In what continues to be a “sellers market” we have many clients asking us what it will cost them to sell their property. Naturally, every transaction is different but here is a simple break down of Seller closing costs for your reference:

1. Real Estate attorney fee: Approximately $1000 (depending on complication level of sale). A lot of people think they don’t need an attorney to sell their home – I’m here to tell you it’s a huge mistake to not have an attorney reviewing all the paperwork and ensuring that the legal aspect of the sale is done properly.
2. Smoke Detector/Carbon Monoxide inspection: $50-$100, Although your agent will generally handle meeting the Fire department the seller is required to provide this certificate which generally runs $50 (single family) to $100 (multi family). This does not include the cost of any smoke/Co detector upgrades you may need to do to the property to makes sure it passes the inspection
3. MA Excise Tax Stamps: $4.56 per $1000 of the sales price (.456%) They don’t call it Tax-achusetts for nothing, pay up! For example if you sell your home for $500,000.00. You’ll pay $2,280.00 in Excise Tax Stamps. Cheers to that!
4. Realtor Commissions: Typically 5% of the sales price (generally split between seller agent and buyer agent). Having a good agent work on your behalf is a huge asset. I could go on and on about why for sale by owners are a nightmare, but I’ll spare you the lecture. Just hire an agent who is ready to work for you and you’ll be glad you did.
5. Septic Costs: Varied, First you’ll need to get a Title V inspection done, hopefully you pass (yay!). If not you’ll need to get an engineering plan done (ball park $3000-$4000), then you’ll need to get quotes to install the septic. This can vary greatly depending upon the system.
6. Miscellaneous expenses: Sometimes you have other unexpected items come up so budget in a few hundred for last minute issues.