Are you thinking of listing your home?
This blog is here to help you prepare for and understand what the process will be.
First things first. Speak with a real estate agent. You may want to interview multiple agents if you don’t already have one you trust. When I meet a client for a consultation, I will have already pulled comparables for your home. I prefer to meet at your home for the consultation. This allows me to get a sense for the condition and adjust the potential value accordingly. If you feel like the agent will be a good fit, they will present you with a listing agreement. I, and most agents, use the Exclusive Right To Sell Listing Agreement.
You will need to decide what you are looking for when selling your home? Are you looking to sell the home quickly, or are you looking to get the most value possible? This decision will help decide if you need to do any significant repairs to the property or not.
If you are not going to do any renovations, the best advice I can give is to declutter, deep clean and remove personal items like photos. The reason is that you want potential buyers to come in and be able to picture themselves living there. When photos of the seller’s family are on the walls it can be distracting. That is not to say everything has to come down. But, use your best judgment.
If you are going to be doing upgrades to the property you should know that the upgrades that add the most value to your home are upgrades to the kitchen and bathrooms. Focus on these areas first. If those have already been done, focus on the biggest problem areas still left. A walk of the property with your agent should help in deciding what work to do.
Once the Listing Agreement has been signed, I will have photos and a video taken of the property. In this day in age, a video is also used as often as possible in lieu of showings, due to covid-19. The cost of this is paid by me. I will also have a sign posted on the property and enter the property into the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) along with all other major real estate websites.
Once you accept an offer, I will send over the signed contract to the agreed upon escrow company and begin the escrow process. There are costs to selling your property that you will want to consider.
These are the fees that you will be responsible for and their rough cost.
- The largest is your Mortgage Balance Pay off. The amount that you currently owe on your mortgage will be deducted from the sales price at close of escrow.
- Broker Commissions are the fees paid to your agent’s brokerage as well as the buyer’s agent’s brokerage. While all commissions are negotiable, expect to pay roughly 5%-6% of the sales price.
- Escrow fees are estimated at $2.00 per $1,000 of the sales price, plus $200.00-$250.00. So, selling a home for $500,000.00 costs roughly $1,200.00-$1,250.00 in escrow fees.
- Title Fees can cost from $250.00-$800.00
- City or County Transfer Fees vary by location. In some areas there is no fee.
- Notary Fees are roughly $50.00.
- Home Owner’s Association (HOA) Transfer Fee applies if you are selling a home that is part of an HOA. The cost is typically under $1,000.00
- Home Warranty typically is $250.00-$1,000.00
- Natural Hazard Disclosure Report details natural hazards or threats in the area like flood zones and earthquake fault lines. The cost is typically around $125.00
- The Buyer may request you pay for a Termite Inspection. If you agree to pay this, it is usually around $100.00. Obviously, any repairs suggested can vary in cost.
I am proud to be Your Hometown Realtor and look forward to hearing from you to share my expertise in the real estate market. My personalized, honest and caring service won’t let you down. Schedule an appointment today.
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