Say you sell your old bike for 100 dollars. Before that money is really yours, you might pay a few dollars to clean it up, give a small cut to the friend who found the buyer, and fix a flat tire. You do not walk away with 100 dollars. You walk away with less.
Selling a house works the same way. The number on the sign is not the number you keep. If you are thinking about selling a home in Bryan, Defiance, or anywhere else in Northwest Ohio, here is where the money actually goes.
The real estate commission
This is usually the biggest cost when you sell a home. It pays for the work your agent does and the agent who brings the buyer. The exact amount depends on your home and your agreement, so ask for a clear number before you sign anything.
Title fees and closing costs
When a house changes hands, someone has to check that the title is clean. That means no one else can claim they own part of your home. This step costs a little money. Most people never see it happen, but everyone pays for it.
Prorated property taxes
In Ohio, property taxes get split between the buyer and the seller based on how long each of you owned the home that year. If you sell in June, you only pay taxes for the months you actually lived there. The buyer covers the rest.
Repairs the buyer asks for
After the home inspection, a buyer might ask you to fix a few things, or give them money instead of fixing it. You do not have to say yes. But it happens often enough that it is smart to leave a little room in your budget for it.
So what do you actually walk away with?
Every home is different, and every deal is different too. That is why we built a free tool that gives you a real number based on your own home. Try the seller net proceeds calculator to see a ballpark of what you would keep, based on your price and what you still owe.
Once you have a rough number, call Dave. He will look at your actual home and give you a straight answer, not a guess pulled from a website.