Net proceeds are the amount a seller actually keeps, and calculating them in 12 South and Belmont means subtracting a specific stack from the sale price in a specific order. Start with the contract price. Subtract total commissions at a typical 5 to 6 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Subtract seller closing costs at roughly 1 to 2 percent for title, transfer tax and prorations (Bankrate, 2026). Subtract any inspection credits or agreed repairs, subtract the carrying costs spent while the home was marketed, and subtract the mortgage payoff ordered for the closing date, which is not the same as the loan balance (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026). What remains is the pre tax kept amount, and any federal tax on gain above the exclusion is settled afterward under the sale of home rules (Internal Revenue Service, 2026).
The local ledger shows why each line matters at these prices. On a 900,000 dollar sale, commissions of 45,000 to 54,000 dollars plus closing costs push the combined deduction past 50,000 dollars, and a normal listed cycle nets in the high 700,000s to low 800,000s once credits and carrying costs join the stack (Frontier Capitals, 2026). At the neighborhood median single family sale price of 1,376,250 dollars, the same method scales every percentage line upward (Nashville Home Guru, 2026). The sections below turn that stack into a worksheet an owner can complete with real figures before accepting any offer.
Key Findings
- The proceeds sequence is price, then commissions at 5 to 6 percent, then seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent, then credits, carrying costs and payoff (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
- On a 900,000 dollar sale, commissions plus closing costs commonly exceed 50,000 dollars, and a normal cycle nets in the high 700,000s to low 800,000s (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- The payoff amount includes interest through the payoff date and differs from the current balance, so it must be ordered rather than estimated (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026).
- Market review data showing 52 percent of February listings stale at 60 plus days explains why carrying costs belong inside the calculation (Redfin, 2025).
- Tennessee adds no broad state income tax on the gain, while federal exclusion rules decide whether tax follows the sale (Tennessee Department of Revenue, 2026).
What is the correct order for the proceeds worksheet?
Order matters because some lines are percentages of price and others are fixed facts about the household. The percentage lines come first and are computed from the contract price: commissions at 5 to 6 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025) and seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent (Bankrate, 2026). Writing those two lines first gives the owner an immediate sense of the transaction toll, which at 12 South prices is the largest controllable deduction in the entire sale.
The condition lines come next. Inspection credits on a century old bungalow commonly run 15,000 to 40,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026), and any repair amount the seller has agreed to fund belongs on the same line group. Sellers who have not yet had an inspection should enter a planning range rather than a hopeful zero, because the credit negotiation is a normal stage of a listed sale on these streets rather than an unusual event.
Time lines follow the condition lines. Carrying costs of 4,500 to 8,000 dollars a month multiplied by the months the home is marketed and closing give the hold expense, recorded in the local research at 9,000 to 40,000 dollars across a two to five month span for older inventory (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Contract fallout belongs in the risk thinking behind that line: national reporting found 15.1 percent of pending sales fell out of contract in October 2025 with a median of 51 days on market (Redfin, 2025), and a fallout restarts the time line without refunding the months already spent (Redfin, 2025).
The payoff line closes the worksheet. Recorded deeds complete the transaction only after the existing loan is retired from the proceeds (Davidson County Register of Deeds, 2026), and the amount required is the ordered payoff for the closing date (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026). An owner with no mortgage enters zero and keeps the full pre tax remainder, while an owner with a large loan sees the payoff dominate the worksheet. Both owners used the same method; the household facts, not the formula, created the difference. The worked illustration at a higher price point appears in how much a seller keeps after selling at the headline figure used there.
How should owners fill the price and percentage lines honestly?
The price line should be a realistic contract figure, not an aspiration. Owners can frame that figure with the neighborhood median of 1,376,250 dollars (Nashville Home Guru, 2026), with the sample evidence that older homes averaged 48.4 percent of new build prices (Frontier Capitals, 2026), and with the recorded deed history for their street (Davidson County Register of Deeds, 2026). Running the worksheet at two or three price points, such as asking, expected and floor, shows how sensitive the kept amount is to price movement and where negotiation effort pays best.
Commission deserves its own scrutiny inside the percentage group. Buyer agent commissions averaged 2.40 percent in the first quarter of 2025 in commission analysis, and seller surveys show many owners never test the total (Redfin, 2025). For worksheet purposes, an owner should enter the actual agreed commission from the listing agreement rather than the typical band, then run a second version at a negotiated point lower to see the value of asking. Each point on a median priced 12 South sale is worth roughly 13,763 dollars, so that second version is not an academic exercise.
Closing costs should be entered from an itemized estimate, not from the band alone. The band of 1 to 2 percent is the planning range (Bankrate, 2026), while the itemized estimate names title, settlement, recording, transfer tax and prorations for the specific transaction (Bankrate, 2026). Tennessee levies the transfer tax at recording (Tennessee Department of Revenue, 2026), and the contract assignment of that tax can move the seller total inside the band, so the worksheet should record the assignment explicitly (Tennessee Department of Revenue, 2026).
