Calculate net proceeds the way a settlement statement will: start with the contract price, then subtract every deduction in the order it will actually occur. For a listed sale in North Scottsdale / Pinnacle Peak, the first subtraction is the commission, typically 5 to 6 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025). The second is seller closing costs of 1 to 2 percent (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2025), which together with the commission form the combined 6 to 8 percent layer, roughly 42,900 to 57,200 dollars on the 715,000 dollar worked example in this research. Next come negotiated items, repair credits and concessions that run 12,000 to 30,000 dollars on older desert homes, and the carrying costs already spent while the home was on the market, 20,000 to 45,000 dollars across three to six months. Last comes the mortgage payoff, which is not a cost of selling but is deducted all the same. What remains after that ordered stack is the seller net proceeds, and this post gives homeowners the worksheet, the local figures, and the checks that keep the arithmetic honest.
Key Findings
- Net proceeds equal price minus commission, closing costs, negotiated credits, and payoff, in that order, and each layer has a sourced local range in this research (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- Commission at 5 to 6 percent equals 35,750 to 42,900 dollars on a 715,000 dollar sale and 75,000 to 90,000 dollars on a 1,500,000 dollar sale by the same arithmetic (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
- Seller closing costs of 1 to 2 percent bring the combined commission and closing layer to 6 to 8 percent of price (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2025).
- Repair credits and concessions on 40 to 50 year old desert homes commonly run 12,000 to 30,000 dollars, and carrying costs over three to six months run 20,000 to 45,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- The mortgage payoff is produced under payoff statement timing rules, and the seller can verify the figure and the rights around it before closing (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026).
- In the local sample, 11 of 16 older homes were acquired by builders at an average of 27.5 percent of new build value, the direct channel whose simpler deduction stack this worksheet also models (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
What is the correct order for the calculation?
Order matters because percentages and fixed amounts behave differently, and because some deductions are spent before closing ever happens. Write the contract price at the top. This is the only figure most sellers ever write down, and it is the least informative number on the page. Below it, enter the commission as a percentage of that price, using the rate in the actual listing agreement or, for planning, the typical 5 to 6 percent range (National Association of Realtors, 2025). A commission analysis in the research pool found the buyer agent share averaging 2.4 percent in early 2025, which helps a seller see how the total splits, though the worksheet needs only the total.
Enter seller closing costs next at 1 to 2 percent (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2025). These are the title, escrow, recording, and settlement items that an Arizona title company will itemize on the settlement statement, allocated by the purchase contract terms that govern the transaction (Arizona Association of Realtors, 2026). For planning, the percentage is enough. For a live transaction, replace it with the escrow estimate as soon as one exists.
Then enter the negotiated and time based layers as fixed dollar estimates: repair credits and concessions, staging and preparation already spent, and carrying costs for the expected market period. These are the layers sellers most often omit, and omitting them is how a 715,000 dollar sale mentally becomes 715,000 dollars kept, when the research record says the realistic net after a normal cycle lands in the high 500,000s to low 600,000s before payoff. Finish with the payoff, taxes reserved separately, and the remainder is the planning net.
How does the worksheet look at the 715,000 dollar scale?
Run the worked example from the research, because its ranges were built for exactly this exercise. Price: 715,000 dollars. The commission line, priced at 5 to 6 percent, removes 35,750 to 42,900 dollars (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Closing costs at 1 to 2 percent work out to 7,150 to 14,300 dollars by arithmetic, contained in the combined 6 to 8 percent figure of 42,900 to 57,200 dollars that the research uses for the two layers together (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Repair credits and concessions: 12,000 to 30,000 dollars for the roof, cooling, pool equipment, and plumbing pattern on older desert homes. Carrying costs for three to six months: 20,000 to 45,000 dollars, including mortgage or equity cost, insurance, taxes, utilities, summer cooling, pool service, and desert landscaping on an acreage property.
A middle path through those ranges, roughly 50,000 dollars of commission and closing costs, 20,000 dollars of credits, and 30,000 dollars of carrying costs, produces total deductions near 100,000 dollars and a net near 615,000 dollars before payoff, squarely inside the high 500,000s to low 600,000s corridor the research describes. A fast winter sale with light credits lands higher in the corridor. A slow summer sale with a price reduction lands below it, which is why the worksheet should be run at three speeds: optimistic, expected, and slow. Sellers who have only seen the optimistic column have not yet done the calculation this headline asks for.
Context helps calibrate the price line itself. The median listing price for this market was 1,650,000 dollars (Realtor.com, 2026), while the 715,000 dollar example represents the older stock in the builder sample, where the average home traded at 27.5 percent of new build value (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The worksheet works at either scale. Only the inputs change.
