I’m having problems keeping up with my mortgage payment and I have decided to put my Kansas City house on the market after the first of the year and I need help

Q: I’m having problems keeping up with my mortgage payment and I have decided to put my Kansas City house on the market after the first of the year and I need help. I have a house and I owe around $178,250. It is probably only worth what I owe. My company is also talking about relocating me next spring. If I use a real estate agent, how much is their commission and how much would I pay out of my pocket? Also, if the buyer ask me to pay their closing costs, how do I do that? I do not have $3-5000 to pay for closing costs or any other fees included in the sale of my house. Is there a list you can provide for me to know exactly what types of expenses I can expect to pay? How will I be expected to pay them? Thank you. Janice from Olathe


A. Great questions, Janice. First there are lots of issues here. First, you might explore a short sale option. If this works for you, your mortgage lender will pay all fees. We would be happy to pull up comparable sold homes and complete a short sale application for you. 


Second, you mentioned that your company may relocate you. If they do, will you have any relocation benefits? If you do, you might wait until your company relocates you.


Third, most of the cost associated with selling a home are taken from the equity at closing and not paid out of your checking account. These fees include commissions, title fees, taxes and closing fees. To give you numbers we'll need to do a good faith sellers closing cost estimate.


Fourth, commissions and buyers closing cost are totally negotiable. Real estate commissions range from 4.0% to 7%. Listing agents charge less than marketing agents. We would be happy to review the advantages and disadvantages for you in a free consultation.


Have any other real estate questions, please feel free to contact the Dowell Taggart Team.


RE/MAX sells more homes than any other real estate company.
For a reason...should we talk?

Blog post written by the Dowell Taggart Team of RE/MAX Premier Realty 

Comments are appreciated! Go ahead and add your 2 cents . . .
We have 3 easy steps to find you the perfect home . Click here to get started, today!

Short sales, foreclosures, luxury homes, investor homes, first time home buyer homes, land, investment properties and move up buyers.

Gardner, Olathe, Overland Park, Leawood, Lenexa, Shawnee, Mission, Merriam, Prairie Village, Basehor, Tonganoxie, Lansing, Leavenworth, Spring Hill, Eudora, De Soto, Edgerton, Platte City, Smithville, Gladstone, Liberty, Riverside, Independence, Lee's Summit, Pleasant Hill, Raymore, Belton, Grandview, Raytown, Waldo and the surrounding Kansas City communities.