Printable cheat sheet

Texas seller net and required sale price cheat sheet

Built for Texas sales agent exam prep. Keep payoff, commission, title, recording, and percentage costs in the right bucket before solving forward or backward.

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Seller netSale price - costs

Costs can include payoff, commission, title, recording, fixed costs, and percent costs.

CommissionSale price x rate

Use only the rate given in the stem. Rates are negotiable.

Fixed costsTitle + recording + settlement

Owner's title insurance, recording fees, and settlement charges are fixed dollar amounts. No transfer tax in Texas.

EquityValue - loan

Equity is not seller net because selling costs still have to come out.

Required priceTarget net worked backward

Percentage costs rise as the solved price rises.

Plug-back checkSolved price - costs = target

The best reverse check is to run the forward seller-net formula.

The exam setup rule

Name the final ask: seller net, equity, or required sale price.
Separate payoff from selling costs.
Calculate percentage costs from the sale price.
Add fixed dollar costs such as title insurance, recording, and settlement.
For required price, solve backward and then plug the price forward.

Five worked examples

Forward seller net$425,000 sale, $298,000 payoff, 6% commission, $3,200 fixed costs, no percent costs

Commission is $25,500. Net is $425,000 - $298,000 - $25,500 - $3,200 = $98,300.

Fixed costs$425,000 sale with title, recording, and settlement

Title, recording, and settlement are fixed dollar amounts; only commission and percent costs scale with price.

Equity is not net$425,000 value, $298,000 payoff

Equity is $127,000 before commission, title, recording, and selling costs.

Required price$85,000 target net with payoff and percent selling costs

With $298,000 payoff, $3,200 fixed costs, 6% commission, and 1% seller costs, solve for the price high enough to cover the percent costs that grow with price. Round up to whole dollars if choices are whole dollars.

Plug-backSolved price from a target-net question

Run the forward seller-net formula. If net is below target, the required price is still too low.

Traps to check

Do not confuse equity with seller net.
Do not add a stamp-tax or transfer-tax line. Texas has no state transfer or stamp tax.
Do not subtract the loan payoff twice.
Do not solve required sale price by adding only fixed costs when percentage costs are present.
Do not treat seller-net math as a net listing. This cheat sheet is for seller proceeds questions.

Sanity check

Higher payoff should lower seller net.
Higher commission or percent costs should lower seller net.
Required sale price should be higher than target net plus payoff when selling costs exist.
Plugging the required sale price back into the forward formula should recreate the target net.
If a cost increases net, you put it on the wrong side of the formula.