Top 3 Costs You Need to Know Before Listing

By Zak Himmelberger

Zak has been serving the many families he's worked with as a trusted Realtor since 2013. As a native Phoenician, he knows the ins-and-outs of the market like no one else.

Are you planning on selling your home in the near future? Now is a great time to sell; many homeowners have a ton of equity in their properties. However, you should know that selling your home isn’t all profit. There are costs you need to pay that you don’t want to be caught off guard by. That’s why today, I’m sharing a few of the most common costs associated with selling your home to avoid surprises and a few things you can do to prepare for them.

1. Costs before the sale. These are all the things you should do before listing your home on the MLS, including inspections, repairs, renovations, and cleaning to make your home more appealing to buyers. While most of these things aren’t 100% necessary, every agent will recommend you do them if you want to get the most money possible for your home. For example, a clean home with a few simple repairs and cosmetic upgrades will get way more attention from buyers than a home listed “as-is.” That’s why I always recommend having a pre-listing meeting with your agent to go over which pre-listing costs will improve your sales and fit your budget.

2. Costs of selling. These costs come with a real estate transaction and include listing agent commission, marketing costs like staging, and potential buyer’s agent commission. Depending on who your agent is and what they offer, the cost of their commission could range from 2% to 4% of the sale price. Plus, many agents also offer different commission packages, allowing you to customize the level of service you receive based on your budget. Other marketing costs might include Facebook ads and professional photos.

Note: As of August 1, 2024, the Arizona Regional MLS, which covers Maricopa and Pinal Counties, has changed its rules. Buyer’s agent compensation is no longer a field in the MLS listings. This change clarifies that offering buyer agent compensation is not required and is completely negotiable and be viewed as a concession to the buyer, similar to other concessions.

3. Closing costs. These costs go towards transferring the ownership of a property from one person to another and include things like title fees, escrow fees, mortgage insurance, seller concessions, notary fees, and more. While seller concessions can be negotiated, and closing costs can vary based on the value of your property, you can generally expect to pay between 0.5% and 1% of the total sales price at closing.

Planning a home sale is a lot of work, but I can help. Just call or email me today at (602) 540-6250 or zak@soldbyzak.com, and I’ll help you analyze and break down how much cash you need to sell your home. We look forward to hearing from you!