Sellers think in list price. They decide on net. "We're listing at $450,000" sounds very different from "you should walk away with about $154,000", and the second number is the one that shapes every conversation after it: the list price, a counter, a price reduction, a seller credit.
Here is how to estimate a seller's net proceeds step by step, and how to show it so the seller trusts the number.
The formula
Net proceeds = sale price − loan payoffs − commission − closing costs − prorations − concessions.
Simple on paper. The mistakes come from leaving a line out or guessing one.
Step 1: Start with the real payoff, not the balance
The loan balance on the seller's last statement is not the payoff. The payoff includes interest up to the closing date and sometimes fees. Ask the seller for a payoff estimate from the lender, and remember any second mortgage, HELOC or lien. A forgotten HELOC is the most expensive surprise on a net sheet.
Step 2: Commission, as agreed
Use exactly what the seller agreed to pay, as a percent or a flat fee. Commissions are negotiable, and who pays the buyer's agent depends on the agreements in each deal, so never fill this in from a "typical" number.
Step 3: Closing costs from local sources
Transfer or excise tax, title and escrow or settlement fees, attorney fees and recording costs vary a lot by state, county and even city. Get them from your title company, escrow officer or attorney. If you only have estimates, say so on the sheet.
Step 4: Prorations
Property tax and HOA dues are split at closing by date. Depending on where you are, taxes may be paid in arrears or in advance, so a proration can be a cost to the seller or a credit. Put the direction on the sheet, not just the amount.
Step 5: Concessions and repairs
Closing cost credits to the buyer, repair credits and a home warranty all come out of the seller's side. They are easy to forget because they get agreed late.
A worked example
- Sale price: $450,000
- Mortgage payoff: −$262,000
- Commission, 2.5% + 2.5%: −$22,500
- Transfer tax, 0.4%: −$1,800
- Title and escrow: −$2,100
- Property tax owed: −$1,850
- Other costs: −$350
- Seller credit to the buyer: −$5,000
Estimated net: $154,400. Selling costs (everything except the payoff) come to $33,600, or 7.5% of the price.
Show the net at more than one price
The most useful thing you can add is a small table of the net at a few prices around the offer. In the example, a sale at $439,000 instead of $450,000 nets the seller about $10,400 less, not $11,000 less, because the percent-based costs fall with the price. When a seller sees that, counters and price talks become much calmer.
Label it as an estimate
A net sheet is not a settlement statement. Say where each number came from, note that capital gains and other taxes are not included, and tell the seller the final figure comes from the closing statement.
Do it in a minute
Our free seller net sheet calculator does this math line by line and adds the table of net at other prices. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
When there is more than one offer, our Offer Comparison skill for Claude puts every offer side by side with the seller's net for each, the escalation clause math, a closing certainty rating and a summary you can send to the seller.