Whether you’re downsizing, moving into a larger house, or have found the house of your dreams you’ll need to know how much it’s going to cost to sell your current house.
Answering the question: ‘What does it cost to sell a house?’ will enable you to budget, work out what you need to borrow and give you a more accurate idea of what you can pay for your new house.
Proper preparation prevents poor performance
A good way to stay on track when you sell your house is to use the 5Ps. Using ‘Proper preparation prevents poor performance’ will enable you focus on the essential things.
- Proper means having the right information on hand. Appoint your conveyancing solicitor early and ensure they have everything they need to prepare contracts and other paperwork. Also, don’t appoint your real estate agent at the last minute.
- Planning means preparing your home for sale. The best way to do this is to understand what your typical potential buyer is looking for and how you’re going to WOW them.
- Prevent unpredictable things happening. Stay in touch with your real estate agent, conveyancing solicitor, stylist, builder, gardener and anyone else you’ve employed to prepare your house for sale.
- Poor is a word you don’t want to contemplate. Make sure your house is presented in an optimal way. Don’t accept inferior work and make sure the house you present for sale is dazzling.
- Performance is the culmination of your hard work. Your house is presented in the best condition possible and all the paperwork is on hand to eliminate any holdups.
Don’t over-capitalise on renovations
To ensure you sell your property for a profit you mustn’t spend more than the price you’ll achieve at sale. The best way to do this is to talk to your real estate agent before you spend a large sum of money on renovations. They know market trends, what houses like yours are worth and the value of your location.
If you invite your agent around after you’ve done the renovation it’s too late to undo any errors of judgement. If you’ve spent $50,000 on a new kitchen and it increases the value of your house by $30,000, then you’ve likely lost $20,000 at auction or private sale.
Style your way to success
Yves Saint Laurent once said that ‘fashions fade, but style is eternal.’ When it comes to selling your house, a professional home stylist can make a difference to the price you achieve.
A stylist can create an image for your home that will appeal to the dreams and vision of your typical purchaser.
If you’re selling an apartment in the inner-city, your stylist will make your place appeal to young professionals on the rise. If you’re selling a suburban house with a backyard, your stylist will style to appeal to families with children.
The price you can expect to pay for a professional stylist depends on the size of the home. Costs can range from $4,500–$6,5000 for three- and four-bedroom homes to less than $2,000 for a one-bedroom apartment.
What does it cost to sell a house? Well, when it comes to styling it’s worth the cost. Experience shows that a well-styled home will increase its sale price by 8–12%, over a home that hasn’t been styled.
Find the right agent
Finding the right real estate agent is key to a successful sale. Your agent works on your behalf, so good communication between the two of you is essential.
There are two types of agent fees – a flat fee and a percentage of sale fee. A flat fee is agreed before the sale and is set no matter what price the property sells for. The percentage of sale fee is generally between 1.5% and 3.5%. Often a bonus is added to this fee with a condition, such as a greater percentage for any amount above the reserve.
Marketing costs
We’ve all seen ‘For sale’ signs outside houses on the market. Additional costs include photos, drone video footage and online advertisements, such as realestate, domain and local agents’ websites. All up, you can expect marketing costs to average between $1,000 and $10,000 depending on your advertising needs, and your state or territory.
If you’re going to auction, your agent, or an auctioneer from their office, will try to fire up a bidding war between buyers to ensure you get the best outcome. Auctioneers can charge around $1,000 for their services.
Bank and conveyancing fees
Selling your home is a legal process that requires binding contracts of sale and formal transfer of ownership. For this you’ll need a conveyancing solicitor at a cost between $1,000 and $2,000, depending on your state or territory. At Entry Conveyancing we do your conveyancing for a set price.
If you’re holding a mortgage on the property you’ve sold, your bank will likely charge you a mortgage discharge fee that ranges from several hundred dollars to $1,000, depending on your loan provider. If you’re breaking the terms of your loan, you’ll also pay a break fee.
Entry Finance can answer your questions
So, what does it cost to sell a house? We can help you find the best finance and conveyancing deals available.
At Entry Finance our mortgage broker team will help you obtain the right loan for your new home. And at Entry Conveyancing our set price rate and first-class service will help you transition to your new home smoothly.
Visit Entry Finance and Entry Conveyancing, or phone 1300 468 419.