How Much Will It Cost to Sell My House?
From the pre-listing meeting to the closing table, here’s what a traditional sale process looks like — and how much you’ll pay.
Selling a home can be an exciting process, especially if you’re selling for a positive reason. Maybe you’ve been hired for a great new job opportunity in another city and are selling your home in order to move there. Maybe you’re getting married and are selling one or both of your homes so that you can move in together. Perhaps you’ve retired and are selling your family home in order to move to a resort-style retirement community or coastal neighborhood. Whatever the case, it’s important to understand the charges and fees associated with a home sale to find out how much it’s going to cost — and how much profit will be left at the closing table.
When you’re setting your sale price, it’s vital for you to take into consideration how much the sale process itself will take away from the bottom line. This is especially important if you need to use the profit from your home sale to finance the purchase of your next home or if you are selling your home due to financial setbacks. Remember that the cost of selling will be impacted by many factors including the location and condition of your home.
Pre-listing repairs and updates
It is difficult to specify how much you’ll spend here because there is wide variability, depending on the condition, size, and location of your home. If you’ve kept your home in good repair, you may only need to spend a couple of hundred dollars sprucing it up, decluttering, and deep cleaning. If you’ve had deferred maintenance or major structural problems, you could spend tens of thousands.
In addition to what you’ll pay upfront, you may spend thousands more through a reduced sale price if your home needs major repairs. This is especially true with an As-Is sale, where the money you save by not fixing up your home can result in fewer offers and lower prices. As weeks go by with no offers or unacceptable offers, you can end up reducing your sale price over and over, desperately trying to generate buyer interest and response.
Staging services
Here too you’ll find a range of charges depending on the scope of your staging. Your real estate agent may offer to do some amateur staging by moving around furniture or bringing in some home accessories. Alternatively, he or she may encourage you to work with a staging company to bring in a whole house full of furniture and artwork and prepare your home for the market.
Staging can be important if your home has outdated design elements or if you are selling a vacant home. Some buyers struggle to picture themselves in a home with no furniture or one with a style that is different from their own. In these cases, staging can be of help in making the home more appealing and making its potential easier to visualize.
Real estate agent commissions
Commissions can vary by location and type of home, but generally amount to six percent total for the buyer and seller agents. As the seller, you’ll pay both commissions out of the proceeds of your home sale. That means that you’re paying thousands of dollars for someone to negotiate against your interests.
While a great real estate listing agent may earn his or her commission through exceptional marketing, networking, and negotiation, an underperforming agent often does not. If your real estate agent is not solution-oriented — or if his or her solution is always for you to spend money or cut your price — it may be time to look for an alternative.
Post-inspection repairs and updates
Many sellers are surprised to find that the negotiation process doesn’t end once you’re under contract. Often, a post-inspection negotiation can be even tougher than a negotiation on sale price. If you are unwilling or unable to make the requested repairs, you may find your buyers exercising their inspection contingency, sending you all the way back to the beginning of the sale process.
Just like with the pre-sale repairs, it’s hard to predict how much you’ll pay for post-inspection repairs and updates to your home. In a true sellers market, buyers may just be happy to find a home and may be willing to overlook minor problems in order to see the deal through to closing. In a buyers market, however, you may be dealing with aggressive buyers who want your home in perfect condition by the time they come for the final walk-through.
Closing costs and fees
Closing costs can vary significantly by location since they are dependent in large part on property taxes, transfer taxes, and title insurance rates. In addition, this is where you’ll pay the real estate commission, escrow and closing fees, and attorney or title company fees. All of this can add up to 10% or more of the sale price of the home. That can make a significant dent in your home’s profitability.
In a buyers market, you may also be asked to contribute thousands of dollars toward your buyer’s closing costs. While this can sometimes be offset by a higher purchase price, that opens you up to challenges with the appraisal process.
The Offercity Difference
With Offercity, you still have the advantage of multiple offers from local investors so you’re still getting a price that makes sense for your property. What you won’t find are repairs, fees, or agent commissions at any point throughout the process. This is a true As-Is sale with a transparent offer and closing process.
In addition, we understand that your timeline is personal. Maybe you’re ready to move and need a shorter closing process or maybe you’re still making decisions and need to spend additional time in your home. Closing with Offercity can range from 10 to 60 days, depending on your needs and preferences. In addition, you’ll get a cash advance of up to $5,000 to help with deposits, moving expenses, and other financial requirements.
