Home Selling Costs to Prepare For
Selling a home often adds dollars to your pocket, but selling a home also costs money. Some of the expenses are negotiable, but sellers should be prepared to foot the bill for the home selling costs on this list.
Real Estate Commission
Typically, real estate commission is 5%–6% of the home’s sale price, and it’s split between the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent. In a majority of transactions, it’s a cost the seller bears.
Pre-Listing Home Inspection
The pre-listing home inspection is optional and costs between $300 and $500, but it can vary.
Home Staging
Home staging is also another optional cost. Home stagers work to enhance a home’s best features while minimizing its worst attributes. The cost of a professional stager varies according to the size of the home, the extent of the work, etc., but you can expect to spend several hundred dollars.
Utilities
If you’re moving out of the home before selling it, you’ll have to continue to cover the cost of the utilities at the home. A home without water, electricity, air conditioning, and heat can be very difficult to sell as potential buyers can’t test out these things for themselves, nor can an inspector complete the inspection.
Mortgage Payoff
The money you’ll make from the sale of your home will need to go towards paying off your mortgage. Your lender may also have a prepayment penalty or prorated interest added to your total balance, so be sure to speak to your lender about what you will need to pay back after selling your home.
Closing Costs
Many of the closing costs are negotiable, and it’s likely that the buyer will help pay for some of the costs associated with closing, but be safe and plan to meet these costs. Some of the closing costs may include attorney fees, transfer taxes, title insurance, escrow fee, brokerage fee, and a courier fee.
HOA Fees
Depending on your particular HOA, you may have to pay out of pocket for a resale certificate before the property closes. This fee can be up to $600, and in some cases higher, due to the HOA. Other HOA fees such as transfer fees and other miscellaneous fees may apply. Those fees are usually paid at closing.
Liens Against the Property
It may be a good idea to have a title company open the title for your property before listing. That way, they can pull a title commitment to see if there are any liens against the property besides the typical first and/or second mortgage. Knowing what you owe and what your take-home will be may determine if moving forward to sell your house is a good plan.
If you’d like to talk through what to expect when selling your home or if you’d like to know what’s happening in the local real estate market, contact the David Morris Group. We’re happy to be your guide. Give us a call at (775) 828-3292.
