by Lina Martinez

When you decide to sell a property, whether it's to make a profit or to move into a new home, there are many important costs that you have to cover to make the sale possible. 

You may not expect to have to pay money to sell something, but in fact you must cover an array of different fees for certain services and paperwork. First off, if you have any outstanding loan or mortgage repayments, you have to cover these. Contact your mortgage broker if you've decided you're going to sell your home, as they will talk you through the steps you need to take to settle the remaining balance.

You will likely need to look at hiring a real estate agent who has considerable experience selling property. Attempting to sell your home privately will likely take much longer than it would with an agent, as you won't have access to the same advertising platform or customer base. 

Next, you'll need to look into any legal costs and taxes that are associated with selling a property. You can expect to pay transfer tax and attorney fees to make sure your sale abides by the law, so spend some time searching for a reputable property expert that can fulfill your needs without blowing your budget. 

In some countries such as Malaysia, you need to pay RPGT (or real property gains tax) on the profit that you earn from the sale of your house. The percentage that you need to pay can change annually based upon the needs of the government and the period of time that you have owned the property, so check out this handy infographic for more information.