I was on a listing appointment the other day and the seller asked me “What will it cost to sell our Eastman Home?”
So I broke out my computer and pulled up my most recent settlement statement or more commonly referred to as a HUD statement.
The biggest expense that a seller has is the commission paid to the Real Estate Broker. I know it’s expensive but there is an unbelievable amount of work that goes into selling a property. After the commission the next biggest expense would be the New Hampshire State Transfer Tax. The rate is 1.5% of the sale price usually split between the buyer and seller. Let’s take a $300,000 sale price. Multiply buy 1.5% and divide by two and the buyer and seller would pay $2250 that goes to good old New Hampshire.
Legal fees usually are not much for a seller. The seller has the deed prepared and barring any unusual circumstance the cost runs about $125-150. Town taxes can vary widely depending on the date of closing. Some time a seller will get a credit back for pre-paid taxes and other times they will have to pay in. Like I said it all depends on the date of closing and the tax billing cycle.
Most closing the seller will see a credit or money coming back to them for fuel in storage. If you use oil or LP Gas and there is fuel in the tanks, the buyer will reimburse the seller for that fuel. Association fees are another credit back to the seller. If you live in a community like Eastman, sellers will get money back as long as their dues are paid in advance.
And of course if there is a mortgage balance, the balance must be paid in full at the time of transfer. The mortgage is secured as a lien on the property and is recorded at the County Registry. This really isn’t an expense but a settling of debt.
This might not be the entire list of expenses for all property transfers but for the basic home or condo, this should give most sellers a good idea of what to expect.
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