When you decide to sell your home, a lot of your focus will be on ensuring your property is well presented, with all niggling repairs carried out, correctly valued and visible on property sites like Rightmove and Zoopla. You might also be looking for a new home at the same time, negotiating purchase prices, mortgage fees and move in dates. With all this going on, it can be all too easy to forget about the costs associated with selling a property. Things like traditional estate agent fees can quickly stack up, leaving you out of pocket at a time when you need to have a few extra pounds.
Here are some of the common costs associated with selling your home. Keep them in mind when deciding how to sell your home.
Estate agent fees – high street and online
The most obvious cost is estate agent commissions. This is one fee that many vendors underestimate. There’s no set fee when it comes to selling through a high street estate agent – it all depends on how much your house is worth. Generally speaking, a typical fee will be anywhere in the region of 1%-3% of the sale amount. That means if your house sells for £200,000, you’ll have to fork out between £2,000 and £6,000 upon completion. You can remove this commission entirely by opting for a fixed fee online estate agent like I Am The Agent. You pay one fixed amount up front and then the total proceeds from the sale are yours. This is a great way to stay in control of your budget and your greatest asset, without sacrificing professional assistance.
Conveyancing fees
When you decide to sell, you’ll need to have a solicitor or licensed conveyancer in mind to handle the legalities of the sale. This process is known as conveyancing. Expect to pay either a flat fee or a percentage of the value of the property. Conveyancing fees can cost anywhere between £500 and £1,500 with the final amount depending on how complex the transaction is.
Energy performance certificates (EPCs)
Unless you have bought or sold a house recently, you may not be aware of EPCs. By law, homeowners must provide potential buyers with an Energy Performance Certificate for the property changing hands. They are designed to give an indication of the building’s energy efficiency and will assign a rating from A (very energy efficient) to G (the least energy efficient). EPCs must be compiled by an accredited domestic energy assessor and are valid for 10 years. Expect to pay £50 - £120.
Moving costs
If you’re selling the home you’re living in, you’ll need a plan and date in mind to vacate the property. There are a few options open to you, each ranging in cost. Depending on how much money you have left over from the sale, you can hire a removals company to come in, pack up your belongings, move them and then unpack them in the correct room, at your new house. However if you’re on a budget, it’s cheaper to hire a van and do it yourself.
If you hire a professional removal company, expect to pay anywhere in the region of £500 for a small house, to thousands of pounds for a larger house. This all depends on the distances between each house, as well as the amount of belongings you have. If you want to save some money and do it yourself, you’ll pay between £50 and £100 for van hire per day, plus petrol.
Although I Am The Agent can’t give you a hand moving, we can help to reduce the costs and stresses associated with putting your house on the market. Our fixed price packages are just that, with no hidden costs or unexpected fees to pay. Sell your home prices start from just £49 including VAT. This includes all the usual services you’d expect from an estate agent, such as a property listing on some of the country’s largest real estate portals, a free For Sale board, and a team of experienced estate agents ready to help you with any assistance you may need. We’ll also handle all enquiries so you can get on with your move.
Find out more about becoming your own agent with I Am The Agent.
