Selling a house in San Antonio costs the items your contract assigns: commission you agreed to, repairs, a title premium set by the Texas Department of Insurance, recording, and prorated property tax. Texas bars a transfer tax on a fee simple deed. A Home Pros cash sale charges $0 seller fees and covers standard closing costs.
Does Texas charge a transfer tax when you sell?
No state transfer tax is added to a normal San Antonio deed. Texas Constitution Article VIII, Section 29 says that after January 1, 2016, no law may be enacted that imposes a transfer tax on a transaction conveying fee simple title to real property. The section still allows a general business tax, a tax on mineral production, a tax on the issuance of title insurance, and a change to the rate of a tax that already existed on that date. The text is in the Texas Constitution.
That is why a seller moving here from a state with a documentary stamp or mansion tax should not budget a percent of the price for a Texas transfer tax. The deed still gets recorded. The Bexar County Clerk charges a recording fee under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 118. The dollar amount is the county fee schedule, not a percent of the sale price. See Local Government Code Chapter 118. Who pays that recording fee is a contract term, not a statewide rule this page will pretend is fixed.
If you are selling because of orders to Lackland, Fort Sam Houston, or Randolph, the same cost rules apply. The military timeline is covered in selling a San Antonio house on PCS orders. The dollars below are the same whether you are staying in Bexar County or leaving it.
What lines show up on a Bexar County seller statement?
The Texas Real Estate Commission promulgates the resale contract most residential sellers sign. In that contract, expenses the seller often pays include releases of existing liens, tax certificates, preparation of the deed, half of the escrow fee, and any brokerage fee the seller agreed to pay. The buyer side usually carries loan charges, the appraisal, and prepaid insurance. The signed contract controls. Read the current forms at the Texas Real Estate Commission before you treat a blog table as your closing statement.
Texas Property Code Section 5.008 requires a seller's disclosure in most sales of one dwelling. The notice itself is not a fee. Failing to give it can become a dispute, and disputes delay closing. The statute is in the Texas Property Code. Survey, HOA resale documents, and repair credits are extra lines when the contract calls for them. None of those has a single San Antonio price. Get the quote from the surveyor, the association, or the inspector you hire.
Commission belongs in this list only as the percent you actually signed. Some sellers pay a buyer's broker fee from their side, some do not, and the contract has a blank for that amount. Type your number into the cash offer vs listing calculator. Leaving the commission field blank counts it as zero in that tool, which is only right if you truly are not paying one.
How is the Texas title insurance premium set?
Texas does not let title companies invent the basic premium. The Texas Department of Insurance promulgates title insurance rates under Texas Insurance Code Chapter 2703. The basic premium is an all-in charge for the policy, the title examination, and closing the transaction. You can read the rate authority in Insurance Code Chapter 2703. The Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending's 2025 mortgage lending report states that TDI reduced basic title insurance premium rates effective July 1, 2025. That report is here: 2025 Report on Mortgage Lending in Texas.
The premium follows the policy amount on the promulgated schedule. A $200,000 policy and a $400,000 policy do not cost the same, and this page will not print a dollar table it has not copied from the current TDI rate schedule. Ask the title company for the premium on your price. In many San Antonio contracts the seller pays for the owner's title policy and the buyer pays for the loan policy. That split is a contract choice. On a Home Pros purchase, we cover standard closing costs, which is the line you compare against that premium.
Endorsements, a new survey, or a curative document such as an affidavit of heirship can add work even when the basic premium is fixed. If the deed is still in a deceased parent's name, the cost is time and a probate or heirship filing, not a transfer tax. That path is explained in selling an inherited San Antonio house, selling a house that is not in your name, and on our probate house page.
When are San Antonio property taxes due?
Texas property taxes for a year become delinquent if they are not paid before February 1 of the following year. Texas Tax Code Section 31.02 is the rule, in the Tax Code chapter on collections. The tax lien attaches on January 1 under Section 32.01, in Chapter 32. Bexar County, the City of San Antonio, school districts, and other taxing units each set a rate. The appraisal district sets the value. This page does not publish a citywide tax bill, because your bill is your assessed value times the rates on your statement.
At a normal closing, taxes are prorated. If you sell in October, you generally pay the buyer for the months you owned the house, and the buyer takes the rest of the year, subject to the contract. If the taxes are already delinquent, the title company collects them from the proceeds so the lien is released. That payoff can surprise a seller who only looked at the mortgage. Ask for a tax certificate early. It is one of the seller items the TREC contract already names.
Holding costs in a long listing include the monthly escrow or the tax bill you keep paying while the house sits. Put that monthly number in the calculator. Do not borrow a days-on-market average from a national article and call it your timeline.
What does a cash sale take off that list?
A Home Pros cash purchase removes the seller commission, the repair escrow you would fund before listing, and the standard seller closing costs we agree to cover. We buy as-is. The offer is usually below a full retail list price because we start from after-repair value, subtract repairs, and subtract a margin for holding, closing, and resale. Most offers land between 65 and 75 percent of ARV minus repairs. That range is our published band, not a guarantee for your address. The full formula is on how we calculate your offer.
You still pay the mortgage, tax liens, and any other payoff from the proceeds. Those hits are the same idea on both paths: the title company wires the lender and you receive what remains. A cash closing is typically about 7 to 30 days after you accept, and the offer itself usually arrives within about 24 hours of the form. Fewer days means fewer mortgage payments, tax accruals, and utility bills. That is the holding-cost difference, and it is why a lower sticker can still net more.
