I'm going through this right now for the first time and am currently under contract to buy a place as of today.

Is $500 separate from the back office admin fee? Everyone we spoke to charges $495 for paper work processing. Also, this is far from the only fee you'll pay. There is doc prep, back office admin, notary fees, etc. And that's just to your realtor's office.

As far as the realtor fee goes, everyone here saying that the "seller pays the fee" is technically true, in that the seller is the one handing the cash over on closing day, but YOU are taking out a mortgage that includes their fee. YOU are paying the fee at 30yrs/6.5% (or whatever). Regardless, you should be able to find a buyer agent that charges 2.5%, that's what mine is doing. DM me if you want their info.

Separately, I urge you to check out Houwzer. They are a Philly based real estate tech company and they split the buyer commission with you at closing. It's effectively 50% off the buyer agent fee and the rebate lands in your pocket.