How Much Does it Cost to Sell a House in 2021?

There are various factors you need to consider when trying to figure out how much it costs to sell a house in England or Wales in 2021. This includes things like its current value and whether you want to deal with the removal costs yourself.

If you are looking to sell your residential property through traditional means, then the biggest fees you need to pay are for solicitors and estate agents. That being said, you still need to ensure that you budget for your final utilities bill and mortgage exit fee.

It can very easily feel like it’s all getting on top of you. To help you out, especially if this is your first time selling property, in the following post we are going to break down the different costs involved in selling a home.

Preparing for Marketing Your Home

For you to have the best chance of securing a buyer for your property, it may be worth investing in home improvements. This could be something relatively small like a deep clean from a professional company or more large-scale like a new kitchen or bathroom installation. It really depends on the aims you have with the sale and the condition of your home.

Some of the basics you will want to consider when preparing to sell your home are:

• Thorough cleaning inside and out
• Basic maintenance and repair work
• Repaint damaged and tired-looking walls
• Declutter and tidy up
• Tidy the garden up

Most of the above do not require a huge investment. You could even take care of them yourself, or if you want them done quickly and don’t have the time, you could hire professional help.

Whatever you decide to do when preparing your house to go on the market, you need to put yourself at the feet of potential buyers. You want to make your home look appealing to them. Which may mean getting rid of family items and making the property look more neutral.

EPC – Energy Performance Certificate

Another thing you need to do before you put your home on the property market is to obtain an EPC or Energy Performance Certificate. This is mandatory for most residential property and costs approximately £35 to £85. The EPC is designed to give buyers an estimate of how energy efficient your home is. It also provides recommendations on how to improve the energy efficiency of the property.

Estate Agent Costs

The largest expenses when selling your home that you will have to pay out are estate agent fees if you choose to go down the traditional route. These are also the most important. A professional estate agent can fulfil the role of negotiator, marketer, and security for your property sale. They will provide you with a strategy for marketing your home, screen and accompany any buyers as they visit your property and help to negotiate the best prices.

Pay for Performance or Pay Now

When it comes to paying estate agents, you have two options, pay on completion, or pay now. Most commonly, pay on completion, also referred to as commission fees are used by estate agents. This means you will only need to pay them after the property sale has been completed, you have been paid by your buyer and handed the keys to them. These normally are between 1% and 3% of the sale price of your property.

Fixed or Pay Now fees are not as common and only generally available through online or hybrid agents. This is a fee you would normally pay upfront and is non-refundable, regardless of whether your home does not sell, or you switch agents.

You will find that, in general, fixed rates are lower than commission-based rates.

Wiggle Room

If you feel that an estate agent is charging too much, you could try and negotiate a little. If an estate agent, for instance, thinks your property will be easy to find a buyer for, they might be willing to take a lower rate of commission.

Conveyancing Fees

Second to estate agent fees in terms of the largest expenses, you will have are the conveyancing, but it’s worth noting that these are also incredibly important. Conveyancing relates to the legalities of transferring ownership of the property from you to the buyer. They will negotiate the contract, conduct the necessary security checks on your buyer and take care of the money as it is transferred between your buyer and you.

There are many other fees, such as removal costs, capital gains tax and a whole lot more. If you want to make the whole experience cheaper and less of a hassle, it may be worth taking the less conventional route of selling through a property cash buyer.