“How much money will I walk away with after selling my home?” It’s a common question our clients ask when we help them sell their homes. Of course, you could find the answer by taking the price of your home and subtracting the expenses you encounter as you sell, but what exactly are those expenses going to be? The truth is—many sellers don’t know all of the expenses they’ll face, and they end up feeling cheated after closing. That’s why it’s important to know what expenses you should expect at the end of your home-selling journey.

At Reynolds EmpowerHome Team, we’ve had the incredible opportunity to guide thousands of families through the home-selling process, and while first-time home buyers have a lot of information available to them online, there’s unfortunately very little for sellers, leaving many tremendously unprepared for the road ahead. So today, we’re going to explain the three unexpected expenses you’re likely to face as a first-time home seller!

Unexpected Mortgage Payment

The first expense you might find yourself blindsided by isn’t technically a charge, but it’s still something that surprises a number of home sellers.

When you’re looking at your online statements, you may find that your principal balance is a number like $350,000, but when the title company calls you, they say you actually owe $352,000 instead! Many homeowners will argue and say, “No I owe $350,000! I’m looking at it right here online!” So what’s really happening here? Where did this extra expense come from?

You may not remember this, but when you bought your house, you skipped a month’s worth of mortgage payments! Everyone actually skips a month in mortgage payments because mortgages are a payment that’s made in arrears. This means you pay your mortgage this month for the time you lived in your home in the previous month.

Remaining Balance Owed

So now you know what the required amount of principal and interest payments is. Next, you’re going to add the second unexpected expense you’ll need to pay when it comes time to sell: the remaining balance you owe on your mortgage. The combined total of these expenses will be on the settlement statement when you go to close.

Don’t forget: you need to pay these expenses in order for the lien on your property to be released!

Prorated Taxes

Prorated Taxes are the third unexpected expense you’ll face as a first-time home seller, and since they’re paid at closing, these can be a little confusing to understand.

Here’s an example of how prorated taxes will work: Let’s say you’re closing in September, and you have paid 15 days worth of taxes, and the buyer is going to pay the taxes in December for the time that you owned the home from June through September. This means you’re going to owe the buyer that money because they are paying it on your behalf!

Right now, you may be wondering, “Haven’t I already paid the taxes in my mortgage payment?” Actually, the answer is “Yes!” Even though you’re paying it on your settlement statement, you’re actually going to get a check back from your mortgage company—typically between 30 and 60 days after you close—for the additional money that is being held in your escrow account.

More Unexpected Charges

If you want to know the rest of the charges you could face when you sell your home, register for our FREE Home Seller Workshop! This webinar will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about selling your home—including helpful and PROVEN tips on how to sell FASTER and for MORE!

The Home Seller Workshop will cover:

  • Professional Staging Tips
  • How to ATTRACT the Right Buyers to Your Home
  • How the Selling Process Works From Start to Finish
  • And So Much More!

If you don’t want to be caught off guard by surprise expenses, then don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn the ins-and-outs of the process! Become the confident seller you want to be, and learn how you can get the most money possible for your home! This webinar will be hosted every 4th Tuesday, so it’s never too late to sign up! You can reserve your spot here: empowerhomefreeworkshop.com

At Reynolds EmpowerHome Team, we recognize that every house is different. So if you’re thinking about selling, you’ll want advice that’s specifically tailored to your home. Want to know who your ideal buyers are? Or how to better prepare your home for the market? Call 804-655-0651 for a FREE Home Assessment. Our Team will visit your home and evaluate how best to get it sold FAST and for the MOST MONEY possible in the current market!