Can you really save thousands of dollars when selling your house? Yes you can! I will walk you through the seven costs associated with selling a house and tell you how to eliminate all of them.
Cost #1 -- Does the House Need Repairs or Updating?
If you are considering listing with a real estate agent, then chances are you may be asked to spend money on cosmetic updates & repairs. The real estate agent may ask you to do basic cosmetic updates such as painting in and out for about $8,000, installing new carpet/flooring for about $9,000, doing minor repairs and general house and yard cleaning for about $3000, roughly totalling $21,000. If your house needs major repairs like a roof, driveway, electrical, plumbing, extensive yard work, etc, you will be spending much much more. Do you have thousands to spend on updates with no guarantee that you will recoup the money in the selling price? If you’re like most sellers, you simply want to sell your house fast and for the most profit without the hassle and expense of unnecessary updates. This is possible when selling your house to a Professional House Buyer.
Money Saving TIP#1: When selling your house to a Professional House Buyer like CaliforniaHouseBuyers.com, you sell your house “AS IS” so you spend NO money on repairs or updating saving you thousands of dollars.
Cost #2 -- Real Estate Commissions
Let’s say your house is worth $425,000. The typical commission charge to sell your house is 6%, which would cost you $25,500. That is a lot of money! When you’re selling a house the question you may ask yourself is, do I need a real estate agent? Perhaps you think that the real estate agent has a list of buyers? Or can help you with the sales process? The reality is, Real Estate Agents may have some buyers; however, the chances that their specific buyers want your specific house are slim. Most buyers are extremely particular usually looking for a nearly-new or perfect home. If your house is not perfect, it will sit on the market waiting for a certain type of buyer.
Money Saving TIP#2: When selling your house to a Professional House Buyer, you pay NO real estate commissions. That’s right -- NO commissions, which represents a huge savings for you. Plus, they will walk you through the entire sales process from start to finish.
Cost #3 -- Holding Costs (How long will it take to sell)?
Owning (holding) your house while you wait for it to sell costs you money every day that passes. How long will you have to hold your house while waiting for it to sell? On average, it takes about 4 months to get the home listed, in escrow, and closed with a real estate agent. If your house is perfect and home buyers see it that way, it may sell quicker than the average; however, if your house is not perfect in the eyes of buyers and needs any updates/repairs, minor or major, the process could take a lot longer.
To calculate holding costs, list your monthly expenses for your house such as: mortgage payment, property taxes prorated monthly, homeowners insurance prorated monthly, gas, electric, water/ sewer, garbage collection, etc. In the example below, we’ve calculated the holding costs per month and then multiplied it by 4 months:
Sample Holding Costs per month based on a house valued at $425,000:
Mortgage Payments: $2,296
Property Taxes (prorated): $354
Homeowners Insurance (prorated): $45
Gas & Electric: $150
Water/sewer: $100
Total monthly costs: $2945 X 4 Months= $11,780 in Holding Costs
Holding this house will cost $2945 for every month it is on the market. If the home is on the market for 4 months, it will cost you $11,780 (4 months x $2945 per month). Every month that the house is on the market takes a big bite out of your profit. The real estate agent is not paying it -- you are.
Money Saving TIP#3:When selling your house to a Professional House Buyer, you pick your closing date. Yes, you choose when you want to close and move so there are NO holding costs. It can be as soon or as far into the future as you want. Your choice.
Cost #4 -- Creating “Curb Appeal”
You’ve heard this term a lot but what does it actually mean? Creating “Curb Appeal” starts with cleaning up your entire front yard -- removing trash, removing remains of an unfinished car or home improvement project, de-weeding and mowing the lawn. Then you’ll want to consider doing some actual landscaping with new plants, trees and mulch. A fresh coat of exterior paint may be needed if yours is peeling and fading. Cleaning your windows and changing out your window coverings would help as well. Possibly installing a new front door and shiny hardware. Power washing your driveway and walkways or even making repairs to them. Some people go as far as repairing their roof. “Curb Appeal” is what Buyers look at before they even see the inside of your house. Real estate agents strongly advise their sellers to create “curb appeal”, which again takes time and money.
Money Saving TIP#4: When selling to a Professional House Buyer, you will NEVER be asked to spend your money and time creating curb appeal. The reason is that you will be working with the actual buyer versus an agent representing the buyer. The Professional House Buyer buys your house “AS IS” making it a convenient and cost effective way to sell your home.
