Costs and Hidden Fees of Selling your Home in Ontario – Toronto

Your home is likely your largest and biggest investment you will ever make. 

When thinking of selling and to maximize the value of your investment you will need to spend some cash before it hits the market and also costs involved after closing.

Let’s go over some of the obvious and less obvious costs of selling you home.

Expected Costs of Selling a Home in Ontario:

1- Realtor Commission: 

2- Closing Costs:

3- Moving Expenses

Hidden Fees and Costs:

4- Capital Gain Taxes:

5- Renovation and Repairs:

6- Landscaping:

7- Staging & Professional Photography:

Realtor Commission: 

The first thing that most people think of when they think of “Selling a Home” is the real estate commission, which might be one big portion of this process.

Traditionally in Ontario the Real Estate Commission comes to 5% of the final sale price. Which generally split between the Buyer’s and your agent. 

Buyer’s agent will get 2.5% which you better not change, that as mentally makes your home not as appealing for the Buyer’s agent and that is something you don’t want to happen!

The Idea behind the commission is that, by pegging your agents compensation to the final sale price of the house, youre incentivizing them to get the highest price possible. Means the more you make, the more they make!

Does it work? In general, YES! Agent-assisted sales consistently sell faster, and for more money, than non-agent-assisted sales. According to the National association of REALTORS in 2019 (US Market), the median sale price of non-agent-assisted sales was $200,000, while the median price of homes sold by agents was $280,000. Therefore, even though the real estate commission is one of the biggest costs of selling your home, but it also brings some of the highest value.

Closing Costs:

For Sellers Closing Costs is a catchall term that includes many smaller costs, like owner Title Insurance, prorated utility costs, Documents preparation fees, Lawyers Fees, Mortgage payout charges.

Lawyers fees are expected to be a minimum of $700 – $1000 on average. If your mortgage is not ready for renewal, you may end up paying for breaking the term of the mortgage. Depending on the Financial institutions and terms of your mortgage, you may end up paying a minimum of 3 months of interest or a maximum of a few thousand. 

It would be best if you reach out to your financial institution to inquire what charges would apply if you were to break your mortgage prior to completion of the term of your mortgage.

Capital Gain:

What is a capital gain?

In simple terms, a capital gain is an increase in the value of an investment or real estate holding from the original price. If the value of the asset increases, you have a capital gain and you need to pay tax on it.

In Canada, 50% of the value of any capital gains are taxable. Should you sell the investments at a higher price than you paid (realized capital gain) — you’ll need to add 50% of the capital gain to your income. This means the amount of additional tax you actually pay will vary depending on how much you’re making and what other sources of income you have.

The only conditions on this are that the home has to be have been your primary residence for two out of the previous five years, and you can’t have used the capital gains exemption on another home sale in the previous two years.

 Landscaping

“Curb appeal” refers to the very first impression your home makes on a potential buyer, as they get out of their car or walk up your driveway. And the features that surround your house have as much impact on your home’s curb appeal as the home itself. Just as you wouldn’t show up to a job interview in a new suit, but with uncombed hair and dirty nails, your property should be thoroughly landscaped before it’s listed. That means trimming the lawn, hedges, pruning trees, and even planting flowers. 

How much this costs is going to depend on the size of your lawn, and how much maintenance it needs. But make no mistake, a manicured lawn can help a home sale as much as a new kitchen.

Staging & Professional Photography:

Where landscaping is about the external presentation of your property, staging is all about making the inside of your home as appealing as possible. In this context, staging can include everything from decluttering your shelves to buying a new dining set. 

Fundamentally, staging is about showing your home in the best possible light, sometimes literally. You’ll want to allow as much flattering natural light as possible to penetrate into your home, which means removing heavy drapes and window coverings. Visual clutter is distracting and can even cause low levels of anxiety, so you’ll want to take all your family photos and collectible plates, and put them in storage. Worn or shabby furniture can make the rest of your home seem equally threadbare, so you may need to get rid of old furniture, and possibly buy new furniture.

Also about photography the reality is that before a prospective buyer even sets foot in your home, they’ve already looked at photos of it online. That means that including high quality photos with your home listing is of the highest importance. And as anyone with an Instagram account knows, taking a good, flattering photo is much harder than it seems.

Saving When Selling Your Home:

Selling with Soheil Shivarani and Team – Hexa House we will guarantee you a perfect experience in selling your property with all the information we provide and the free Home Staging and Professional Photography you will sell with confident and highest prices in the market in the shortest possible time.

Please call us at : 416-890-0251 for any real estate questions.