Hayley

Loads of info on the forums about buying but can anyone help me get an idea of what costs I'm going to be looking at to sell my US house?

Any input (apart from don't do it ) appreciated!

Englishmum

Don't know about legal costs but the estate agents usually charge a whopping 6% compared to 11/2% to 2% in the UK. :scared: I read in the UK's 'Sunday Times' property section last week that even in the UK many people are unhappy with having to pay thousands of pounds to the estate agents that they're (successfully) marketing and selling their homes through the internet.

Sadly I don't think it is a viable option over here to try and sell a house online due to those Multiple Listing Services which all the realtors like to use (so they get their 3% commission each).

David Richardson

Allow 6% - 7% of sales price for commission.You might be asked for allowances by buyer to fix any problems ( cracks in driveway, painting touchups etc) and a share of closing costs ( optional but insist on a max $ amount or % amount if they ask). Best to take care of the obvious things before you list - cosmetics, yard clean up , holes in screens and fences etc.

Hayley

Yes, I have concerns already about the Realtor sharks circling. Kind of why I was worried about the other costs. It seemed to cost way more to buy here than the UK too- from what I've heard from my english friends.

David Richardson

Not much on the legal side in expenses as that is mostly met by the lender and passed on at closing to the buyer.

Hayley

A bit of house doctoring defo! I recall it being about 10 thou to buy, is it the same when you sell?

Manc

I've never gotten my head around this.

if you want to buy a house with no probs, buy a new one.

If you're buying a 15 year old house, it stands to reason you're buying 15 years wear and tear also.

David Richardson

If you're speaking about actual housing costs, I think we get more house for our money here except in the cities like NY, LA, SF. Other charges at closing that can't be avoided by the buyer are state and local taxes, origination fees for the loan, homeowners insurance, title search and a few other intangibles.These charges should represent between 1.5 and 3% of the LOAN amount not the sale price. That is not to say there aren't costs with a cash sale but if you can eliminate costs associated with borrowing, you're much better off.

Hayley

If it's 1-3% of the loan amount when you buy is there a formula to work out the costs when you sell? (i.e no loan amount is involved but perhaps sales price?)

David Richardson

I can only speak for GA, but if you had $10,000 in costs for buying a house here you will have a house worth $750,000 borrowing most of it. Best value in mortgages is to get a 15 year term on a conventional loan where you put down at least 20% of the sales price. You'll begin paying off the principal with the first payment and your equity grows steadily each month.

Hayley

I think you may be misunderstanding the purpose of this thread I want to sell my US house. I do not want to buy a US house.

David Richardson

If you use a full service Realtor, you'll pay 6 - 7% in commission . Say you're selling for $400,000. Allow $24,000 (6%) for commission. Now you're at $376,000. If there are no allowances, no share of closing costs you'll leave the closing table with about $374 - $375,000

Hayley

You mean apart from realtor costs, if there are no buyer demands the costs could be 0?

TruBrit

we've just sold a house and handed over a rather handsome 6% to the Realtors at closing

i think i'm right in saying the 6% is distributed evenly to your Realtor with the remaining 3% to your buyers Realtor.

Hayley

they really are sharks aren't they? were there other costs in addition to the realtors 6%? I don't know why but I have this idea that I will have to pay other fees?