Realestate sale fees?

Question

I may back out of my house sale because of fees.Inspection wasnt done yet,so I should be able to cancel,its my house.They want 5800 sale fee,639 to check for liens,495 administration fee,200 water bill fee.Is this nuts?$495 should be in the 5800 commision fee,right,I will have a loss of $17000 if I go through with these costs.If I sell,will they force these fees on me?I dont want to sell.

Answer 1

If you have signed a sales contract and are in escrow you can not back out. But I think you have realtor fees and escrow fees mixed up. There are normal fees no matter if you sell the house your self or have a realtor that have to be paid and often times they give you an estimate of closing cost and proceeds. Again this is an estimate it usually is on the high side. These fees are paid out of the equity in your house...money you never really had. So if you look at it this way you don't have a loss your gain is what you put in your pocket. the bonus is that you get to write off all of the cost of selling your house on your taxes now tell me whos dipping in the equity now? If the market is good to you then there is great gain. the value is only what people are willing to pay or what the market will bear.

Answer 2

It is required in our office to give an Estimated Sellers Net Sheet once a listing price is agreed upon and we have to have the sellers signature on it.  If this is missing from our file, our company will not give us our pay check for that particular home.   Protecting the seller from surprises like this is the reason why.

Your listing agent should be able to give you a description of every charge, including title & escrow fees.  Transfer fees and taxes should also be taken into consideration.

I would think that the commission and this administration fee should have been negotiated up front.  

You should call your listing agent and set up an appointment to handle your questions.  They are valid and should be answered to your satisfaction.

I don't know if backing out of the sale is the answer, especially if you live in an area where values are declining.  It may cost you more in the long run.  If you just completely changed your mind about selling and don't want to move, then find out what the ramifications are if you cancel the purchase agreement, but move quickly.  It's harder the longer you wait.

Let me know how this turns out.

Answer 3

check your contract with the realtor.  hire your own lawyer as well, yes more money.  it ain't cheap to sell.  and the various charges can be rather difficult to understand.

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Answer 4

You are getting cheated if all these fees weren't disclosed to you in advance.    But we can't know the complete situation.  If you are getting a $300,000 profit when the sale closes, no one is going to feel sorry for you.  Just refuse to pay the administrative fee.  Unless you completely understood it when the house went up for sale. A contract is not a contract unless there is a "meeting of the minds".

Answer 5

Make very sure that you have the legal right to terminate the sale before you attempt to do so.  If you're not well versed in contracts, pay an attorney to review it thoroughly...it will be the best money you ever spent and will be significantly less than litigation.  I can't speak to the validity of the fees because I don't know what is customary in your area and you didn't mention the contemplated sale price, etc.