See the cost layers in narrative form in how much it costs to sell a house here and the closing layer alone in what closing costs sellers typically pay.
How does the worksheet change at 1,500,000 dollars and other prices?
The percentages scale and the fixed layers roughly hold, which is the single most useful insight in the whole exercise. At 1,500,000 dollars, commission at 5 to 6 percent becomes 75,000 to 90,000 dollars, closing costs at 1 to 2 percent become 15,000 to 30,000 dollars, and the combined layer becomes 90,000 to 120,000 dollars (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Repair credits remain in the 12,000 to 30,000 dollar family for an older home, because a roof costs what a roof costs regardless of the land beneath it, though high end buyers negotiate firmly. Carrying costs rise with the property value, since taxes, insurance, and landscape scale with the asset, so a planner should use the upper part of the 20,000 to 45,000 dollar research range at this price (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
A middle case at this price, 105,000 dollars combined commission and closing, 20,000 dollars of credits, and 35,000 dollars of carrying costs, nets about 1,340,000 dollars before payoff. The companion post in this set, how much a seller keeps after a 1,500,000 dollar sale, works that scale in full. The method, however, is identical at every price: percentages first, fixed layers second, payoff last.
A worked check on the arithmetic is worth doing before any of these figures are quoted to family members or partners. Take the middle case at 715,000 dollars and add the deductions back to the net: a net near 615,000 dollars, plus roughly 50,000 dollars of commission and closing costs, plus 20,000 dollars of credits, plus 30,000 dollars of carrying costs returns the page to the 715,000 dollar price it started from (Frontier Capitals, 2026). If a seller version of the worksheet does not add back to the price, a line has been dropped or double counted, and the error is almost always in the omitted category rather than in the arithmetic itself. That ten second check, run on every version of the page, catches the staging spend that was entered twice and the closing layer that was quietly forgotten, and it is the difference between a worksheet that informs a negotiation and one that merely decorates it.
Owners can also run the worksheet backward. Decide the net the sale must produce, perhaps to fund the next purchase or to settle an estate distribution, then add the layers back to find the gross price the market must deliver. That reverse calculation often ends listing fantasies quickly and productively, because it converts a hope into a required price that can be tested against comparable sales and against the finished value data for the ZIP code (Redfin, 2026).
How should the mortgage payoff and taxes be handled in the worksheet?
Treat the payoff as a separate block below the sale net, labeled clearly as debt repayment rather than selling cost. Request the payoff statement early: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau documents the timing rules for payoff statements and the borrower rights at closing that let a seller verify the figure, the interest through the closing date, and any fees the loan documents actually authorize (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026). Enter the payoff to the exact closing date planned, and rerun the worksheet if the date moves, because interest accrues daily and a two week slip on a large Scottsdale balance is a visible amount.
At closing, the deed records the transfer and the lien release process clears the satisfied mortgage from the title record, steps the county recorder documents for completed sales (Maricopa County Recorder, 2026). The worksheet remainder after payoff is the free proceeds: the money the seller can actually allocate.
Taxes sit in a third block, reserved rather than deducted, because they depend on individual facts. Federal guidance on selling a home sets out the exclusion rules that decide how much of a gain is recognized (Internal Revenue Service, 2026). A seller who computes a large paper gain should reserve an estimate with a tax professional and mark that block clearly as an estimate. Mixing an uncomputed tax guess into the main worksheet corrupts both numbers: the sale net stops being verifiable, and the tax reserve stops being credible. Keep the blocks separate and label each for what it is.
Parcel facts support the worksheet in one more way. County records of lot dimensions, zoning, and assessed land values (Maricopa County Assessor, 2026) help a seller understand how much of their price is land, which informs both the builder bid comparison and the tax conversation about basis allocation where that matters.
How does the direct sale worksheet differ?
Build the same page for a direct offer and the page gets shorter. Price at the top, as offered. Commission: zero in the direct structure described in this set, which at the 715,000 dollar scale removes 35,750 to 42,900 dollars of deduction. Seller closing costs: zero for the seller, removing the second layer so the combined 6 to 8 percent burden, 42,900 to 57,200 dollars at that scale, never leaves the price. Repair credits: zero, because the purchase is as is and the 10,000 to 30,000 dollar inspection negotiation does not occur. Carrying costs: only the days to the chosen closing date, which can be 7 to 21 days, or a longer seller chosen timeline with a leaseback that keeps the property income or occupancy picture simple. Payoff: unchanged, deducted as always. Taxes: reserved as always.
