You may believe it to be more challenging to scout out a new home you wish to move into than selling your current one to an interested buyer. However, putting your house on the market involves more than simply placing a “for sale” sign on your front lawn. In fact, a lot of the steps may require some sort of financial commitment you may not have anticipated. With that being said, please continue reading to learn the costs typically associated with selling a house and how an experienced New York City purchase & sale attorney at Zimmet Law Group, P.C. can help you prepare for this big financial undertaking.
What costs are typically associated with selling a house?
Your house should be visibly enticing to prospective buyers before it is publically advertised as “for sale.” For this, you may first conduct a thorough inspection of your property, so that you may inventory what repairs and renovations should be made. This may entail something as small as repainting your interior walls, or as major as renovating all your bathrooms. These costs may quickly add up, especially if your projects require the help of paid professionals.
Speaking of paid professionals, you may even want to hire third-party services to stage your home’s furniture and decor to exhibit its true potential. This may be along with hiring photographers who can take high-quality photos of your home’s interior and exterior for your official advertisement. While repairs and renovations, and professional home staging and photography, are not always necessary when selling a house, below are costs that are almost always unavoidable:
- The cost of a pre-sale home inspection, which may cost anywhere between $400 to $800.
- The cost of the rest of your mortgage payoff, which may include additional fees if you close out the loan early.
- The cost of the transfer tax, which may be anywhere between 1.4 to 2.075 percent depending on the sale price.
- The cost of the title insurance policy for the homebuyer, which may be approximately 0.5 percent of the sale price.
- The cost of the real estate agent’s commission, which may be anywhere between five to six percent of the sale price.
How do I financially prepare to sell my house?
Understandably, you likely want to profit from the sale of your house. So, to maximize your payout, or to receive one at all, you must carefully consider the associated costs mentioned above. Specifically, this means adding them up and having the asking price for your house set at a higher amount. This higher amount is too unreasonable, given the current market status. If so, you may consider forgoing the extra tasks that are not entirely necessary, such as major home improvement projects and other professional services.
With all things considered, hiring an attorney is a financial investment always worth making for the sale of your house. Therefore, if you need legal advice urgently, please do not miss another opportunity to schedule an initial consultation with a skilled New York City real estate attorney from Zimmet Law Group, P.C. Contact our firm today.
