By Aidan Sowa · October 2026 · Glencoe, IllinoisGlencoe homeowners can calculate their net proceeds from a sale with a six line worksheet: start with the realistic sale price, then subtract commission, seller closing costs, repair credits or price reductions, carrying costs over the market period, any mortgage payoff, and finally taxes on any taxable gain. The documented worked example shows why every line matters. A 760,000 dollar list price in Glencoe nets the seller something in the mid 600,000s after a normal market cycle, because commission at 5 to 6 percent takes 38,000 to 45,600 dollars (National Association of Realtors, 2025), closing costs at 1 to 2 percent take 7,600 to 15,200 dollars, repair credits routinely take 10,000 to 30,000 dollars, and carrying costs over three to six months take 20,000 to 45,000 dollars, all before a loan is repaid or a tax is considered (Frontier Capitals, 2026). This report builds the worksheet line by line, shows how to narrow each range for a specific property, and finishes with the direct sale version of the same calculation, where several lines are zero by structure rather than by hope.
Key Findings
- The worksheet has six deductions: commission, closing costs, repair credits, carrying costs, mortgage payoff and taxes on taxable gain.
- Commission at the typical 5 to 6 percent is 38,000 to 45,600 dollars at 760,000 dollars and 75,000 to 90,000 dollars at 1,500,000 dollars (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
- The transfer tax inside closing costs is exact at 1.50 dollars per 1,000 dollars combined for Illinois and Cook County (Illinois Department of Revenue, 2026).
- The documented result at 760,000 dollars is a net in the mid 600,000s before mortgage payoff and taxes (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- A direct sale zeroes the commission, seller closing cost and repair credit lines, so its worksheet can be completed in minutes.
Line one and two: price realism, then commission
The worksheet fails or succeeds on its first line, the price. Use a price the evidence supports, not the price the household hopes for. Sold evidence for the relevant property type is the anchor: older homes in the sample averaged 27.2 percent of new build prices on comparable lots (Frontier Capitals, 2026), finished replacements on interior lots sold between 2,200,000 and 3,700,000 dollars (Redfin, 2026), and recorded deeds show what comparable Glencoe properties actually closed for (Cook County Recorder, 2026). National year end data showing 62.2 percent of homes selling below original list price is a useful humility check for any first line that assumes a clean sale at the ask (Redfin, 2026). A worksheet built on an optimistic price produces an optimistic net with great precision and no value.
Commission is line two, and it is mechanical. Multiply the realistic price by 5 to 6 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Commission practice has stayed near its documented levels, with the average buyer agent commission at 2.40 percent in the first quarter of 2025 (Redfin, 2025), so a seller should not pencil in a discount the market has not shown. At 760,000 dollars the line is 38,000 to 45,600 dollars. At 1,200,000 dollars, the documented Glencoe divorce sale example, it is 60,000 to 72,000 dollars. Move up to 1,500,000 dollars and that band becomes 75,000 to 90,000 dollars. Carry the range, not a single point, through the whole worksheet, because the honest output of a net calculation is a band, and a band that survives contact with the closing statement is worth more than a point estimate that does not. The full cost context sits in how much it costs to sell a house in Glencoe.
Line three and four: closing costs, then repair credits
Closing costs are line three, at the typical seller side 1 to 2 percent of price. Narrow the band by computing its fixed member exactly: the transfer tax. Illinois charges 1.00 dollar per 1,000 dollars of consideration and Cook County adds 0.50 dollars per 1,000 dollars on non Chicago transfers, combined 1.50 dollars per 1,000 dollars, customarily paid by the seller (Illinois Department of Revenue, 2026). That is 1,140 dollars at 760,000 dollars and 2,250 dollars at 1,500,000 dollars. The remainder of the band is title, settlement and prorations, and the proration part can be estimated from the current tax bill, which in Glencoe can be formidable, since a 2014 built home in the village carried a 49,714 dollar annual bill and older homes are assessed on the same land driven values. Parcel and assessment records supply the figures for the specific property (Cook County Assessor, 2026). The seller disclosure report required under Illinois law is part of the same pre closing work (Illinois General Assembly, 2026).
Repair credits are line four, and older Glencoe homes should never carry a zero here by default. The documented range for inspection repair credits and price reductions on older inventory is 10,000 to 30,000 dollars. The stock in question, homes built in 1980 or earlier, gives inspectors roofs, systems and drainage to price, and buyers convert the findings into a credit after the headline price is agreed. A seller can narrow this line honestly in only two ways: by completing repairs before listing and pricing the spend into the worksheet as its own line, remembering the documented illustration in which a 120,000 dollar kitchen and bath update returned 80,000 to 100,000 dollars to a resident buyer and nothing to a buyer clearing the lot, or by obtaining a pre listing inspection and budgeting the credit the report predicts. Pretending the line is zero is not a third way. The closing cost detail behind line three is itemized in what closing costs Glencoe home sellers typically pay.
