Hidden Fees With A Traditional Sale

What actually comes out at closing

Sellers budget for commission and then get surprised at the table. Here is the full list of what typically comes off the top of a New Jersey sale, on a $400,000 house.

The line items

• Agent commission, 4–6%: $16,000 to $24,000. The one everybody knows.
• Realty transfer fee: roughly $3,600 on a $400,000 sale, paid by the seller on a sliding state scale.
• Attorney fees: $1,500 to $2,500 for a standard residential closing.
• Buyer concessions: $5,000 to $12,000 is common, and increasingly expected as part of the deal.
• Repairs from the inspection: $3,000 to $15,000, negotiated when you have the least leverage.
• Pre-listing prep: paint, floors, landscaping, staging. $5,000 to $25,000 depending on the house.
• Municipal certificate of occupancy work: smoke detectors, handrails, whatever your town requires. A few hundred to a few thousand, and it delays closing in some towns.
• Carrying costs while it sits: mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities for every month on the market plus 45 days to close.

The number nobody puts in the spreadsheet

Time. The New Jersey median is well over three months from listing to closing once you include prep, market time and the escrow period. If your reason for selling is that you cannot keep carrying the house, three months of carrying costs is the fee that hurts the most.

What a cash sale does not have

No commission, no concessions, no repair credits, no prep, no staging, no carrying costs past the closing date. We pay the standard seller-side closing costs. The realty transfer fee is a state tax and it still applies. Anyone telling you otherwise is guessing.