It is important to understand all of the fees involved in selling your home, after all, it’s YOUR money, and you deserve to know where it’s going! There are a lot of costs that you may not be aware of, and we understand how stressful it can be to uncover one fee after another while undergoing the home selling process. So today, we are answering the age-old question, “How much does it cost to sell my home?” The simple answer is, although most of the fees on this list are negotiable, the grand total will likely be around 10% of the home’s value. Let’s break it down and see where your money is going: 

  1. Preparing Your Home To Sell: 
    1. Realtor Commission Fees: 99.9% of the time, the seller will be paying the realtor commission fee. This is, on average, is between 5%-6% of the sale price and is the largest fee you will have to pay. 
    2. Home Repairs: You will most likely need to complete some minor repairs before putting your house on the market, and the price varies depending on how much work needs to be done. New paint, adjusting squeaky doors, sprucing up your landscaping, decluttering, etc., are just a few examples of projects you might need to complete. Be prepared to make even more improvements after your initial home inspection, too. An inspector might find more minor complications that need to be addressed, but sometimes, they may locate major problems that need to be repaired before closing on your home, or else you’ll have to significantly drop the price you’re selling for.
    3. Home Staging: You would be a fool not to have a professional stager prepare your home for photos and showings! This will cost around 1% of the home’s value, but it is a widely known fact that staged homes sell faster and for more money than one’s that aren’t. That is to say, you will definitely get a high return on your investment from hiring a stager.
    4. Utilities: If you move out before you sell your house, you will need to continue paying for the utilities while showings are going on.  
    5. Seller Concessions: A buyer might need help paying for a home inspection, processing fees, or other costs if they don’t have enough cash on hand. To sweeten the deal, a seller might agree to pay for them. On average, these fees are between 1.5%-2%, but how much the buyer is allowed to ask for is limited by their loan type. However, this type of bargaining is usually only viable in a buyer’s market.
  2. Finalizing The Deal: 
    1. Mortgage Payoff: You’ll probably have to add prorated interest you’ve accrued on your mortgage to the total balance you owe. Additionally, you might have to pay a prepayment penalty for paying off your mortgage before the term is up. Make sure to talk to your loan provider about these fees. 
    2. Closing Costs: While closing costs are typically the buyer’s responsibility, don’t be surprised if you, the seller, are asked to foot the bill. The fees involved could be some or all of the following; homeowner association fees, closing fees (which are paid to the closing agent), property taxes, attorney fees, recording fees, transfer taxes, escrow fees, a brokerage fee, a courier fee, and title insurance. This will be about 2%-4% of the home’s value. 
  3. Taxes:
    1. Capital Gains Tax: When you sell a home for more than you paid for it, it counts as a capital gain and might need to be reported on your federal tax return. However, many homeowners can exclude up to $250,000 of profit from their main home, as long as they haven’t used the tax break on another home sale within the past two years. 

If you need to sell or buy a home, it’s one of the toughest decisions you will make. You need a Team of Specialists with 220 years of combined experience and over 5,500 successful transactions to help you through the process from beginning to end! Give us a call at 703-297-4251 or visit RTRSells.com and start packing!

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