Considering selling your Perth home? Here’s a breakdown of all the costs you’ll need to be prepared to pay:

STAGING AND HOME PREPARATION

You only get one chance to make a first impression, and most Sellers need to invest some time and money into home preparation and staging. Potential house preparation costs include:

• Painting (interior or exterior)
• Professional cleaning
• Gardening
• Repairs
• Off-site storage locker
• Staging – from light primping and fluffing to full-on professional staging

It’s easy to spend money and time on the wrong things and there’s nothing more frustrating than finding out that the $10,000 you spent upgrading the kitchen will only increase your price by $4,000.

PM tip: talk to a trusted real estate adviser before renovating your home for sale.

Generally, the full cost of staging and home preparation are borne by the Seller, however some real estate agents (including the PM team) pay for professional cleaning and staging. We believe that staging and professional cleaning are so important to getting top dollar, that it’s become our standard level of service.

PRE-LISTING HOME INSPECTION (FOR HOUSES)

We generally recommend that Sellers get a pre-listing building inspection before they put their house up for sale. A pre-listing home inspection give Sellers the opportunity to proactively fix any issues with the house before it hits the market, or alternatively, factor the cost of those issues into the asking price.  There’s nothing worse than having a Buyer inform you that there’s a buried oil tank in the backyard at the negotiating table!

PM tip: the person with the most information almost always wins a negotiation

The transparency of a pre-listing home inspection gives Buyers confidence and that means more offers.

Pre-listing home inspections in Perth cost $400-$600, though some real estate agents, including the BREL team, cover that expense. We consider it an important part of our pricing strategy and a critical part of marketing your home to prospective Buyers.

STRATA COMPANY (FOR UNITS, TOWNHOUSES AND APARTMENTS)

If you’re selling unit, town house or an apartment in Perth, the Buyer (and the Buyer’s lawyer and lender) will undoubtedly want to review the certificates and financial position of the strata company.  The strata documents are the set of documents that describe the legal and financial health of the strata company.  Most offers to purchase a unit, town house or an apartment include a condition that allows the Buyer’s lawyer to review the documents to ensure that  they are to the Buyer’s satisfaction.

In Perth, Sellers sometimes have to pay a fee to the strata company for preparation of the documents. However, if the seller keeps their records correctly they should have all the latest documents and financial docs of the strata company.

REAL ESTATE COMMISSION

For most Sellers, the biggest cost to sell their home is the commission paid to the real estate agent. In Perth, there is an ever-increasing variety of service and commission options to choose from, with differing experience, skills, inclusions and results.

When you hire a real estate agent to sell your home, the commission you pay is generally split four ways:

• the agent who works for you, the Seller (aka the Listing Agent)
• the Listing Agent’s brokerage
• the agent who brings the Buyer (aka the Buyer’s Agent)
• the Buyer’s Agent’s brokerage

Agents in Perth will charge anywhere from 1.5% – 3.0% plus GST to list a home for sale; the amount depends on the agent’s experience and results, business model, included services and the amount offered to the agent who brings the Buyer (conjunctional).

While discount agents and brokerages don’t generally include many services, full-service agents and brokerages may pay for professional photography, videography, virtual tours, floor plans, online marketing, print marketing, cleaning, home inspections, staging and more.

At the PM team, our business model of ‘All-in Pricing’ which we use sometimes for properties that need that extra effort to get it sold as we believe is necessary to get our Sellers the highest price.

PM tip: ask us to show you how the PM team’s All-In Pricing means more $$ in our Sellers’ pockets.

LEGAL FEES

Legal fees to sell your home will depend on the conveyancer you choose and the price of your home. Generally in Perth, you can expect to pay around $1000 -$1,200 to sell a $600,000 home. We can refer one or two if you need help with this.

MORTGAGE PENALTY Quote

Read the fine print! If you have a mortgage on your home, your lender may charge you a penalty if you sell the home during the mortgage  period. Most traditional lenders (ie banks) allow you to apply the remaining mortgage balance to the mortgage of a new property (sometimes the banks can plug time frame on this), but some mortgages have restrictions. If you’re selling your home and not buying a new one, you will likely have to pay a pre-payment penalty, which can be thousands of dollars.  Make sure to talk to your lender before you list your home for sale to fully understand the details of your mortgage.

OTHER COSTS TO SELL YOUR HOME (AND SOME GOOD NEWS)

Prior to closing, your lawyer will give you a full breakdown of any other selling costs, which may include outstanding property taxes, utilities or strata fees if you’re selling a home controlled by a strata company. The Seller is responsible for these costs up until the date of closing, but if your date of closing doesn’t coincide with the date you normally pay these expenses (it usually doesn’t), then you’ll be responsible for payment of the partial month’s costs.

If you have pets, you’ll likely want to factor in some extra dollars for boarding. It’s much easier for Buyers to view a home without Fido following them around, and there’s no faster way to turn off a Buyer than a dirty litter box.  Boarding your pets will hasten your sale.

And last but not least, a piece of good news: the Buyer is responsible for paying land transfer taxes, so that’s one cost you won’t have to budget for!

If you require any help with selling or buying a home then please get in touch with us.