You’ve decided to sell your house on your own, and you realize there will be some costs involved. So, wisely, you’re now asking: “What should I budget for if I sell my house on my own in Toronto?”
The answer may surprise you.
Although we’ve seen some price drops in some areas in recent months, it may also be the case that your home has appreciated considerably over the years. But before you count your profits, you’ll need to factor in these obvious and not-so-obvious costs of selling your house.
What Should I Budget for if I Sell My House on My Own in Toronto
Commission Fees
Let’s get this one out of the way right off the bat. A lot of sellers think that in a hot market they can sell a house themselves and thus avoid the standard commission fees. But the truth is otherwise. Even if you sell your house on your own, you still have to pay the buyer’s agent’s brokerage fees which can cost you up to 3% of the selling price. Plus HST!
Repairs
Most buyers aren’t interested in a house that has problems – and most houses have some kind of issues. Most of the time, most sellers have to do some repairs before they put their house on the market. And if the maintenance has been allowed to lapse, these repair costs can be fairly substantial. A new roof, for example, can set you back by as much as $20,000+. Other areas may include;
- Painting (interior & exterior)
- Replacing old carpets with new carpet or hardwood floors
- Professional cleaning
- Disposal fees (renovation creates a lot of garbage) – you may even have to rent a disposal bin to get rid of all of the items you have collected over the years and you no longer want to keep.
Landscaping
Curb appeal is of utmost importance: it’s what gets potential buyers to stop and then come in the door. And landscaping is the number-one improvement that most enhances curb appeal. The cost of a thorough, full-blown landscaping job performed by a professional landscaping service runs, on average, just a little over $3,000.
Staging and Photography
Many people – when asking, “What should I budget for if I sell my house on my own in Toronto?” – often neglect to factor in this expense. But if you don’t want your house to sit on the market for months on end, you probably shouldn’t neglect staging and professional photography.
Staging involves setting up and arranging your home so that it appears as appealing and inviting as possible and can cost 1% to 3% of your listing price. And then to display the staging in online listings, which is where a large percentage of buyers begin their search, you will likely need some professional photos, ranging in cost from $500 to $1,000.
Utilities
If you plan to move out of your current house into a new home and wondering “how to sell my house on my own”, you can’t just shut the utilities off in the home you vacate and intend to sell. Buyers absolutely do not want to walk through a cold (or sweltering) and dark house. (Also keep in mind that if you turn off the electricity and air conditioning during the summer, you run a high risk of developing a mold problem.) So, at the least, you will need to keep the electricity on and probably the gas as well in the wintertime. If the house is one you’ve been living in, then you already know what it will cost you to keep the utilities on.
Legal Fees
Legal fees vary depending on the firm you choose and the cost of your home. It usually costs about $1000+.
Mortgage Discharge
There may be penalties for selling your house before the mortgage matures. This can often be three months worth of mortgage payments plus $200 or $300 in fees. When interest rates are changing, some people have been caught off guard by mortgage penalties in the tens of thousands. So it’s wise to investigate your mortgage penalties when you sell.
So if you’re wondering, “What should I budget for if I sell my house on my own in Toronto?” you now know the answer is . . . quite a lot, actually.