You have finally decided to sell your home and you know there is going to be a lot of costs associated with the sale.
So, you’re now asking: “What should I budget for if I sell my house Stafford TX?”
The answer is pretty simple and it may surprise you.
It is true that home prices are rising in quite a few markets nationwide. It may also be the case that your home has appreciated considerably over the years.
All these facts are true about the market. But what will it cost you to sell your home?
What Should I Budget for if I Sell My House on My Own in Stafford
Here is a list of 5 things you should budget for when selling your home.
Commission Fees
Let’s get this one out of the way right off the bat. A lot of sellers think that in a hot market they can sell a house themselves and thus avoid the standard commission fees. But the truth is otherwise.
Even if you sell your house on your own, you still have to pay the buyer’s agent’s brokerage fees.
Repairs
Most buyers aren’t interested in a house that has problems – and most houses have some kind of issues. Most of the time, most sellers have to do some repairs before they put their house on the market.
If the maintenance has been allowed to lapse, these repair costs can be fairly substantial. A new roof, for example, can set you back by as much as $20,000.
Landscaping
Curb appeal is of utmost importance: it’s what gets potential buyers to stop and then come in the door.
Landscaping is the number-one improvement that most enhances curb appeal.
The cost of a thorough, full-blown landscaping job performed by a professional landscaping service runs, on average, just a little over $3,000.
Two of the easiest and most cost efficient ways of improving your curb appeal are cutting the grass and adding new mulch.
Staging and Photography
Many people – when asking, “What should I budget for if I sell my house Stafford TX?” – often neglect to factor in this expense. But if you don’t want your house to sit on the market for months on end, you probably shouldn’t neglect staging and professional photography.
Staging helps the buyer vision what the house would look like with their furniture in it. When a buyer can see themselves living in a house, they are more inclined to purchase it.
Here are some quick tips on how to stage your home for a quick sale.
Staging involves setting up and arranging your home so that it appears as appealing and inviting as possible. And then to display the staging in online listings, which is where a large percentage of buyers begin their search, you will likely need some professional photos, ranging in cost from $500 to $1,000.
Utilities
If you plan to move out of your current house into a new home, you can’t just shut the utilities off in the home you vacate and intend to sell.
Buyers absolutely do not want to walk through a cold or dark home. Also, keep in mind that if you turn off the electricity and air conditioning during the summer, you run a high risk of developing a mold problem. That will end up costing you more money to get the mold remediated
So, at the least, you will need to keep the electricity on and probably the gas as well in the wintertime.
If the house is one you’ve been living in, then you already know what it will cost you to keep the utilities on.
Capital Gains Taxes
Capital gains tax is a levy assessed on the positive difference between the sale price of the asset and its original purchase price.
So basically, if you were to buy a property for $100,000 and the value increased to $150,000. You will have to pay capital gains taxes on the $50,000 increase.
There are, however, some pretty generous exemptions, but just bear in mind that Uncle Sam may take a cut.
So if you’re wondering, “What should I budget for if I sell my house Stafford TX?” you now know the answer is . . . quite a lot, actually.