What is happening in our local Real Estate Market Update? Check out my March 2019 Orange County Real Estate Market Update

As a Real Estate Professional I often get asked about what it cost to sell a house so in this video I discuss the fees that most sellers are going to be required to pay when selling a home.

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Other videos you might find helpful:

Predictions for the 2019 Real Estate Market: https://youtu.be/jAj_aRMOFSE
Planning to Sell? Think Like a Buyer: https://youtu.be/mWq3fbINJcU

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B L O G ➳ www.jebsmith.net/blog
F A C E B O O K ➳ https://www.facebook.com/cbhbrealtor
I N S T A G R A M ➳ https://www.instagram.com/jebsmith

If you would like more specific information about your home, please contact me directly at 714.376.2711 or jeb@jebsmith.net.

This is Jeb Smith, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Huntington Beach, and today I’m going to do more of a topic discussion, and the topic today is going to be seller closing costs. How much does it cost to sell a house? Every home sale is different but these are the typical things a seller pays for when selling a house.

So often when I meet with sellers, new sellers, people that haven’t sold a house in a very long time, one of the first questions they ask is, “What are the costs associated with selling a house?” and this is honestly something that doesn’t really get discussed very often, and the reason I want to bring it to you today. So, you know, normally the first thing that … the first item rather that a seller pays as part of selling a house is commission, right? A seller is going to pay a commission fee. There’s no set commission fee within our industry, but typically there’s a commission fee paid both to the listing agent and to the buyer’s agent on a transaction when selling a home, so the seller actually pays their listing agent and they also pay the buyer’s side of the commission to bring the buyer to the table, so the commission fee is probably or definitely the largest chunk of what the seller’s going to pay when selling a house.

Some of the other fees that are associated with selling a house, are you’re going to have title fees, so a seller’s going to pay a seller’s policy when selling the house. Every seller is going to pay this, and the reason they’re paying a title fee is so that they can provide a clear title to the buyer on the property. There’s an owner’s policy that’s associated with that, there’s endorsements and some other minor fees that also go along with title that you’re going to pay, so a title fee is a large … one of the other fees that comes up.

An escrow fee, so an escrow fee is a fee that’s paid to a third party company that more or less is an intermediary in between the seller and the buyer, so they’re there to facilitate the transaction, bring all the pieces together, and make sure that essentially everything goes according to schedule and closes on time. And so you’re going to pay an escrow fee, and so there are some additional fees that are associated with escrow fees as well: messenger fees, sometimes there are some notary fees, transfer fees, that sort of thing. So there are some small fees that are associated with the escrow.

So right now we have commission, we have title, we have escrow. If your property taxes aren’t current on your house, so say you paid the first installment. The second installment’s due, but you haven’t paid it yet. Property taxes are going to be something that you pay through the closing of your house. That’s going to be one of the fees associated with it. And if you have paid your property taxes already, then you’ll actually get a refund through the close of escrow back to you for whatever the pro-rated portion of that is.

So you’ve got commission, title and escrow: those are the major fees associated with selling a house. And then if you’re in a condo, you’re going to have HOA docs normally that the seller pays, so you’re going to provide documents to the buyer to verify the CCNRs, the financials, the rules and regulations of the community … normally that’s a fee that’s associated with the seller. And also depending on how the deal is structured, you might have fees like a home warranty that you’re paying for for the buyer when you’re buying a house. Normally a buyer, when they purchase a home, asks for a home warranty, and that covers the main systems of the home for the first year. Normally that’s a fee paid by the seller.

And then also termite. So if you’re in a condo, normally, or a town home normally, there’s not a lot of termite work needed as part of that, ’cause it’s normally covered by the association. But if you’re in a single family residence, the termite fees can be a larger number, because if it requires tenting or any woodwork needed … Those are things that are associated with the selling of a home too.

