The True Cost of Moving
By: Kate Hennessy, CFP®
As a financial planner, I often speak to my clients about life’s big transitions. After having gone through my own major life transition this year, I decided to write about what’s involved with selling a home – the cost of moving and the factors to consider when allocating your sale proceeds to your new mortgage. Let’s tackle cost first. The first thing most people think about when preparing to sell a home, is how much they may profit from the transaction. They’ll do simple math and net the amount they paid for the home from the amount they anticipate selling the home. Very few people factor in the true cost of moving.
Many people don’t factor in the real out of pocket spend, which may consist of commissions, legal fees and moving costs. The following figures are all approximates and will depend on your personal situation:
- 5% commission to sell your home (2.5% to your agent & 2.5% to the buyers’ agent)
- $3,000 for Title Insurance
- $1,300 transfer tax
- $1,500 legal fees & survey
- $2,500 to $5,000 for moving costs (movers, boxes, etc)
- $2,000 to $5,000 for repairs to prep your home for sale
These amounts add up quickly and should be factored in when considering your sale price and cost to move.
After selling our home, we are now determining how much to pay down on the mortgage of our new home. There’s a cost to borrowing money and interest rates have increased substantially over the past year. For example, if you have a $400K mortgage and you give up your old 3% rate for a new rate of 5%, you will pay $8,000 extra per year. There’s also a cost to not investing in the market. We’ll be using the mortgage calculator at www.mortgagecalculator.org to determine the best repayment strategy for us.
For those of you considering selling your home, we are here to help. It’s a process, but if you find the right home for the next chapter in your life then it’s well worth it. Contact us to help you determine the best repayment strategy for your new mortgage.