What Does it Cost Sellers to Close Escrow in Sacramento?

Before listing, most people want to know how much it will cost sellers to close escrow. That’s a pretty loaded question because the largest expense is not always the commission. The way it works is you generally get what you pay for. If you want a top producer to focus on your home and maximize the profit potential, you will pay more in a commission, but you net more than the difference paid. For example, when top producers like myself charge 6%, we also pay attention to ways to reduce closing costs. On top of trying to attract multiple offers to increase the price. If we weren’t worth it, sellers would not pay it. They see the value. I show it to them.

So, actually the commission is not the biggest expense. The biggest expense is hiring a cheap agent who doesn’t know what he or she is doing. Or falling victim to the home inspections’ scam of a bloated request for repair. This is when the buyer bids over list price and then tries to grind down the seller after inspections reveal, guess what? That the house is like every other house of its vintage and has a few defects. Inexperienced agents can’t really explain repairs to buyers, and inexperienced listing agents are no better. Many just tell the seller to pay the buyer’s demands. That’s the extent of their so-called service, but that’s also why those listing agents don’t make the big bucks. Not like this elite club of top producers who get paid more because they are worth it.

Otherwise, to figure out how much it will cost sellers to close escrow in Sacramento, a seller would also need to add back all the money the seller didn’t lose after inspections. In addition to adding the higher list price because we grabbed a buyer from the Bay Area. Those sorts of specialities performed by top producers.

But an easier way to compute how much it may cost sellers to close escrow is to take the sales price times 7% and deduct that number. Then deduct the unpaid balance of your mortgage. What’s left is your net profit, assuming you have hired a top producer to list your home. If you haven’t, you can probably deduct another 5% to 10% for inexperience. If you have hired a top listing agent, then your net profit is 93% of the sales price, less your existing mortgage balance. My wacky way produces a result within $500 or so with this off-the-cuff method.

Of course, the sellers I work with get an estimated closing statement upon demand. But if you wanted to figure this on the fly, that’s how you do it. If sellers prefer a breakdown of itemized deductions, as a former escrow officer, I can certainly explain each item.

It reminds me of selling real estate in the 1970s. Yes, I am that old. I started in real estate when I was five, LOL. With seller financing — and I was a huge proponent of seller financing / creative financing back then — I often sold homes for a mere 7% down. Because that amount covered the seller’s closing costs and commission. Sellers carried owner financing for the balance. I can even see those days coming back.