What Does It Cost Me To Sell A House in Arlington VA?

There’s a lot of focus on a buyer’s closing costs, but not much discussion on how much it costs to actually sell a house. Well, let’s focus on the seller’s view of the transaction for a moment. While I won’t (read: can’t) get into a specific dollar or % amount, we can talk in guestimations. So let’s take a high level view of the transaction:

  • If you own a condo or property located with a Homeowners Association, you’ll have to incur the cost of ordering HOA Documents for the buyer to review. This will usually cost a few hundred dollars – the lowest i’ve seen is $250, but it’ll be determined by your management company.
  • If the buyer has a VA loan (loans for active military and veterans), the seller is responsible for the Termite inspection and septic (if appl.). We don’t see too many septic systems in Arlington, but they’re more common out in Great Falls, Oakton, etc.
  • If the buyer is doing a VA or FHA loan, there are certain fees they’re not allowed to pay, called “non-allowables” (clever, no?).  The responsibility then falls on the seller to pay them…however, really in Virginia that only means the “Tax Service Fee” which is generally less than $100.
  • If you have a deed of trust, you’ll have a payoff cost for the attorney to mail the remaining amount to your lender (and if you have a 2nd mortgage, you’ll have a 2nd payoff cost.)
  • Attorney’s fees for preparation of the deed and documents.
  • Arlington County Grantors Tax = 0.1% of the Sales Price (ex. $420,000 sales price will cost you $420 to sell it).
  • Realtor Commission at x% (sellers pay both agents a % of the contract price).
  • If anything comes up on the home inspection or appraisal as required repairs, you’ll have to incur the cost to fix these items.
  • If anything comes up on the home inspection as negotiable items of repairs, and you elect to repairs them, you’ll have to incur these costs also.

I know this list looks long and scary, but it’s actually about 1% in addition to your commission %, plus any repairs from the home inspection list. If your house has been well kept, these costs should be minimal!

If you’re thinking of selling, find out what your home is worth.