When homeowners are considering how to sell their house, whether it’s with a real estate agent, selling it themselves, or selling it to a direct cash buyer, they often don’t stop to consider all of the fees and costs involved that accumulate during some of those processes. They might consider the real estate agent commission fee but that’s just one part of a bigger process that will involve many more costs along the way.
In fact, if you decide to sell your house using a real estate agent, the total costs range from eight-to-ten percent of the home’s sale price. Even if you go the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) route, you’re still looking at plenty of costs involved. The only way to really avoid all of those costs is to sell your house to a home buying company that will buy it “as-is.”
So if you’re planning on selling your home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the open market, we’ve made a handy list of all the potential costs that you’ll want to consider. You might not come across all of them, but it’s possible that you’ll have to consider many of them. Once you have a good idea about the overall costs involved, you’ll have a much better idea of whether or not it’s worth it to list your home on the open market or if you should use a direct cash buyer.
Costs To Sell Your House In Milwaukee – The Pre-Listing Stage
Before you even list your house, you’re going to have to make sure it’s in great condition to ensure potential buyers will want to make an offer. While many people think their house looks great, it’s important to think about how you could improve it to get the house into the best condition possible to sell. There are four major areas you’ll want to consider paying for in order to make for the best impression you can.
Staging
While your style might work for you, it might not make the most sense when trying to create a sense of livability for all buyers. That’s where a home staging company can help. A stager will make your home look as appealing as possible for the widest audience. That could mean rearranging furniture, bringing in new furniture, and altering the decor. Costs could be anywhere from $2,000 to $3,500, on average. That sounds like a lot of money but a National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey says 50 percent of agents think it improves your chances to get a higher sale price.
Landscaping
Getting your house ready doesn’t just mean working on the inside. It also means making sure the front yard and backyard both look ideal. Curb appeal is critical when you’re listed on the open market because you never know when a potential buyer will drive by. This means making sure the lawn is mowed, the garden is mulched, and flowers look good. You might also want to consider a fresh coat of paint, new fencing, and landscaping work. You could do these things yourself but it’s going to look best when done by professionals. Depending on who you hire and for what, you’re looking at as little as a few hundred and as much as a few thousand dollars.
Repairs
Even if you’ve done a good job maintaining the house, you’re bound to discover something in need of repair. It’s one thing to put off repairs and damage while you live there, but it’s another thing when you’ve got buyers considering whether or not to buy the home from you. A pre-inspection report will help you to identify any potential repairs or damage. You may find that you only need to make simple repairs but you might also find out about some major water or mold damage you didn’t know about. Either way, you’ll have a clear idea about what fixes are needed. The pre-inspection will cost a few hundred and then there’s whatever the repair costs might entail.
Cost To Sell Your House In Milwaukee – The Listing Stage
You’ve paid the initial costs and now your home is listed. You’re starting to see some offers trickle in. The bad news is that there are still more costs coming up.
Agent Commission Cost
If you decide to use a real estate agent to help sell your home, they will take a commission fee for their services. That fee usually ends up being around five-to-six percent of the final sale price. So if you sell your house for $300,000, the agent will take around $15,000 to $18,000 to split with the buyer’s agent. That’s a big chunk, even if your eventual sale price is smaller than that.
If you start thinking about how all of these costs are adding up and feel like they’re getting too high, there is another option you can consider. You can ask for a competitive cash offer from a real estate investment company like Cream City Home Buyers. This will allow you to sell your house quickly and avoid most of the costs previously discussed. This is especially beneficial if your house has a lot of damage, needs a lot of repairs, or is under a tax lien or facing foreclosure. They buy houses as-is, so you don’t have to worry about any of the aforementioned costs. Plus, you get cash in your pocket.
Concessions
While not a “cost” in the traditional sense, seller concessions are often a part of the home buying process when you list on the open market. These are things that cut into your profits one way or another. They include splitting or covering inspection fees, processing fees, or title costs. The buy may also ask for certain fees to be waived or for the overall price to be lowered in order to agree to a sale. It’s hard to say how much they will come out to because it depends on your specific situation, but it often shaves one or two percent off the overall sale price.
Cost To Sell Your House In Milwaukee – The Closing Stage
Just because a buyer on the open market has agreed to buy your house, that doesn’t mean you’re done paying out costs just yet.
Closing Costs
Closing costs depend on the state and local laws but almost always will include insurance fees, appraisal fees, property survey fees, credit report fees, transfer taxes, and title fees. You also may need to consider loan payoffs, prepayment penalties on the previous mortgage, and any HOA dues that are not current.
While Wisconsin is said to have low closing costs compared to many other states, you’re still going to have to account for at least a few thousand. According to Bankrate, a home sale of $200,000 would average around $1,863 in closing costs.
If all of these costs sound like too much and you need to sell your home quickly, consider selling your house to a direct cash buyer. You’ll avoid paying much of the costs involved in selling a house on the market and you’ll get a cash offer quickly. If you’re interested, contact Cream City Home Buyers today.
