You might think that listing your house is the only option when you decide it’s time to sell. However, more and more people are opting for a direct sale instead of hiring an agent. You have options when selling your Washington, DC house. Find out what listing your house is really costing you when selling in Washington, DC!
To be blunt, not every house does well on the MLS. Some properties will require major expenditures and dedicated time and effort in order to sell. Some studies have shown, that is costs over $15,000 to sell your house with an agent! Before you choose to hire a Washington, DC agent, make sure you understand what it is really costing you to sell your house.
Commissions
Agent commissions are typically around 6% of the final sale price. Sometimes this fee is worth it, but remember, this amount will be taken from your final sale price at the closing table. Just like that, you’ll be down a few thousand dollars.
Administrative Costs
Many times, you will be faced with administrative costs such as reimbursements for things like flyers, listing fees, and open house catering. Every agent is different. Before you sign a listing agreement, make sure you are aware of all it covers. Agents should hold up to their end of the deal as well.
Cleaning
It’s typically recommended that you have your [market_ city] house professionally cleaned before putting it on the market. If you are not replacing the carpets, you will want those professionally cleaned as well. You will need to keep up with the cleaning while the home is listed. There are often last minute showings and people looking to drop in to see the house.
Staging & Storage
Hopefully, many people will be coming to see the house. Usually, this can be arranged with your agent to occur when you are at work or away from the home during the day. With so many people in and out of the house, many sellers will opt to get a head start on packing by boxing up their personal items and putting them in storage until the house sells. By keeping only your necessities at the house, it won’t ever appear messy or cluttered. You can also opt to have a professional come in and stage the house.
Repairs And Upgrades
Depending on the condition of the house, these expenses could be small or end up setting you back thousands. As any homeowner knows, sometimes when you find one thing that needs repairing, it can lead to 10 more. And once your potential buyer has they home inspection done, they will likely want to negotiate repairs with you as well. You are under no obligation to make all of the repairs, however, if you want to sell the house, you might want to consider some negotiation.
If your house is way out of date compared to other properties on the market, you will want to refresh some things to make it current. You can have a big impact with small improvements such as new flooring, painting, and fixtures. As with the repairs, these costs can snowball too. There might be a few trips to home depot in your future!
Landscaping
Before listing, you might consider reseeding the lawn, planting some flowers along the driveway, or having your trees professionally trimmed. All of this adds to the curb appeal and overall appearance of the house. You’ll need to keep up with it while it is listed by regularly mowing, weeding and sweeping. Depending on your neighborhood and available time, you might hire a professional landscaping company to keep things in order each while the house is on the market.
Monthly Responsibilities
Like it or not, every day that you continue owning the property, it is costing you money. This is why flippers aim to sell as quickly as possible, they don’t want to hold on to the property longer than you have to. You will have to pay monthly utilities, taxes, insurance, likely a mortgage and costs for monthly maintenance. When you think of all the little things your house needs over time, the bills can add up pretty quick.
As you can see, the costs to sell a Washington, DC house using an agent can add up quickly. Some properties will cost more than other to prepare for the MLS. In order to save time and money, you can choose to sell your Washington, DC house to Sell Worry Free, LLC. We will not require any repairs nor charge you any commissions. Before you call an agent, find out what we can do for you!