Let's take a look at the real costs of selling your home in the Cleveland area, in addition to the costs of paying a commission to your selling agent.
According to sources like Realtor.com, the median listing price for a house in Cleveland is now $105K. The median selling price is a little higher at $115K.
These are fairly average for most home sales in this part of the country. Fortunately, this is on a 23.5% uptick year-by-year, proving how strong the housing market continues being during a challenging time.
The money you make on your home sale might be gouged by fees, depending on what your house goes for in the marketplace. What kind of fees might you face as you sell your home? Take a closer look at typical closing costs and other fees you'll have to pay.
All the fees and taxes you have to pay after a sale takes place are known as the closing costs in real estate. Both buyers and sellers have to pay these, though you (as the seller) might pay more or less, depending on negotiations with the buyer.
Based on the median value of a home in Ohio, the basic percentage of closing fees is between 0.78-1.44%. Overall, you should expect to pay out between 1% to 3% in fees from the final sale price of your home.
Going on the median price of a home in Ohio being $156,343, this could come out to $1,804 on your end. Or, it could go higher based on certain costs that are more extensive than many sellers readily know.
About five different costs could incur, sometimes expanding beyond that when calculating miscellaneous charges.
All the services your agent provides to you are going to come out of the house sale price. This is usually the commission they get, something they have to split with the buyer's agent and with their broker.
Nevertheless, these fees could add up to a sizable chunk. When you add in escrow as a closing fee, it only adds to the total. You still have the advantage that the buyer of your home also has to pay the other half of these fees.
Negotiations are possible there, even if often tricky. Your advantage to agreeing to cover all closing costs should only happen if you negotiate a higher price for your home.
Another fee you have to deal with is buying a title insurance policy. Here in Ohio, many homeowners buy a policy in good faith just in case any later disputes occur with the buyer.
It's a good idea to invest in this as part of your closing fees. These policies help pay for any litigation if a dispute of ownership occurs. As you already know, litigation fees are expensive, so this insurance is essential.
A transfer tax during a home sale is a typical closing fee. Here in Ohio, that rate is currently 0.1%, plus 0.3% local. You, as the seller, are likely going to absorb the cost of these.
Negotiation on transfer taxes is still possible with your buyer.
The answer to this is possibly. If you have property taxes in arrears, you may have to pay those as part of your closing costs. Should these taxes occur before the end of a pay period, you would have to cover them.
In other circumstances, the owner might inherit the new bill if they buy the house after you paid the last bill. Timing is everything on this, but expect to add it to your closing cost total.
You might have Home Owner's Association fees involved to pay out at the end of a house sale. Property appraisal fees may also be added.
Should you get any attorneys involved in the process, you may have to pay them as well to deal with settlements. The same goes if you have any mortgage payoff.
As mentioned, though, the real estate agent commission is substantial. In Ohio, the average rate is 6% (just like it is nationally), albeit being negotiable with the agent.
After all of these substantial fees, what can you do to eliminate many of them? You have a great alternative using our house sale service, FlashHouse.
Perhaps it sounds impossible to sell your house fast without paying exorbitant fees. At FlashHouse, we created a way for you to sell your home faster than ever while still selling at a competitive price.
Fill out our quick form on our site detailing everything about your home. We send you an offer within 24 hours. You have three days to accept the offer.
Once you accept, we arrange a safe, no-contact inspection of your home and do any repairs at an affordable cost. Remember, you have no obligation to accept our offer and can cancel without any penalties.
Imagine being able to sell your home and get paid cash for it in a few days without all the above fees. Selling a home is stressful. We make it simple.