Line five and six: carrying costs, mortgage payoff and taxes
Carrying costs are line five, and they are the line most worksheets omit entirely. From its first showing to a funded close, an older Glencoe home put on the open market commonly spends 60 to 120 plus days in the process. Over three to six months of market time, pure hold expense runs 20,000 to 45,000 dollars: taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance and mortgage interest. A seller can narrow the range by adding the actual monthly bills for the property and multiplying by a realistic month count drawn from the documented timeline rather than from the listing presentation. Village context matters here too: Glencoe has roughly 8,500 residents (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025), and a long public marketing period in a village that size carries a privacy cost beside the dollar cost, one reason some sellers weight this line more heavily than its dollars alone suggest. That argues for the longer month count whenever the first line price is ambitious.
Mortgage payoff and taxes are the last lines, and they are personal rather than market lines. The payoff is the loan balance on the closing date, taken from the lender statement, and it reduces the check without being a cost of selling. Taxes apply only to taxable gain: the federal Section 121 exclusion, governed by ownership and use tests, shelters gain on a qualifying primary residence, and inherited property takes a basis at fair market value on the date of the owner death (Internal Revenue Service, 2026). A seller who does not know the basis figure does not yet have a worksheet, only a guess with formatting. Gather basis records early, and let a tax professional complete this line at Glencoe values. The items sellers most often forget live in what hidden expenses can reduce profits when selling a Glencoe home, which pairs naturally with this worksheet.
How does the worksheet change for a direct off market sale?
Run the same six lines for a direct sale and the page shortens dramatically. Line one becomes the direct price, set by land logic where the property supports it, in a market where builders acquired 10 of 12 sampled older homes (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Line two, commission, is zero, because no commission at the typical 5 to 6 percent is charged (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Line three, seller closing costs, is zero at the typical 1 to 2 percent. Line four, repair credits, is zero, because the sale is as is with no inspection negotiation. Line five, carrying costs, shrinks to days or becomes a chosen leaseback period, since closing can land in 7 to 21 days or months out on the seller schedule, and privacy is complete throughout, with no showings and no open houses. Lines six remain what they are: the mortgage is still repaid and taxes still follow the seller own basis and exclusion position.
That zeroing is the entire economic argument of the off market channel, stated without decoration. Frontier Capitals sources off market deals to builders and places deals with vetted builders, as a wholesaler and not as a builder, and the worksheet lets a seller compare its direct price against a listed price honestly, net against net. For some Glencoe properties the listed net still wins, particularly renovated homes on ordinary lots. For land driven properties the direct net frequently wins by the full width of the zeroed lines. A seller can request a direct figure for the comparison through the contact page, and should insist on running it through the same worksheet rather than comparing gross figures across channels, which is the one error this report exists to prevent.
A worked second example at 1,200,000 dollars
Running the worksheet at a second price shows how portable the method is, and the 1,200,000 dollar Glencoe sale is a documented village example in its own right, the price used in the divorce materials for this community, where commission alone is documented at 60,000 to 72,000 dollars. Line one is 1,200,000 dollars. Line two, commission at 5 to 6 percent, is 60,000 to 72,000 dollars (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Line three, seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent, is 12,000 to 24,000 dollars, and the seller can fix one member of that line exactly: the transfer tax at 1.50 dollars per 1,000 dollars is 1,800 dollars on this price (Illinois Department of Revenue, 2026). The remainder of line three is title, settlement and prorations, estimated from the current tax bill and the parcel assessment record for the property (Cook County Assessor, 2026). Line four, repair credits on an older home, stays in the documented range of 10,000 to 30,000 dollars, since the credit is driven by the condition of the house rather than by its price. Line five, carrying costs over the market period, stays at the documented 20,000 to 45,000 dollars, driven by taxes, insurance and time rather than by the final price alone.
The additions are then simple. Total deductions before mortgage payoff and taxes run from 102,000 dollars at the favorable end of every range to 171,000 dollars at the heavy end. The net before payoff and taxes is therefore 1,029,000 to 1,098,000 dollars. Place that band beside the 760,000 dollar example, where the same lines produce a net in the mid 600,000s (Frontier Capitals, 2026), and the shape of Glencoe selling costs becomes visible: the deductions grow with price, but slower than the price, because two of the five market lines are ranges of dollars rather than percentages. That shape also explains why percentage intuition fails sellers. A household that assumes a flat percentage haircut at every price will overestimate costs at high prices and underestimate them at lower ones, and will misjudge the direct comparison in both cases, since the direct worksheet removes the percentage lines entirely and shrinks the dollar lines toward zero. Two worked examples, run honestly on one page, teach a seller more about a Glencoe sale than a season of open house conversation. The deed that eventually records the chosen outcome sits in county records either way (Cook County Recorder, 2026). The worksheet decides whether the seller is surprised by it.
