Homeowners in Washington Park and Bonnie Brae can calculate net proceeds with a single disciplined worksheet: start with the realistic sale price, then subtract every charge the transaction will impose, in the order the settlement statement will impose them. Commission comes first, at 5 to 6 percent, equal to 40,000 dollars to 48,000 dollars on an 800,000 dollar sale (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Seller closing costs follow at 1 to 2 percent, and the research ledgers show the two together commonly exceeding 40,000 dollars at a 650,000 dollar price and 65,000 dollars at a 950,000 dollar price (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Repair credits, holding expense and any mortgage payoff complete the subtraction, and what remains is the only figure a seller should use for planning. In a ZIP with a median sale price near 1,100,000 dollars and closings at 98 to 99 percent of list, that worksheet turns an exciting headline price into an honest personal number (Redfin, 2026).
Key Findings
- Net proceeds equal the realistic price minus commission, closing costs, credits, holding expense and payoff (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- Commission at 5 to 6 percent is 40,000 dollars to 48,000 dollars at the 800,000 dollar anchor (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
- Commission plus closing costs commonly exceed 40,000 dollars at 650,000 dollars and 65,000 dollars at 950,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- The 800,000 dollar listed example nets in the high 600,000s after a normal market cycle (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- Homes in the ZIP close at 98 to 99 percent of list, which disciplines the starting price in the worksheet (Redfin, 2026).
What is the correct starting figure for the worksheet?
Begin with the price the market will actually pay, not the price the owner hopes to announce. Published data for 80209 shows homes closing at 98 to 99 percent of asking with 12 to 31 average days on market, so an asking figure should be discounted slightly before it enters any honest calculation (Redfin, 2026). Automated estimates can supply a first approximation for that starting figure, although they blend buyer types and should be checked against recorded sales (Zillow, 2026). Recorded deeds for genuinely comparable homes give the strongest evidence, because they show completed prices with dates and buyer identities (Denver Clerk and Recorder, 2026). Owners who start with an inflated figure will produce a flattering worksheet and a disappointing settlement, a self deception the method exists to prevent.
The three anchor ledgers in the research let an owner sanity check the starting point as well as the deductions. A property realistically priced near 650,000 dollars belongs in the first ledger family, where combined commission and closing charges pass 40,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A property near 950,000 dollars belongs in the third, where the same combination passes 65,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Matching the worksheet to the correct anchor family catches arithmetic errors and unrealistic assumptions early. Readers who want the charges themselves explained can open how much it costs to sell a house in this neighborhood beside the worksheet.
Which deductions belong on the worksheet, in which order?
Commission leads the deduction list because it is calculated on the full price and is usually the largest cost of the sale. The worksheet should use the actual proposed rate where one exists, and the typical 5 to 6 percent band where it does not (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Commission research adds useful granularity, with the buyer agent share averaging 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2025 and compressing to 2.17 percent above 1,000,000 dollars (Redfin, 2025). Seller closing costs come second at 1 to 2 percent, covering title, transfer related taxes and prorations (National Association of Realtors, 2025). The state disclosure process belongs to the preparation stage and should be completed before marketing, so any associated expense sits in the worksheet as a known early cost rather than a settlement surprise (Colorado Real Estate Commission, 2026).
Repair credits and holding expense occupy the middle of the worksheet, where older homes demand honesty. Credits after a sewer scope or a foundation assessment commonly run 10,000 dollars to 25,000 dollars on the century old bungalows of this ZIP (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Holding expense for three to six months of mortgage, tax, insurance and upkeep adds 15,000 dollars to 35,000 dollars at Denver price levels (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Parcel and assessment records help an owner estimate the tax proration and carrying figures for a specific address instead of borrowing generic numbers (Denver Assessor, 2026). The mortgage payoff closes the list: it is not a cost, but it determines the cash released at settlement, so no proceeds worksheet is complete without the current balance.
How does tax fit into a proceeds calculation?
Tax is the final layer, and it is calculated on the gain rather than on the proceeds themselves, which is why it belongs in a separate section of the worksheet. Colorado taxes a taxable gain as ordinary income at a flat 4.4 percent, and the state begins from federal adjusted gross income (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2026). Federal guidance on selling a home explains the exclusion that can shelter part or all of a main home gain, and where the exclusion applies the Colorado layer falls away with the federal one (Internal Revenue Service, 2025). The worked example in the guides scales the exposure clearly: on a 400,000 dollar taxable gain, Colorado takes about 17,600 dollars beyond roughly 60,000 dollars of federal tax at 15 percent (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2026; Internal Revenue Service, 2025). A complete worksheet therefore shows two bottom lines, the settlement proceeds and the after tax proceeds, because a seller who plans around only the first will overstate the money available for the next purchase. The tax focused companion is whether local homeowners pay capital gains taxes when selling, which treats eligibility in detail.
