Home Sale Calculator
Estimate the proceeds you can make from the sale of your home
Everyone wants to know just how much money they’ll make from selling their home. And like a lot of things, the answer is, “It depends.” In this case, the two key factors are what you still owe on your home, and what you will be paying your real estate agent for handling the sale. This calculator will help estimate the proceeds you could make when selling your home.
How to use the home sale calculator
Gather your current mortgage and tax information, including how much you owe, your mortgage interest rate, and the date of the month your mortgage is due. Then start by putting your expected closing date and how much you’re selling your home for in the Sale Information sections of the calculator.
Enter your mortgage balance, interest rate, and payment due date in the First Mortgage sections of the calculator.
In the Closing Details section of the calculator, enter the real estate agent’s commission – this is a percentage of the sale which will be paid from the proceeds. You can adjust the calculator to see how it affects your share of these proceeds.
You’ll also need to note the most recent date your property taxes were paid, as well as your annual property tax amount. This information should be available as part of your current mortgage information.
Finally, enter your transfer tax rate – this is a percentage of the sale that goes to local government – and your share of the closing fees.
If you have a second mortgage on your home, you’ll need to provide the loan balance, interest rate, and payment due date for that mortgage as well.
What you need to know about estimated proceeds from selling a house
Calculating your proceeds in advance can help you make more informed decisions in other aspects of the process. For instance, if you’re asked to make some seller concessions regarding costs, such as home inspection fees or title insurance, you’ll have a clearer idea of how much of your proceeds these concessions would represent.
Estimating in advance can also help you in planning your next steps, as you’ll know how much you might be able to put toward a down payment on a new home, or address relocation costs if you’re moving.
Costs and fees associated with selling a house
A home sale involves several costs and fees, some paid by the buyer and some paid by the seller. Since this calculator is a tool for sellers, a few of the costs that will affect your share of the proceeds include:
- Real estate agent’s commission – This is their agreed-upon percentage of the sale price for helping facilitate the sale.
- Property taxes – The seller is responsible for paying the property taxes accumulated between the last date of payment and the date of the sale.
- Transfer taxes – These are local taxes paid on the sale price.
- Negotiated portions of closing costs – If you’ve offered to pay any of the closing costs traditionally covered by a buyer, such as appraisal fees, they will come out of your proceeds.
Tips to make more money when selling your house
There’s a lot to listing, marketing, and negotiating your home’s sale – and on top of the work, you want to maximize the proceeds you get out of it too. Pricing your home is a numbers game that will require research – too high, and you risk turning buyers away; too low, and you might find yourself pocketing far less money than you planned for. And when staging your house, don’t forget curb appeal and color trends. You want your home to make a great first impression inside and out.
Don’t underestimate the time and effort required to handle negotiations and legal documentation. It’s usually well worth the investment of hiring a real estate agent to guide you through the process and take care of dealing with the buyer’s agent, inspection company, and appraiser – and it helps avoid potential missteps.
Mortgage terms to keep in mind
- Payoff amount: The cash amount that will completely pay off your mortgage(s). Also called your Mortgage or Loan Balance.
- Seller proceeds: Money that goes to the seller after paying off the existing mortgage and other fees.
- Interest rate: The fee you are paying to borrow the money, paid as a percentage of your principal balance.
- Transfer taxes: Local taxes paid as a percentage of a property’s sale price.
Looking for another term put in plain language? Visit the complete CrossCountry Mortgage Glossary.
Additional mortgage calculators
Buying or refinancing a home can be confusing – we want to make beginning the journey as simple as possible. We’ve developed easy-to-use tools that will help you compare your options, calculate your payment, see how much mortgage you can afford, understand your debt-to-income ratio, and discover answers to many of your homebuying questions.
Use our free, interactive calculators to start getting answers and take the next financial steps toward your goals:
