Experts estimate that most people who use a Realtor will pay as much as 10% of your selling price in costs associated with selling. The cost of selling a home yourself can range from 4% to 8% of the selling price of your home. When you’re estimating your expected gains, remember that the cost of selling a home can be deducted from that figure for tax purposes.
To give you an idea of what the costs of selling a home in the current market are, take a look at the information below. We’ve included estimated costs based on a $250,000 home sale, as well as some tips for lowering or eliminating them to lower your overall cost of selling your home.
Sales commission
If you list your home with a Realtor, expect to pay 4 to 6% of the sales price, or $8,000 to $12,000 in real estate commission.
Tip: Shop around. Real estate commissions aren’t written in stone. A Realtor may be willing to accept less of a commission in a slow market, or you may be able to save money by contracting with a Realtor for specific services only rather than a contracted listing.
250,000
-12,000
238,000
Closing Costs
Taxes, both transfer taxes and property taxes, and legal fees associated with the closing and finalizing of your home sale will be 2% to 4% of your sales price, or $4,000 to $8,000.
Tip: Check the laws in your state. If you’ve prepaid your property taxes for the year, you may get a credit instead of a bill. There may also be other refunds on prepaid escrow costs for home insurance and other costs of selling a home.
238,000
- 8,000
230,000
Paying Off Your Mortgage
Whatever the remaining principal balance is on your current mortgage will have to be paid off upon the sale of your home. Just to keep things simple, let’s say that you still owe $50,000 on your current mortgage. If there’s a prepayment penalty, you’ll need to deduct that from your eventual sales price as well.
Tip: Ask your lender to prepare a payoff statement for you to check your figures. If there is a fee charged for the service, you can deduct it as one of the costs of selling a home.
230,000
50,000
180,000
Repairs to Your Home
The cost varies widely depending on the age of your home and how well it’s been maintained. At the very least, you should get a home inspection to identify any possible problems to avoid being surprised by them at closing. You should plan on paying about $300 for a home inspection.
180,000
300
179,700
Pre-Sale Facelift
Again, the cost varies with the work that’s needed to get the house looking its best. Conservative estimate: $300 for new paint, screws and hardware, carpet for living room floor and landscaping service
179,700
400
179,300
Moving costs
The cost of moving from one home to another are included in the cost of selling a home. It may be as little as $1000 to as much as $12,000 for a cross country move. Let’s be conservative again – $3,000
179,300
3,000
176,300
Other relocation costs
You may need to replace appliances, pay off school transfer or gym fees, or pay storage for your furniture. There are many unexpected costs of selling a home which may amount to nothing, or add up to a good chunk of change.
Even without adding in other relocation costs, you can see how the cost of selling a home can reduce your final cash gain. The good news is that most of those costs are deductible on your taxes.
Tag: Paying Off Your Mortgage
What Are The Real Costs Of Selling A Home?
What Will Happen to Your Bankruptcy Assets?
Bankruptcy assets
One of the biggest questions people often have regarding bankruptcy is what will happen to their assets. Sometimes a family can be reluctant to declare bankruptcy because of this fear, even though all other options have been exhausted and it seems clear that bankruptcy is necessary.
First of all, you need to know the difference between the two most common forms of personal bankruptcy. These are known as Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. With Chapter 7, you are trying to discharge (which means completely eliminate) your debt, or as much of it as possible. In exchange for this, you may have to liquidate some of your assets. However, the truth is that most people who declare bankruptcy do not have any assets worth liquidating. The assets they do have, such as a house and a car, are often protected by state or federal laws.
If you declare Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you don’t have to worry about liquidation of any of your assets. However, Chapter 13 requires that you pay back at least part of what you owe. In order to help you achieve this chapter 13 creates a repayment plan to make things easier for you.
What about your house? Well, even in the case of Chapter 7 bankruptcy you are usually protected when it comes to your primary place of residence. Some states even have unlimited homestead exemption, which means that you would not have to sell your house to pay off your debt regardless of how much your house is worth.
Of course, you are still responsible for paying off your mortgage, and if you do not pay your house payments then the bank can still take away your house. When the state has a homestead exemption, it simply means that you will not be forced to sell your house to pay for unsecured debts like credit cards. However, these laws vary by state, and there is often a limit on how expensive a house you can keep. Therefore it’s important to discuss all the details with a bankruptcy lawyer.