What Are the Costs Involved in the Home Selling Process?

Did you know that it takes a home buyer less than 10 seconds to form an opinion and make the decision whether he is about to buy or not?

In most cases, this opinion is formed without even physically seeing the house because people look for properties online. If you are about to sell your house and want a smooth and profitable home selling process, you need to know how to capture the buyer’s attention.

At the same time, you probably are also interested in reducing the listing fees and the amount of money spent on selling your property. Keep reading this article to find out a breakdown of costs when it comes to selling your house.

Factors Which Influence How Much You Spend During Your Home Selling Process

The real answer to the question “how much does it cost to sell a house” is – it depends! There are numerous factors involved and we’ll try to look at each one in greater detail. For example

1. Real Estate Agent Fee

Selling a house is not the easiest thing in the world and most homeowners collaborate with a real estate agent for this. A realtor helps you sell your property for more money, not to mention that he can speed up the selling process too.

As a result, homeowners who sell their houses will eventually have to pay the real estate agent for his or her services. The fee varies, but most realtors get around 5% and up to 10% from the listing price of a property. If you’re selling your house for $250,000, about $12,500 or more will be paid to the realtor.

2. Cost of Landscaping Services

It’s customary to take advantage of landscaping services before selling your property. This service will attract more customers and makes your house look more visually enticing, allowing you to sell it quicker.

A landscaping service involves preparing the outside of your property to improve its curb appeal. This means trimming tree branches, mowing the lawn, making small floral arrangements, tending to the greenhouse, etc. These simple details can make a big difference and the whole process can cost around 1% from the whole price of the property.

3. Cost of Home Staging Services

You can use landscaping services to prepare the outside of your house, but you should also use home staging services to prepare the inside. A home staging service involves adjusting the interior decor to make it as visually appealing as possible. This means renting more attractive furniture and arranging it properly in the house, using special lighting options to emphasize certain elements, using decorative items such as paintings, etc.

Home staging services can cost around 1% or 2% of the total price of your house, so they are totally affordable. As a result, your property will look much better, you can attract more clients, and even ask for a higher price when selling as well.

4. Home Repairs Costs

No house is perfect, especially if you have lived in it for a lifetime. Keep in mind that new buyers take their time to investigate the condition of your property, so make sure that they don’t find serious damages, cracks, bumps, broken elements or faulty electrical systems.

If you know your house has a problem, do your best to fix it before putting the “For Sale” sign in front of your house. If the roof has leaks, fix them. If the stairs have fragile railings, replace them. If you have a pest problem, call the pest control guys and do a thorough “extermination” process.

Although these repairs can cost some money, you get your investment back when you sell the house. You’ll also appear as a reliable and trustworthy seller in front of the buyers because your property doesn’t have any hidden damages.

5. Home Improvement Costs

On top of repairing your house, how about making small improvements here and there, so you can ask for a higher list price? You don’t have to plan a complete remodeling process, but minor renovations can go such a long way when it comes to attracting customers.

For example, most homeowners decide to renovate their kitchens. This process can cost around $10,000 – $20,000, depending on various factors. However, you can then present a brand new kitchen to your potential buyers and they’ll definitely appreciate the sparkling countertops and new floors.

If you have struggled with an old garage door for decades, why not install a new, safer and more modern one which can be operated from a distance? This will definitely be appealing to the potential buyers and they might be willing to close the deal as soon as possible.

6. Closing Fees

Speaking of closing the deal, you will also have to pay closing fees after you have sold your house. These fees are paid by both the buyer of the house and the seller and they can amount to about 2% of the list price of your property.

The closing fees are basically mandatory taxes you have to pay to safely and legally end the selling process. Some of this money is collected by the state, some of it consists of property taxes, an attorney might also collect his share, etc.

7. Concessional Fees

In some cases, the seller might also pay concessional fees if he wants to help the buyer close the deal sooner. These fees can amount to less than 2% of the sale price of your property and they can be spent on home inspections, processing payments, etc. The buyer might ask for concessional fees and you as a seller might agree to ensure you sell the home quicker.

Ready To Sell Your House?

As you can see, the home selling process can be quite complex and the costs involved are varied. However, you can learn more about the selling process here. The more you read about selling a house, the more prepared you are to close a profitable deal!