In 2017 I was forty, mid-divorce, and renting an apartment in the same building I was trying to figure out how to leave. What I wanted didn't come up for sale. So I asked anyway.

It sits next to the commission, costs you a few hundred dollars, and buys you nothing new. Here's what a Realtor's admin fee actually is — and why I've never charged one.

A 1986 rental townhouse in Ballston, twenty-four days of work, and seven offers. What we changed, what we deliberately left alone, and what it actually cost.