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Costs of Selling a House and Moving to a New One

Posted Monday, August 6, 2012

Are you asking the question of "How can I sell my home and make enough money to move?", you need to stop and consider the current market. Anyone who is thinking about selling their home and moving has several things to consider. In today’s market, most houses are selling at rock bottom prices. If they are not priced correctly, they will not move because the competition is to tough. The short sells and foreclosures are keeping prices low and so for the person who wants to get the most money possible out of the sale of their home, it might be a long road.

Before the downturn in the market, many people put a for sale by owner sign in the yard one night and by the end of the week, it was sold. No realtor fees and often they got top price. But things have changed and most people will need to hire a realtor in order to get the house sold in a timely manner. Most realtors have a standard fee of around six percent. The seller pays for the realtor fees. This may vary from state to state, but in most places this is the standard fee.

Often the house will need new carpet and paint before it can be listed. This can be very costly, but with the stiff competition, it is important to make these improvements. All deferred maintenance needs to be done and if it is not, the home inspection will often revel these problems and they will need to be completed.

If the home owner has a lot of equity in their home, all of this might not be a problem, but for those who are close to being upside down in their mortgage, this could be a problem. These are big questions that need to be answered before calling a Realtor and asking them to "sell my house".

On the flip side, homes are at rock bottom prices and interest rates are low. The money lost on one end can often be up on the other. All of these things need to be weighed before a final decision is made.

The actual move can be inexpensive for the people who are willing to rent a truck and ask friends and relatives to come and help make the move possible. If that is not possible, a professional moving van can be very spending but it will save a lot of hard work and make the move a lot easier.

Most people are in a wait and see mode and trying to decide if this is the best time to move. The bottom line is that the answer is different for everyone because each situation is unique. Most moves in today’s market are rather expensive, but for the person who needs to change homes, there might not be any other choice. So if you are asking "how can I sell my house" for the most money and make a move, take some time and weigh all the things involved. It may be a good thing, but only you can make the final decision.