A St Simons Island homeowner calculates net proceeds by starting with the realistic sale price and subtracting, in order, the commission, the seller closing costs, any repair credits or concessions, the carrying costs already spent, and finally the mortgage payoff struck for the closing date. On the worked example used throughout this research, a $550,000 sale carries commissions plus closing costs of $33,000 to $44,000 (Frontier Capitals, 2026; National Association of Realtors, 2025), repair credits that routinely run $10,000 to $25,000, and carrying costs of $15,000 to $35,000 over a normal market cycle, which is how that $550,000 list price nets in the mid $400,000s before a mortgage is even considered (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The method below turns that summary into a worksheet any owner can run with a pencil, a payoff statement and the documented island ranges.

Two habits make the calculation honest. First, every input should be a documented figure or a range from the research, never a hope: the sample behind these figures tracked 17 older island homes, 9 of them acquired by builders, at an average of 23.1 percent of new build price (Frontier Capitals, 2026), and the ranges come from that work. Second, the price input should be a price the market will actually pay, tested against the demand questions in the report on whether California buyers are still purchasing luxury homes in St Simons Island and the segment evidence elsewhere in this series, because an inflated price input produces a fictional net no matter how carefully the subtractions are done. Sellers who want the cost lines priced individually before assembling them will find them in the report on how much it costs to sell a house in St Simons Island.

Worksheet and calculator beside house documents, the net proceeds method this report sets out step by step
A St Simons Island seller worksheet for calculating net proceeds using the documented figures in this report.

Key Findings

  • Net proceeds equal price minus commission, closing costs, credits, carrying costs and the mortgage payoff, in that order (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
  • Commissions plus closing costs run 6 to 8 percent combined, $33,000 to $44,000 on a $550,000 sale (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
  • The Georgia transfer tax inside closing costs is exactly $1 per $1,000, $550 on the worked example (Georgia Department of Revenue, 2026).
  • A payoff amount exceeds the current balance because it includes interest to the payoff date and allowed fees (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026).
  • Running the calculation as a range, best case to worst case, is more honest than a single point estimate (Frontier Capitals, 2026).

What is step one, fixing the price and the commission?

Step one is to write down a defensible price and subtract the commission. Defensible means anchored in what comparable island homes have actually achieved, in the segment the property occupies, rather than in an automated estimate or a neighbour asking price. The commission is then the typical total of 5 to 6 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025): $27,500 to $33,000 on $550,000. Because the percentage is charged on the gross, a seller should run it at both ends of the band; the $5,500 spread between the ends is real money, and it is decided at the listing agreement, before any buyer appears.

Inside the commission total, the buyer agent share averaged 2.4 percent for homes sold in the first quarter of 2025 (Redfin, 2025). A seller does not subtract that separately, because it sits inside the 5 to 6 percent, but knowing the split explains where the money goes and what is actually being purchased with it. If the seller own agent proposes a structure outside the typical band, the worksheet should use the proposed figure rather than the band; the method tolerates any honest input, and punishes only the fictional ones.

The worked example after step one: $550,000 minus $27,500 to $33,000 leaves $517,000 to $522,500. Owners of premium homes should scale the same percentages to their price rather than borrowing the dollar figures, the approach used in the report on how much a seller keeps after selling a $1.5 million St Simons Island home, where the commission alone reaches $75,000 to $90,000. The closing cost lines are then itemised separately in the report on what closing costs St Simons Island sellers typically pay, which is the natural companion to this worksheet.

What is step two, adding the closing costs?

Step two subtracts seller closing costs of 1 to 2 percent of the price: title work, settlement charges, recording and prorations (Frontier Capitals, 2026). On the worked example that is $5,500 to $11,000, and adding it to the commission is what produces the combined 6 to 8 percent figure of $33,000 to $44,000. Statewide closing cost comparisons show the same stack of charges across Georgia (Bankrate, 2025), so an owner can sanity check a settlement estimate against both the island band and the state pattern, and ask questions when a quote lands outside both.

