When selling your home in Atlanta through the traditional market, there are some fees that can sneak up on you. Making sure you understand where the fees come in can help you plan and budget.
Today we want to go over the top 3 home selling fees in Atlanta so that you can feel well-informed.
Realtor Fees
If you choose to sell your home with a real estate agent, you are going to have to pay a realtor commission fee. Most of the time, a seller will typically have to pay around 6% of the overall price of the home. 3% of the price will go to the buyer’s agent while the other 3% goes to the seller’s agent.
While you might be able to negotiate these fees, it is typically hard to find agents who are wiling to take less than the standard. For an agent, a commission is a necessary piece of the pie and how they make their living.
You could choose to sell your home on your own without a real estate agent too. This type of selling scenario is known as FSBO or “for sale by owner.”
While you won’t have to pay seller fees in this scenario, you will still have to shell out the 3% for buyer’s commissions. It is also important to note that FSBO homes will typically sit on the market for a bit longer than a realtor home.
In 2017, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing that the average sale price for agent-sold home was around $265,000, while the average price of a FSBO home was around $200,000.
Title and Escrow Fees
When selling your home in Atlanta, be prepared to shell out money for title and escrow fees.
A title fee includes title insurance and a title search. Title insurance is there to protect you if some issues pop up with the title. You will typically have to pay around 1% of the home loan amount for title insurance fees.
Let’s say you have a home with a $350,000 mortgage, you would end up paying $3,500 for title insurance.
A title search is separate and is there to ensure that you own the title to the property. The fee, which is paid to an attorney or a title company, can vary.
Beyond all of these title fees, you will need to consider escrow fees, which are paid to an escrow company. The escrow company make sure that your assets, documents, and money are held in a secure space until you complete your home sale.
Escrow fees will typically sit between 1-2% of the price of the home, very similar to the title insurance fees. For the most part, buyers and sellers will split escrow fees down the middle.
Attorney Fees
Many people believe they only need attorneys when they are dealing with specialized real estate transactions. However, there are many states with real estate transaction requirements that say attorneys must be present.
For a real estate attorney, you may end up spending anywhere between $150 and $350 per hour.
Final Thoughts
If these fees seem like they might put you under or put a dent in the profit that you were hoping for, you may consider selling your home to a home investor. Make sure to get in touch with us here at Tru Buyers to learn more about how we can help you avoid all of these fees by selling your home the non-traditional way.
