So, you’re worried about selling your house. It’s natural to be a little flustered, considering that moving is considered one of life’s most stressful events.
It might be a little slap in the face to realize that you actually have to spend money to make money when you close on the deal.
You make a significant chunk of change when you sell your home, but that profit comes after you’ve spent money remodeling, decorating, staging, and marketing.
We’re going to talk about the cost to sell a house today, exploring some of the things you might not have thought about. The ideas below might help you manage your expectations and save a little money.
Let’s get started.
The Cost to Sell a House
The first thing to consider is the cost associated with improving your house before selling. If you can take care of any flaws or issues with the home, its market value will jump significantly.
Damage to your home value that comes from faulty foundations or structural problems in the house is worth fixing. You’ll see a healthy return on investment, and failing to make repairs will drop your asking price a great deal.
Repairs take some time and money, but you’ll reap returns on those investments when you get to the selling process.
Renovations
Another aspect of improvement is renovations. Are you willing to put some elbow grease into your home and make key adjustments? Bathrooms, kitchens, and landscaping shifts are all projects with a high ROI.
You can boost your home value a great deal with a few changes to curb appeal, remodeling projects that are in style, and anything else that buyers are interested in.
Depending on the size of the remodel or repair, you might be in for some significant expenses on the front end.
Real Estate Agents
The next step is getting your home on the market and showing it to the public. It’s difficult to list a house on your own. There are websites and platforms that only work with qualified real estate agents, and those sites are typically the most popular ones.
So, you might need a real estate agent to access your buyer pool. There’s legal red tape that goes into selling a home. There are negotiations, piles of paperwork, and more.
It’s easiest to pay for a real estate agent rather than trying to save money and do everything yourself. You might end up making a mistake that costs you a lot more money than a real estate agent ever would.
Agents take their cut from the sale of the home. You don’t have to pay them hourly in most cases, but their fee comes right out of the profit from your sale.
You can find realtors who take anywhere from 1 to 10 percent of the sale price. Depending on your situation, that could be too much money to sacrifice.
Showings and Staging
In addition to a professional real estate agent, you can also invest in a staging professional.
Staging professionals are people who decorate homes to help them sell faster. They’ve got their fingers on the pulse of what buyers want, and they can populate your home with desirable furniture to meet those needs.
These individuals typically have close connections to furniture stores and other contractors who can polish homes to sell them quickly. It’s a valuable service that truly helps in the process of selling a home.
The Costs of Staging
Stagers save you money by reducing the amount of time your home is on the market. They can also do such a good job that you’re able to ask for higher prices on the sale.
A service like that fetches a pretty penny. Expect to pay anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 for average homes to be staged.
Once your home is staged, you have to give showings. Showings aren’t typically that expensive unless you have elaborate open houses. That’s money that comes out of your own pocket.
The value of these services is directly connected to the size and style of your home. Staging a one-bedroom townhome isn’t nearly as expensive as staging a massive mansion.
Streamlining The Home Selling Process
While the traditional method of selling a home is costly, there’s a great way to avoid the process entirely.
You have the option to sell your house for an excellent price without going through the expense of renovations, remodels, real estate agents, or redecorating.
The solution is to work with a company that will buy your house for cash, no questions asked. These services buy all homes even if they’re in disrepair and need TLC. It sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t.
The Cash Buyer Pros Trade-Off
It’s not always feasible to go through the remodeling process. If your home is in disrepair and you don’t have the funds to fix it, odds are that buyers won’t take an interest in your home.
You might find some buyers who are interested in fixing and flipping your home, but those individuals are looking for the best deals. They’ll undercut you and do their best to maximize return on investment.
Companies that buy houses for cash give you a reasonable offer on your home. They take any flaws or damage into consideration, and the sale price reflects that.
These companies remove your need to pay for renovations, consult with realtors, and pay staging professionals. If you’re drowning in projects, costs, and stress, a cash buyer could be the best way out of a tricky situation.
Want to Learn More About Selling a House?
We hope our look at the cost to sell a house was useful to you. There are more variables to consider in the home selling process, but it’s possible to complete the process with very little stress if you can plan well.
We’re here to help you with more ideas and options as you go through this process. Explore our site for ideas on finding houses for sale, insights into the home selling timeline, and a whole lot more.
