If you’re new to selling real estate, it helps to understand closing costs. In Portland, Oregon, people sell thousands of homes every single year. It stands to reason that they often come across some unknown expenses that they might have to cover at closing.
At Better Off House Buyers, we’re most interested in making sure you save money when you’re ready to sell. Let’s take a look at the closing costs you can expect to see when you sell your home in Portland.
What are the Average Closing Costs in Portland, Oregon?
Closing costs tend to hover right around 3%-5% of the home’s purchase price, and much of this is covered by the buyer. But sellers may have to cover some of these costs, themselves, depending on the deal they’ve made. When sellers are expected to contribute, they often have to pay 2% of the home’s purchase price at closing.
The average home in Portland sells for around $400,000. If we use 4% as an average, closing costs come out to be about $16,000.
Closing Cost Variables
No traditional real estate transaction is a clear-cut process. There are usually some additional variables to consider when determining what closing costs should be. For example, buyers can choose to pay discount points, which results in them getting offered a lower mortgage rate. Not every buyer will choose to do this, but when they do, it changes the amount they need to have at closing.
Understanding Closing Costs From the Seller’s Perspective
You won’t need to pay as much out of pocket if you are the seller, but you may be required to cover some of the closing costs. For example:
· You may need to pay the owner’s policy of title insurance.
· You may need to cover your real estate agent’s commission, at least partially.
· You may need to pay at least some of the escrow fees.
· You may need to pay HOA transfer fees, if applicable.
· You may need to pay prorated property taxes or HOA fees.
· You may need to pay for a home warranty if needed.
· You may need to pay for prorated utilities.
· You may need to cover your portion of the property transfer taxes.
There is no doubt that closing on a house can be expensive, even if you’re the seller.
Should Sellers Plan To Pay the Buyer’s Closing Costs?
In most cases, closing costs are split between the buyer and the seller. Sometimes this is a 50/50 split, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Quite often, sellers will agree to pay closing costs in full just to make sure the transaction goes through as smoothly as possible. But this can be problematic as well. It could mean that the buyer is unable to afford them. If that’s the case, they may not be able to afford the house at all, and the sale might eventually fall through.
Sellers who offer to pay closing costs won’t hurt the transaction in any way. But they do carry a little more risk than if they had let the buyer carry more of the financial burden.
Who Pays the Closing Costs When Selling to an Investor?
Planning to sell to an investor is much different as far as closing costs go. While some of them will insist on splitting them in a more traditional way, that is not the case across the board. Many investors will cover all of the closing costs in full. That way, the seller doesn’t have to worry about them at all.
Also, many of the typical closing costs that are expected during a normal real estate sale won’t be listed on the closing sheet. For example, the cost of the home inspection is usually there, but because many investors pay with cash instead of taking out a loan, they won’t need an inspection. There are also no real estate commissions to worry about since an agent was not involved.
A lot of homeowners choose to sell their homes to investors to save themselves money. This might be something you’ll want to consider as well.
What’s Different About Better Off House Buyers?
At Better Off House Buyers, we buy all kinds of houses, even ones that are considered to be hard to sell on the traditional real estate market. We relieve sellers of homes that have been condemned, abandoned, or have simply fallen into disrepair.
In a normal real estate transaction, you might be expected to repair everything that’s wrong with your home before the sale. This can be troublesome. It can cause the sale to take longer than it should, and it is usually quite expensive. But when you choose to sell your house to us, we’ll take it as-is, and we’ll take care of all the repairs ourselves.
The process of selling a home to us is very simple. First, you’ll let us know that you would like to sell us your house. We’ll ask you all kinds of questions, and if we think your home might qualify for what we’re looking for, we’ll set up a time to see it in person.
Once we’ve seen your home, we’ll make our decision and present you with a written offer. There is no obligation for you to accept our offer, and no hidden fees to surprise you with along the way. If you accept, we’ll set a date for closing that works with your schedule.
Before long, you’ll have cash in hand for your home! We’ll cover all closing costs too.
Let Us Answer Your Questions About Closing Costs in Portland
At Better Off House Buyers, we want to get cash in your hand as soon as possible. We are professional home buyers who are very experienced in purchasing homes in Portland, Oregon. We’re here to answer your questions about closing costs or anything else you need to know. Are you ready to talk with an investor about your property? Please contact us today.