We are veteran-owned, BBB accredited, and rated 4.9 on Google from 98 reviews. If you want to check any cash buyer, use how to verify a we-buy-houses company. The San Antonio seller page and we buy houses for cash use the same terms.
How do you compare cash and listing nets?
Write two columns. Listing column: your expected sale price, minus the commission percent in the listing agreement, minus repairs you will pay or concede, minus seller closing costs you will pay, minus monthly holding costs times the months you expect to own it. Cash column: the offer, minus any seller costs that buyer does not cover, minus holding costs for the days until that closing. Subtract the same mortgage payoff from both. The larger remainder is the better financial result. Sticker price is not that remainder.
The calculator does this with blanks you fill in. It does not assume a 6 percent commission or a 90-day sale. If you leave a field empty, it counts as zero. Use a payoff quote from the servicer so you are not comparing equity you already spent. A fair cash offer is the one that survives that sheet, not the one with the largest opening number.
Two hypothetical net sheets
These two sheets use made-up prices so the arithmetic is visible. They are not offers, not Bexar County sale statistics, and not average commissions or days on market. The percents are sample inputs a seller might type.
Light repairs
Sample inputs: list price $350,000, commission typed at 5.5 percent ($19,250), repairs $12,000, holding $2,400 a month for 4 months ($9,600), seller closing costs typed at 1.5 percent ($5,250). Listing net before payoff: $303,900. Cash offer tested at $265,000, 21 days, holding $1,680, seller closing costs $0 because that buyer covers them. Cash net before payoff: $263,320. On these inputs the listing path is ahead by $40,580 before the loan payoff.
Heavy repairs and a long hold
Sample inputs: list price $240,000, commission typed at 6 percent ($14,400), repairs $48,000, holding $2,800 a month for 5 months ($14,000), seller closing costs typed at 2 percent ($4,800). Listing net before payoff: $158,800. Cash offer tested at $175,000, 14 days, holding $1,307, seller closing costs $0. Cash net before payoff: $173,693. On these inputs the cash path is ahead by $14,893 before payoff, even though the cash sticker is $65,000 lower. Change one input and the winner can change. Run the calculator before you trust a slogan about which path always wins.
| Cost line | Home Pros cash purchase | Traditional listing in San Antonio |
|---|---|---|
| State transfer tax | None. The Texas Constitution bars one on a fee simple deed. | None. Same constitutional rule. |
| Commission | $0 | The percent in your listing agreement. |
| Standard seller closing costs | Covered by Home Pros | Contract items such as the owner's title policy, tax certificates, deed prep, and half the escrow fee, as the contract assigns them. |
| Repairs | Not required. The repair budget is inside the offer math. | Often paid by you, or given back as a credit after inspection. |
| Property tax | Prorated. Delinquent taxes are paid from proceeds. | Same proration rule. You also carry the bill for every extra month. |
| Time | About 7 to 30 days after acceptance. Offer usually within about 24 hours. | Whatever timeline your buyer and the market actually take. |
Frequently asked questions
Is there a transfer tax when I sell a house in San Antonio?
Texas Constitution Article VIII, Section 29 bars a transfer tax on a conveyance of fee simple title. A routine Bexar County sale does not add a state stamp tax based on the price. You still pay the county clerk's recording fee and whatever closing costs the contract assigns to you. Title insurance is a separate, state-set premium, and the constitution allows a tax on the issuance of title insurance.
Who pays title insurance in Texas?
The Texas Department of Insurance sets the basic premium. Who writes the check is a contract term. In many San Antonio listings the seller pays the owner's policy and the buyer pays the loan policy. On a Home Pros purchase, we cover standard closing costs. Ask the title company for the premium on your price rather than using a flat guess.
What commission should I plug into a net sheet?
Use the percent in your listing agreement, including any buyer-broker amount you agreed to pay. This page does not publish an average commission. The calculator on our site leaves that field blank until you type it, and a blank counts as zero.
When do I have to pay property taxes if I sell midyear?
Taxes are prorated at closing. Texas Tax Code Section 31.02 makes taxes delinquent if they are not paid before February 1 of the year after they are imposed. Delinquent taxes are typically paid from the sale proceeds so the lien releases. Your exact bill comes from the assessed value and the rates of the taxing units on your statement.
Does a cash offer always net less?
No. A cash offer is usually below a full retail list price. A listing then subtracts commission, repairs, seller closing costs, and holding costs for as long as you carry the house. Whichever column leaves more after the mortgage payoff is the better financial result. Run both with your numbers.
What does Home Pros charge a seller?
Home Pros charges $0 commissions and $0 seller fees and covers standard closing costs. We buy as-is. Most offers land between 65 and 75 percent of after-repair value minus repairs. We usually send an offer within about 24 hours and close in about 7 to 30 days on a date you accept. The calculator estimate is not that offer.
Do I still owe my mortgage if I sell for cash?
Yes, until the title company pays it off from the proceeds. The payoff reduces your check on a cash sale and on a listing by the same kind of wire. Get a current payoff from the servicer so the net sheet matches what you will actually receive.
Where do I get a real offer?
Submit the address on the form linked from this page or call (830) 510-1597. You can also start from the San Antonio page or the sell-my-house-fast hub. There is no obligation to accept the number we send.
This page is general information about Texas selling costs. It is not legal, tax, or lending advice. Title premiums, tax bills, and contract allocations change. Confirm the current TDI rate, your tax certificate, and your contract with the title company before you rely on a net sheet.