Are there costs associated with selling a home today? You better believe there are. The fact of the matter is, you can control those costs, but most don’t. I wish there was an explanation of why, but I have not been able to find one. The main costs to selling a home are the ones that will never disappear. They are: commissions, title charges, escrow charges, concessions, repairs and pest control repairs. Again you can control these costs. Don’t forget if you purchase a replacement home, now you have lender costs. You know, these aren’t the high flying days of the early 2,000’s that ended approximately in 2006. Every cent and every dollar counts today. If you have sold a home in the last few years, how many of you have taken the time to question the costs. Have you negotiated the commission; probably not. In the state of California commissions are negotiable; do it. Have you taken the time to find an escrow and a title company that offers what you need at costs you understand and can live with? No, you probably have just relied on your agent to refer you to these services. Take the time before you even list a property for sale and talk to escrow and title companies. Compare the costs and then choose wisely. Your agent is not paying for these services; you are. So you choose who is going to be your escrow and who is going to provide a title policy; not your agent. There are opinions out there that if a seller is really smart, they will do a pest control inspection and a physical inspection before the property is listed for sale. There is nothing worse than accepting and offer, then the buyer does their physical inspection and they will come back with laundry list of items for you to repair. At least if you have your own physical inspection, you will know upfront, what repairs you can take care of and what repairs you won’t. Most importantly the buyer will know this from the beginning and you both can avoid the anguish of going back and forth. The only costs that brokerages that represent you can control are the commissions. Make no mistake about it, commissions are the single highest cost of any real estate transaction and with this in mind the following are the commission rates for this brokerage. They apply to a seller of residential real estate that intends to purchase a replacement property:

1. The listing commission is 4.5% of the final sale price. The commission is split between the listing broker and the selling broker (buyer representative); 2.5% to the selling broker and 2.0% to the listing broker.
2. The seller then receives a 1% credit of the final purchase price of the replacement home if this brokerage represents the seller (now buyer) when purchasing that home and that home is within San Diego County. If a replacement home is purchase for $600,000, then the seller (now buyer) will receive $6,000. This amount will be paid through escrow. You can use that amount in anyway you want.

Whether you are a seller or a buyer learn to control your selling and buying costs. Keep an eye out for brokerages like this one, that do things a little differently that are advantageous to you.