Honesty on the smaller lines protects the total. Preparation spending, minor presale repairs and any seller paid buyer costs agreed in negotiation all reduce proceeds even when they never appear on a formal statement summary. Owners should add a miscellaneous line for those items and fill it from receipts rather than from memory. A worksheet that captures the small leaks is the difference between a kept figure that survives closing and one that quietly shrinks at the table. Guidance on the closing lines themselves is detailed in what closing costs sellers here typically pay.
Where do carrying time and market tempo enter the math?
Carrying cost is the line sellers most often leave out, and market tempo data shows why that omission is expensive. Redfin data for the 2025 review year put the typical time to contract at 66 days, with 52 percent of February listings still unsold after 60 plus days (Redfin, 2025). A 12 South owner who assumes a three week sale is planning against the documented tempo of the wider market, and the local range for older homes of 60 to 120 plus days for a listed sale points the same way (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
The worksheet handles tempo by multiplying honestly. Take the monthly carrying figure for the household, covering loan or opportunity cost, taxes, insurance, utilities and upkeep, and multiply it by the expected months from listing to closing, using the local span of two to five months for older inventory as the planning range (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Then add a contingency version with two extra months to represent a price reduction cycle or a failed contract (Redfin, 2025). The difference between the base and contingency versions is the dollar value of pricing accurately at the start.
Price reductions belong in this section of the worksheet even though they appear on the price line. A reduction after sixty days lowers the price line while the carrying line keeps growing, a double movement that explains how a home can sell for only slightly less than ask yet keep far less than planned. Owners can see that interaction clearly only when price scenarios and time scenarios are run together, which is why this report insists on a small grid of versions rather than a single hopeful column.
Direct structures change the tempo inputs rather than the formula. A direct purchase closing in 7 to 21 days compresses the carrying line toward a single month or less and removes the fallout exposure that contingency planning covers (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The worksheet therefore lets an owner compare a listed scenario and a direct scenario on identical terms: same price logic, same payoff, different commission, closing and time lines. That comparability, documented on the methodology page, is the entire point of building the sheet before talking to buyers.
How do payoff and tax complete the calculation?
The payoff line must come from the lender, ordered for the closing date. Federal consumer guidance warns that the payoff amount is not the same as the current balance, because interest accrues to the payoff date and related charges can apply (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026). Entering a balance instead of a payoff overstates proceeds, and the overstatement is discovered at closing when correction is impossible (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026). Owners with a home equity line or a second lien should order each payoff separately and give each its own line.
Tax is handled after the pre tax kept amount is known, because tax is computed on gain rather than on cash kept. Federal Publication 523 provides the exclusion of 250,000 dollars for single filers and 500,000 dollars for joint filers who meet the ownership and use tests (Internal Revenue Service, 2026). An owner whose gain fits inside the exclusion generally owes no federal capital gains tax, while an owner with a larger gain owes tax on the excess under the federal rules (Internal Revenue Service, 2026). The worksheet should therefore carry a tax note line, estimated with professional help where the gain is large, rather than folding a guessed tax into the main stack.
Tennessee keeps its part of that final step simple. The state has no broad personal income tax on wages or capital gains (Tennessee Department of Revenue, 2026), so no state gains line joins the worksheet for a typical sale (Tennessee Department of Revenue, 2026). The transfer tax has already been counted inside the closing band, and property tax prorations have been counted there as well, so the owner who reaches the bottom of the sheet has accounted for the state completely.
The finished worksheet produces three numbers worth keeping: the expected kept amount, the cautious kept amount and the amount available after any planned purchase or debt payment elsewhere. Sellers who bring those numbers to a negotiation can evaluate any offer in minutes, including offers that trade price for speed or certainty. Owners ready to have the sheet built with their real payoff and closing estimate can use the contact page to start that conversation with documents in hand.
What do sellers keep when a 12 South / Belmont sale stays off market?
Privacy is kept, because the process involves zero showings, zero open houses and no public marketing period. The worksheet stays a private household document, the price stays off the portals and the sale becomes public only when the deed records, which suits owners calculating a major financial move.
The calendar is kept, and the worksheet shows its dollar value. A direct purchase typically closes in 7 to 21 days or on a delayed schedule with a leaseback, versus 60 to 120 plus days for a listed older home. At carrying costs of 4,500 to 8,000 dollars a month, that control can preserve five figures of proceeds without any change in price.
The commission line is kept in full. At the typical 5 to 6 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025), a 900,000 dollar listed sale sends 45,000 to 54,000 dollars to commissions, and the direct route sends none (National Association of Realtors, 2025). On the worksheet, that single change moves the kept amount more than any other edit an owner can make.
