Congratulations on deciding to sell your home! But do you know how much it is really going to cost you? Moving can be really stressful between the pre-listing stage, open houses, packing, and physically moving. Do you know what is even more stressful? Not knowing how much it is going to cost you!

Hi, I’m Sherri Mills with Michael Saunders Company and on today’s episode of Live2Give, we are going to talk about how much it is going to cost to sell your house today!

When you know what your seller closing costs upfront, you’ll have the upper hand in negotiating because you will know the exact number that you’re going to be walking away with.Remember: the most important thing is not what your house sells for but what number you walk away with. Now, let me walk you through the specific fees you will run into when selling your home. 

Title Fees- Every transaction will have title fees but here in Sarasota, it is typical that the buyer pays these fees. This is important for a seller to know during the negotiation phase that these fees are the buyer’s responsibility. Usually, these fees can run anywhere from $1,200 all the way up to $5,000 so it is important to negotiate this fee upfront. 

Survey fee- A survey is a legal drawing of the land, property, and description of exactly what you are buying Typically in Sarasota, the buyer will also pay for this fee as well. This can usually run $400 to $500.

Real Estate Tax Prorations- We pay taxes in arrears in Sarasota. This means that we are always paying our property taxes one year behind. Plan on crediting the buyer with about a full year’s worth of real estate taxes. This is not really a cost since it’s a bill that you owe since you occupied the property during the time the bill was due, but it will deduct from your bottom line. When you purchased the property you should have also received a tax credit from the seller for the prior years the unpaid share of taxes.

Real Estate Doc Stamps/Taxes- This will vary based on county and city. In the city of Sarasota, the seller is responsible for part of the city tax which is 70 cents per thousand dollars spent! For a $1,000,000 home, this tax will be about $7,000. 

The payoff of Mortgage- This is when your mortgage will be paid off before it is transferred to the buyer. This amount will be deducted from the net. 

Realtor’s Commission– Commissions should vary on your agent so make sure to talk to them prior to committing to someone as your realtor. This will be split between the seller and buyer agents as well as their brokerage firms. 

These are the majority of expenses involved when selling your house. There will be are some miscellaneous fees, but the major closing costs are covered here. When you eventually get an offer for your property this is a very important number to know. If you would like a more precise closing cost estimate on your home please feel free to reach out to me!