When you think about selling a house, you think more about the potential profits, not necessarily how much it will cost you. But between realtor commissions, repairs, closing costs moving, and more, your total expenses can easily eat up 10% or more of your property’s final sale price.
In this guide, we’ll cover some of the most common expenses home sellers come across in Nebraska. We’ll also share some tips and tricks that will help you avoid or reduce some of these home selling costs so that you can walk away with more profits.
Curious how much it costs to sell a home in Nebraska? Well, the question is probably on your mind more than ever. When it comes to making big financial decisions, you want to be prepared, and you definitely don’t want to be in for a surprise when you sell your home.
To give you a better idea of what the costs would amount to if you sell your house for $206,000 (the average home value in Nebraska), you could end up paying upwards of $32,130 to make it happen.
Although your actual out-of-pocket total will vary based on your situation, expect to pay 10% or more of your home’s final sale price- that is if you opt to do a standard listing with a traditional, full-service real estate agent.
Below we’ll break down what home selling costs you should be aware of and how much they could end up costing you.
Typical Costs When Selling a Home in Nebraska
Here we break down some of the average costs for home sellers in Nebraska, helping you to identify the most and least expensive aspects of the home selling process.
House Repair Costs
Unless you’re planning to sell your house as-is or to one of the cash home buyers in Lincoln, you’ll need to spend some money to get your house market-ready to attract qualified buyers.
These costs will vary depending on factors such as:
- Your home’s size and layout
- The age and condition of your place
- Your lot size, yard, and layout
- The level of demand or competition for houses in your neighborhood
- Which repairs/improvements your realtor thinks matter most to prospective buyers
To maintain the value of your home, if any major repairs are needed, it would be wise to have those fixed. A foundation issue, leaky roof, mold problem, or water damage could all devalue your home’s worth. Depending on the extent of the damage and the number of major repairs needed, this could cost several thousand dollars to replace and take several weeks to finish. So you’ll just want to make sure you have room in your budget and some flexibility in your schedule to take on any major repairs.
>>Related Article: Guide To Selling A House That Needs Repairs In Lincoln, Nebraska
At a minimum, you’ll want to invest in some basic pre-listing improvements like carpet cleaning/ replacement, interior repainting, professional cleaning service, a handyman to make minor repairs, etc. To give you an idea of how much those may cost, below are some rough estimates for a few of the most common pre-listing expenses.
| Type of Expense | Average Project Cost |
| Home staging | $1,444 |
| Handyman | $390 |
| Carpet cleaning | $175 |
| Cleaning service | $200 |
| Landscaping (installation) | $2,000-$4,000 |
| Interior Painting | $1,896 |
If you’d like to add value to your home, you’ll want to consider bigger projects that provide the best return on your investment. For example, kitchens and bathroom remodels are usually top considerations for most home buyers. According to the Remodeling’s 2020 Cost vs. Value Report, in Omaha, Nebraska, a minor kitchen remodel costs $23,016 on average; however, the resale value is only $17,002 – meaning you would stand to recoup about 74 percent of your initial investment.
A bathroom remodel would cost $20,451 on average, but the resale value is only $10,737, which comes out to only 52.5% in costs recouped. Depending on your situation, it might make sense to leave your kitchen or bathroom as it is and let the buyer handle the updates if they feel it’s necessary.
Real Estate Commissions
Another significant expense you’ll want to consider when selling your house is realtor commissions, that is unless you prefer to sell your house without a realtor. In a typical transaction involving traditional, full-service listing and buyer’s agents, the seller is usually on the hook for the full commission fee. For reference, the average real estate commission in NE is between 5-6% of the property’s final selling price and is typically split between the two agents handling the sale.
Based on the median home value in Nebraska ($206,000), that comes to roughly $12,360- potentially more than half of your total home selling expenses.
So you may believe that selling by owner will save you some extra cash, but not as much as you might think. It will save you roughly half since you won’t be using a listing agent to sell your home. However, there is a chance that your buyer will use a realtor, which means they’ll still need to get paid. A buyer’s agent’s commission is usually 2.5-3%. So you’re looking at potentially paying $5,150 to $6,180 (using the median home value of $206,000) in commissions.
So yes, there are potential savings involved if you were to sell FSBO, but that doesn’t go without saying that selling a house isn’t easy. So besides getting your home ready to sell, you’ll need to:
- Figure out a competitive listing price
- Decide on a marketing strategy
- Hire a photographer
- Post your home sale on listing sites
- Answer phone calls and emails from prospective buyers
- Schedule showings
- Host open houses
- Negotiate offers
- Verify the buyers proof of funds
- Renegotiate after buyer inspections
- Find a title company to hold the closing
- Handle all the legal paperwork
And that’s not all; you’ll also be trying to pack your personal belongings, find/buy your next house, and move out. For some people, it’s worth doing all that work to save a couple of thousand dollars; for others, it’s not worth the hassle.
Home Selling Lawyer Fees
Although the state of Nebraska doesn’t require you to use a real estate attorney, it’s still a good idea to seek legal advice when handling such a significant transaction as selling a house. This will be especially important if the place you’re trying to sell is an inherited property that needs to go through probate. Or maybe a home you’re selling while going through a divorce, that is approaching foreclosure, or has a lien. In unique selling situations, it’s always wise to seek legal counsel.
If you decide to use a lawyer, you’ll want to allocate roughly <1% or $150-$500 in attorney fees just in case you decide to hire someone.
