Selling a home is one of the largest decisions of your life. A shortage of homes for sale gives sellers the advantage in most housing markets, but many home sellers don’t realize that offloading their homes still costs money. Some expenses are negotiable, but sellers should expect to foot all or part of the bill for the various costs to sell a house.
Keep reading to find out all the costs you should prepare to pay for when selling your San Antonio home.
Real Estate Commission
The real estate commission is usually the most significant fee a seller pays – five to six percent of the sale price. If you sell your house for $250,000, you could end up paying $15,000 in commissions alone. The commission is split between the seller’s real estate agent and the buyer’s agent, with the cost falling entirely on the seller.
Home Repairs
If you’re thinking about your place’s appeal and potentially raise its value. If you’ve been putting off sprucing up the exterior of your property, painting the inside, or repairing a staircase or leaky faucet, now’s the time to make those changes.
Getting the home ready to be sold can require some cosmetic work, like painting and decluttering or significant upgrades. Sometimes a new kitchen and bathroom – depending on the conditions, can raise the value a considerable amount.
If the buyer’s home inspector finds problems, such as a damaged roof or bad plumbing, you might have to pay to fix those issues to close the deal. Significant repairs can set you back financially, so be prepared for them before you decide to sell, especially if you expect problems will be revealed during a home inspection.
Pre-Sale Home Inspection
A presale home inspection is strictly optional, and it could cost around $400 or more. Some sellers invest because they want to find out about any structural or mechanical problems with the house before a potential buyer comes in with their home inspector.
Getting a presale inspection allows you to make significant repairs ahead of time, removing any possibility of a buyer demanding them later or asking you to lower the price.
Staging
Buyers like to envision what a house could look like after moving in, so if you’re a seller, it’s worthwhile to spring for cosmetic repairs, like fresh, neutral paint and new flooring. Twenty-eight percent of seller’s agents said they staged their homes before listing. While you can do some staging tactics yourself, hiring a professional to the stage can pay off.
Stagers do what’s necessary to enhance a home’s best features while minimizing its worst attributes. The cost of a professional stager varies according to the home’s size, the extent of the work, the length of time the house is on the market, and other factors.
Utilities
If you plan to move out before you sell your home, you’ll want to continue to pay for water and electricity. A home without air conditioning and heat and lighting can be difficult to show to buyers. Your current bills will give you an idea of how much it will cost each month to leave on the utilities until a new buyer moves in.
Mortgage Payoff
The proceeds of your home sale will be used to pay off your mortgage, but it’s less likely that the payoff amount on your mortgage statement is a little less than what you owe. You’ll likely have to add prorated interest you’ve accrued to the total balance. Additionally, you might have to pay a fee if there’s a prepayment penalty associated with your mortgage.
Closing Costs and Additional Fees
In a real estate transaction, many closing costs are the buyer’s responsibility, but there are closing costs for the sellers, as well. Don’t be surprised if you are asked to foot the bill for some of the buyer’s fees, too, especially if you are trying to sell your home in a buyer’s market.
Some of these costs may include homeowners association fees, property taxes, attorney fees, transfer taxes, and title insurance.
There’s a Better Solution
Selling your home doesn’t have to be so stressful and expensive. Selling to a home buyer can make the process a lot easier and help you get out of your stressful situation. The traditional way of selling with a real estate agent is no-doubt very costly and time-consuming, with no guarantee of finding a buyer.
If you want to sell your house fast, here are five reasons you should consider working with home buying companies.
- Fast closings
- Cash offers
- Fair rates
- They buy houses in any condition.
- No commissions or closing costs
Fast House Buyers, Your Local San Antonio Home Buyers
At Fast House Buyers, our experts have just what you’re looking for. A fast and quick solution for the issues you’re facing. We understand that selling your San Antonio home the traditional way can be costly and time-consuming. At Fast House Buyers, we will buy your house as-is there; there’s no need to worry about paying for any repairs; we’ll take care of it all.
Selling a house in San Antonio, TX, can be as easy as ever with Fast House Buyers.