You might think that listing your house is the only option when you decide it’s time to sell. However, more and more people are opting for a direct sale instead of hiring an agent. You have options when selling your Sacramento house!
To be blunt, not every house does well on the MLS. Some properties will require major repairs or staging costs to be bring in an offer. Did you know it could cost over $15,000 to sell your house with an agent? Before you choose to hire a Sacramento agent, make sure you understand what listing your house is really costing you.
Common Costs For Selling a House on the MLS
Commissions
Agent commissions are typically around 6% of the final sale price. Sometimes this fee is worth it, but remember, this amount will be taken from your final sale price at closing. In the blink of an eye, you’ll lose a few thousand dollars of your hard-earned equity.
Administrative Costs
You may also be faced with administrative costs such as reimbursements flyers, listing fees, and open house catering — anything your agent investing in marketing your property. Before you sign a listing agreement, make sure you are aware all the associated (and sometimes hidden) fees. And make sure you’re not paying for a service your agent fails to provide!
Cleaning
It’s typically recommended that you have your [market_ city] house professionally cleaned before putting it on the market. If you are not replacing the carpets, you will want those professionally cleaned, and bathroom grout should look better than it has in years. You will need to keep up with the cleaning while the home is listed. There are often last minute showings and people looking to drop in to see the house. Cleaning costs can add up if you don’t have time to do it yourself.
Staging & Storage
Hopefully, many people will be coming to see your house. With so many people in and out of the property, many sellers will opt to get a head start on packing by boxing up their personal items and putting them in storage until the house sells. By keeping only your necessities at the house, it won’t ever appear messy or cluttered. You can also opt to have a professional come in and stage the house (for a few thousand dollars).
Repairs And Upgrades
Depending on the condition of the house, these expenses could be small or end up setting you back thousands. As any homeowner knows, sometimes when you find one thing that needs repairing, it can lead to 10 more. And once your potential buyer has they home inspection done, they will likely want to negotiate repairs with you as well. You are under no obligation to make all of the repairs, however, you may need to agree if you want to sell the house.
If your house is out of date compared to other properties on the market, you will want to refresh some things to make it current (at least, if you expect to compete with the neighborhood comps). You can make a big impact with improvements such as new flooring, paint, and fixtures. As with the repairs, these costs can snowball too. There might be a few trips to a home improvement store in your future!
Landscaping
Reseeding the lawn, planting some flowers along the driveway, and having your trees professionally trimmed are some of the typical tasks needed to up the value of your yard. All of this adds to the curb appeal and overall appearance of the house. You’ll also need to keep the lawn looking fresh while your home is listed by regularly mowing, weeding and sweeping. Depending on your neighborhood and available time, you might hire a professional landscaping company to keep things in order each while the house is on the market.
Monthly Responsibilities
Like it or not, every day that you continue owning the property, it is costing you money. You will have to pay monthly utilities, taxes, insurance, costs for monthly maintenance, and (probably) a mortgage payment. When you think of all the little things your house needs over time, the bills add up pretty quickly.
As you can see, the costs to sell a Sacramento house using an agent can add up quickly. Some properties will cost more than other to prepare for the MLS. If you want to save time and money, consider selling your Sacramento home to California Family Homebuyers. We will not require any repairs or charge you a commission!
Before you call an agent, find out what we can do for you.