Basis documentation decides how large that taxable gain turns out to be, so it earns its own line in the preparation work. Original purchase records, improvement invoices and any stepped up valuation for inherited property all raise documented basis and reduce the measured gain (Internal Revenue Service, 2025). Sellers who assemble those papers while completing the worksheet can hand a tax adviser a coherent file instead of a shoebox. That coherence has cash value in this district, where long holding periods have produced gains that dwarf the transaction charges.
What does the worksheet look like on the worked 800,000 dollar example?
The research ledger supplies a complete rehearsal at 800,000 dollars, and walking it in order shows the method at work. The price begins at 800,000 dollars, already a realistic figure rather than an aspiration in this telling. Commission at 5 to 6 percent removes 40,000 dollars to 48,000 dollars, leaving the seller in the mid 700,000s before anything else moves (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Seller closing costs at 1 to 2 percent remove a further five figure slice, and the research summarises the pair as 6 to 8 percent combined, roughly 48,000 dollars to 64,000 dollars in total (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
A representative repair credit inside the 10,000 dollar to 25,000 dollar range follows, drawn from the sewer and foundation negotiations typical for older bungalows here (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Holding expense across the marketing and closing period then removes its 15,000 dollars to 35,000 dollars (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The ledger conclusion is that an 800,000 dollar list price nets the seller something in the high 600,000s after a normal market cycle, before any price reduction (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Only the mortgage payoff remains, and for many long term owners in Washington Park that final line is small enough to leave the high 600,000s largely intact as released cash. Owners can test the same walk at their own price using the closing cost breakdown for local sellers for the middle lines.
How do net proceeds change under a direct off market sale?
The direct route simplifies the worksheet by deleting its largest lines, and each deletion corresponds to one of the benefits of selling off market. Privacy comes first in process terms, since the sale proceeds with zero showings, zero open houses and no public marketing period, keeping the owner figures out of neighbourhood circulation until the deed records.
Timing is the second change, with a closing available in 7 to 21 days for a seller who wants the proceeds released quickly, or a date months out with a leaseback for a seller sequencing a purchase. Against the 60 to 120 plus days a listed older home commonly consumes, the shorter timetable also shrinks the holding expense line toward zero.
Commission is the third and largest change, because its complete removal preserves the 40,000 dollars to 48,000 dollars that the 800,000 dollar example would otherwise surrender (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Seller closing costs vanish as the fourth change, so the combined 6 to 8 percent band is retained rather than deducted, worth more than 40,000 dollars at 650,000 dollars and more than 65,000 dollars at 950,000 dollars on the research ledgers (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
The fifth change is the as is transfer, which removes the repair credit line from the worksheet entirely. No sewer report reopens the agreed price, and the net calculated on the day of signing is the net that arrives at settlement, subject only to the payoff and any tax that follows.
How can a seller verify that a direct net figure will be honoured?
A net figure is only as good as the buyer standing behind it, so run the documentary checks before celebrating the arithmetic. Proof of funds in the buyer name dated within 30 days, covering the full price, demonstrates that the promised proceeds exist as capital rather than as hope. Recorded deeds under the buyer entity name, available through the Denver Clerk and Recorder, establish a closing history for that entity in this city (Denver Clerk and Recorder, 2026). Earnest money of 1 percent or more, forfeited on a buyer default, gives the seller a remedy if the timetable collapses. An assignment clause paired with a token deposit signals that the net was quoted by someone who may never be obliged to pay it.
Frontier Capitals states its own role for the record in these calculations: the firm is a wholesaler that sources off market deals to builders, and it never claims to be a builder itself. That disclosure lets a seller attribute the quoted net to an identified intermediary and an identified class of end buyer, which is the correct basis for trusting or challenging the number. Owners can arrange a worked calculation through the methodology page contacts after reviewing how the figures were assembled.
What is a worked walk through the worksheet at 650,000 dollars and 950,000 dollars?
The two outer anchors show how the worksheet behaves at different scales without any change in method. At 650,000 dollars, the owner enters the realistic price, subtracts commission and seller closing costs that the guides place commonly above 40,000 dollars combined, and then allows for a repair credit and a short holding period (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The remaining figure then waits only on the payoff line to become the cash the seller will actually release at settlement. At 950,000 dollars, the same steps remove more than 65,000 dollars in combined commission and closing charges alone, before credits and holding expense are considered (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Reading the two walks side by side teaches the central lesson of the worksheet: percentage charges scale with price while credit and holding ranges stay comparatively fixed, so higher priced sellers lose the most to the percentage lines and should scrutinise them hardest. That is also why a route that removes the percentage lines changes outcomes most dramatically at Washington Park price levels.
How often should the worksheet be updated during a sale?
Treat the worksheet as a living document that earns a fresh version at three moments in the transaction. The first version belongs to the decision stage, built from estimates and anchor ledgers before any route is chosen. The second version follows the first real offer or listing response, replacing the hoped for price with a figure the market has actually produced. The third version arrives with the preliminary settlement statement, when estimates give way to itemised charges that can be checked line by line (Denver Clerk and Recorder, 2026). Comparing the three versions teaches a seller where the original assumptions were kind and where they were careless, knowledge that transfers directly to the next purchase negotiation. Owners who skip the updates often discover the true net only at the settlement table, which is the worst possible classroom for the lesson.