Seller closing costs are kept under the direct structure. At 1 to 2 percent, with commissions plus closing costs commonly exceeding 50,000 dollars on a 900,000 dollar sale, removing the closing layer leaves the payoff as the main remaining deduction for most owners. The resulting sheet is short enough to verify at a glance, which is itself a form of protection.
Inspection and repair deductions are kept closed. A direct buyer takes the property as it stands, with no repair credits of 10,000 to 30,000 dollars and no repair list, while listed bungalow sales commonly produce inspection credits of 15,000 to 40,000 dollars. Removing the most negotiable line makes the kept figure firmer earlier, which improves every plan built on it.
Frontier Capitals sources off market deals to builders and works as a wholesaler, not as a builder. It places older homes with builders in its network and states that role plainly, so the direct column of any worksheet reflects a defined structure rather than a vague promise. Sellers keep both the savings described here and a clear account of who is paying them.
Methodology and limitations
This report assembles the proceeds method from commission structure data (National Association of Realtors, 2025), seller closing cost guidance (Bankrate, 2026), payoff guidance (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026), market tempo reporting (Redfin, 2025), Tennessee tax facts (Tennessee Department of Revenue, 2026), federal sale of home guidance (Internal Revenue Service, 2026), and the local cost ledger and sample compiled for this series (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Price context uses the neighborhood median (Nashville Home Guru, 2026) and deed records (Davidson County Register of Deeds, 2026). No individual closing statement, loan payoff or tax return was examined.
The limitation is that a worksheet is only as accurate as its inputs. Negotiated commissions, contract assignments of transfer tax, inspection outcomes, market time and the ordered payoff each move the result, and tax outcomes depend on household gain and filing facts. This report therefore teaches the sequence with sourced ranges and directs owners to replace every range with a document based figure, an itemized closing estimate, an ordered payoff and, where gain is large, professional tax confirmation, before treating the output as final.
Conclusion
Calculating net proceeds in 12 South and Belmont is a disciplined subtraction: price, commissions, closing costs, credits, carrying costs and payoff, with tax tested afterward against the federal exclusion. Owners who build that worksheet before negotiating can judge any route or offer on the amount they will actually keep. Owners who want the worksheet completed for one address can call 401-219-4207 or write to [email protected].
If an offer arrived tonight, could you state your kept amount from a worksheet, or would you be subtracting percentages in your head while the clock ran?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first line and the last line of the calculation?
The first line is the realistic contract price, framed by the neighborhood median of 1,376,250 dollars and street level deed evidence (Nashville Home Guru, 2026). The last transactional line is the mortgage payoff ordered for the closing date, after which tax on any gain is tested separately (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026).
Why should carrying costs be counted as a deduction?
Because they are cash spent to reach the sale. Market review data shows 52 percent of February listings stale at 60 plus days with a typical 66 days to contract (Redfin, 2025), and local carrying costs of 4,500 to 8,000 dollars a month turn that tempo into a five figure line for many older homes (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Can the worksheet compare a listed offer with a direct offer?
Yes, and that is its main use. Enter the listed price with commission, closing, credit and time lines, then enter the direct price with the lines that structure removes, using the same payoff in both columns (Bankrate, 2026). The column with the higher kept amount, at an acceptable date, is the stronger offer regardless of headline (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
Does Tennessee tax belong on the worksheet?
Only the transactional items do. The transfer tax sits inside the closing band (Tennessee Department of Revenue, 2026), and Tennessee has no broad income tax on capital gains to add afterward (Tennessee Department of Revenue, 2026). Federal tax is tested on the gain under Publication 523 once the pre tax kept amount is known (Internal Revenue Service, 2026).
What document most improves the accuracy of the sheet?
The ordered mortgage payoff for the actual closing date, because the balance based estimate is reliably wrong (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026). An itemized estimated closing statement is the close second, converting the 1 to 2 percent band into named lines for the specific sale (Bankrate, 2026).
Sources
- Frontier Capitals, 2026. 189 neighborhood builder acquisition sample: 35 homes sampled in 37204, 14 acquired by builders, average older home price 48.4 percent of new build. Market data.
- National Association of Realtors, 2025. Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers: typical seller commissions of 5% to 6%. Industry report.
- Bankrate, 2026. Closing costs when selling a house. Industry report.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026. What is a payoff amount and is it the same as my current balance?. Government data.
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, 2026. Transfer tax schedule; no state income tax on individual earnings. Official record.
- Davidson County Register of Deeds, 2026. Recorded deeds, title chains, and closing records for Nashville area transactions. Official record.
- Nashville Home Guru, 2026. 12 South market page: median single family sale price $1,376,250, rolling twelve months. Market data.
- Redfin, 2025. 2025 Housing Market Year in Review: 52% of February listings stale 60+ days; typical 66 days to contract. Market data.
- Redfin, 2025. U.S. housing market report, October 2025: 15.1% of pending sales fell out of contract; median 51 days on market. Market data.
- Internal Revenue Service, 2026. Publication 523 (2025), Selling Your Home. Government data.