The Cost of Selling Your Home

Want a quick calculation on how much you can expect to profit from selling your home? Just take the selling price and subtract 10% to account for expenses, this is a rough estimate. It is not always exactly 10%, some things are negotiable and vary per transaction.

For example, say you sell for $300,000. You can expect to pay roughly $30,000 leaving your profit around $270,000 (before your mortgage payoff). Wondering what’s in the $30,000? Here’s an overview:

- Home prep costs: Think staging, lawn care, and landscaping projects. 

- Agent fees: Sellers typically pay 6% of the selling price for agent commissions, this is split between your listing agent and the buyer's agent. 

- Seller concessions: Although not as common in today’s market, a seller concession means you’ve agreed to pay some of the closing costs for the buyer like the inspection fee or title insurance. This is a negotiable term in every contract.

- Closing costs: These are fees paid by both the seller and buyer to cover the transaction costs. Expect to spend 1-3% of the selling price. This is a negotiable term in every contract.

Not included in the above but good to keep in mind:

- Capital gains: If you sell less than a year after moving in, you’ll pay this capital gains tax on your profit. Lived in your home for at least two years? You’ll bypass this tax on the first $250,000 of profit. 

- Home repairs: Because most buyers order a home inspection before closing, you’ll need to account for any major repairs.

- Moving costs: How far you’re moving, how much stuff you’re taking, and whether you’re hiring professional movers will impact your moving costs. Purge first to save. 

We can run a "Net Sheet" to show an estimate of what you would profit by selling your home that would include the value of your home currently, minus your payoff of your mortgage, minus the varying costs discussed above. We would love to start this conversation with you and help you plan financially to sell your home! Share or save this post for later, and message me if you have questions! Text or call us today at (903) 251-3390!