News and Events
March 18, 2008
Selling Costs
As first-time homeowners, we are now trying to sell our home. What kind of costs will we have as the sellers?
Some costs in a real estate sale are “fixed” and some are not. The fixed costs for a seller include abstracting, a termite inspection, transfer stamps for the deed and the cost to prepare the deed and closing documents.
The abstracting costs are the charges for the abstracting company to do legal searches on yourselves and your property, to ensure you can give “good and merchantable title.” An approximate charge can be anywhere from $350 to $400. A termite inspection is simply someone coming into your home to ensure that you do not have any active infestations, and is necessary in this area because termites like it here! The fee for this is usually around $100. As a seller, you will also have to purchase revenue stamps for the deed, based on the sale price, and the amount is figured by taking the sale price and subtracting $500, then multiplying by $1.60 per thousand (example: Sale price is $150,000 - $500 = $149,500. $149.5 x $1.60 = $239.20). Finally, costs to prepare the deed and closing documents may range from $150 to $300.
In the typical real estate transaction, there is also a tax pro-ration which will be charged to the seller. Taxes in Iowa are paid a year behind, and as a seller you must compensate the buyer for the amount of time you occupied the property. The amount of taxes due will be figured exactly to your date of closing.
A “variable” cost when selling your property, depends on the type of real estate company you choose. There are four types of real estate companies in this area. They include the traditional commission-based company, the “Menu Option” company, the Flat Fee company and the For Sale By Owner company. The costs and services offered by each company vary and require a bit of research on the part of the seller to find the right fit for you.
