What are the seller’s typical closing costs?

Selling a home in the Chicago area (or really anywhere), should be easy enough: buyer gives seller money, seller gives buyer keys and a deed. Oh, if only it were that simple. 

Not only are there piles of paperwork, sellers also have to pay closing costs—fees and charges associated to the transaction. And they add up quickly. In the end, the seller will receive the net proceeds of sale: the purchase price less closing costs, which generally include transfer taxes, property tax credits, title insurance and related charges, brokerage commissions, and attorney fees.

Of course sellers want to keep their closing costs as low as possible. But at just .25% of the sale price below, the legal fee might be the best bargain of all. The seller's attorney not only to protects the seller's interests, the attorney should also explain all of the closing costs, ensure that the other costs are fair and reasonable too, and show the best ways to save.

The typical seller of a $300,000 home in Chicago will pay roughly $30,000 in closing costs. Here's how that breaks down:

Note: This is a pretty good representation of what sellers can expect to pay in closing costs, based on a couple of very important assumptions:

• A 6% brokerage commission (the fee paid to the real estate agency)
• A property tax credit to the buyer, computed here at 2.19% of property value, which is the current (2023) average for Cook County
• Title Clearances an owner's title insurance policy. a plat of survey, zoning certification, water full payment certification, regulatory wire transfer, and recording fees

Selling your home? Real estate closings are all we do.You can schedule a call with me or John Aylesworth (our lead attorney) if you have questions about your specific closing. We're here to help.