Those are the main things that are involved with selling a home. Obviously there may be some other fees that come up, but that’s the majority of them. And so normally what I tell the seller, the first thing that we do, is we find out how much you owe on your house. So if you’re thinking of selling your house, and want to see what the actual breakdown is, call me. Reach out. All I need to know is what you currently owe on your property, and then obviously commission is one of those negotiable fees, and we don’t know exactly what your house would sell for, so there are some things in there that we have to estimate, like the selling price of your property. But from there we can say, “Hey, this is how much your house is going to sell for. This is how much you owe. These are the fees associated with selling your house, so at the end of the day you’re going to have a pretty good idea of what you’re going to walk away with net-wise, in order … if your property sells for, say, “X”.

But anyhow, I hope that’s helpful. I’m going to keep doing videos like this, so if you have a topic that you would like discussed, please reach out to me. Check out my other videos on  YouTube, or if you want more information about me, go to my website, jebsmith.net. Or just reach out to me directly: 714-376-2711. I appreciate you taking the time to watch, and we’ll see you soon. Have a great day. Bye bye.

Hey there this is Jeb Smith, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Huntington Beach. And today I’m back talking about discount brokerages. More specifically today talking about Opendoor. Opendoor is a company, let me back up for a second. Discount brokerages are companies that will come in and list your house, sell your house for a reduced commission. Typically in the real estate world commissions have been somewhere between five and six percent. There’s no set amount but generally over the years commissions range somewhere between five and six percent total and that total is divided between the listing agent and the buyers agent. So a discount brokerage is someone that is willing to come in and list your house for a reduced fee.

The buyers commission is something you’re still going to pay. So even when they say hey we’ll list your house for say 1%, there’s still a buyers agent commission on the other side of usually 2.5%, 3%. So that 1% then becomes either 3.5% or 4%. So when you hear the 1%, it’s enticing because it sounds like you’re getting a huge discount when in fact you’re not really getting that big of a discount at all. Because a lot of times you’re giving up something in order to use one of these smaller brokerages or these discount brokers if you will. So just because they’re doing it from 1%, don’t think you’re getting a deal and saving 1.5%, 2.5% on the transaction. In fact you’re probably losing money because these companies aren’t coming in, doing the marketing, the advertising, the exposure necessary in order to help you get top dollar for your home to begin with.

But that’s another story. But I want to talk about Opendoor for a minute. So Opendoor is a company that is willing to come in and make you an offer on your house. It’s a cash offer. And what they’re willing to do is come in and instead of you having to list your house on the open market if you will, on the MLS, have open houses, buyers walk through, et cetera, they’re just willing to give you a cash offer for your house and I think you’re able to pick the closing date. Somewhere between I think their website says somewhere between ten and 60 days or something. I don’t know the exact number. But something along those lines. And their whole premise is that you avoid having to deal with open houses like it’s a huge stressor and this big to do to have an open house.

In my experience, open houses, a lot of times help sell a house. A lot of times it’s to benefit the agent themselves, but in a lot of cases I’ve sold houses off an open house. People have driven by, they weren’t even looking. Online happen to see the house, made an offer, and they ended up buying a house. So open houses do work. But let’s say we’re going the strategy of Opendoor where they’re just making you an offer on your house. It sounds like a great idea because you avoid the headaches or what have you of having to list your house, get it ready, what have you. But keep in mind the things that they’re factoring in to their offer. So they’re factoring in things that need to be done to your property. They’re taking that into account when offering you a price.

So you’re not getting market value for your home. You’re getting market value minus whatever their cost is or their time is to resell it. Because they’re factoring in putting your house on the market and reselling it. So the time it takes them, that they think it’s going to take them to sell your house, they’re factoring that into the price that they’re going to pay you. They’re also charging you somewhere between their website says somewhere between six to seven percent, up to 13% for a listing fee if you will. A commission. They’re not calling it a commission, but it’s a commission. It’s somewhere between six to seven percent, up to 13% to sell your house. That is way more than an agent like myself is going to charge you to sell your house. I mean my commissions are typically somewhere between five and six percent.

