When most Sunset Beach homeowners consider selling their home, they are focused on maximizing the profit from the sale to help them purchase their next home or afford other expenses and purchases after the house is sold. It is not often thought about that. Selling a home may cost a bit of money.
Does It Cost Money to Sell a House in Sunset Beach?
The answer to “Does it cost money to sell a house?” is a resounding yes. Every single home sale will cost the home seller some money in some form. There are a variety of selling-related expenses. Sellers don’t often realize that there are costs associated with selling a home, as their main focus is on making money. When it is realized that selling a home will cost a bit of money, some home sellers end up making some cost-cutting mistakes in trying to sell their homes. Here are some of the most common expenses attached to selling a Sunset Beach home.
Closing Costs
Most often, the majority of the closing costs are the responsibility of the homebuyer rather than the home seller. However, it is not uncommon for a buyer to request that a home seller help with some of the closing costs during the contract and purchase agreement negotiations. As mortgage interest rates remain higher than they have been in decades. It is not uncommon to see this request on a purchase offer.
Mortgage Payoff
Unless a home seller owns their home outright without making any mortgage payments. The mortgage will need to be paid off and finalized when ownership changes. If a home seller is selling their home not long after they purchased it and secured the mortgage loan. It is a good idea to check into any pre-payment penalties, as this will be an additional cost.
Agent Commission
Hiring a real estate agent means compensating them for the work they did to help you sell your home. The standard real estate commission for selling a home is anywhere between three and 6% depending on what was negotiated with the agent as well as with the buyer’s agent. Recently, the laws around commission for buyer’s agent representatives have changed. However, most home sale transactions still take the traditional route of paying a buyer’s agent through the proceeds from the sale that the home seller makes.
Sometimes, to retain more profit from the home sale, sellers decide to sell their home on their own. This is one of the biggest mistakes home sellers can make. It is not just something said to potential home sellers by real estate agents, research and hard facts back up that homes sold with the expert help of a real estate agent always sell more successfully. Even after paying agent commissions, sellers make more profit when they sell their home through an agent than when they sell it directly.
Moving Costs
This is often a forgotten cost of a home sale transaction for both the buying and selling parties. It will cost money to get all of your belongings from your home to your new home. How much it costs can greatly vary depending on the method you choose to move. However, there will always be some cost associated, even if it is only purchasing boxes and supplies to hold belongings, as well as paying for gas to get vehicles, holding your stuff from one place to another. This is the cheapest option for moving; the most expensive is hiring professional movers to do everything from packing it all up to getting it to the new home.
Taxes
When a home is sold, there are tax responsibilities for both the homebuyer and the homeowner. The homeowner will need to make sure that all property taxes are paid and up-to-date through the time of their ownership of the property. Additionally, there are transfer taxes for transferring the property ownership, and all of the paperwork and legalities necessary. There is also capital gains tax, which can be avoided when homeowners purchase a new property within a certain timeframe. It is always best to talk with a tax professional about what to expect in tax costs when selling a home.
Home Improvements/Curb Appeal/Staging
This is another area where homeowners often try to be frugal. There are many smart ways to be budget-friendly in getting your home ready to be seen by potential buyers, but there are some ways that home sellers cut corners and make mistakes, causing their home to sit on the market longer. This is an area where it is crucial to have the help of an expert local real estate agent helping you. It is incredibly important to focus on getting your home in its best presentable shape so that it will sell for the best price possible and in a shorter timeframe. Some home sellers trying to save money believe that these things don’t make a huge impact, but they truly do.
When you are ready to sell your Sunset Beach home, the team at Sunsest Beach and Beyond is here to help your home sale be as successful as possible. You want an experienced Sunset Beach real estate agent at your side who knows the details of what is selling homes to help you sell for the best price possible in a shorter timeframe.
“Amy and I have bought and sold four properties in the past twelve years. Both of you are the best realtors we have ever dealt with. Amy and I both felt we could trust you to look out for our interest. The level of service you provided was outstanding, from taking the trash out, helping the buyer with inspecting the irrigation system, dealing with our tenants, always being there if we needed to ask a question, providing constant updates on the market and always keeping us informed on the sale of our house. I think your next venture should be training other realtors, because both of you have mastered the art of providing excellent service. I will be sure to recommend the Frank and Karen team to anybody looking for a trust worthy, knowledgeable and top performing realtor. It was a pleasure working with both of you.” Sunset Beach and Beyond testimonial