Before you call an agent or put a sign in the yard, you need one number: what actually lands in your pocket if you sell today. It is not your home's market value minus what you owe — there are several costs in between that catch first-time sellers off guard.
Start with your payoff, not your original loan balance
Your mortgage statement shows your current principal balance, but that is not what it costs to pay off the loan. A payoff includes per-diem interest through the closing date and can differ from your statement balance by a meaningful amount depending on when in the month you close. You request an official payoff statement from your servicer, not your original lender, if the loan has been transferred.
The rough math
Commission is negotiable, and the rules changed in 2024
Following a 2024 legal settlement involving the National Association of Realtors, buyer-agent commission is no longer automatically published on the MLS and offered by the seller as a blanket rate. Seller and listing agent now negotiate the listing commission directly, and buyer-agent compensation is a separate negotiation — sometimes paid by the seller as a concession, sometimes by the buyer directly. This makes commission more variable than it used to be, and worth discussing explicitly with any agent you interview.
Don't forget these often-missed costs
- Prorated property taxes: you owe taxes up through your closing date, credited at closing.
- HOA transfer or resale certificate fees: often $200-$500 if you're in an HOA.
- Any concessions you agree to: buyer closing cost credits or repair credits negotiated after inspection.
- Moving costs: not part of the transaction, but real money leaving your pocket in the same window.
If the math doesn't work
If your payoff plus selling costs exceeds your expected sale price, you're "underwater" and a traditional sale won't clear your loan. That doesn't mean you're stuck — it means you need to talk to your servicer about your options (see the article on selling while you still owe) before you list, not after you're already under contract.
Commission rates and closing costs vary by market, agent, and state. This is a planning tool, not a guarantee of your actual proceeds — get a real payoff statement and a comparative market analysis from a local agent for accurate numbers.