Cost #5 -- Staging to Sell
There are times when real estate agents suggest that you “stage your house” to help it sell. Staging entails de-cluttering, de-personalizing and cleaning inside as well as sometimes removing furniture and knick-knacks and putting in new or replacement furniture and accessories. This could involve renting a storage unit. All of this takes time and money.
Money Saving TIP #5: When selling to a Professional House Buyer, you will NEVER be asked to do any staging. In fact, most Professional House Buyers will allow you to leave unwanted items behind and they will take care of disposing of them for you FREE of charge. Again, this saves you time, money and a whole lot of hassle.
Cost #6 -- Home Inspection Repairs
During escrow, the buyer will request a professional inspection of your home. A certified Home Inspector will examine your home with a fine-tooth comb uncovering and detailing any and all issues associated with the plumbing system, electrical system, heating/AC system, roof, foundation, fireplace/chimney, windows, doors, walls, etc. The Home Inspection report will be given to the buyer to review. The buyer can request that some or all of the issues flagged on the report be repaired. In general, most buyers do request that you do the repairs prior to closing. You can choose not to do the repairs but you risk losing that buyer and having to start all over again with a new buyer. Most sellers have no choice but to do the repairs so the sale can proceed. Either way, it costs you money. But, there is another option.
Money Saving TIP#6: When selling your home to a Professional House Buyer, you will NOT be asked to do or pay for any repairs. Your house is purchased “AS IS”. This saves you time, money and a lot of hassle.
Cost #7 -- Closing Costs
You probably didn’t know that when working with a real estate agent you are required to spend money before and during the sales process. To close the Real Estate Sale Transaction, you will be required to pay two types of closing costs, which I will outline below.
#1 Pre-closing costs: In most cases when working with a real estate agent, you as the Seller will be asked to provide potential buyers with the following inspections/certifications; all of which cost money before you even get an offer on your house:
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City inspection (most CA cities require that you pass their inspection before the sale can take place). Estimated fee is $150+ plus any repairs the city requires.
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Natural Hazard Zone Disclosure Report. Estimated fee is $100.
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Wood Destroying Pest & Organism Inspection. Estimated fee is $200.
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Section 1 Repairs on Wood Destroying Pest & Organism Inspection could cost $100’s to $1000’s of dollars.
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Homeowners Association Document Preparation. Estimated fee is $400.
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Compliance with minimum mandatory retrofit standards in the form of low flow shower heads and toilets. Estimated cost is up to $500.
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Compliance with smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detectors. Estimated cost is $200.
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Water heater braced per earthquake requirements. Estimated cost is $200.
* That’s $2250 spent before your first offer even comes in.
#2 Closing Costs: These are the costs you pay the title and escrow company to process the closing of the sale of real estate.
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Escrow fee
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Title Insurance Policy fee
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County transfer fee
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City transfer fee
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Homeowner’s Association transfer fee
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Real Estate Taxes (prorated)
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Water/Sewer Bills (prorated)
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Notary Fees
One way to quickly estimate all of the closing costs above is to plan to spend about 1 - 2% of the selling price. In this example, estimating on the low end at 1%, your closing costs would be roughly $4,250.00.
Money Saving Tip #7: When selling your house to a Professional House Buyer, you will NOT have to pay any of the closing costs above.
SUMMARY
In the example above, it will cost $62,530 to sell and close escrow within 4 months on a $425,000 house. Don’t you think this amount is exorbitant? Are you prepared to pay this amount? To give up this amount of equity? You don’t have to.
If you are asking yourself how can I sell my house fast and save thousands, the answer is by selling your house directly to a Professional House Buyer. You will . . .
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Sell your house AS-IS.
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Pay NO commissions or fees.
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Sell in one month or less.
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Pay NO closing costs.
In conclusion, as shown in this example, selling your house directly to a Professional House Buyer not only saves you time and thousands of dollars, but also relieves you from all of the stress and hassles that go along with selling a home. A Professional House Buyer will buy your house from you versus list it, will not ask you to do any updates, can close in 30 days or less, and will pay all fees/closing costs for you. No need to get your house in market-ready show condition, worry how long it will take to sell, worry if the buyers can qualify for a loan, worry about surprises during inspections and escrow that warrant re-negotiating, etc. To learn how you can benefit by selling your house fast and saving thousands in the process, visit our website www.CaliforniaHouseBuyers.com.