One line inside the band can be computed exactly. The Georgia transfer tax is $1 per $1,000 of consideration (Georgia Department of Revenue, 2026), $550 on the worked example, and it belongs in the worksheet as a fixed number rather than part of a guessed percentage. Lien related recording work also belongs in this step where it applies: discharging an old lien follows county recording requirements (Glynn County Clerk of Superior Court, 2026), and a file with no liens simply skips that line. Tax and insurance prorations are estimated from parcel records, which fix the tax amounts and flood zone designations that drive the insurance figures (Glynn County Board of Assessors, 2026).

After step two the worked example stands at $550,000 minus $33,000 to $44,000, or $506,000 to $517,000 before credits and carrying costs. Notice how much of the eventual shortfall against the headline price is already locked in at this point, before the market has asked for anything at all. That is the central lesson of the method: most of the gap between price and proceeds is structural, not negotiable, and it can be known on the first day of the decision rather than discovered on the settlement statement.

What is step three, allowing for credits and carrying costs?

Step three subtracts the two lines sellers most often omit. The first is concessions and inspection repair credits, which on older island inventory routinely run $10,000 to $25,000 (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A seller with a genuinely updated home may budget at the bottom of the band or below it; a seller of an untouched 1960s cottage should budget inside it, because the inspection will find what sixty years put there. The second omitted line is carrying costs: over three to six months of market time they run $15,000 to $35,000 across mortgage or equity cost, insurance, taxes, utilities and maintenance (Frontier Capitals, 2026), and a listed older island home commonly takes 60 to 120 plus days to sell, which is exactly the window those costs describe.

Island insurance inflates the carrying line beyond mainland intuition. Flood insurance pricing follows the federal Risk Rating 2.0 methodology and elevation documentation (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2026), and the research ledger notes wind and flood premiums well above mainland levels, billed monthly while the home waits. Maintenance behaves the same way: national data shows older homes cost their owners more to keep up (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023), and an owner calculating proceeds should include the maintenance already spent during the market period, not just the spending still to come, because both came out of the same pocket the proceeds are meant to refill.

After step three, the worked example range is $550,000 minus the combined charges and both allowance lines: at the kind end, $550,000 minus $33,000, minus $10,000, minus $15,000 leaves $492,000; at the hard end, minus $44,000, minus $25,000 and minus $35,000 leaves $446,000. That spread is the documented mid $400,000s net the research describes, expressed as a worksheet rather than a slogan. Estate sellers running the same steps on an inherited cottage face the same ranges with an extra authority step in front of them, as the report on how long it takes to sell an inherited house in St Simons Island sets out for timing.

Island home during its market period, accruing the carrying costs that step three of the worksheet captures
A St Simons Island home in its selling period, when insurance, tax and maintenance costs reduce eventual proceeds.

What is step four, handling the mortgage payoff?

Step four subtracts the mortgage payoff, and it must use the payoff amount rather than the balance. A payoff amount includes interest accrued to the payoff date and any fees the loan documents allow, so it is higher than the current balance and rises daily until closing (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026). Order the figure for the actual closing date from the lender, enter it as a single line, and the worksheet is complete: price, minus percentage charges, minus credits, minus carrying costs, minus payoff, equals net proceeds in hand at closing.

Two refinements protect the result. First, a seller with other liens should enter their discharge amounts in the same step, using the county recording requirements to confirm what clearing them involves (Glynn County Clerk of Superior Court, 2026). Second, a seller whose proceeds must also cover a tax position on the gain should treat the closing figure as gross of that later settlement; the tax computation runs on gain rather than proceeds, and conflating the two is addressed in the report on the hidden expenses that reduce profits when selling. Owners in estates or with repair heavy houses sometimes find the direct route simplifies step four as well, since a clean as is contract removes the credit line entirely, an option examined for estate property in the report on whether a probate house can be sold without making repairs.

A mortgage free seller stops after step three, which is why two neighbours with identical houses and identical prices can leave the table with sums differing by the entire remaining mortgage. The worksheet makes that visible in advance. It also exposes the one lever that operates inside step four: time. Every additional month on the market adds interest accrual to the payoff and premiums to the carrying line simultaneously, so a faster route improves the net twice, once in step three and once in step four.

How does the calculation change on a direct sale?

On a direct sale most of the worksheet lines vanish, which is the practical appeal of running the method before choosing a route. Frontier Capitals buys directly from sellers as a wholesaler sourcing off market deals to builders, on documented terms that map onto the steps above. Privacy: zero showings, zero open houses and no public marketing period, so the sale never becomes public business on a small island. Flexible closing: 7 to 21 days, or months out with a leaseback, against 60 to 120 plus days listed, which shrinks the step three carrying line to a fraction of $15,000 to $35,000.

