Aside from your agent’s commission, there are four closing costs to prepare for when selling your home:
1. Owner’s title policy. This is included in most real estate transactions so the property will transfer freely and clearly to the buyer’s name. Lenders will require this, and any buyer will want to know that their new home is theirs without issue. Typically, this fee is based on the home’s sale price. For example, the fee for a $300,000 home will typically be $1,000 to $1,200, depending on which title company you work with. If you’re able to provide the policy from when you purchased the home, you may get a discount.
2. State transfer tax. This tax is required by the state of Wisconsin and amounts to roughly $3 per $1,000 of the sale price. Again, if we use the example of a $300,000 home, the transfer tax would be $900.
“I’d be happy to prepare you a complimentary, no-obligation home value analysis.”
3. Additional title fees. These include the deep preparation, special assessment search, gap endorsement, and mortgage payoff fees. Each of these tends to be fixed costs (i.e., not tied to the sale price) and range from a little less than $100 to slightly more depending on the item.
4. Property tax proration. If you close on your home sale at the end of the year as opposed to the beginning, this will be a larger amount. For example, if you sell at the end of August and your property tax is around $6,000, you’d pay $4,000.
There may be other fees to account for based on your situation, so if you’d like to know more about this topic, give me a call and I’d be happy to prepare you a complimentary, no-obligation home value analysis and seller net sheet.
As always, if you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me as well. I’d love to hear from you.
