About five to six percent of your home’s sale price will go toward real estate agent commissions. 50% of that commission goes to your agent and the other 50% goes to the buyer’s agent.

HomeLight Set data shows the national average for commissions is around 5.8%, but how much you’ll pay depends on where you live. Commission in San Francisco averages 5.08%, whereas commission in Atlanta comes in at 6.02%. Find out how much real estate commissions are in your city with our agent commission calculator.

You may find yourself in a transition period when you have to pay costs on both your old home and your new one.

For example, let’s say you’ve already found and closed on your next home, but haven’t sold your existing one yet. You’ll need to pay mortgage costs, HOA fees, utilities, taxes, and insurance for both.

If you’ve sold your current home but haven’t yet found a new one, factor in the costs of temporary housing, storage, and additional moving services.

Will you stay with friends and family or find short-term rental options? Hotels and short-term rentals can really add up. Plus, you’ll need to find a place to store your belongings, which can cost anywhere from $40 to $200 a month, depending on the size of your storage unit. Make sure you’ve budgeted for this transition period.

Even if you’re a Marie Kondo expert, you still need to figure out a way to move everything you own to your next location. According to HomeAdvisor the national average for a professional mover ranges from $559 – $1,548. Some big factors affecting the cost? The distance of the move and how much (and what!) stuff you have. For example, it will cost more to move a 5-bedroom house filled with priceless antiques than a studio apartment with sparse decor.

If you want to go the do-it-yourself route, you can rent a moving truck that costs anywhere from $50 to $200, HomeAdvisor reports. That’s not including all the boxes, tape, gas, and miles traveled. So, if you need to move more complicated items or don’t have the time to pack everything up, hiring a professional might be the right path for you.

Not all states require an attorney for a real estate closing, expect to pay an hourly fee if you’re in: Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, or West Virginia.

Fees vary by state and even city; average costs can go from $150 to $350. Typically, you only need a real estate agent’s expertise to get through the closing process. If you do find yourself in a less straight forward transaction (such as: liens on the property, you’re selling the house as an heir to someone deceased, or other legal issues), consult a real estate attorney for a professional opinion.

You can offer seller concessions to your buyer if you need to speed up the process or give them an incentive to take the deal. The percentage you can offer depends on your buyer’s loan. For FHA loans, sellers can offer up to 6% of the home sale price as a concession. That number drops to 3% for conventional loans.

A home inspection gives the buyer an idea of your home’s overall condition, and reveals everything they’ll need to fix when they move in. The inspection is a crucial step in the closing process. In fact, the National Association of Realtors found that home inspections delayed 18% of closings in 2019.

If issues come up during inspection and you don’t fix them, they could be rolled into the cost of your home. Depending on your negotiations, this may decrease its overall sale price.

Typically, a buyer pays for the home inspection, which costs around $328. But, you could offer to cover the fee as a seller concession to make the deal more attractive.

Note that in some states, you’re required by law to disclose any home issues to the buyer.

If you want to attract buyers, you’ll need to stage your house and get it ready for listing pictures and showings. Your main goal with home staging is to help buyers imagine your house as their own. Think neutral tones, depersonalization and tasteful decorations.

Staging makes your home appeal to a wider range of buyers and puts more money in your pocket. 67% of top real estate agents say that home staging fetched more money for their sellers, and 92% of agents agree that home staging is beneficial to selling a house in general. Fixr.com reports that the national average to stage a home can range from $2,300 – $3,200.

Before you can sell your home, the buyer will request a title search to confirm ownership of the property and uncover any unpaid liens. Buyers typically pay this fee.

Meanwhile, the escrow company handles the transfer of funds and documents in a real estate transaction. You and your buyer will split escrow fees.

A transfer or excise tax is a fee you’re required to pay when you transfer ownership of your property to the buyer. The cost depends on the location of the home sale and varies across states and counties. Ask your real estate agent if your state requires a transfer tax on real estate transactions. For example, Texas does not charge a transfer tax, but Florida does at 0.60%, which translates to about $1,050 per $100,000 of property value.

If a buyer decides on an FHA or VA loan, either the lender or the seller pays for non-allowable fees. These are costs the buyer doesn’t need to worry about, like lender fees or tax service fees. A tax service fee goes toward the lending company and the seller may pay for it if negotiated in advance.

A buyer wants to know their new home won’t collapse on the first night. So, make sure you’ve addressed the leaky roof before you list the house. Otherwise you may risk getting a lower price for your home, or the buyer walking away altogether. The cost for repairs depends on the job; faulty wiring costs around $500, and a new roof could set you back about $4,000. Here’s a rundown of the most common issues to fix before you sell.

Title insurance protects the buyer and their mortgage lender in case the seller doesn’t have complete ownership of the home. It covers title issues, document errors, ownership disputes, and other fraudulent claims that might come up in a title search. There are two types: lender’s title insurance and owner’s title insurance. Both average $1,000 and your state and location determine who pays for each.

You’re required to cover a reconveyance fee—$50-$65—when the lender clears liens on your property’s title (typically a mortgage). A reconveyance deed releases you from the mortgage and states that it’s been paid in full. Once issued, the reconveyance deed needs to be recorded in your county’s public records, which also requires a recording fee.

You’re responsible for your home’s mortgage until the day the sale closes. Your outstanding mortgage balance will be subtracted from your home sale price, and that’s how much you’ll walk away with when you sell. Ask your lender for your current mortgage payoff amount to get an idea of how much you still owe.