How Much Does a Seller Pay in Closing Costs?

Let’s start by defining our terms. When someone asks about closing costs they could be referring to a whole number of different items. For our purposes we will focus on only what is traditionally defined as seller closing costs – lawyer fees, real estate taxes, HOA transfer, etc…

Typically, in our area of Southeast Virginia, you see around $1500 for a home that sells for $300,000. When you sell your home, your real estate lawyer or title company typically charges around $500-$750. This will include preparing all your paperwork, communicating with your current mortgage holder for final payoff amounts, communicating with the buyer’s lawyers and finalizing numbers, wiring funds to payoff your mortgage, cutting checks to everyone involved in making your sale happen – the real estate agents, termite/moisture company, contractors, etc… - and any other miscellaneous item they need to help your real estate agent get them to the finish line.

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Your real estate taxes will vary. Typically, you back pay your real estate taxes meaning the taxes paid in June were for January-June so, if you are selling your home in March you have not paid any real estate taxes yet and those likely will be collected as part of your closing costs as well.

Then, if you live in a Homeowners Association, you often have a transfer fee or certainly you have a fee to purchase the HOA governing documents for your new buyer and that could be $200+.

If you want to know the full break down of all the normal costs associated with selling a home check out “How Much of the Sale Price Do I Get?” and it will explain the total picture.