Skip to main content

Making Cents: How To Reduce Your Home Buying and Selling Costs

Tuesday we discussed the costs involved with purchasing a home. Fast forward ten years down the road and now you need to sell. How much is this going to cost you?

Raleigh Area Sellers Cost:

When we meet with sellers for a consultation we explain all the cost for selling their Triangle Real Estate and we estimate all of the possibilities so they have no surprises in the end.   What a seller walks away with after a sale is usually the money they will use to buy their next home.  So it is important that a Realtors net proceed estimate be realistic in the beginning.

  1. The first cost is the real estate commission which is a  percentage of the sales price.  Here is the confusion:  the buyer is bringing all the money to the closing table through their mortgage so some would say the buyer is in reality paying for everything.   However, the charge shows up on the sellers side of the closing statement or bill, and they sees the percentage cost under their line item and feel they are paying for all of it when in reality it is shared in the transaction by the lender who provides the money, the buyer who pays the monthly payments and the seller who see the amount reduced from the total contract price that was negotiated. Everything starts with an agreed contract price.  A price a home buyer is willing to pay and a home seller is willing to accept with closing cost built into the transaction.

Piece of the Raleigh Real Estate Pie:

Triangle Area Sellers are very confused on where the real estate commission goes.  They think all those dollars go to the Realtor they meet with to list the home.  In reality, it is divided into many pieces to pay everyone and everything involved in the real estate transaction.   So picture in your mind the real estate commission being like a freshly baked whole pie.  The total commission shown on the seller’s side first gets divided between the listing company and the selling company.  That whole pie just got cut in half.  Then those two half pies get divided again between the two individual agents representing their clients and the real estate companies they work for.  Out of the listing company and your agent’s piece of the pie all the marketing, measuring, photography, staging etc. is reimbursed.  We say reimbursed because the listing agent and company have cost they pay up front to list a property.  If the house does not sell the seller pays nothing.  A selling commission is only paid if there is a sale.  For a sale to take place a buyer has to be willing to buy at an agreed price between seller and buyer and a mortgage lender has to be willing to loan.  That agreed price is of course negotiable and can include buyer home mortgage cost too.  Many sales also involve a relocation company or a referring agent.  If that is the case, the pie that was hole, which got divided in two pieces and then into 4 pieces just got divided again.

 Raleigh Seller Closing Costs:

  1. Revenue stamps or excise tax of $2.00 per thousand of the sales price
  2. Doc prep charge for deed package, 1099 and lien waiver approximately $200
  3. Transaction fee:  filing, notary, miscellaneous administrative cost $300 to $500
  4. Prorated property tax from January 1st to the day of closing
  5. Mortgage pay off provided by their lender in writing
  6. Possible negotiation cost of buyer mortgage closing cost, home warranty or repairs discovered by inspectors or required by mortgage appraiser
  7. Moving expenses or they can use our free moving van

Bottom Line for Buying/Selling Raleigh Real Estate:

The closing cost needed to buy and sell a home is always built into every real estate transaction and can be negotiated in many different ways to meet the needs of both Raleigh home buyer and home seller.

Buying or Listing a Raleigh Area Home can be confusing to say the least. For  any of your Raleigh Real Estate questions, please contact our office at 919.235.0007 and we will be happy to help!

Leave a Reply