No commissions: step one deduction is removed entirely, saving the typical 5 to 6 percent, $27,500 to $33,000 on the worked example (National Association of Realtors, 2025). No seller closing costs: step two is removed as a seller charge too, so the combined saving is the full $33,000 to $44,000. No inspections or repairs: the home sells as is, so the $10,000 to $25,000 credit line in step three is removed and no structural inspection takes place. What remains is the direct price, minus the mortgage payoff from step four, minus any prorations the contract assigns. The direct price itself is land based, set by the residual arithmetic of the island market where over three quarters of a new build value sits in the land at the 23.1 percent ratio (Frontier Capitals, 2026), so the comparison is between a lower price with almost no deductions and a higher price carrying $58,000 to $104,000 of documented deductions on the worked example. The worksheet, honestly run, is what decides which net is larger for a given house.

New island home whose land heavy value underlies the direct prices compared in the final worksheet step
New St Simons Island construction illustrating the land value basis behind the direct sale net calculation.

Methodology and limitations

The method and figures come from the island sample research: 17 older homes sampled in 31522, 9 acquired by builders, average older home price 23.1 percent of new build price, with the $550,000 worked example supplying the commission, closing, credit and carrying ranges (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Commission structure context is national (National Association of Realtors, 2025; Redfin, 2025), closing cost composition is checked against statewide data (Bankrate, 2025), the transfer tax is statutory (Georgia Department of Revenue, 2026), and payoff mechanics follow federal consumer guidance (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026).

The worksheet produces an estimate, not a settlement statement. Individual prices, credit negotiations, title findings and payoff figures vary by property, and no property was appraised for this report. Tax on any gain is excluded from the proceeds figure by design, because it is computed on gain and settled later; sellers with large gains should have that second computation run separately before spending the proceeds.

Conclusion

Net proceeds are calculated, not guessed: price, minus $27,500 to $33,000 of commission and the closing layer that takes the combined load to $33,000 to $44,000 on a $550,000 sale, minus $10,000 to $25,000 of credits, minus $15,000 to $35,000 of carrying costs, minus the true payoff amount. Run as a range, the method shows a $550,000 island sale netting in the mid $400,000s before the mortgage, and it shows the direct route deleting most of the deduction lines in exchange for a land based price. Either way, the owner who runs the worksheet first negotiates from knowledge; the owner who skips it negotiates from the headline price, which is the one number in the transaction that nobody actually receives.

Owners who want the worksheet run on their own price, payoff and timeline can telephone Frontier Capitals at 401-219-4207 or email [email protected].

If you ran your own sale through these four steps tonight, at the honest end of every range, would the net still fund the plan the sale was supposed to pay for?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the formula for net proceeds?

Sale price minus commission, minus seller closing costs, minus repair credits and concessions, minus carrying costs during the market period, minus the mortgage payoff for the closing date. On a $550,000 island sale the first two items alone total $33,000 to $44,000 (Frontier Capitals, 2026).

Should the calculation use a single figure or a range?

A range. Every major input is documented as a band: commission 5 to 6 percent, closing costs 1 to 2 percent, credits $10,000 to $25,000 and carrying costs $15,000 to $35,000. Running the kind end and the hard end shows the seller the full spread of plausible outcomes.

Why does the payoff differ from the mortgage balance?

Because the payoff amount includes interest to the payoff date plus fees the loan documents allow (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026). Using the statement balance overstates proceeds, and the overstatement grows with the size of the loan and the lateness of the closing date.

Are taxes part of net proceeds?

Closing taxes are: the Georgia transfer tax of $1 per $1,000 sits inside the closing cost step (Georgia Department of Revenue, 2026), and property tax prorations are estimated from county parcel records (Glynn County Board of Assessors, 2026). Income tax on the gain is a separate later computation and is not deducted in the proceeds worksheet.

How much simpler is the calculation for a direct sale?

Much simpler: no commission line, no seller closing cost line, no repair credit line and a short carrying period at 7 to 21 days. The remaining arithmetic is the direct price minus the payoff and any contract prorations.

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