Hidden costs of selling your house (and how to avoid them)
Here are some of these hidden costs and a few tips on how you can avoid them (at least to some extent):
Realtor fee
If you have decided to hire a real estate agent, be prepared to pay up to 6 percent of the sales price for his or her services. As a rule of thumb, sellers not only pay their share of the realtor commission, but also that of the buyer’s. So let’s say for example, your home gets sold for $500,000, you will pay up to $30,000 as commission to the real estate agents involved in the deal. In a market where homes are getting snapped up within a few days, real estate agents don’t have to make a lot of efforts to sell homes and for this reason; the amount of commission will obviously seem exorbitant.
Repairs and renovations
When you sell your home in the traditional way, you will spend a lot of money and time on marketing the house and preparing it for sale. First you will need to make repairs and renovations. Don’t expect to recoup the full costs of these repairs and renovations. For example, it costs $20,142 to replace a roof on average, but offers only a $14,446 resale value—meaning you’ll recoup only 72% of the cost, according to Remodeling magazine’s 2016 Cost Vs Value report.
Staging
A 2,000-square-foot home would cost around $2,000 to $2,400 a month, According to Realtor.com – a website of the National Association of Relators. What you will need to spend on staging will depend on the size and condition of the house. While the report claims that “staged homes sell 88% faster and for 20% more than non-staged ones”, it doesn’t take into consideration the cost and time that you need to invest in staging a property.
Closing costs
Here are a few of the closing costs that you need to pay when you are selling a home:
- Recording fees or transfer taxes
- escrow fees
- attorney fees
- notary fees
- a prorated share of the water and sewage bills
Experts say that these closing costs can go up to 3 percent – 4 percent of the sales price.
In conclusion
A great way to avoid the majority of these costs is to sell your home as-is and for cash. Here at E2F Properties, we buy homes in any condition and for cash. It enables us to close a home deal quickly, usually within a week. You don’t have to hire a real estate agent or spend money on staging or repairing your house.
E2F Properties is Westchester County’s premier real estate redevelopment company. We would love to help you sell your home anywhere within Westchester. If you have a home that you need to sell or if you know of a property in your neighborhood that you think needs renovation, please call us to discuss your options! We are a solutions company and are available to help! (914) 999-2293