What Will I Actually Walk Away With?

The sale price is not what you get. What you get is the sale price minus what you still owe, minus the costs of selling, plus or minus a few prorations. That final number is called your net proceeds, and it is the only number that actually matters to your next decision. Most sellers never see it until closing, which is far too late for it to help them.

This is the question underneath almost every other question I get asked. People ask what their home is worth. What they mean is, can I afford to do this.

Start with the sale price. Then work down.

Subtract what you still owe. Your mortgage payoff, which is not the same as your balance on last month's statement. It includes interest through the day you close. If you have a second loan or a home equity line, that comes off too.

Subtract the cost of selling. Commissions, which are negotiable. Title and escrow. Recording. Any credit you agreed to give the buyer. Any repairs you agreed to make after inspection. See the full breakdown of what it costs to sell a home in Utah for the line-by-line version.

Adjust for prorations. Property taxes get divided between you and the buyer based on the closing date. Depending on the time of year this can go either direction.

What is left is yours. That is the number.

Here is what I watch happen when a seller has not seen this number.

They price the home on hope instead of arithmetic. Then an offer comes in slightly under and it feels like a loss, because they never knew what the outcome actually needed to be. Then inspection asks for a credit, and because there is no room in a plan that was never built, a routine negotiation turns into a crisis at the worst possible moment.

Now here is what happens when they have seen it.

They know which offers work and which do not, before the offer arrives. They can say yes quickly, which in a negotiation is worth real money. They can hold firm on the things that matter and let go of the things that do not. And when something unexpected comes up, and something always does, they are adjusting a plan instead of inventing one.

Same house. Same market. Completely different experience.

For the people I work with most, this number is not really about the house at all.

It is: can I buy the next place. Is there enough left to live on. Do I have to ask my children for help. Can I afford the kind of community I actually want, or am I looking at the one I can merely afford.

Those are the real questions, and none of them can be answered by a number on a real estate website. They need your payoff, your costs, and your actual house.

And sometimes the numbers do not work yet. I would rather tell you that in your kitchen than have you find it out at a closing table. I would tell you if I thought this was a bad idea.

Ask for the estimate before you decide anything. Not after you have chosen an agent. Not after the sign is in the yard. Before.

It should show your payoff, every cost line by line, and the net at a few different sale prices, so you can see how the answer moves as the price moves. That last part matters more than people expect, because it turns pricing from an argument into a decision.

Then sit with it for a week. This is not a decision that should be made the same day you see the numbers.

It is your call, and I will support it either way.

What are net proceeds?

Net proceeds are what is left after the sale price is reduced by your loan payoff, the costs of selling, and any credits you agreed to give the buyer, then adjusted for prorated property taxes. It is the money that actually reaches you.

Is my payoff the same as my loan balance?

No. The payoff includes interest through the day you close, plus any fees your lender charges to release the loan, so it is usually a little higher than the balance on your last statement. Your lender provides an official payoff figure during the transaction.

When should I ask for a net sheet?

Before you commit to selling, not after. Seeing the number early is what lets you price with confidence, respond to offers quickly, and handle an inspection request without panic.

This article is general information and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. An estimate of proceeds is an estimate, not a guarantee.