The Hidden Costs of Selling Your Home

By The Goodman Taylor Team

We want to help you live the best life you can, one where you find your dream home, move to the perfect location, or receive a life-changing deal. We’ve done this for countless clients in the past, and we’d love to do it for you too. After all, there’s a reason why we’re one of the most trusted real estate teams in our area.

Are you aware of the hidden costs that come with selling your home? When most people go to sell their homes, they focus on the profit they’ll make. While it’s true that you’ll probably get a great deal for your property in this market, you need to be aware that there are costs to listing your home on the open market. As a real estate expert, I help people sell their homes all the time, so I’m sharing a few of the hidden costs you need to be aware of when selling.

First, most people choose to hire a real estate agent to help them sell their homes. Commissions are always negotiable and depend on what the agent charges, but generally, you can count on paying between 3% and 6%.

In addition to the commission, you’ll also incur escrow fees. If the buyer gets a loan, you’ll have some title insurance fees as well. There may be other costs, such as the buyer requesting a home warranty or repairs. If you agree to these requests, you’ll bear those expenses, too.

Most of these fees are deducted from your seller’s proceeds at closing. However, if the buyer requests repairs and you agree to them, these will need to be paid out-of-pocket before closing. Sometimes, these repairs can be negotiated into a buyer credit, meaning instead of paying for repairs upfront, you can offer a credit to the buyer in lieu of those repairs.

Another potential cost is seller concessions. Depending on the market conditions, whether it’s favoring sellers or buyers, a buyer might ask for help with their closing costs. This could include assistance with escrow fees or buying down their interest rate to make the home more affordable. It’s important to consider this during negotiations. Sellers might get an offer that meets their asking price, but deeper in the contract, the buyer might request, for example, 2% of the purchase price to help cover loan fees, interest rate fees, and closing costs with the escrow company and title insurance.

All these expenses will ultimately come out of your bottom line at the end. If you’d like more information about this or want to discuss selling your house, please call or email me. I’d love to hear from you!