Selling my primary. What to expect...

[Joe Boggin]

I would love to sell my primary residence. 

However I cannot afford to juggle two mortgages. A friend of mine made an offer on a property contingent upon selling his primary and I'm guessing that is the preferred way to approach this. My question is geared towards the costs associated with closing and acquiring...

Let's say I list my property for $258,000 and we accept an offer for $250,000. if I sold a property for $250,000 what would I walk away with after all associated fees ( commissions, closing costs etc?!). 240k? 235k? 230k?  We live in New Jersey by the way. 

The reason I am wondering what I walk away with it is because I'm trying to factor in the total acquisition cost of selling my property and. purchasing another property.  The amount of money that I walk away with it if I sell for 250 obviously is my down payment on the new property. But I'm guessing closing costs on the new property are going to be close to 10 or $15,000.  15,000 to sell my property and $15,000 to buy a property is a swing of close to $30,000 in costs having nothing to do with the purchase price or down payment. The amount of money I can put down property and my debt to income all factor into the cost associated with selling my primary and closing cost with purchasing a new home.  Maybe my numbers are not accurate but if the costs associated with closing on a new home and the cost associated with selling my primary come out to be $30,000 I have to factor that $30,000 on top of my down payment for the new property?! 

[Jon Holdman]

When you sell you will typically have 6% of the selling price for commissions, about 2% for closing costs, and in some areas you may have concessions to the buyer.  Those typically max out at about 3%.  So, worst case you would net about $225,000.  If you avoid the seller concessions, it would be close to $230K.  Agents in your area can advise you about seller concessions.  You will also have at least some sprucing up and repair costs.  When we live in a house a lot of little stuff gets neglected.  But when selling you have to deal with those little things or else buyers think the property is poorly maintained and has a lot of issues.

When buying, your costs are much less.  Typically about 2% is what I plan for.  That includes inspections, appraisals, mortgage origination costs and fees, title insurance for the lender, and your closing costs.