What selling actually costs

The headline is not the money

A home sells for $700,000 and everyone repeats that number. It is not what the seller got. Between the sale price and the wire that lands in your account sits a stack of payoffs and fees, and the gap surprises people who have only ever looked at the headline.

None of this is hidden or unusual. It is just rarely laid out before someone has already decided to sell.

What comes off the top

In rough order of size:

• Your loan payoff. Usually the biggest single item. Not your last statement balance — the payoff includes interest through the closing date, and any second mortgage or HELOC has to clear too.
• Commission. Negotiable, always — by law and in practice. Ask what it covers, and ask how it is split between the two sides.
• Escrow and title fees. Escrow holds the money; title insurance protects against an ownership claim surfacing later. Both vary by provider and by what is customary in your county.
• County transfer tax. Charged on the transfer itself. Some cities add their own on top.
• Prorated property taxes. You cover the portion of the tax year you owned the home.
• Repairs or credits. Whatever gets negotiated after the buyer's inspection. This is the line that moves most between opening escrow and closing.
• Smaller items. Natural hazard disclosure report, HOA transfer and document fees if you are in one, a home warranty if you offer it, recording and courier charges.

What people wrongly expect to pay

Two things sellers often brace for that usually are not theirs. The buyer's loan costs — origination, appraisal, their lender's fees — belong to the buyer unless you have agreed to a credit. And moving costs are real, but they are not deducted at closing; they come out of your pocket separately, so they are easy to forget when you are looking at a net sheet.

The tax question everyone asks

"Do I owe tax on the profit?" Often no, but it depends on facts specific to you.

Federal law lets many homeowners exclude a large amount of gain on a primary residence — commonly cited as up to $250,000 for a single filer and $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly — if you owned and lived in the home for at least two of the last five years. There are exceptions in both directions, and rental or inherited property follows different rules entirely.

This is the one part of selling where you should talk to a tax professional before you sign anything, not after. The rules are specific, they change, and the amount at stake is usually larger than any fee you would pay for the advice.

The number that actually decides it

People ask "what's my home worth?" when the question they are really asking is "would selling leave me better off?" Those are different questions and only the second one is answerable with a decision attached.

Work out your net first. Then compare it against what you would need for the next move — down payment, the new payment at today's rates, moving costs. Sometimes the number is bigger than expected and the plan accelerates. Sometimes it is smaller and the answer is to wait, or to borrow against the equity instead of selling it.