So they’re giving you a reduced amount to buy your house, they’re charging you at least what I’m charging you if not more to sell your house, and then they’re also one of their pros if you will on their side of the plus or minus chart if you will is that you’re not paying any concessions when selling a house. A concession is something that you’re giving back to the buyer in order to help them with the transaction. Sometimes you’re doing repairs on the property. That’s a concession. Sometimes you’re paying for home warranty. Sometimes the buyer asks for closing costs. And that’s a concession. In my entire career I’ve never given up anything close to the amounts that they’re talking without building it into the price. So they’re factoring that you selling your house is going to concession somewhere they said two to three percent. So on a $600000 house they’re saying you’re going to pay somewhere between $12000 and $18000 in concessions.

Not true. Never had that in my entire career where I’ve had to pay, where sellers had to pay a buyer that much in concessions without factoring it into the price of the home or the price that we put out there initially. So what sounds like a good deal with them coming in and offering you an amount on your house, the end of the day you’re getting less money for your house. You’re not getting market value. You’re paying more money in commission. And you’re losing money. You’re losing money by not putting it on the open market and getting that emotion involved when buying a house.

Selling a house is an emotional process. People buy emotionally. They justify logically. So as an agent, my job is to do the marketing, the exposure necessary to get eyes on your property, to get people in your property and if we priced it right at fair market value you’re going to get people in there that have seen the marketing that we’ve done online that have some emotion tied to the property. Those are the people that we’re targeting. Those are the people that are going to make offers on your house and those are the people that hopefully bid your property up. If we’ve listed your house correctly you’re going to get market value for your house with the marketing and exposure that we’ve done in order to get you there.

So by going with a discount brokerage, they’re not doing that. Opendoor is a completely different deal because they’re just paying you a cash offer up front. And selling your house and then they’re reselling it on the back end. Other companies like Purple Bricks, Rex, these guys all they’re doing is charging you basically less of a commission and not doing anything to help you sell your house. So it’s more or less a for sale by owner. But they’re just putting it out there on the MLS for other people to see it. Let’s be honest, you’ve got to do more than just putting it on the MLS in order to sell your house. So you know that’s where marketing and advertising comes into play. Getting your property in print, getting it on social media, getting it on TV, doing all of those things are what’s going to help you sell your property for the most amount of money and the quickest amount of time.

So you know, if you have additional questions about discount brokers, selling your house, buying a house, would love the opportunity to help. Please reach out to me directly. Again, Jeb Smith, Coldwell Banker Residential Broker Chair in Huntington Beach. 714-376-2711. Also if you want more information about me check out my other videos on YouTube and visit my website. Jebsmith.net. I appreciate you taking the time to watch. Look forward to seeing you again next month. Make it a great day. Bye.

This is Jeb Smith with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Huntington Beach back with your Orange County Real Estate Market Update.

In this video, I discuss the local real estate market with regards to increased inventory but also increased buyer demand and what you should expect as a buyer or seller in today’s market.

I also talk about when is the best time to list your home for sale and what you should expect as we move further into the spring selling season.

If you would like more information about me, please check out my other videos here on Youtube or go to my website at www.jebsmith.net.

Thanks for watching…………

Huntington Beach Realtor, Jeb Smith of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage gives a February 2019 Real Estate Market Update for Orange County and Southern California. In this video, Jeb discusses why he feels like the Real Estate Market is a bit “weird” right now and how it’s different than just a few months ago.

If you would like more information on me, please go to my website www.jebsmith.net or check out my other videos on Youtube. You can always call me directly at 714.376.2711.

Huntington Beach Realtor, Jeb Smith discusses thinking of your home from someone else’s perspective in order to sell faster and potentially for more money.

Planning to Sell? Think Like a Buyer. If you’re considering selling your home, there is a benefit of thinking of your house from someone else’s perspective. Doing so may allow it to sell faster and potentially for more money. The information below outlines three questions to ask yourself to help you view your home objectively and differentiate it from other homes in the market.

Although the majority of home buyers initially search online for the right home to purchase, more than 63 percent will walk through the home and nearly half will drive by it to get a view of the exterior. Photographs are great for first impressions but driving by the property provides a different perspective that allows buyers to get an idea of the home’s current status. A home with great curb appeal will entice potential buyers and prompt them to schedule a showing. What would stoke buyers’ interest in your home? Think like a buyer to find out.

