The Costs of Selling a Home

As you get ready to sell your home, you might be asking yourself, “How much does it actually cost to sell a house?”

Most people know about realtor fees and home seller closing costs, but there are more fees for selling a home such as fees from home staging, point of sale home inspection, utilities, mortgage payoff – not to mention the cost of time, energy, and emotions!

Getting your house ready to list on the housing market is comprised of many different steps and costs. While the steps for selling a home may be the same, the costs themselves can vary. If you need to renovate your kitchen and bathrooms to ensure they are updated, this will cost substantially more than just having to paint rooms from normal wear and tear. 

Hiring a professional to provide home staging rather than doing it yourself will be more expensive but can increase the likelihood of the home buyer envisioning themselves living in the home. A professional home stager can bring out the best features in your home. This can be the difference in receiving a timely home offer or not.

Making sure that your house has curb appeal is a way that home selling costs can start adding up. Making home repairs to the exterior of the house or getting some landscaping done can go a long way to attract new home buyers, but these types of projects can get expensive quickly.

Point of sale home inspections are typically mandatory by the city and does not replace a home buyer’s inspection. Depending on the city, the fees vary and so does the inspection. The inspection can be interior only or include both interior and exterior, while including sidewalks. A city inspector might just look at the mechanics of the home. 

It may not make since for utilities to be a cost when selling a home, especially if you are no longer staying in the home. However, when you are showing the home, it is important to have the interior and exterior lights working. A well-lit home is inviting. Home buyers may also want to test the water pressure. Home temperature is also important, so home buyers are comfortable in the home during open houses and showings.

The largest costs that are standard with selling your house are the agent commission fees and closing costs. Agents typically ask for commissions that range between 5-6% of the sale price of your home. You can also expect to add between 1-3% for closing costs in addition to those agent fees.

When the home is sold you must pay off your mortgage. This may include interest and prepayment penalty fees. It is best to contact your lender to understand the conditions of the home loan. You don’t want any surprises on how much you have to pay off. Especially if you are looking to use the proceeds toward buying a new home.

In addition to monetary costs of selling your home, there is also the cost of time and energy spent preparing your property to sell. It’s not easy to clean and prepare your home, maintaining it for home showings, and scheduling the showings and open houses. You’ll also be asked to leave your house during private house showings and open houses so other real estate agents can show their clients the property. This all can be time-consuming and disruptive to your life.

The preparation and execution of selling a home can come with a high emotional cost. The ups and downs from home buyer feedback to realty contracts falling through at the last minute can be draining.

Conclusion

The key takeaway is knowing that there are more costs to selling your home than just the agent fees and that you can expect the process to take time, money, and energy. Each situation is different, we recommend researching home selling costs so you can reasonably manage your expectations. Once you’ve done that, you can find better ways to be more cost-effective in selling your home.