The five benefits, stated as worksheet effects, are these. Privacy removes the marketing period entirely, no showings, no open houses, no public listing, so no staging or preparation spend appears on the page. Flexibility lets the seller pick the closing date that minimizes carrying cost and aligns the payoff and tax timing. No commissions deletes the largest percentage line. No seller closing costs deletes the second percentage line. No inspections or repairs deletes the credit line and the uncertainty that surrounds it until late in a listed transaction.
Compare the two completed worksheets, not the two prices. That is the entire discipline of this post in one sentence. Where the direct net approaches or exceeds the listed expected net, the direct route wins on certainty as well as arithmetic. Where the listed net, even in its slow column, clearly exceeds the direct net, the seller has learned what the retail premium is worth for their property and can list with open eyes. Either outcome is a success for the worksheet.
Owners can have both columns built for their parcel by calling 401-219-4207 or writing through the contact page.
Methodology and limitations
This worksheet method uses the sourced ranges compiled for this ZIP code: commission and closing percentages from national guidance, and repair and carrying ranges from the research on the older stock here, built on a sample of 16 older homes of which 11 were builder acquired (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Ranges produce corridors, not promises, and a specific sale can land outside them after a price reduction, an unusual title issue, or an exceptionally fast premium sale. The tax block is deliberately not computed here, because exclusion and basis facts are individual (Internal Revenue Service, 2026). For a live transaction, replace every planning range with documents: the listing agreement rate, the escrow estimate, the payoff statement, and written bids. The worksheet discipline matters more than any single input.
Conclusion
Net proceeds are calculated by subtraction in the open: price, minus 5 to 6 percent commission, minus 1 to 2 percent seller closing costs, minus the repair credits and carrying costs that older acreage homes predictably generate, minus the mortgage payoff, with taxes reserved on individual facts. At 715,000 dollars that stack commonly leaves a net in the high 500,000s to low 600,000s before payoff. At 1,500,000 dollars it leaves roughly the mid 1,300,000s in a middle case. A direct sale shortens the stack by deleting the percentage and credit lines, which is why its net must be compared with the listed net and never with the listed price. The worksheet takes an hour and changes decisions. Have you built yours, at three speeds, for the home you actually own rather than the price you hope for?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first line of a net proceeds calculation?
The contract price, followed immediately by the commission at the agreed rate or the typical 5 to 6 percent planning range, which is 35,750 to 42,900 dollars on a 715,000 dollar sale (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
Are closing costs part of net proceeds or separate?
Part of it. Seller closing costs of 1 to 2 percent are deducted on the settlement statement, bringing the combined commission and closing layer to 6 to 8 percent of price (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2025).
Why do sellers overestimate their net so often?
Because they omit the fixed layers: repair credits of 12,000 to 30,000 dollars and carrying costs of 20,000 to 45,000 dollars across the market period on older desert homes (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
How do I verify my mortgage payoff figure?
Request the payoff statement under the timing rules and borrower rights the federal consumer bureau documents, and check interest through the planned closing date (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026).
Where does the deed and lien release appear in the process?
At closing, when the transfer records and the satisfied mortgage is cleared from title through the county recorder procedures for completed sales (Maricopa County Recorder, 2026).
Does the worksheet treat taxes as a deduction?
As a separate reserved block. Federal exclusion rules decide the recognized gain on individual facts, so the tax estimate belongs below the sale net, clearly labeled (Internal Revenue Service, 2026).
Sources
- Frontier Capitals, 2026. 189 neighborhood builder acquisition sample: 16 homes sampled in 85266, 11 acquired by builders and redeveloped, average older home price 27.5 percent of new build. Market data.
- National Association of Realtors, 2025. Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Industry report.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2025. Settlement cost guidance: seller closing costs typically 1 to 2% of the sale price. Government data.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026. Mortgage payoff statement timing rules and borrower rights at closing. Government data.
- Maricopa County Recorder, 2026. Deed, parcel, and assessed land value records for 85266. Official record.
- Maricopa County Assessor, 2026. Parcel records, lot dimensions, zoning, and assessed land values for 85266. Official record.
- Arizona Association of Realtors, 2026. Contract standards for investor transactions in Arizona. Industry report.
- Internal Revenue Service, 2026. Publication 523, Selling Your Home: exclusion rules. Government data.
- Redfin, 2026. Recently sold homes and new construction in ZIP code 85266, Scottsdale, Arizona. Market data.
- Realtor.com, 2026. Pinnacle Peak / 85266 housing market: median listing price $1,650,000. Market data.