Before listing a Greater St. Louis home, build a line-item net sheet. Start with your expected sale price, then subtract payoffs, negotiated professional fees, title company charges, tax prorations, concessions, repairs, and preparation costs. Leave each line blank until a payoff letter, contract term, or invoice supports it.
Before Listing a Greater St. Louis Home, Build a Net Sheet
What should you calculate before listing a Greater St. Louis home?
Before listing a Greater St. Louis home, build a line-item net sheet that starts with your expected sale price and subtracts your mortgage and lien payoffs, negotiated professional fees, title company charges, tax and association prorations, concessions, repair credits, and preparation costs. Leave each line blank until a payoff letter, contract term, tax record, or invoice supports it. A percentage shortcut hides the exact items that move your check.
Key Takeaways
- Your net proceeds equal the expected sale price minus seven categories of cost, and each line should be backed by a written document before you rely on it.
- Your mortgage payoff is not the balance on your latest statement, because it includes daily interest through the closing date plus any unpaid fees or prepayment charges.
- Property tax prorations are closing-date calculations, so they change with the county, the tax year, the payment status of the bill, and the contract’s proration convention.
- St. Louis County’s Recorder of Deeds lists $24 for the first page of a deed and $3 for each additional page, which covers only the recording charge and not the rest of your closing costs.
- Ask for two net sheets before you accept an offer: a base case at the offer price, and a revised version that shows concessions, repair credits, and possession terms.
How do you build a net sheet before listing a Greater St. Louis home?
Use a worksheet with one line per cost, not a percentage of the sale price. Every line gets a payer, a source document, and a date. If you can’t point to the document, the line stays blank.
Here is the structure I use with sellers:
- Expected sale price
- Minus mortgage and lien payoffs
- Minus negotiated professional fees
- Minus title company charges
- Minus tax and association prorations
- Minus concessions and repair credits
- Minus pre-listing and sale-preparation costs
- Equals your estimated net proceeds
Each of those lines has its own trap, so let’s take them one at a time.
Start with a sale price you can support
Every other line subtracts from this one, so a guess here skews the whole sheet. An online estimate doesn’t walk through your home, see the updates you made, or notice the deferred work. I price a home from what buyers are actually paying for comparable properties today, and then we build the net sheet from that number and from the offer terms.
If you’re still deciding when to list, my post on whether to sell your Greater St. Louis home this spring or wait covers the timing side.
Payoffs: your statement balance is not your payoff
Your payoff is the amount a lender will accept to release its lien on your closing date. It is not the balance printed on your last statement. The payoff request should state the closing date, the daily interest through that date, any unpaid fees, and any prepayment charge. The title company or lender supplies the written figure.
Also check for liens beyond the first mortgage. Each one may need its own payoff or release:
- A home-equity line of credit or second mortgage
- Unpaid contractor or judgment liens
- Delinquent taxes
- Association balances
- Any other recorded obligation
Ask how long the payoff is valid, whether the title company will update it automatically near closing, and how an overpayment or shortfall gets handled.
Professional fees: negotiable, and not set by law
Broker fees and commissions are fully negotiable and are not set by law. There is no standard rate. The listing fee is agreed in your listing agreement. Any compensation you choose to offer a buyer’s agent is optional and negotiated separately. I’d rather talk through your specific numbers with you in a consultation than put a figure on a blog page.
Title company charges: ask for every line
In Missouri, your closing is handled by a title company, and its charges should arrive itemized, not as one “closing costs” number. I cover the full request list in the next section. For recording alone, the St. Louis County Recorder of Deeds publishes $24 for the first page of a deed and $3 for each additional page. That applies only to properties in St. Louis County, and it is a recording charge, not a percentage of your price.
Prorations: date-sensitive, never flat
Property taxes and association dues are split between you and the buyer based on the closing date. The amount depends on which tax bill is used, whether it has been paid, escrowed, or left unpaid, and the proration convention in your contract. Ask whether the proration uses the latest bill or an agreed estimate, and who receives any later corrected bill.
Concessions, repairs, and preparation
These are not closing charges, but they come straight out of your check. Count all of them:
- Buyer concessions and repair credits
- Home warranty or buyer-selected charges you agree to pay
- Work you completed or contracted before listing
- Staging, cleaning, and photography
- Moving, storage, and utility carrying costs
- Any work promised to the buyer in the contract or inspection response
Who sets each line, and what to get in writing
| Net sheet line | Who determines it | Get this in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage and lien payoffs | Lender or lienholder | Payoff letter with closing date, daily interest, fees |
| Professional fees | Negotiated in your listing agreement | Signed agreement |
| Title company charges | Title company, plus contract assignment of who pays | Itemized seller-side estimate |
| Recording | County Recorder of Deeds | Exact charge for the deed and release documents |
| Tax and association prorations | Tax bill, association, and contract convention | Bill used and proration method |
| Concessions and repair credits | Negotiated with the buyer | Executed contract and amendments |
| Preparation costs | Vendors and your own decisions | Invoices and signed bids |
What should you ask the title company before accepting an offer?
