Palm Bay · Selling guide
Selling a home in Palm Bay
What happens, in order, and what it costs. No jargon.
Free · Agents who know Palm Bay · Every step in one app
Palm Bay has more residents than any other city in Brevard County.
The steps
- Know your number. Your agent compares recent Palm Bay sales to set a price. Check what you still owe on your mortgage, so you know what you'd keep.
- Get the home ready. Fix small things buyers notice: leaks, lights, paint. A clean, bright home photographs better.
- Tell the truth about the home. Florida requires sellers to share known problems that affect the value and aren't easy to see.
- List it and show it. Photos, listing, showings. In CloseHive you see every showing and can block times that don't work.
- Choose an offer. Look at more than the price: the loan type, the inspection period and the closing date. CloseHive lays offers side by side, with what you'd keep from each.
- Inspection and appraisal. The buyer inspects; the lender's appraiser checks the price. Repairs or credits get agreed in writing.
- Closing day. The title company pays off your mortgage, pays the costs, and sends you the rest.
Palm Bay in numbers
- The typical home here is valued at about $283,200, which is 17% lower than Brevard County as a whole ($339,600).
- The typical home here was built around 1993, about 33 years ago. Ask about the roof's age early, because Florida insurers look at it closely.
- 80% of homes are lived in by their owners, close to the county's 77%.
- Owners with a mortgage pay about $1,549 a month in housing costs, about the same as typical rent ($1,601).
At a typical Palm Bay price of about $285,000, Florida's deed tax is $1,995 and the owner's title policy is about $1,500. Typical value here is 3.9 times the typical household income, compared with 4.3 for the county.
Palm Bay next to its neighbors
Palm Bay is valued lower than all three of its closest neighbors, so your money may go further here.
Florida costs, in plain words
- Deed tax (documentary stamps): 70 cents per $100 of the price. In Brevard County the seller usually pays it.
- Owner's title insurance: protects the buyer if someone later claims the home. Florida sets the price. In Brevard County the seller usually pays it.
- Agent pay: what you pay agents is always negotiable. You agree to it in writing before you list.
- Property taxes: Florida bills them at the end of the year, so you credit the buyer for the days you owned the home this year.
Questions sellers ask
Who pays closing costs when selling a home in Palm Bay?
In Brevard County the seller usually pays the deed tax (70 cents per $100 of the price) and the buyer's owner's title insurance policy. The buyer usually pays their loan costs. Everything is negotiable in the contract.
How much is the deed tax on a $285,000 home in Florida?
Florida's documentary stamp tax on a deed is 70 cents per $100 of the price, so about $1,995 on a $285,000 home.
Do I have to tell buyers about problems with my home in Florida?
Yes. Florida law requires sellers to tell buyers about known problems that materially affect the value and are not easy to see. Homes built before 1978 also need a federal lead paint disclosure.