Seller Closing Costs: What You'll Actually Pay When You Sell Your Home

Sellers often focus on the sale price and forget to calculate what comes out at closing. The gap between your contract price and your actual net proceeds can be $30,000–$50,000 on a median-priced home — or more. Here's what you're actually paying for.

The Core Seller Closing Costs

Real Estate Agent Commissions

In a traditional agent-assisted sale, commission accounts for most of your closing costs. The combined listing agent plus buyer's agent commission has historically ranged from 5%–6% of the sale price. On a $400,000 home, that's $20,000–$24,000.

Since the 2024 NAR antitrust settlement, commissions are formally decoupled. You're no longer required to offer a buyer's agent commission, and it can no longer appear on the MLS. Sellers who list with agents typically still negotiate commissions, but the traditional split structure has changed.

FSBO sellers eliminate the listing side (historically 2.5%–3%), replacing it with a flat-fee MLS cost of $99–$400. Whether you offer a buyer's agent commission is now a strategic decision rather than a requirement.

Transfer Taxes

State and county transfer taxes are paid by the seller in most states. They're typically calculated as a percentage of the sale price and vary significantly by location:

• Low-transfer-tax states: Texas, New Mexico, Idaho — flat fees of a few hundred dollars
• Moderate: Most of the South and Midwest — approximately 0.1%–0.5%
• High: Pennsylvania (1%), New York (0.4%–1.4%), California (varies by county, roughly 0.11%), Washington DC (1.1%–1.45%)

Some states (like Colorado and Montana) charge no transfer tax at all. Check your county assessor's website or have your title company confirm the exact rate before you set your net sheet expectations.

Title Insurance

In most states, sellers pay for the owner's title insurance policy. This insurance protects the buyer against title defects going back through the property's ownership history — unpaid liens, forgeries in prior deeds, errors in public records.

Seller's title insurance typically costs 0.5%–1% of the sale price. On a $400,000 home, expect $800–$2,000 depending on your state and title company.

The buyer's lender will separately require a lender's title insurance policy paid by the buyer. These are distinct products.

Attorney Fees (Where Required)

Eleven states legally require a licensed real estate attorney to conduct or supervise the closing: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia.

Seven additional states require attorneys for specific aspects of the transaction (drafting the deed, certifying the mortgage, or providing a title opinion): Alabama, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Rhode Island.

Attorney closing fees for sellers typically run $500–$1,500 in mandatory-attorney states.

Even in title company states, FSBO sellers should strongly consider retaining an attorney to review the purchase agreement and counter-offers. The fee is a fraction of the commission savings and dramatically reduces post-closing liability exposure.

Prorated Property Taxes

At closing, property taxes are prorated to the date of sale. If you've prepaid taxes for the year, you receive a credit. If taxes are due but unpaid, you owe the buyer a credit for the portion of the year you owned the home.

The title company or closing attorney calculates this precisely. It's not something you can estimate without knowing your exact closing date.

Mortgage Payoff and Prepayment Penalties

The remaining balance on your mortgage is paid off at closing from the sale proceeds. This is straightforward. What sellers miss: some mortgages — particularly adjustable-rate mortgages or loans originated before 2014 — include prepayment penalty clauses that charge a fee for early payoff.

Contact your lender for a formal payoff quote (valid for 30 days) well before closing. The payoff amount will differ from your current mortgage balance because it includes accrued interest to the payoff date.

HOA Transfer Fees and Dues

If your property is in a homeowners association, expect:

• HOA transfer fee: $200–$500 (varies by association)
• Prorated HOA dues to closing date
• Resale certificate/disclosure package fee: $100–$400

Some HOAs also charge a "move-out" or "capital improvement" fee. Review your HOA governing documents or contact the management company directly.

Seller Concessions

Negotiated seller concessions — where you agree to cover some of the buyer's closing costs — are not technically a "closing cost," but they reduce your net proceeds the same way. Buyer's closing costs on a financed purchase typically run 2%–5% of the loan amount. In soft markets, buyers often request partial coverage from the seller.

In FSBO transactions post-NAR settlement, some sellers offer closing cost concessions to buyers as an alternative to offering a buyer's agent commission.

What Sellers Don't Pay

In most states, sellers don't pay:

• Loan origination fees (buyer's expense)
• Home inspection fees (buyer's expense)
• Lender's title insurance policy (buyer's expense)
• Appraisal fee (buyer's expense)

Running a Seller's Net Sheet

Your net proceeds = Sale Price − Mortgage Payoff − All Closing Costs − Agent Commissions

Example for a $400,000 FSBO sale in a typical title company state:

Compare that to an agent-assisted sale at 5.5% commission: you'd pay $22,000 in commissions instead of $10,295 in FSBO costs — a difference of roughly $11,700 in favor of FSBO even after the flat fee, appraisal, and photography.

Before You Close

Request a preliminary closing disclosure from the title company or attorney at least 3 business days before closing. Review every line item. Common errors include:

• Incorrect mortgage payoff amounts
• Double-charged fees
• HOA dues calculated on the wrong date
• Transfer tax calculated on the wrong county rate

If something looks wrong, flag it immediately. Corrections after the deed is recorded are considerably more complicated.

Understanding your closing costs before you price the home is essential — not something to discover the morning of closing. The FSBO Complete Guide includes a seller's net sheet calculator and a closing cost reference by state so you can model your actual proceeds before you list.