Cost to Sell a House: The Real Net Proceeds Beyond Commission

The short answer: commission is only one piece

Most sellers can say what they hope their home will sell for. Far fewer can say what they will actually take home. The gap between those two numbers is the real cost to sell a house, and it includes the agent's fee, title and closing charges, transfer taxes, property-tax adjustments, repairs and prep, buyer credits, and the monthly bills you keep paying until the deed changes hands.

There is no single national percentage that fits every sale, so a realistic net-proceeds estimate has to be built line by line, using local numbers from your agent and title company. This article walks through each category, using the framework laid out by Kati Spaniac of the YouTube channel Sell Your Home With Kati - Truth in Real Estate®, then adds context on what to verify in your own market.

The seller who forgot everything but the commission

Spaniac opens with a cautionary example. A seller told her they needed about $500,000 for their house. Their mortgage was roughly $400,000 (the auto-generated transcript is unclear on the exact figure), and they also planned to use the closing to clear a $42,000 credit card balance. In their head, the math was home price minus commission minus those debts.

They left out title charges and other closing items, and they did not fully grasp where the home would realistically price. The sale closed without the seller having to bring cash to the table, but Spaniac says it was closer than it needed to be. Her point: had she known about the card balance early, she could have planned the strategy and pricing around it.

Run the rough arithmetic on that example. A $500,000 sale less a $400,000 payoff leaves about $100,000 of equity. Pay off $42,000 of debt and about $58,000 remains to cover commission, closing costs, prep, credits and anything else. That is a workable cushion, but it shrinks fast if the home sells for less than hoped. That is why the order of operations matters: estimate costs first, then decide what the sale must achieve.

Commission: the three questions to ask

Spaniac argues that sellers should stop asking only "what is your rate?" and instead pin down three things in writing:

• What you will pay your own (listing) agent.
• Whether you will pay a buyer's agent, and how much.
• What happens if the buyer is unrepresented or the same agent ends up on both sides (dual agency).

She says some agents charge a flat amount regardless of who brings the buyer, while others, including herself, set only the listing-side fee up front and negotiate any buyer-agent compensation when an offer arrives. In one recent deal, she says, her seller countered a buyer's agent's percentage request with a flat fee and saved about $8,000.

Context the video skips: since the National Association of Realtors' 2024 settlement, offers of buyer-agent compensation are no longer displayed on MLS listings, which is part of why this negotiation now happens more openly between sellers and buyers' agents. The NAR publishes a settlement FAQ describing the practice changes. Compensation is negotiable, but a seller who refuses to contribute anything may narrow the buyer pool, a trade-off Spaniac also notes.

Closing-statement costs that depend on your state

Beyond commission, Spaniac lists several items that vary by location. She is explicit that she cannot give exact numbers, and that local professionals must fill them in.

Spaniac, who has worked in both Illinois and Florida, notes that attorney involvement differs between the two. In Florida, she says, closings are not attorney-driven and some title companies employ in-house attorneys.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains the closing paperwork buyers and sellers receive on its closing disclosure page, which is a useful reference for understanding how closing figures are presented.

Get a net sheet before you list

A net sheet is an itemized estimate of what you will pay and what you will receive at closing. Spaniac says sellers should request one before signing a listing agreement, and that an agent who does not know what a net sheet is may not be the right fit. She also advises sellers to expect miscellaneous charges so the final closing statement does not come as a surprise a couple of days before closing.

Property taxes: the number that surprises people

Spaniac calls taxes one of the most confusing parts of a sale, and uses Illinois as her example. In Illinois, she explains, property taxes are paid in arrears: a bill that arrives in the fall of 2026 covers 2025. At closing, the seller typically credits the buyer for the time they owned the home in the current year, and because the latest bill is not yet available, attorneys often estimate and add a cushion. She mentions an extra 5% to 10% as an example of that cushion.

The practical takeaway is not about Illinois specifically. In many states the seller's share of taxes is prorated at closing, but whether taxes are paid in advance or in arrears, and how estimates work, differs by location. Ask your title company to show exactly how taxes will be calculated.

Spaniac adds that if your lender collects taxes through escrow, the servicer usually pays the bill. If the tax amount later rises, though, a seller who has already moved on may be asked for more money. Ask your agent or closing attorney how that scenario is handled where you live.

Prep costs: staging, paint and last-minute spending

This is where the video says the biggest cost swings come from, and the numbers are Spaniac's own estimates:

Spaniac calls painting the highest return on investment among prep items. She says staging matters more in a slow, buyer-leaning market, and advises clarifying before you sign whether your agent pays for staging, shares the cost, or reimburses you at closing. Staging companies may also charge installation, monthly or pickup fees.

These are one creator's ranges, not national averages. Get local quotes. Planning early, as she suggests, mostly helps because rush jobs tend to cost more and compete with the stress of moving.

