Selling costs will vary depending upon your sales price but will include:

STANDARD COSTS:

Existing Loans: Typically, the largest expense is paying off your existing mortgage and other liens against the home.

Escrow/Settlement Fees: Escrow officer, document prep, recording, and notary fees. (Aprox $400 – $600)

Title Insurance: A policy to insure your home’s title is free and clear and transferable. (Aprox .5% of the sales price)

Real Estate Commission: Typically 6% of the sales price; divided between the Listing Agent and the Buyer’s Agent. 

Property Tax Proration: Property taxes due for the months and days you owned the home from the last tax bill until closing.

Utilities till Closing Date: Any unpaid utility bills.

OPTIONAL/NEGOTIATED COSTS:

Staging/Preparation: Improvements, repairs, and staging your property will help it sell faster and for more money but will incur costs to complete.

HOA Reinvestment Fee: As negotiated with the buyer. (Up to .5% of sales price)

Home Warranty Policy: As negotiated with the buyer. ($400 – $700)

Post-inspection Repairs: Varies depending upon what the buyer discovers during the home inspection or any existing health or safety repairs you are aware of that need to be fixed.

All told, Seller’s closing costs are generally between 8% and 9% of the sales price.

Along with economic factors such as supply and demand, interest rates, and the employment picture, the time of year you choose to sell can impact both the length of time it takes to sell your home and its ultimate selling price.

Typically, the real estate market picks up around February, continues strong through late May and June, and tapers off during August.

September through November generally marks a home buying rally followed by a slowdown from Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Year holiday period.

Here is an eight year history of U.S. homes sales from 2011 – 2017:

(Remember, homes go under contract about 30 – 45 days prior to closing)

Month         # of Closings

• June             1,489,911
• August         1,435,907
• July               1,420,780
• May              1,369,131
• Sept              1,263,439
• October        1,257,043
• April              1,242,434
• March           1,186,024
• December    1,174,540
• November    1,079,935
• January             916,374
• February           894,060

To accurately price your property, the prevailing state of the local real estate market must be taken into account. The real estate market continually changes, and market fluctuations affect property values.

To sell your property quickly, it is critical to determine your listing price based on the most recent comparable sales in your neighborhood. It is best to use asking prices only to determine your competition.

Focus on SOLD prices to understand what buyers are actually willing to pay for properties in your area.

Almost all home sellers rely on an experienced Realtor to perform an accurate pricing analysis (also known as a Comparitive Market Analysis or “CMA”.) You probably don’t want to rely on a part-time agent or a newby agent to research your CMA and then market your property since they don’t have the experience and market knowledge necessary to understand the subtleties of the market and give you accurate advice.

The second way is to order an appraisal. Appraisals average about $500-750 for a single family home and more on multi-family dwellings. Appraisers review numerous factors and base their conclusion upon sales of similar properties within the last 3 to 6 months, the property’s location, square footage, construction quality, excess land, views, water frontage, and amenities such as garages, number of baths, etc.

The worst way to price a home is to rely on your “gut feeling” or to base it on how much you need for your next home or how much money you want to get out of your property. Those desires are irrelevant to what a buyer will pay in a competitive market.

The answer to this frequently asked question is NO!  Anyone who has bought a home, sold a home, or just looked at homes has heard of websites such as Zillow and Trulia.

These third party real estate websites provide estimates of home values for practically any home in the United States.  However, they use computer generated home values based on universal algorithms and formulas.

An unsurmountable problem for accuracy in Utah is that we are a “non-disclosure” state, which means sales prices are not recorded in the public records making it is impossible for these algorithms to have any real data to formulate accurate estimates.

Fixtures and Fittings

• Fixtures are items that are fitted to the structure using bolts or concrete and cannot be easily taken away.

• Fittings are items that are freestanding and can be easily removed from the property without causing damage to the structure.

• As a general rule, fixtures remain with the property whereas fittings are taken away and do not remain a part of the property unless agreed to in the purchase contract.

Items to Remain per the Utah Real Estate Purchase Contract:

• Plumbing, heating, air conditioning fixtures and equipment;
• Solar panels;
• Ovens, ranges and hoods;
• Cook tops;
• Dishwashers;
• Ceiling fans;
• Water heaters; water softeners;
• Light fixtures and bulbs;
• Bathroom fixtures and bathroom mirrors;
• All window coverings including curtains, draperies, rods, window blinds and shutters;
• Window and door screens; storm doors and windows; awnings;
• Satellite dishes; all installed TV mounting brackets;
• All wall and ceiling mounted speakers;
• Affixed carpets;
• Automatic garage door openers and accompanying transmitters;
• Security system;
• Fencing;
• Landscaping

Refrigerators: Negotiated in the contract. Typically the fridge remains in Utah (though not in many other states)

Washer/Dryer: Negotiated in the contract. Sometimes they are included in the sale but often they are not.

We will come to meet you at your property at a time that suits your needs.

Appointments at your home will typically take an hour or two, which will include a full inspection of your house. During this time we will discuss your own needs, the current market situation, similar properties for sale within the area, and most importantly, nearby SOLD properties.

This will help us to advise you on your properties potential value, give you tips on what you can do to will enhance its current value, and what we recommend as a marketing strategy to sell your home fast and for top dollar.

Real estate agents are not paid by the hour! They’re paid a percentage of the purchase price in a successful real estate transaction.

Sellers pay Realtor commissions, also known as Realtor Compensation, Listing Fee, or Brokerage Fee.

Almost always, one agent represents the Seller and another represents the Buyer. The commission is typically split between them.

In the US, real estate commissions are commonly 6% of the transaction, usually 3% to the Seller’s brokerage (listing) and 3% to the Buyer’s brokerage once split.

No government or industry body sets commission rates. Legally, commission rates are negotiable. However, remember that agents only earn their commission on successful sales. Consider the results you expect as you evaluate the value you should put on the commission they earn.

Generally, we recommend you purchase first with a contingency that your home sell prior to closing. Otherwise, check with a lender first to learn if you can own two homes at once.

Ask yourself if you are willing and able to carry two mortgages and deal with the stress that comes from physically and financially maintaining two homes.

However, in a hot “Seller’s Market” where homes are selling quickly, most sellers won’t accept a contingent offer when so many other buyers are anxious to purchase. In that case, you may have to sell and then find your next home.

We can help guide you if you are considering selling prior to going under contract with your new home.