Are you considering selling your home and wondering how much it costs to sell a home in Maryland? Your family and home are one of life’s biggest assets and deciding to sell is not always an easy or clear decision.
Discovering Your Maryland Home Value
One of the first steps you need to take before putting your home on the market is to determine its market value. In real estate, home values are constantly changing and local market values can vary dramatically from national averages. Depending on where your home is located in the Maryland area, your real estate agent can prepare a comparative market analysis of your area to help determine its market value.
Estimating Your Maryland Sellers Costs and Net Proceeds
Once you pinpoint the market value of your Maryland home, you can then gain a better idea of how much you’ll walk away with once the deal is completed and there is a sold sign in your yard. Having an estimate of how much you will net after the sale of your home will be particularly useful when you begin looking for another home to purchase.
In order to estimate your net profit, you’ll need to subtract the designated seller's costs, buyer's and seller's shared costs and the closing costs. Maryland seller’s costs include things such as:
- Payoff figure of your present loan amount
- Applicable broker’s commission
- Any prepayment penalties due on your mortgage
- Associated attorney’s fees
- Any unpaid outstanding property taxes or homeowner's association or condo fees
A few things that sellers might have to share the cost with buyers on their Maryland home are:
- Title insurance premiums (For example, title insurance for a $250,000 home might be $950 - there are several online Maryland title companies that feature built in calculators for assistance with estimating your costs)
- Transfer taxes
- Inspection and repairs for insects such as termite damage
- Survey fees
- Recording fees
- Home protection plans
- Homeowners Association transfer fees and preparation of any documents required
Closing costs are also something to be considered, but are essentially an agreed upon amount between you and your buyer. As the seller, you can set up an arrangement that is suitable to you. Currently there are no local or Maryland rules that require a seller to set a designated amount. Your real estate agent can help you estimate what your closing costs will be and negotiate the percentage that the buyer will be responsible for.
If you plan on selling a home in Maryland, we hope this article has helped answer your questions. If not, please don't hesitate to contact us.
