Your Net Proceeds Worksheet: Selling a Long-Held Home in Howard County
What will you keep if you sell your house? Tell me your name and email and the worksheet opens right away, a one-page calculator that does the math. Print it, save it as a PDF or download it as a spreadsheet. You fill in your own price, and it walks you through your loan payoff, closing costs, transfer and recordation taxes, agent fees and any prep you choose, down to what's left. The costs are the same kind of numbers for every house, so you can see them before anyone visits. The price is the part I wouldn't want to guess at from my desk. That's step two, a free visit with no listing agreement and no obligation.
I'll only use your name and email to open the worksheet and to follow up if you ask me to. The numbers you type stay on your device. It's a worksheet estimate, and the final numbers will be determined by the price and terms of the contract you accept.
I'm Ryan Breeden, a REALTOR with Long & Foster, and I've lived in Howard County for more than 25 years. What would I actually walk away with? It's the first thing most long-time owners want to know, long before they talk about listing. If you haven't bought or sold in the past 20 years or so, the costs and the process have probably changed since you bought, so I'd rather you work through real numbers than guess.
Why look at the net number before the listing price?
Because the price on a listing isn't what you keep. What you keep is the price minus your loan payoff, the transfer taxes, the closing costs, the agent fees and whatever you spend getting the house ready. If you bought decades ago, your payoff may be small or zero, which might make the number better than you'd guess. It also means you can compare selling now against waiting, without guessing.
A lot of people I talk to are afraid of the cost and a potential tax bill and put off even asking. Seeing the actual figure, on paper, takes most of that fear away. Sometimes the number says sell this spring. Sometimes it says wait a year or two. Either way you're deciding with real numbers, not a feeling.
What does the worksheet walk you through?
You start with a price. Use whatever number you think is realistic, or run your address through the home value tool on my site for a starting point. The worksheet then takes you line by line through everything that comes out of that price, and ends with your own net number. Change the price and watch what happens to what you keep.
Want a starting number? Run your address through my Howard County home value tool and use what it gives you as your first price.
Price
You enter: A price you think is realistic, or the starting point from the home value tool.
You see: The sale price everything else is figured from.
Costs of selling
You enter: Your loan payoff, if you have one, and the agent fee we agree on.
You see: Loan payoff, agent fees, transfer and recordation taxes, and settlement costs, subtracted from the price.
Prep
You enter: Nothing, light prep (paint, cleaning, clearing out, small fixes), or full prep (flooring, kitchen or bath work), at what you expect to spend.
You see: Your prep cost subtracted from your net.
Your net
You enter: Nothing to enter.
You see: What's left, and how it changes when you change the price or the prep.
The worksheet uses the Howard County transfer tax of 1.25%, the Howard County recordation tax of $2.50 for every $500 (or part of $500) of the price or the loan amount, and the Maryland state transfer tax of 0.5%. In Maryland, the buyer and seller typically split the total transfer and recordation taxes 50/50, though the contract decides. The exact figures depend on the price and terms of the contract you accept.
What about the price? That's step two.
The worksheet gives you the cost side with confidence. The price is different, and I wouldn't want to guess at it from my desk. What your house would sell for as is, with light prep or with full prep depends on what I see when I walk through it, compared against recent sales nearby. If you want that part, I'll come see the house, with no obligation and no listing agreement. I'll tell you what I think it would sell for each way, a ballpark of what the work would cost, and what it could add. Then you drop those numbers into the worksheet and see your real net.
Before I come out, it helps if you send me a list of the updates you've done and the approximate ages of the roof, HVAC and windows. That lets me look at comparable sales ahead of time so the visit is about your house, not about me asking questions.
My background in construction and formal appraisal training is why I can usually tell you quickly whether an update is worth the money. Some projects return more than they cost. Many don't, and I'll tell you which is which as well as what I'd do in your situation and why.
What can't the worksheet tell you?
It can't tell you what your house will sell for without a visit, and it can't tell you what you'll owe in taxes. Capital gains, your basis and your overall tax picture are questions for a CPA.
