Seller Net Sheet Explainer: Projecting Your Home Sale Proceeds

With house prices predicted to rise more than 4% next year, many homeowners are considering ways to turn their growing home equity into cash. If you’re one of the 23% of homeowners planning to sell in the next few years, you may be trying to figure out exactly how much of that increasing equity will end up in your pocket after all is said and done.

If you’ve estimated your home value to be $500,000, and your mortgage has a balance of $250,000, then you can expect to cash out the remaining $250,000 once the home sells, right?

Well, it’s not quite that simple. Selling a home costs money, and you’ve got to factor in all the costs to get an accurate estimate of what your take-home amount will be once the sale is complete.

Enter the seller’s net sheet, a document that estimates how much cash you can expect to walk away with after subtracting fees and expenses from the sale price of your home.

In this guide, you’ll come to understand the ins and outs of the seller’s net sheet through our research and interviews with experts such as Mel Black, a real estate attorney and appraiser, and Alex Saad, an appraiser turned real estate agent who sells properties 65% quicker than the average agent in Dearborn, Michigan.

What is a seller’s net sheet?

A seller’s net sheet is one of those essential home sale documents providing an itemized list of all of the factors that contribute to an accurate estimate of the amount of money a homeowner can expect to receive after selling a home.

“It breaks down all of your costs as a seller and gives you a good idea of what you’ll get for your home,” explains Saad.

A seller’s net sheet removes much of the mystery surrounding how much money you’ll actually receive from selling your home. As a high-level rule of thumb, sellers can expect to pay a 3%-5.8% average in commissions and 1% to 3% in closing costs. The net sheet helps you see exactly where that money is going.