Home Inspection Costs
So typically, it falls to the buyer to pay for a home inspection; however, some sellers like to have a pre-inspection done before putting a property on the market. A pre-inspection provides them with helpful information, including pointing out unknown issues that should be addressed before listing and useful information to compare to the buyer’s inspection. Although it isn’t required for the seller to have, it may come in handy if the buyer’s inspection comes back with several issues that otherwise were not brought to light in your inspection. Generally, to have your home inspected in Nebraska costs $370 on average.
Closing Costs
Closing costs are basically a broad term for the different fees and expenses paid by both parties at closing. While the buyer usually is responsible for a major portion of these expenses, sellers should anticipate paying between 1-3% of the home’s final sale price at closing. Based on the average home value in Nebraska, $206,000, that comes out to roughly $2,060 to $6,180.
The list below will give you an idea of typical closing costs that usually are the seller’s responsibility; however, in a real estate transaction, closing costs are always negotiable and can depend on the circumstances of the sale. Therefore, you’ll need to discuss with your agent or the buyer’s agent in the beginning to get a better idea of how much you should expect to pay come closing day.
| Standard closing costs for sellers in Nebraska | Typical % of the sale price | Estimated cost* |
| Loan payoff (and early payoff fee, if applicable) | Variable | Variable |
| Transfer taxes | 0.23% | $475 |
| Recording fee | No recording fee in NE | N/A |
| Title Insurance | ~0.5% | $1,030 |
| Outstanding bills, taxes, fees | Variable | Variable |
| Attorney fee (not required) | <1% | $150-$500 |
| Total | ~1-3% | ~$2,000-$6,000 |
*Based on a $206,000 home- a typical home value in Nebraska (Zillow Research data, June 2021)
Home Selling Capital Gains Nebraska
There is a possibility that you might owe capital gains taxes upon selling your home. A capital gain is the amount of money you gained from selling an asset; in this case, we’re referring to real estate. So if you purchased your home a decade ago for $130,000 and sold your home today for $250,000, you make a capital gain of $120,000—that amount ($120,000) is what you may owe capital gains on.
The state of Nebraska treats capital gains just like ordinary income. So this means it would be included in your state income tax earnings and be taxed between 2.46% and 6.84% based on your total income.
However, before you get too worried, several exclusions may apply to you that would either cause you to avoid paying capital gains or a smaller amount. If you stand to make a significant profit from your home sale, make sure to speak to a tax professional regarding your financial obligations to the IRS.
>> To learn more about capital gains, check out this helpful guide: Capital Gains Tax In Nebraska: What Is It?
Property Taxes
In a real estate transaction, the seller will need to cover property taxes until the day you officially close, and the buyer will take over paying property taxes after that. So, if you haven’t paid all of your property taxes for the year, then you’ll have to pay a prorated share at closing. However, if you already paid your property taxes for the entire year, then the buyer should be required to reimburse you for the prorated share. Either way, outstanding property taxes are usually arranged in a real estate transaction and are placed into escrow.
To calculate your property taxes can be pretty complicated primarily since taxes are levied by counties, cities, school districts, and other local agencies based on their needs. Nebraska’s property taxes are a bit higher than the rest of the country because of their decentralized process. The exact rate varies across the state, but the average effective property tax rate is 1.83%.
Can You Avoid Some of These Costs?
Absolutely, you can avoid some of these home selling costs. As mentioned above, you can consider selling by owner to cut down on realtor commissions or look into alternative ways to sell your house. You can also negotiate closing costs, however, the buyer usually pushes hard for the seller to pay those and even some of their closing expenses, but it’s worth a try.
It’s entirely up to you whether you work with a real estate attorney or get a home inspection done on your home. But considering that this home may be one of your biggest assets, it would be beneficial to seek legal advice and/or get a home inspection report to be used for negotiations.
Sell to a Cash Homebuyer
Another solution to avoiding the typical costs when selling a house, you could sell your house to a “We buy houses in Nebraska” home buyer.
You would be able to save money on repairs, pre-listing improvements, and renovations because they buy houses in as-is condition.
They also don’t use real estate agents to purchase your home, and you wouldn’t have to either. So no agents mean no realtor commissions to pay.
Furthermore, when you work with a local home buyer like Element Homebuyers, closing costs are negotiable.
Lastly, since they have the cash available to purchase your home, they can make you a cash offer within 24-hours for your home and close in as little as 7-days. Or longer if you prefer.
Selling to Element Homebuyers provides sellers several benefits that aren’t normally available in a standard home sale, making it worth giving them a call to discuss your property.
How to Avoid Cost Inflation when Selling a House in Nebraska
As you decide how to sell your home and ways to cut down on fees and costs, make sure to remember inflation is on the rise. The minimum wage is increasing, and so are consumer products.
One meaningful example of this is repair costs, specifically supply expenses. For example, the cost of softwood and hardwood lumber went up 50% since April 2020. Due to COVID-19, certain building materials are in low supply but high demand. So you will likely see a considerable increase in repair costs and materials.
Although you can benefit from inflation too by selling your house during the height of the market. However, you may just notice that some of the typical home selling costs are more expensive than anticipated.
Final Thoughts
It’s good to be well informed about fees and costs before selling your home. That way, you can better understand the true cost of selling your Nebraska property and what you’ll be able to walk away with.
If you’d prefer to avoid as many costs as you can, and the hassle of making home repairs, selling to Element Homebuyer would be an excellent solution. They can provide a simple and less stressful way to sell your home. So if you’re saying, “sell my house fast in Bellevue,” Omaha, or Lincoln, contact Element Homebuyers today!