What Are the Costs of Selling a Home?

When you’re selling your home, most of your attention is probably going to be focused on profit. That makes sense: buying a home and paying a monthly mortgage are extremely costly, and you want to get as good of a return on that investment as possible when you go to sell. Often, you’re also having to consider obtaining the funds that you need to buy your next home. But it’s important to keep in mind that the difference between what you paid for your home and what the next person pays for it isn’t necessarily all going into your pocket—there are quite a few big costs of selling a home that will put a dent in your profit.

As a general rule of thumb, you can expect that around 10% of the money you earn from the sale of your home is going to be lost to things like real estate commission fees and inspection fees. And the costs of selling a home are likely going to be even higher than that if you need to put in repairs or upgrades prior to going live on the market.

While it isn’t cheap to sell, you still have a lot of profit to gain. You just have to make sure that you go into the process with a clear idea of the costs of selling a home so that you’re not hit with a surprise later on when your end balance isn’t as high as you thought it was going to be.

So what are those costs? Here are seven costs of selling a home to be aware of as you go into the sale process.

Pre-Sale Repairs

• • Fix everything
  • Fix just the big stuff
  • Fix just the obvious stuff
  • Fix just the stuff that your future buyer wants fixed after their home inspection

  Which route you take is largely going to depend on the current condition of your home. While it is possible to sell a home that needs major repairs, your options are limited and the money you save in repair costs will almost certainly come out of the purchase price.

  Most homes, however, probably don’t need extensive work to get to a point where they’re attractive to buyers. In that case, you have quite a bit of wiggle room in terms of how you approach repairs. If the house needs a new roof or furnace, you’d be wise to spring for it. Anything that you anticipate coming up in the home inspection you may as well take care of before going to market. But if you just want some quick fixes to make your home look more appealing, focus on the home improvements that help your home look its best. These include landscaping and other front-facing exterior fixes, paint touch-ups, and cabinet repairs.

  Pre-Sale Decorating and Staging

  Pre-Sale Home Inspection

  Home Equity Loan Payback

  Title Insurance Policy

  Real Estate Commission Fees

  Other Closing Costs

  The exact costs of selling a home vary widely from seller to seller, since repair needs, staging needs, and sale prices vary widely as well. When you first meet with your realtor, be sure to ask all of the questions that you need to know regarding costs, including what sorts of improvements they recommend and what their commission is. This will help you better anticipate what your final profit will be.