
“Yeah! That was brand new. I’m not giving them that!”
(Another long pause… and a deep breath)

Jeff reminded his client about the conversation they had after the seller mentioned wanting to take the chandelier. Jeff had defined “fixtures” and told him that he had to leave anything that’s permanently attached. He had even used the phrase ‘nailed down’

Carpet is pretty much the definition of ‘nailed down’. Literally 10,000 nails!

“You need to put that back by tomorrow, or we’re not going to close.”

The rest of the conversation was heated and lengthy, but the seller eventually saw reason and, reluctantly, conveyed that new carpet to the buyers. Another walkthrough happened the next day, the house closed and all worked out.

Jeff offers sage advice: do your walkthroughs the day before closing.

What if the walkthrough doesn’t go well? Well… things have got to be figured out. Some options would include:

– Closing being delayed until things are corrected.
– Buyers and Sellers negotiating some type of financial compensation.
– I’ve helped clients trade items: The seller accidentally took the additional freezer in the garage, forgetting that was supposed to be included. We got them to agree to leave the lawnmower. The buyers were happy.

The goal, however, is to not get into that situation in the first place. That’s where the sellers come in. Keep the following in mind:
It should probably stay in the house if…

… you need some sort of tool to remove it. (TV mounts should stay, curtain rods stay, smoke detectors stay)
… it was negotiated into the sales agreement. Check the agreement of sale for the list of appliances and inclusions and read the paragraph above where those items are written in. Those things all need to stay! You are contractually bound to leave them there.

It should probably go if…
… you can pick it up and move it out without a tool
… you can’t just throw it in your trash can/have to pay to get rid of it (paint cans, old TV’s)
If you’re unsure… all you have to do is ask. Many of my sellers call or text me pictures as they’re moving out. Any questions – just ask! Your Realtor is your resource.

Katina Hunter
Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com