5 Ways to Reduce the Cost of Selling a House
In the United States, you can expect to pay up to 10% of your home’s cost in sales fees. Between home preparations and seller fees, the cost of selling a house gets expensive.
If you’re thinking about selling your home anytime soon, you need to think about all of the potential fees that you’ll encounter and how you can lower them.
To learn about five ways to reduce home sale costs, keep reading.
1. Shop Around for Real Estate Agents
Sometimes, the right real estate agent can make all of the difference when you’re preparing to sell your home.
An experienced real estate agent will know your area well and help you determine a great price for your home. After this, they’ll show their marketing expertise while they try to sell your home to buyers.
Real estate agents do make a commission off of the sale of your home. However, the right real estate agent will be worth the commission that they’re taking.
The speed and price at which they sell your home can make up for the commission that they’re taking from the sale.
This is especially if you haven’t finished paying off your mortgage yet. The sooner you sell the home, the fewer mortgage payments you’ll make.
When you’re looking at a real estate agent to hire, there are three things that you should consider:
- Median days on market
- Number of transactions per year
- The list-to-sale ratio on sold homes
The first can tell you how long it takes for the agent to sell their homes. This will give you a good idea about how long your home may be on the market if you work with them.
The second lets you know how experienced the agent is. And, you can learn more by asking how often they work with buyers vs sellers.
The third and last statistic lets you know how great the agent is at negotiating prices. If their ratio is high, it tells you that you’ll likely be able to get a great price for your home upon time for sale.
2. Negotiate Closing Fees
Sometimes, there’s room for negotiation. All of the home sale fees can add up. There are realtor fees, property transfer fees, and more that you have to consider.
All you have to do is ask if your real estate agent is willing to compromise on the commission. You may also be able to negotiate other fees.
The worst that can happen is that they say no.
You shouldn’t settle on a home sale agent until you know what their commission is. So, this should be a part of the hiring process.
You may want to consider talking to several different agents so that you can get an idea of the kinds of commissions that are out there.
3. Complete Repairs Yourself
If you need to make any updates to your home, you should consider talking with a real estate agent or an appraiser. They’ll be able to tell you whether the changes that you’re making are worth it.
Some upgrades and changes don’t count towards your home’s sale value. So, you shouldn’t waste your time performing any of these upgrades.
You should try to complete the upgrades that do add value to your home. If you perform the upgrades yourself, you’ll be able to save a lot of money.
However, you shouldn’t forgo upgrade costs at the expense of the home. Only undertake the repairs and changes that you can handle. Otherwise, you should shop around for a professional who can complete the task.
If you don’t have much time, you should focus on simpler tasks that you can complete quickly and easily. These tasks may include landscaping, painting, flooring, and the like.
Even doing a good deep clean of the home can help increase the cost. As the appraiser is looking around your home, they’re looking at these small details to determine what the value of your home is.
4. Cut Your Moving Costs
The average cost of a local move is $1,250, while the average long-distance move is $4,890. The longer the move, the more it’ll cost you.
If you can cut moving costs, you can save a lot of the cost of selling a house.
You may want to shop around for the best moving deals. You may be able to perform the move yourself or find movers who’ll complete the job for cheap.
You should also consider the moving truck and other equipment you may need. Some real estate agencies offer moving services, too.
If you’re moving long-distance, you should work with companies that can handle that caliber of moving. It’ll be cheaper to work with these larger companies than working with smaller, local companies.
5. Consider Seller Concessions
Sometimes, homebuyers may ask you (as the seller) to help them with closing costs. These helpful payments are known as seller concessions.
This money may cover a lot of different expenses:
- Loan origination fees
- Attorney fees
- Inspection fees
- Appraisal fees
- Mortgage fees
- Property taxes
- Title insurance
- Recording costs
If you can’t (or don’t want to) pay out-of-pocket for these expenses, you can negotiate a higher price for the home. In the end, the buyer will purchase the home for a higher price that covers the cost of the home and the extra expenses they need help with.
The number of concessions that you can make depends on the type of mortgage that the buyer is taking out.
Lower the Cost of Selling a House With WeBuyHouses
If you’re worried about the cost of selling a house, you should consider working with WeBuyHouses. As real estate investors, our team understands the struggle of buying and selling homes.
We can help you get cash for the sale of your home. In turn, you’ll have fewer fees to deal with. And, the sale of your home will be cheaper overall.
It’s a win-win!
We buy homes in Nashville and multiple other cities. When you’re ready to sell your home, contact us here.
We can’t wait to get started!