The costs you can control, and the ones you cannot

Spaniac splits the cost picture into fixed charges (taxes, title, transfer fees) and decisions that sit more in the seller's hands.

Price and price cuts

She argues that overpricing is among the most expensive mistakes, because a home that starts too high often ends up reduced more than once and may sell for less than a correctly priced one. She urges sellers not to dismiss an agent whose opinion of value is lower than expected, since that number may be the realistic one. Her warning: being optimistic can leave you six months later and, in her words, $100,000 worse off.

Inspection credits

Spaniac advises sellers to decide in advance whether they will negotiate repairs, and to budget something if they want the deal to survive. She says she has seen sales of $500,000 and up nearly collapse over a $1,000 credit.

Concessions

Seller concessions are credits toward the buyer's closing costs. Spaniac says they are less common in Illinois than in Florida and cites figures she saw but could not verify: about 73% of Atlanta sales involve concessions, 68% in Charlotte and 67% in Phoenix, versus 4% in San Jose and 6% in New York.

Treat these as a prompt to ask your agent for local data, not as established statistics. For the buyer's side of this negotiation, see our guide on how buyers negotiate seller concessions.

The buyer you have not met

Finally, she suggests leaving room for unpredictable buyers. She describes a recent deal in which a buyer would not raise an offer by about $25,000, yet the home later sold at roughly that figure to someone else. She also references a separate video about a buyer who demanded $10,000 at closing over windows and later sued.

Carrying costs and the money outside the net sheet

Some expenses never show up on a closing statement but still reduce your gain. Spaniac points to carrying costs: mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities you keep paying while the home is on the market and until closing. A later closing date can mean paying for a house you have already left.

She also flags short-term housing, such as a hotel stay, and moving-truck delays if closing runs late in the day. Sellers who are buying another home at the same time should plan for this overlap.

Spaniac also raises capital gains tax for owners who have held a home a long time and are not rolling proceeds into another property, and says to consult a tax professional. As general context, the IRS explains the home-sale exclusion on its Topic 701 page and in Publication 523; eligibility depends on ownership and use tests, and many sellers owe nothing, but rules are detailed and individual.

Counterpoints and limits

Spaniac's advice is practical, but readers should weigh a few caveats.

• She says herself it is general. She does not know your state or county, and her figures are experience-based ranges rather than surveyed averages.
• Her business model is relevant. She runs an agent-referral network that is paid by agents from the commission when a sale closes. Her advice to get a strong local agent and a net sheet is sound regardless, but it is worth knowing she benefits from referrals.
• The concession percentages are unverified. She says she is unsure the figures are correct. Check local MLS or brokerage data.
• Staging and painting returns vary. Calling paint the best return is her view; results depend on condition, price tier and the market.
• Not every credit is worth offering. Her "be done and over with it" approach to inspection requests suits sellers who value certainty, but a seller with a strong market position may reasonably negotiate harder.

What this means for you

If you are selling

• Request a written net sheet from every agent you interview, and ask them to show a conservative price scenario, not just the best case.
• Ask the title company who pays for which fees locally and how property taxes will be prorated.
• Add budget lines for prep, an inspection credit, a possible concession, HOA documents and moving.
• If you have debts to clear at closing, tell your agent. Spaniac's example shows hidden obligations can distort pricing strategy.

If you are buying

Expect that sellers may be asked for credits and that net proceeds drive how flexible they can be. A seller with thin equity may have little room to give, which can affect how you structure an offer. For related dynamics in builder-heavy markets, see our look at Southwest Florida resale values under builder pressure.

If you own a condo or HOA home

Association document fees and the timing of when they are ordered can add cost and delay. For the rules shaping condo lending that may affect your buyer pool, see Fannie Mae condo rules and HOA defaults.

A simple framework for estimating net proceeds

1. Start with a realistic price. Use the lower of the credible agent opinions, not the highest.
2. Subtract commission as written in your listing agreement, including any buyer-agent compensation.
3. Subtract closing-statement items: title, transfer taxes, attorney fees if applicable, HOA documents, utilities and miscellaneous fees from the net sheet.
4. Subtract the property-tax proration your title company calculates.
5. Subtract your mortgage payoff and any liens or debts you plan to clear.
6. Subtract negotiation reserves: an inspection credit and a possible concession.
7. Subtract prep, carrying and moving costs that sit outside the closing statement.
8. Run the number again at a lower price, such as after one price cut, to see whether the sale still works.

If the answer after step 8 is uncomfortable, that is useful information before you list, not after.

What to watch next

Concession patterns, buyer-agent compensation practices and local tax rules all shift over time. Ask your agent for recent sold data in your neighborhood, including the average gap between list and sale price and how often credits were granted, and update your net sheet as the market moves. This article is general information, not personal financial, legal or tax advice; confirm figures with a licensed agent, title company and tax professional.