What I can do is help you pull together your improvement records, such as receipts and dates for a new roof, a finished basement or a kitchen remodel, so your CPA has what they need. If you've owned and lived in the home for at least two of the last five years, the IRS lets most homeowners exclude up to $250,000 of gain for single owners, or $500,000 for married couples on a joint return. Whether that covers you depends on your situation, and that's a conversation for your CPA. Details are on IRS Topic 701.
What do I need from you?
To get the worksheet I need your name and email. That's all. If you'd like the visit too, call or text me, or use the contact link on the worksheet page. It helps if you send the address, a list of the updates you've done and the approximate ages of things like the roof, HVAC and windows. A ballpark is fine, and you can send those later.
How does it work, and is there any obligation?
Tap the button, give me your name and email, and the worksheet opens on the next page. Print it, save it as a PDF or download it as a spreadsheet. Put in your own price and costs and read the result on your own. If you'd like the price part, call or text me, or use the contact link on the worksheet page, and we'll set up a time for me to see the house. After the visit I send you the as is, light prep and full prep numbers to drop into the worksheet. You can stop at any step.
There's no listing agreement and no pressure. Plenty of people use the worksheet to decide they're staying put for a few more years, and that's a fine answer. If you do decide to move, we already have the numbers.
What do sellers say about pricing and advice?
"He priced my house much higher than another realtor I interviewed who seemed to think it would take months to sell. Yet with Ryan my house was under contract less than 48 hours on the market for the asking price."
B. Walsh (Seller)
"He remained a steady hand even when I was getting nervous when things weren't moving quick enough. He gave some good advice that helped me sell my property and I got the asking price."
Chasey W. (Seller)
"We knew we wanted Ryan to help us sell our home, and look for a new one... He really studied the market to help us list at the right price... Ultimately he got us a full price offer, and we were set to find the perfect replacement."
Patricia S. (Buyer & Seller)
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to list with you to get the worksheet?
No. The worksheet is free, you get it when you sign up, and there's no listing agreement or obligation. Many people fill it in, think it over and wait.
How accurate is the worksheet before I list?
The worksheet is only as accurate as the numbers you enter. The taxes follow the county and state rates, and the final figures depend on the price and terms of the contract you accept. The price is the uncertain part, which is why I suggest a visit before you rely on it.
What if I paid off my mortgage years ago?
Then your net is usually larger, because there's no payoff to subtract. You'd still have transfer taxes, settlement costs, agent fees and any prep. The worksheet shows all of it so there are no surprises.
Who pays the transfer and recordation taxes when I sell in Howard County?
The contract decides. In Maryland, the buyer and seller typically split the total transfer and recordation taxes 50/50. Howard County's transfer tax is 1.25% of the price, its recordation tax is $2.50 for every $500 (or part of $500) of the price or the loan amount, and Maryland adds a state transfer tax of 0.5%. The exact figures depend on the price and terms of the contract you accept.
Will I owe capital gains tax?
That depends on your basis and your tax picture, which are questions for a CPA, and I'm not one. The IRS lets a single person exclude up to $250,000 of gain on their main home, or a married couple filing jointly up to $500,000, if you've owned and lived in it for at least two of the last five years. I help you pull your improvement records so your CPA has what they need.
How long does it take to clear a house I've lived in for decades?
Plan on two to three months. Start with the rooms you won't miss and work toward the ones you will.
Is it worth fixing things up before I sell?
Sometimes. Paint, cleaning and clearing out usually pay off. Big projects often don't. Put the prep cost you expect into the worksheet to see what it does to your net, and a walk-through lets me tell you what the work would likely add to your price.
Ready to see what your house would net?
Tap the button above and the worksheet is yours. If you want the price part too, I'll come see the house. No listing agreement and no pressure. If you'd rather talk first, call or text me at 443-896-6081.
I'm Ryan Breeden, a REALTOR with Long & Foster who has lived in Howard County for more than 25 years and has worked with buyers and sellers across central Maryland since 2005, with a background in construction and formal appraisal training.