Ask for an itemized estimate of every seller-side charge, with the payer named for each one. In Greater St. Louis, responsibility for several settlement items can be customary yet remains negotiable unless a statute, local rule, lender requirement, or your contract controls. A net sheet should say who pays, not just list the charge.
Ask for separate lines for:
- Owner’s title insurance, if the contract assigns it to you
- Title examination or commitment charges
- Settlement or closing-service charges
- Deed preparation and deed recording
- Mortgage-release or lien-release recording
- Payoff processing or wire charges
- Association resale documents or dues, if applicable
- Municipal documents, inspections, occupancy requirements, or resale certifications, if your municipality requires them
- Courier, overnight, notary, or other administrative charges
Then ask the title company to prepare two versions. The first is a base case at the offer price and stated terms. The second shows concessions, repair credits, possession terms, financing-related credits, and any requested personal-property or home-warranty items. Seeing both side by side shows you what a “better” offer is actually worth.
Confirm the exact jurisdiction
Greater St. Louis transactions can involve St. Louis County, St. Louis city, St. Charles County, Jefferson County, or a municipality with its own procedures. Ask the title company to confirm the correct recorder, tax authority, municipal requirements, and association contacts for your address. The county recording amount I cited above applies only in St. Louis County, whether your home is in Ballwin, Chesterfield, Eureka, or anywhere else in it. A different county has its own schedule.
How does your net sheet change after the offer is signed?
It changes whenever the deal does, so update it at every turn. Inspection repairs, buyer-requested credits, appraisal-related price changes, a new closing date, title defects, payoff updates, tax or association adjustments, and changes to possession terms can all move your final number.
Before you sign anything at closing, get the final settlement statement and compare it to your earlier estimate line by line. Check the sale price, mortgage payoff, title company charges, recording fees, tax prorations, concessions, repair credits, association charges, and the final disbursement amount. If a line doesn’t match, ask why before you sign, not after.
If you’re selling a longtime home and weighing a downsize, the net sheet is the first number to settle, because it tells you what your next chapter can look like. My post on what Ballwin seniors should know before downsizing pairs well with this worksheet. Your own numbers depend on your payoff, your contract terms, and your timeline, which is why I’d rather run them with you than hand you an average.
Curious what other sellers say about working with me? You can read Lisa’s reviews on Google and Zillow.
FAQ
How do I calculate my net proceeds from selling a house in St. Louis?
Start with your expected sale price and subtract each cost as its own line: payoffs, professional fees, title company charges, prorations, concessions and repair credits, and preparation costs. Back every line with a written document, such as a payoff letter, contract term, or invoice. Then ask your listing agent and the title company to run the same sheet so you can compare them.
Who pays the title company fees when selling a home in St. Louis?
It depends on your contract. Some settlement items are customary for one side or the other, but they remain negotiable unless a statute, local rule, lender requirement, or contract provision controls. Ask the title company to name the payer for each line on your estimate, and confirm it against your signed contract.
Does Missouri charge a real-estate transfer tax when I sell my house?
Missouri does not have a statewide real-estate transfer tax, but you will still pay other settlement items such as recording charges. Because local procedures and your contract can add other items, confirm the full list with your title company before relying on any estimate.
How are St. Louis County property taxes prorated at closing?
They are prorated by closing date, not charged as a flat seller fee. The result depends on the tax year, whether the bill is paid, escrowed, or unpaid, and the proration convention in your contract. Ask the title company which bill it used and how a later corrected bill will be handled.
Is my mortgage payoff the same as my loan balance?
No. Your payoff includes interest that accrues daily through the closing date, plus any unpaid fees and any prepayment charge. Request a written payoff close to your expected closing date, and ask how long it stays valid.
The bottom line on your net sheet
The number to protect is the one you walk away with, and it only becomes reliable when every line has a document behind it. Before listing a Greater St. Louis home, I’ll sit down with you, build the worksheet around your payoff and your contract terms, and update it as offers arrive, so you can compare them on what you actually keep.
Schedule a Consultation to build your net sheet with me, or Request a Free Home Evaluation to start with a price you can support.
Equal Housing Opportunity. Lisa Nicholson, Blue Monarch Real Estate Group at Nettwork Global Realty. Licensed in Missouri and regulated by the Missouri Real Estate Commission (MREC). This article is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Confirm your own numbers with your title company, tax advisor, or lender.