Take a walk around your home’s exterior. Make a list of areas that need cleaning or repairs.

Be honest and objective. I can help you answer the following questions:

What’s the first impress of your home? Answer the questions as someone who’s never seen the home before instead of as the homeowner. Write a few words or phrases that describe yoru home, such as “classic”, “homey”, “well-landscaped”, etc…

What are the home’s best features? Note the features that stand out, such as a wraparound porch, classic columns, a well-maintained facade, etc…How can you enhance them? For example, if you want to highlight a wraparound porch, decorate it with hanging and potted seasonal flowers and place seating where appropriate to crate a tidy but inviting feel.

Which features should be minimized or improved? These are the features you’d prefer didn’t stand out to potential buyers, such as a spot in the yard where nothing grows or visible garden hoses. What can you do to help the features blend into the scenery and allow buyers to focus on the best features of the home?

Enlist help to prioritize. By the end of the walk, we may have a list of things you’d like to improve. I can also help you determine which changes are most important as well as connect you with a reputable tradesperson or service professional in our local area.

*Small details can make all the difference. To improve you home’s overall impression, do the following:

Clean or update your window treatments to ensure they create a uniform appearance when closed
Polish hardware and fixtures so the metal shines like new
Replace light bulbs in indoor/outdoor lighting fixtures
Place solar light fixtures along your walkway
*Source: National Association of REALTORS, 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

If you’re planning to sell, I can help you prioritize the updates that will help put your home n the best light. Give Huntington Beach Realtor, Jeb Smith a call at 714.376.2711 to discuss.

Jeb Smith of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Huntington Beach discusses the local Southern California Real Estate Market conditions and his Predictions for the 2019 Real Estate Market in Huntington Beach and Orange County.

For more information on Find My Way Home, please go directly to their website at www.findmywayhome.com. For more information on Jeb Smith, please go to www.jebsmith.net or check out his other videos here on Youtube.

How does Purplebricks work? In this video, Jeb Smith, Huntington Beach Realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage discusses the Discount Brokerage Model and why hiring a discount broker like Purplebricks could end up costing you more money.

Below are some of the Reasons that I touch on in the video

1. Not necessarily local expert (which is their #1 pitch) – cover a large area in most cases

2. Managing a large portfolio of homes, hard to return calls and answer questions, etc…..

3. Agents are usually newbie agents or non-producers as why would anyone leave a successful business to work for next to nothing?

4. Agent gets paid upfront when taking listing (Fee of $1000). No incentive for them to help you sell your home unless they double end it which if that is what the agent is going for they make it difficult for other agents to show, etc….Also have to upload offers into a system and schedule appointments online. These types of things make agents not want to show homes and in some cases taking buyers out of your potential pool of buyers

5. No Exposure outside of Sign and MLS (no additional marketing outside of initial photos and matterport floor plan)

6. Due to the number of homes they are managing and being paid upfront they have no incentive to help you negotiate or get the most amount of money.

7. Were headed into a market with more inventory and where days on the market are going up which means you need to have an agent who is willing to pull out all of the stops in order to help you get your home sold (marketing through all mediums), staging if necessary………the small things that help a home stand out.

8. If there is an issue that arises during the transaction where the Seller is unwilling to give in and the agent on the other side isn’t willing to help, there is no chance an agent making $1000 is going to step up to resolve the problem and help the deal close. Real Estate is all about negotiation and it doesn’t stop at accepting an offer, this is why you hire a professional. Everyone is a professional until you actually need one.

If you would like more information on me, please go to my website www.jebsmith.net or check out my other videos on Youtube and Facebook.

Jeb Smith, Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Huntington Beach and Scott Schang, Branch Manager of Buy Wise Mortgage in Huntington Beach discuss the changing housing market in a longer form conversation.

In this conversation, we discuss Interest Rates, Discount Brokerages (Purplebricks Realty) and the advantage to hiring a professional when getting a loan or hiring a Real Estate Agent to sell your home.

For more information on Scott, check out www.findmywayhome.com and for more information on Jeb, go to www.jebsmith.net.

Thanks for taking the time to watch.