Methodology and limitations
The worksheet method in this post is assembled from the listing ledgers worked in the Washington Park and Bonnie Brae research at 650,000 dollars, 800,000 dollars and 950,000 dollars, together with the acquisition sample of 24 older homes in this ZIP (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Commission structure and composition draw on national profile research and on 2025 commission analysis with its 2.4 percent and 2.17 percent buyer agent figures (National Association of Realtors, 2025; Redfin, 2025). Starting price discipline uses published ZIP market data on median price, sale to list performance and marketing time (Redfin, 2026), while valuation starting points were checked against published home value data (Zillow, 2026). Tax treatment follows Colorado revenue guidance and federal home sale guidance (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2026; Internal Revenue Service, 2025).
A worksheet is an estimate with a structure, not a settlement guarantee, and its accuracy depends on the honesty of its inputs. Commission is negotiable, repair credits depend on inspection findings, holding expense depends on the seller financing and tax depends on basis and eligibility that vary by household. The disclosure stage is governed by the state form, which this post treats as a preparation step rather than as a settlement charge (Colorado Real Estate Commission, 2026). Parcel records support property specific tax and proration estimates but cannot supply a payoff balance, which only the lender can confirm (Denver Assessor, 2026). Sellers should reconcile the final worksheet against the actual settlement statement and the recorded deed that follows it (Denver Clerk and Recorder, 2026).
Conclusion
Calculating net proceeds in Washington Park and Bonnie Brae is a matter of disciplined subtraction: a realistic starting price, commission at 5 to 6 percent, closing costs at 1 to 2 percent, credits, holding expense, payoff and finally tax on any surviving gain (Frontier Capitals, 2026; Colorado Department of Revenue, 2026). The anchor ledgers prove the scale of the result, from the combined charges above 40,000 dollars at 650,000 dollars to the 800,000 dollar sale that nets in the high 600,000s (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A seller who completes the worksheet before choosing a route will judge every offer, listed or direct, by the one number that can actually be spent.
To have the worksheet completed for a specific property in 80209 with its own payoff and price evidence, ring Frontier Capitals on 401-219-4207 or write to [email protected].
When the worksheet is finished honestly, which matters more for your next home: the price on the first line or the number on the last?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first line of a net proceeds worksheet?
The first line is the realistic sale price, discounted where necessary by the local pattern of closings at 98 to 99 percent of asking (Redfin, 2026). An optimistic asking price corrupts every line that follows it.
Which deduction is usually the largest cost?
Commission is usually the largest true cost, at 5 to 6 percent or 40,000 dollars to 48,000 dollars on an 800,000 dollar sale (National Association of Realtors, 2025). The mortgage payoff may be larger in cash terms, but it returns the seller own equity.
How much do commission and closing costs remove together?
The pair commonly removes 6 to 8 percent of price, exceeding 40,000 dollars at 650,000 dollars and 65,000 dollars at 950,000 dollars in the research ledgers (Frontier Capitals, 2026). At 800,000 dollars the range is roughly 48,000 dollars to 64,000 dollars.
Where does tax enter the calculation?
Tax enters after settlement, calculated on the gain rather than on the proceeds, with Colorado applying a flat 4.4 percent to any taxable portion (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2026). Federal exclusion eligibility decides how much gain is taxable at all (Internal Revenue Service, 2025).
Can a worksheet predict the exact settlement figure?
It can approach it closely when inputs are honest, but inspection findings and proration timing keep the final statement partly uncertain until closing (Denver Assessor, 2026). The recorded deed and settlement statement together provide the final reconciliation (Denver Clerk and Recorder, 2026).
Sources
- Frontier Capitals, 2026. 189 neighborhood builder acquisition sample: 24 homes sampled in 80209, 18 acquired by builders, average older home price 35.2 percent of new build. Market data.
- National Association of Realtors, 2025. Highlights from the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Industry report.
- Redfin, 2025. Real estate agent commissions report, May 2025. Market data.
- Redfin, 2026. Published market data: 80209 median sale price near 1,100,000 dollars, seller's market, 98 to 99 percent sale to list, 12 to 31 average days on market. Market data.
- Denver Clerk and Recorder, 2026. Recorded deeds and transaction records, Denver CO. Official record.
- Denver Assessor, 2026. Parcel and assessment records, Denver CO. Official record.
- Colorado Real Estate Commission, 2026. Seller's Property Disclosure form and contract guidance. Official record.
- Colorado Department of Revenue, 2026. Individual income tax rate and capital gains treatment. Official record.
- Internal Revenue Service, 2025. Publication 523, Selling Your Home. Government data.
- Zillow, 2026. Home values and recently sold, 80209. Market data.