If you’re selling a home for the first time, here’s a question you may have been asking from the start of your real estate journey: “How much money will I walk away with after selling my home?” While there is no simple answer to that question, we believe it’s important for home sellers like you to be prepared for the unexpected expenses that come with the home-selling process.

At EmpowerHome Team, we’ve had the pleasure of helping thousands of families sell homes, and so many of our clients are amazed by the things other realtors don’t tell them to expect. The sad truth is that there is a lot of information for first-time home buyers, but virtually none for home sellers. So today, we’re going to prepare you for the three unexpected expenses you’re likely to face as a first-time home seller!

Unexpected Mortgage Payment

The first expense you should know about is not necessarily a charge, but something that people are too often surprised by. Sellers will be looking at online statements and find that their principal balance is a number like $350,000, but when the title company calls for your payoff, they say you owe $352,000! Many homeowners will call and say, “No I owe $350,000! I’m looking at it right here online!”

Here’s why that is: when you bought your house, you actually skipped a month’s worth of mortgage payments! Many people don’t remember, but everyone skips a month in mortgage payments because mortgages are an expense that’s paid in arrears, meaning that you pay your mortgage this month for the time you lived in your home in the previous month.

Remaining Balance Owed

Once you know what the required amount of principal and interest payments is, you’ll need to add them to the second unexpected expense you’ll be expected to pay when it comes time to sell: the remaining balance you owe on the mortgage. These combined expenses will be on the settlement statement when you go to close.

Remember: These expenses need to be paid for the lien on your property to be released!

Prorated Taxes

Prorated taxes are the third expense that often catch home sellers off guard. Since they’re paid at closing, these expenses can be a little confusing.

Here’s an example: Let’s say you’re closing in September, and you have paid 15 days worth of taxes, and the buyer is going to pay the taxes in December for the time that you owned the home from June through September. This means you’re going to owe the buyer that money because they are paying it on your behalf!

Right now, you might be asking, “Haven’t I already paid the taxes in my mortgage payment?” And the answer is, “Yes!” Even though you’re paying it on your settlement statement, you’re actually going to get a check back from your mortgage company—typically 1-2 months after closing—for the additional money that is being held in your escrow account.

More Unexpected Charges

If you want to know the rest of the charges you could face when you sell your home, register for our FREE Seller Workshop! This FREE webinar will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about selling your home—including helpful and PROVEN tips on how to sell FASTER and for MORE!

The  Seller Workshop will cover:

  • Professional Staging Tips
  • How to ATTRACT the Right Buyers to Your Home
  • How the Selling Process Works From Start to Finish
  • And So Much More!

If you don’t want to be caught off guard by surprise expenses, then don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn the ins-and-outs of the process! Become the confident seller you want to be, and learn how you can get the most money possible for your home! This webinar will be hosted every 4th Tuesday, so it’s never too late to sign up! You can reserve your spot here: EmpowerHomeworkshop.com

At EmpowerHome Team, we recognize that every house is different. So if you’re thinking about selling, you’ll want advice that’s specifically tailored to your home. Want to know who your ideal buyers are? Or how to better prepare your home for the market? Call 703-634-6615 for a FREE Home Assessment. Our Team will visit your home and evaluate how best to get it sold FAST and for the MOST MONEY possible in the current market!