The sale price is not what the family keeps. Out of it come the agent's commission (usually 5% to 6%), the repairs a buyer asks for, the payoffs on the mortgage and any liens, capital gains tax if the sale doesn't qualify for the home sale exclusion, prorated property taxes, transfer taxes, and the small closing costs that add up. This free net proceeds calculator runs the math on four ways to sell in 5 minutes. Estimates, not advice. No email required.
About net proceeds, capital gains, and the costs most families miss until closing.
Net proceeds equal the sale price minus: agent commission (typically 5% to 6%), seller-paid closing costs (1% to 3%), repair credits to the buyer, mortgage and lien payoffs, prorated property taxes, transfer taxes, capital gains tax (if applicable), and any seller concessions. On a $400,000 sale, a 6% commission is $24,000 and closing costs at 1.5% are another $6,000, so the number the family keeps is already $30,000 below the sale price before any repairs or payoffs.
It depends on whether they sold it during their lifetime or you inherited it. If your parent sold while alive and lived in the home 2 of the last 5 years, they get a $250,000 exclusion ($500,000 if married). If you inherited the home, you get a stepped-up cost basis (the value at the date of death), which usually eliminates most or all capital gains. Talk to a CPA before listing.
Usually after, for two reasons. First, the home sale exclusion applies if the seller lived there 2 of the last 5 years, so selling too long after they move to assisted living can disqualify it. Second, selling after the move means you can stage the home empty and price it for the actual condition, not 'lived in.' Run both scenarios through this calculator with your specific timing.
It is an estimate, not a closing statement. It covers the standard line items: commission, seller-paid closing costs, repairs, carrying costs while the house is on the market, and the mortgage payoff. The figures that move the most are the repair credits, which are negotiated between buyer and seller, the commission rate, which is set in the listing agreement, and any title, lien or HOA issue that surfaces late. The binding number is the seller's estimated settlement statement, prepared by the closing attorney or title company before closing. Ask for it in writing as soon as there is a contract.
Ryan Riggins, a licensed North Carolina real estate broker and senior transition advisor at Riggins Strategic Solutions. The calculator uses the standard line items that come out of a home sale: commission, seller-paid closing costs, repairs, carrying costs while the house is on the market, and the mortgage payoff. Ryan never buys houses and never bids on them. If a family decides to sell, he refers one vetted local agent.