What Jo Knows: Costs of Selling & Buying
Sitting back contemplating a move, but unsure what the costs are to make that move?
You're in the right place!
SELLERS
I'd like to clear up one very common misunderstanding - tax!
While death and taxes are 2 constants in life, rest assured that you do not pay tax on the money you receive when you sell your house, if it was your primary residence. You will pay capital gains tax when selling an investment property (for a profit), but not for your "home". There is also no "stamp duty" on your sale ... stamp duty is only applicable on a purchase.
Your key costs are going to be agent commission and marketing, and you're also going to need a solicitor or conveyancer who will look after your legal rights and ensure the property transfer goes smoothly.
With the way property is now marketed, there is no one size fits all price that we can just put out there, but we are an open book if you want to simply run some numbers, we just need to know "where" your property is located (yep - oddly it does make a difference with the portals charging different fees for different suburbs - we know it sounds crazy, but it's true!)
BUYERS
First of all - under no circumstances should you be paying a broker! The brokers are paid by the lender who approves your loan, so if you're asked by a broker for any money up front... call us!! We can put you in touch with a choice of trusted and reliable brokers who will look after you.
Furthermore, buyers need to allow additional money to cover conveyancing, a building and pest inspection if you choose to have one done and of course stamp duty.
Now, if you're a first home buyer, looking to buy an established home, you currently won't pay any stamp duty on the first $600,000 of your purchase price provided your contract is for a home under $750,000 in value. If you fit into this criteria and you pay over $600,000 you will only pay stamp duty on the extra value over the $600,000. So, if you buy for $630,000 you will only pay stamp duty on that extra $30,000.
If you're a seller who then becomes a buyer, you're going to need to be reading both these sections!