One of the many reasons people decide to sell their homes is due to a change in their financial situation. They may no longer be able to cover the many fees and costs associated with homeownership, along with ongoing maintenance.
However, as much as you might think that selling your house will earn you money, it can also cost you money, warns Sun-Pro Realty. Before you start looking at your sales options, it may be worth knowing of and planning for some of the following house-related costs.
Real Estate Agent Fees
When buying a house, you don’t often have to worry about real estate agent fees. In many countries, agents don’t charge you to buy a house through them and, if they do, it’s very little.
That can all change when you decide to sell a house through an agent. While they work hard for their money, you often need to part with 5% to 6% of your sale price, which can be a considerable amount for some people.
For example, if you sold your house for $500,000, a real estate agent could take up to $30,000 of it. Some additional advertising fees may also apply. While some realtor-related costs are negotiable, it can be worth being aware of what they charge before signing up your home with an agent.
House Inspection Services
Many home sellers decide to hire experts to perform house inspections before putting their property up for sale. This way, they can identify any significant problems and potentially rectify them before they become a sticking point for prospective purchasers.
Without factoring in the costs of any of those repairs and maintenance, a house inspection that delves into your plumbing, electrics, foundation, roof, HVAC systems, and more, can cost an average of $200 to $500, with homes over 2,000 square feet often costing even more.
Fortunately, this is a cost you can avoid if you decide to sell to a professional buyer. They perform their own checks to ensure they’re aware of any problems before placing an offer.
Repairs
If you decided to hire someone to carry out a house inspection, you might be now faced with the prospect of spending hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on repairs to bring your home up to a sellable standard for a realtor.
While potentially able to bring up the value of your home, repairs can be yet another cost you may wish to avoid. This might be especially true if your entire reason for selling was that you were no longer in the financial position to be a homeowner.
Fortunately, repairs aren’t a prerequisite of selling. If you sell to a professional buyer or directly to a member of the general public, you may be able to bypass performing any repairs and keep more money in your bank account.
House Staging
Many people who decide to sell through realtors believe they are better positioned to sell if they hire someone for house staging. The process involves removing much of your own furniture and bringing in professionals with designer furniture to make your home look at its very best.
According to some sources, this service can dramatically reduce the number of days your home sits on the market. However, it can cost several hundred dollars, which means it can contribute to the ever-growing costs associated with listing a home for sale through traditional avenues.
Closing Costs
Some of the costs you may not have considered when deciding to sell your home relates to closing the deal. Some sellers can spend up to 3% of their home sale price paying for attorneys and tidying up titles and taxes, and some buyers also face some of these costs.
While you can save money in many ways, closing costs are generally something you can’t avoid. However, it can also depend on the deal you’ve struck with the person buying your property.
For example, some professional home buyers elect to cover all closing-related costs, leaving you to only worry about paying off the rest of your mortgage if you have one. Sometimes, fees are included in the sales price.
If you’re unsure if closing costs are something you can afford, talk to the buyer. You may be able to reach an agreement that benefits you both.
The goal of any home seller is to make money, but not everyone is aware that you also have to spend it. Fortunately, some of these costs above are avoidable by choosing one sales method over another, and others are possibly negotiable. The more aware of these costs you are, the easier you may be able to plan for them.