Methodology and limitations
The ranges in this worksheet are the documented Glencoe figures compiled for the series: commission at 5 to 6 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025), seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent, repair credits of 10,000 to 30,000 dollars, carrying costs of 20,000 to 45,000 dollars over three to six months, and a listed timeline of 60 to 120 plus days against 7 to 21 days direct. The sample behind the series covers 12 older homes in 60022, 10 acquired by builders, with older homes averaging 27.2 percent of new build prices (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Transfer tax is computed exactly from the documented combined rate (Illinois Department of Revenue, 2026). Mortgage balances, tax basis and exclusion eligibility are individual, and this report describes their place in the calculation rather than estimating them for any reader.
A last practical note on keeping the worksheet alive: update it whenever a fact changes. A new expected price, a tax bill that arrives higher than the estimate, a repair the household decides to fund, or an offer with a different closing date each moves one line, and the honest net moves with it. Sellers who treat the worksheet as a living page, revised at every decision, arrive at the closing table having already seen their final check in draft three times. Sellers who compute it once and file it away are relying on the first set of assumptions surviving a process designed to change them. In a market where a single month of extra market time can carry thousands of dollars of hold expense, the living version is not a refinement. It is the calculation itself, done at the speed the sale actually moves.
Conclusion
Net proceeds in Glencoe are not a mystery to be revealed at the closing table. They are six lines of arithmetic, five of which can be estimated today from documented ranges and one of which, the transfer tax, can be computed to the dollar. The documented example, 760,000 dollars gross becoming a net in the mid 600,000s, is not a warning about Glencoe. It is a description of every market where percentage costs meet high prices, and the worksheet is how a seller meets it prepared. Run the lines for both channels before choosing either. If you ran your own six lines tonight, which line would move your decision the most?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first line of a net proceeds worksheet?
A realistic sale price, anchored in sold evidence rather than in the asking hope. Recorded deeds show what comparable properties closed for (Cook County Recorder, 2026), and the sample ratio of 27.2 percent of new build prices anchors older homes priced for land (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Which line do sellers most often forget?
Carrying costs. Over three to six months of market time they run 20,000 to 45,000 dollars in Glencoe, and because they arrive as ordinary monthly bills rather than as a closing deduction, sellers routinely leave them out of the comparison entirely.
Is the mortgage payoff a selling cost?
No. It is the repayment of money already owed, taken from the proceeds at closing. It reduces the final check, sometimes by a great deal, but it belongs on the worksheet as its own line so that the true selling costs stay visible beside it.
How exact can the tax line be before selling?
The transfer tax part is exact: 1.50 dollars per 1,000 dollars of consideration (Illinois Department of Revenue, 2026). The capital gains part depends on basis and the Section 121 exclusion tests (Internal Revenue Service, 2026), so it can be estimated with records and professional help, but not fixed from the price alone.
Why compare channels net against net?
Because the channels zero different lines. A listed gross carries commission, closing costs, credits and months of carrying costs, while a direct gross carries none of those, so comparing the two gross figures understates the direct outcome by 120,000 dollars or more at upper Glencoe prices.
Sellers in Glencoe also ask How to Sell an Inherited House in Glencoe From Another State?, Can an Inherited House Be Sold With Belongings Still Inside in Glencoe? and Are Buyers Paying More for New Construction Than Older Glencoe Homes?
Sources
- Frontier Capitals, 2026. 189 neighborhood builder acquisition sample: 12 homes sampled in 60022, 10 acquired by builders, average older home price 27.2 percent of new build. Market data.
- National Association of Realtors, 2025. Typical seller commission structures, Chicago North Shore market. Industry report.
- Illinois Department of Revenue, 2026. Real property transfer tax: state 1.00 dollar per 1,000 dollars; Cook County 0.50 dollars per 1,000 dollars for non-Chicago transfers, customarily paid by seller. Official record.
- Redfin, 2025. Redfin Reports Real Estate Agent Commissions Haven't Changed Much Since the NAR Settlement Took Effect. Market data.
- Redfin, 2026. Recently sold homes and new construction, ZIP code 60022, Glencoe IL. Market data.
- Cook County Recorder, 2026. Recorded deeds and transaction records, Glencoe IL. Official record.
- Cook County Assessor, 2026. Parcel and assessment records, Glencoe IL. Official record.
- Illinois General Assembly, 2026. Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, 765 ILCS 77: disclosure report requirements (Sec. 20), seller liability (Sec. 25), supplement duty (Sec. 30). Official record.
- Internal Revenue Service, 2026. Publication 523: Selling Your Home, Section 121 exclusion rules, ownership and use tests. Government data.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025. Glencoe village, Illinois, demographic profile. Government data.