Buying a home is expensive, from the initial down payment to closing costs, but negotiating a lower commission could result in more affordable mortgage payments.

Nationally, Americans pay about $100 billion in real estate commissions each year, and agents in the United States earn some of the highest commissions in the world, according to the New York Times. These commissions became the focus of much debate after the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settled a series of lawsuits earlier this year.

Before the lawsuit, many full-service agents in Minnesota typically charged sellers a 5 to 6 percent commission paid to the listing broker, who split it among the various agents and brokerages involved in the transaction.

You may be able to get a better deal now. But it also means you need to negotiate how and how much you’ll pay a real estate agent, with a written representation agreement that spells out the details.

Here are tips to make it work.

For some, the most difficult step is asking the real estate agent about fees.

Many people walk away from negotiation, said Sharon Press, director of the Dispute Resolution Institute at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

“We all negotiate every day of our lives,” Press said. “When we decide where to go to dinner with our partner, that’s a negotiation, or telling the kids it’s time for bed, that’s a negotiation.”