Expected costs and fees when selling a house

There’s more to selling a house than simply raking in the profits from your investment. You need to make sure that you do rake in the profits when you sell your house, and that means preparing yourself for some necessary expenses. 

For a better idea of what to prepare for your home-selling budget, here’s a list of some costs to expect.

Pre-selling expenses

Pre-selling expenses, by the name itself, refer to funds you will use to prepare a house so that it will garner the most attention from buyers once placed on the market. These expenses usually cover things like:

Home inspection fees

The home inspection allows the seller to know the real score behind their home for sale’s structural integrity. Knowing about the existing defects of their home allows them to either make the necessary repairs for added home value or to disclose such defects and sell the home as-is but for a lower value, 

Repairs and updates

Buyers are usually more attracted to houses that look and feel new. With that in mind, sellers should make it a point to fix or replace anything that makes their house look worn out. These range from cosmetic issues like fixing bad paint jobs or replacing dim lighting fixtures to functional and structural issues like faulty electrical wiring and leaky pipes, among others.  

Home staging and photography

Professional home staging and photography can do a lot to boost the market appeal of a homeowner’s property. This is especially true in online listings that put a premium on stunning visuals, creatively crafted descriptions, and data-driven marketing strategies.

Closing costs

As the home selling process winds down to a close, there are several loose ends to tie in order to seal the deal between seller and buyer. Only after these financial obligations are fulfilled can the keys to the home be finally surrendered to its new owner. Here are some of them: 

Title insurance and transfer fees 

To protect the buyer from property related legal troubles such as back taxes, liens, and conflicting wills, the seller needs to secure title insurance for the former. The financial responsibility for this falls on the seller’s shoulders, including the accompanying transfer fees. 

Capital gains tax

Here’s some good news for home sellers in the Evergreen State: you can say goodbye to capital gains taxes thanks to the passing of ESSB 5096. This is a law that places a 7% tax on the sale or exchange of long-term capital assets like stocks, bonds, business interests, and other tangible assets. Among the exempted assets is real estate.

Moving expenses

One of the last payouts to prepare for in the entire business of home selling is the cost of moving to a new residence post-home turnover. Rates for moving will depend on many factors, particularly location, the amount of stuff to be moved, and if the seller will be hiring professionals to do the job. Renting a moving truck and DIY-ing it may entail fewer expenses but will take a lot of going back and forth and pure muscle. But when the job is left to the pros, one will have to pay more but the reward is a more efficient, less stressful, and less back-breaking move.

If you’re in Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, and Lake Chelan and you have plans of selling your home, let the professionals of Coldwell Banker Cascade Real Estate help you with the task. Call 509.888.8887 or email info(at)cbcascade(dotted)com to start.