Client Resources
The Cost of Selling
Every line item, in plain view, before you commit to anything.
Most sellers aren't caught off guard by any single cost — they're caught off guard by how the costs stack up. Commission, prep, transfer tax, the fees that only appear at closing: each one manageable on its own, but worth seeing as a whole, and early. Here's the honest picture of what it takes to sell across Alameda and Contra Costa counties — every line item on the table before you sign anything, not a surprise on the closing statement.
Typical line items
Paint, landscaping, repairs, and staging — the same targeted-only discipline from the process above. Done right, these are often the highest-return dollars in the whole sale, which is precisely why we spend them deliberately, not broadly.
Pre-sale property, pest, and roof inspections, plus the local reports and retrofit certificates California requires at sale. Done early, they put you ahead of buyer surprises instead of behind them — you control the story before a buyer's inspector does.
Title insurance, escrow services, recording fees, and HOA document fees where applicable. Smaller individually, but real — itemized for you, never buried in the closing statement.
Set by the county, with some cities adding their own, and allocated by local custom. Both the rate and who customarily pays vary by city — yours is confirmed exactly on your net sheet, never estimated loosely.
Negotiated repair credits, rate buydowns, and sometimes a contribution toward the buyer's agent. What's customary depends on the market and the buyer pool at your price point — and none of it is decided without you.
The largest single item, and fully discussed up front — structure, amount, and what it covers, in writing before we list.