Selling Tips: What You’ll Pay When You Sell Your Home
Posted on: July 25, 2023
There are many costs associated with selling a home. From estate agent fees to legal charges, to the costs associated with actually moving.
Preparing Your Home for Sale
Many sellers find that giving their home a refresh before placing it on the market is the best way to entice the broadest range of potential buyers.
This might include:
– Repainting walls
– Hiring professional cleaners
– Paying for a storage unit to hide away excess furniture and personal items
– If you hire professionals for these jobs, then costs will be incurred.
We talk about ways to prepare your home for viewings, in more detail on our previous blog.
Getting an Energy Performance Certificate
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a document that outlines how energy-efficient your home is. Every home needs a valid EPC before it can be advertised for sale, and it is the seller’s responsibility to ensure it is in place.
The certificate will grade your home on a scale of A-G. Those sitting at the bottom of the chart may be less attractive to potential buyers, as it indicates that the costs of running the home will be substantially more.
These certificates can be obtained from any accredited company. However, there is no uniform fee. The price will vary depending on the location and size of your home but usually start around £60.
It should be noted that an EPC is valid for ten years, so it may be the case your property already has a valid document.
Mortgage Charges
You may incur a mortgage exit fee when selling your home.
A mortgage exit fee is a charge that your lender may issue when you close your mortgage account down. This can range anywhere between £25 and £300. However, be sure to check your original mortgage document, as not every lender demands this payment.
Alternatively, some homeowners choose to ‘port’ their mortgage. ‘Porting’ is the process of transferring the mortgage over to the new property, removing the need to exit the mortgage and apply for another. You can read more about mortgage porting here.
This forms the ideal situation for many, as it can potentially save thousands of pounds. However, the mortgage will need to be reassessed as the charge will now be held against a completely different home. The lender will examine the circumstances and, where appropriate, will simply transfer the debt from one home to the next.
However, it is always best to investigate current deals and offers, as it may be more financially savvy to move to a different lender rather than ‘port’ an existing loan.
Estate Agent Costs
Working with a good estate agent is crucial when selling your home.
Agents will deal with the process of advertising your home and conducting viewings on the property. They can also assist with the negotiation process, which will help increase the speed at which you have a legitimate offer in place.
Understandably, the fees that estate agents charge vary dramatically and the fee will also depend on the location and of course the service that the agency provides.
Most agents work on a ‘no sale, no fee’ basis. Meaning, if your home does not sell, you will have nothing to pay.
The fee generally ranges between 0.75% and 3% + VAT of the total sale price. For less expensive properties, agents may instead work on a fixed charge basis.
Online agents tend to request much lower and often fixed rates. However, the service they offer is usually very different to what you can expect from the more experienced high street businesses.
Legal Fees
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring the home from one owner to the next.
Once you have accepted an offer on your home, you will instruct a conveyancing solicitor to deal with this process.
Conveyancing fees can vary depending on the property you are selling, but average between £750 – £1500. The charge is commonly paid on the day that the sale completes.
For more information on the conveyancing process, head to our previous blog.
Removal Expenses
Of course, there are many logistical costs associated with the process of moving. These might include hiring a van or a whole removal team, depending on your family’s needs.
Should you suffer from an interim period between completing the sale of one property and your next purchase, you may also incur storage costs. Many also choose to insure their valuables for this period, ensuring anything broken in transit can be replaced.
We discuss removal costs in more detail here.
If you need any further information to support you on your moving home journey, why not take a look at our other blog posts.
We would love to help you on this exciting stage of your life, whether that’s with a mortgage or arranging insurance for you, please do not hesitate to get in touch. You can book a call with us here or if you’d prefer, drop us a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
