The Real Cost of Selling Your Columbia SC Home

The idea of selling your Columbia SC home and moving to a new property – whether it's bigger, smaller, newer or simply in a different area altogether – can be an exciting one. However it also brings with it a wide range of costs to bare. Selling your Columbia SC home can be a lot more expensive than you think.

Here we have focused on the main areas you need to be aware of in terms of cost. Being aware of them means you can prepare for them in advance, instead of being surprised by a cost you hadn't even considered.

Fees for Selling Your Columbia SC Home

Fees (aka: commission) are usually charged as a percentage of the sale price of your home. They are usually around five to seven per cent. So if your home sells for $250,000 and your real estate company charges 5%, you can expect to pay them $12,500. However if you sell for $250,000 and your real estate company charges 7%, this fee would go up to $17,500. Find out what fees you will be charged and work out a ballpark figure accordingly, based on the asking price for your home.

Legal Fees for Selling Your Columbia SC Home

Selling your Columbia SC home means you will incur legal fees. The good news is these fees are generally lower than they would be if you were buying a house (although of course if you are moving you will incur these on your new property too). However they can still amount to several hundred dollars, so you should make sure you allocate funds to cover these fees, also known as "closing costs."

Moving Costs When Selling Your Columbia SC Home

Moving costs can vary depending on the distance you'll have to travel to get from your old home to your new one, as well as the amount of furniture and boxes that need to be moved.

Different firms charge different amounts so you should shop around to get some quotes. Be prepared to spend anything from several hundred dollars for a local move, to thousands of dollars, depending on the amount of furniture and boxes you're moving and the distance to your new home. If you're planning to make the move yourself (with a little help from some friends), check on the cost of renting a truck from your old home to your new one.

Add to the cost of the move the time you'll need to take off from work to actually move. This needs to be factored into the costs for your move. In some cases you will need to take more than one day off, depending on what needs to be done and how far you are moving.

Costs To Fix Up Your Home

Not all properties are in ideal selling condition. If your house could do with some TLC, you may wish to invest some money in bringing it up to a reasonable standard before putting it on the market. This is optional, but if you don't invest some money in doing this you will be far less likely to get the selling price you're asking. Furthermore it may take a lot longer to sell your home than it would if it was in better condition.

As you can see there are many costs involved in selling your Columbia SC home. You will have additional costs incurred with buying a new home too, so it makes sense to jot everything down to get a rough figure so nothing comes as a surprise. You may not have much control over the fees and costs incurred with selling your Columbia SC home, but you can at least prepare for them ahead of time.