Closing Costs for Sellers
It’s no secret that when you sell your home, you want to sell it at Top Dollar. From an investment standpoint, you want your investment to be as profitable as it could possibly be in order for you to reinvest that into your next home. But when you sell your home, there are various costs that come into play before the final amount due is rendered and many people don’t realize that. Simply put, there are many fees that get assessed to the seller during the sale of their home.
If you don’t know about them, they can really seem like they’re taking a chunk out of the profit of the sale of your home. But if you know about them prior to selling, you won’t be as surprised when you see them in your escrow documents. Here are some of the most common fees associated with closing costs for the seller.
Closing Costs to Expect When Selling Your Home
Seller Costs
Also known as the commission cost, this is the amount paid to the professional real estate agents who have facilitated the sale of your home. Commissions vary by market, but most of the time they’re somewhere around 6 percent of the sales price of the home, split between the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent. Buyers get the advantage of the sellers paying their share of the commission, but this advantage goes both ways as you transition into the buying side as you find a new home to invest in.
Transfer Taxes
Recording fees, property taxes and transfer taxes are standard fees associated with seller closing costs. Transfer taxes are the fees that come with transferring the title from the seller to the buyer. Property taxes must also be up to date in order to give the keys to the buyer. These fees aren’t usually too costly, but if you don’t know about them they’re an unexpected addition to seller closing costs.
Loan Payoff Costs
Figuring out loan payoff costs can get a little tricky. Make sure you involve your lender so you get the full scope of what’s going on. When you sell your home, you are trying to sell it for a price that will pay off your mortgage and satisfy the rest of the loan to the lenders. Sometimes your mortgage payoff cost may be slightly higher than the remaining balance on your loan due to interest charges.
There are also other penalties that can be associated with selling your home like a prepayment penalty for paying off your loan early. If you ever took out a home equity line of credit, that will need to be repaid in full as part of the closing costs for the seller. Again, make sure to talk to your lender so you can get a clear understanding of the different loan payoff costs and fees.
Title Insurance Fees
Typically, sellers pay for the buyer’s title insurance premium. This protects the title and lenders in case there is an issue during the sales process. The premium may seem like a small amount, but the small amounts add up. Title insurance fees are some of the most common fees related to selling your home.
Other Fees
Every home sale is different, so it’s hard to say what your closing costs will be. Aside from the things mentioned above, other fees associated with selling your home include liens or judgments against the property, unpaid HOA dues, escrow fees, prorated property taxes and HOA fees included up to the settlement date.
Sell Your Home Today
The fall market has arrived and it couldn’t be a better time to buy and sell. When you’re selling your home, you want to work with the best of the best. Finding a local agent with proven experience in Top Dollar and Efficient Sales should be your number one priority. With more than 20 years experience buying and selling homes throughout Orange County, Rosemary can help you get top dollar for your property. Contact Rosemary Hieber, the #1 Coldwell Banker Agent in Ladera Ranch and the Laguna Niguel Office for 2018, and remember, “It Doesn’t Cost More To Work with The Best.”