The True Cost of Selling your House in 2024: Everything You Need to Know - Make the sale of your house as smooth as possible

Selling a house isn’t as simple as just putting it on the market, someone buying it, and being done with the whole ordeal. There are a lot of details in between that need to be ironed out, considered and put in place before you even put your house up for sale.

If you are thinking about selling your house, you need to know that there is a lot of legal work and fees attached to the process. Simply put, in order to make the sale, you need to spend some money beforehand.

In this article, we highlight some of the costs you need to know about when you are selling your house.

Some of the costs attached to selling a house

As the seller of the house, the duty falls to you to make sure that your house is in order before the sale. To do this, you need to hire the proper providers to get the job done. These are some of the services you will need.  Once you pick your estate agent, they will help you either get in contact with other providers or they will acquire the services on your behalf.

Estate Agents: These are the people who will help you with the sale process. They deal with people who want to buy and sell homes. They will put your house on the market for you, and get potential buyers to visit your house while trying to sell it to them.

Cost: Estate agents earn a percentage of the sale of the house.

Solicitors/Conveyancers: This process will deal with all the legal work needed to sell your house. You will need the help of a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer to get these documents in order.

Cost: They will either charge you a flat rate or a percentage of how much the house costs.

Removers: This is a hiring service that you may need to move your possessions out of your old house, transport it to another location, and move it into a new property or a storage facility.

Cost: Depending on how much things need to be moved, they will charge you a fee that corresponds with the size of the vehicle they have to use and the distance they have to travel.

EPC: The energy performance certificate shows the energy efficiency of the house. This needs to be acquired by the seller and handed over to the new owners. Your estate agent can often assist you with this.

Cost: The price of getting your EPC varies per provider.

Survey Fees: This is a person who will be surveying your entire property and providing a detailed report about it to the conveyancer. They will also do research into the history of your property for the report.

Cost: Based on the size and price of the property.

Extra costs: Some of the following costs are not guaranteed to crop up when selling your house, but it is important to be aware of them, so you aren't caught by surprise. Some extra costs include Preparation costs, mortgage fees, cleaning costs, Capital Gain Tax, and Inheritance Tax, if applicable.

The next steps

With all the cost-related things known, your next step is to be prepared for the house to go on the market.

Choosing an agent: As you will get the help of many different professionals for selling your house, it would be best to shop around for the best options to save costs.

Be prepared: You will also have a lot of foot traffic in your home prior to it going on the market, and once it is on the market. If you are a private person, you need to be accustomed to people walking through your home for periods of time.

Tidying Up: Due to the amount of people that will be in your home, you would want to put your best foot forward. Make sure that your house is clean and presentable to make a good impression on the potential buyers. You can hire professional cleaners to help you achieve your goals.

Lease: Check how much time is left on your leasehold. If the remaining time is low, then you can apply for a lease renewal. 

Inventory: As you are packing up your stuff, take stock of what you have, and when you unpack in your new space, you will be able to have a good idea of whether or not everything is in order.

Conclusion

Selling your house is unfortunately not a simple process - to make the sale, then you need to put some money into the process so that it goes smoothly. Once you choose an estate agent, they will help you make sure that everything is on the right path to make the transition to the new owner as easy as possible.