What’s your true profit at sale? Make sure you’re including all the possible costs:
- Sale Expenses Devour Profits. From Realtor commissions that STILL average 6% – even with all the technologies that should drive the cost down; to doc stamps, title insurance, escrow-agent fees, and required repairs, most research indicates that closing costs will take up to 9% of your contractual sale price. Now reduce that by the repairs that most buyers will demand and you could be looking at much less cash at closing than you anticipated.
- A Buyer’s Market. For Sale inventory may be low, but a home-buyer still has lots of negotiating leverage. You could end up getting much less for you home that you first expected if you Buyer is a good negotiator or if they have a reasonable number of alternatives to your property.