Home Sale Calculator

Costs of Selling a House

There are a number of expenses to consider when selling your home. Some are unavoidable, but most costs depend on the services you choose to use.

Common costs include:

• Repairs: A pre-inspection assessment can help you identify areas in need of repair. You may be able to do some of these fixes yourself. Others may require a contractor. If that’s the case, shop around and compare quotes so you have a range of prices to consider. You may be able to negotiate a deal where your homebuyer covers the cost of repairs as well.
• Staging: Some homeowners add decorations, lighting and other cosmetic upgrades to make their home more appealing to buyers.
• Cleaning: Cleaning costs include what you spend to tidy up your home for shoppers. You can save money by cleaning and decluttering the house yourself. Or, you can hire a cleaning service to make your rooms spotless.
• Agent fees: Home sellers typically pay a commission to both real estate agents in the transaction, split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. Expect to pay 5–6% of your home’s sale price here. You can choose to not use an agent, but you’ll still likely pay a buyer’s agent from your sale proceeds.
• Closing costs: Closing costs aren’t just for homebuyers. Sellers also encounter them, from title insurance and property taxes to any concessions negotiated with the buyer. Sellers often pay 2–4% of the sale price on these fees, not including real estate agent commissions. Factor those in and total closing costs can be more like 8–10%.
• Moving costs: Moving costs money, whether it’s professional movers or moving truck rentals. Also, consider costs to store your belongings and temporary housing if there’s downtime between your home sale and your move-in date.
• Liens: You’ll need to pay any outstanding debts on your property. This includes home equity loans, tax liens and other remaining payments you need to make related to your home.

Our home sale calculator takes these costs into account when calculating your net proceeds, so you can estimate how much you’re likely to make on your house.

What Happens to Your Mortgage When You Sell Your House?

Your house can be sold even if there’s still a mortgage on it. In fact, home sales are one of the most common ways mortgages are paid off. The title company ensures the original mortgage is paid from your home sale proceeds as part of your loan closing.

For most homeowners, the bulk of their home sale proceeds go toward paying off their loan balance, along with closing costs and seller concessions. Any equity leftover can be considered profit from the sale.

The housing market ebbs and flows, but property values tend to rise over time.

How Home Equity Is Calculated

Your home equity is determined by comparing what your home is worth to what you currently owe on your mortgage. For example, if you owe $200,000 on your mortgage and are under contract to sell your home for $300,000, then you’re sitting on $100,000 in equity.

It’s important to note that equity does not equal profit. You must factor in the costs of selling your home to estimate your net proceeds.