What’s the first thing you think about when you think about selling your home? For many people, the focus is on figuring out the best asking price to maximize offers and profits. It’s easy to forget that there are some costs associated with selling a house. Those costs can add up fast, making it more expensive to sell than you might think.
Repairs
How much you can reasonably expect to get for your home is directly related to its condition. The better its condition, the higher its value. This is what prompts many sellers to take on repair and renovation projects before selling. One of them is your driveway, which adds appeal to your home when proper asphalt maintenance is conducted.
These projects can be quite expensive, depending on the work that needs to be done. It’s easy to spend tens of thousands of dollars on repair projects. Be smart about your home repairs such as septic tank pumping so you can avoid spending more than necessary on them.
Fees and Commissions
You can spend a substantial amount of money on fees and commissions when selling your house. Commissions for real estate agents tend to range from 3%-6% of the sale price of your house. Closing costs can add another 2%-4% on top of that. You can avoid commissions and closing costs by selling your home for cash.
Specifically, you can often avoid these costs if you sell your home for cash to a professional home-buying company. Not all cash buyers do this, but companies like these don’t use real estate agents. Their process is simple enough that you don’t need one either. They also often cover 100% of closing costs.
Ongoing Costs
Until you sell your house, you’re still on the hook for ongoing costs like mortgage payments, utilities, home insurance, and property taxes. Hopefully, these costs are already accounted for in your budget, so they shouldn’t be too surprising. What may be surprising is how long you have to keep paying them. The length of time homes spend on the market is trending upwards. If you’re selling to move somewhere less expensive, the extra time your house spends on the market could make your budget a little tighter than anticipated.
As you prepare to sell your house, it’s important to take the costs of selling into account. There may be some things you can do to minimize your expenses, but only if you give yourself the time you need to plan. Therefore, when buying a new home, make sure to get home insurance that you can stick to before moving. Add controlling your costs and minimizing your expenses to your home-selling goals. Doing so will help you maximize your profits.
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