The Seller's Net Sheet for a Bexar County FSBO: Every Line From Sale Price to Wire

Your sale price is not your check. On a typical Bexar County FSBO closing, somewhere between 1.5% and 9% of the contract price gets peeled off at the title company before funds wire to you — and the range is that wide because the two biggest variables (buyer's agent commission and loan payoff) are yours to control or at least to know in advance. A seller's net sheet is the one-page spreadsheet that turns the contract price into the number you actually receive. Build it before you sign TREC 20-17, not after.

Title companies will produce a net sheet for you on request, and most Bexar County escrow officers (Independence Title, Alamo Title, Texas National, Stewart, Chicago) will run one in 10 minutes if you send them a signed contract. But as an FSBO seller you need to understand each line, because the title company will not catch a missed HOA transfer fee, a wrong payoff date, or a buyer concession you agreed to in a text message.

Start with the mortgage payoff, not your statement balance

Your most recent mortgage statement shows the principal balance. Your payoff is higher. Call your lender's payoff department (not customer service) and request a written payoff good through the projected closing date plus a 3–5 day cushion. The payoff includes:

• Unpaid principal
• Per-diem interest from the last payment through the funding date
• Any escrow shortage if the lender advanced taxes or insurance
• Recording fee for the release of lien
• Wire or statement fee (typically $30–50)

If you have a HELOC or second lien, pull a separate payoff. The title company will not fund without clearing every lien on the commitment. If the payoff good-through date passes before closing, you will owe additional per-diem interest at funding — build in a buffer.

Escrow refund: if your lender holds a tax and insurance escrow, that balance comes back to you by check from the servicer 2–6 weeks after closing. It is not on the closing disclosure. Do not forget it.

The owner's title policy — Texas promulgated rates, seller pays by default

Texas is a promulgated-rate state. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) sets the premium for the owner's title policy based on sale price, and every title company charges the same base rate. You can look up the exact figure on TDI's title insurance rate calculator before you contract.

TREC 20-17 Paragraph 6A says the seller furnishes the owner's title policy at seller's expense unless the parties check the box shifting it to the buyer. The default in Bexar County practice is seller pays. On a $350,000 sale that premium runs in the low four figures; on an $800,000 sale, high four figures. The buyer typically pays for the lender's policy (a reduced simultaneous-issue rate) and any endorsements they request.

Also on the seller side at a Bexar County closing:

• Escrow fee — split 50/50 by custom, roughly $400–600 per side
• Tax certificate from BCAD and other taxing jurisdictions — around $50–75
• Recording of release of lien — around $30–60 per release
• Guaranty assessment fee, courier/wire fees — small, but line items

Property tax proration — the lien attached January 1

Bexar County property taxes are assessed by BCAD, billed in October, and due by January 31 of the following year. The tax lien attaches on January 1 for the full year. At closing, taxes are prorated based on days of ownership in the current calendar year.

If you close June 30, you owe the buyer a credit for January 1 through June 29 — roughly half the annual tax bill. For a Stone Oak (78258) home with a $9,500 combined tax bill (city, county, NEISD, hospital district, flood control, ACCD), that is about $4,700 debited from your proceeds. The buyer then pays the full bill in October.

Two things trip FSBO sellers up:

• If this year's tax rates and values are not yet certified at closing (common for May–September closings), the title company prorates using last year's figures. If you lost a BCAD protest and the certified bill came in higher, that is the buyer's problem — unless the contract says otherwise.
• If you have a homestead exemption and the buyer will not (second home, investor), the actual bill the buyer receives will be higher than the proration estimate. Again, not your problem under standard TREC language.

HOA transfer, resale certificate, and estoppel

If the property is in an HOA (most of Stone Oak, Alamo Ranch, Cibolo, Schertz, parts of Converse), expect:

• Resale certificate / resale package fee — $200–450, usually seller
• Transfer fee to the management company — $150–400, often split or buyer
• Capitalization or working capital contribution — buyer, but check the governing documents
• Any unpaid dues or special assessments — seller, deducted from proceeds

Order the resale certificate the day you go under contract. Texas Property Code § 207.003 gives the association up to 10 business days to deliver, and a late package is one of the top three reasons Bexar County FSBO closings slip.

Buyer's agent commission, if any

If a licensed buyer's agent brings the offer, you will almost always see a commission request — typically 2.5–3% — written into the contract or a separate commission agreement. This is negotiable. Post-NAR-settlement, the buyer and their agent have a written representation agreement that specifies compensation; if the buyer cannot get you to cover it, they owe it themselves. Many will still ask, and many FSBO sellers decide covering 2–2.5% is cheaper than losing the deal. Whatever you agree to goes on the net sheet as a debit at closing, paid by the title company directly to the buyer's broker.

Concessions, repairs, option fee, and the home warranty line

Anything you agreed to during the option period or in the original contract shows up here:

• Seller contribution to buyer's closing costs (common on FHA/VA deals, often 2–3% of sale price)
• Option fee credit at closing (per TREC 20-17 Paragraph 5, the option fee is typically credited to the buyer at closing — small, but it is a debit)
• Repair credits negotiated via TREC 39-9 Amendment
• Residential service contract (home warranty) if you agreed to pay — $450–700
• Survey, if you agreed to pay for a new one rather than deliver an existing survey with a T-47

What most people get wrong

• Treating the statement balance as the payoff. It is not. Order a dated payoff good-through letter from your lender's payoff department.
• Forgetting the escrow refund is separate. You will see the full payoff debited at closing; the escrow balance comes back weeks later by mail. Do not spend it twice.
• Assuming the buyer pays the owner's title policy. In Texas and in Bexar County practice, the seller pays unless Paragraph 6A is changed. Read the box.
• Pricing without the buyer's agent commission in mind. If you want to net the same as a listed sale, you cannot simply skip the listing-side commission and ignore that half the buyers in your price range are agent-represented. Model both scenarios.
• Missing the HOA resale deadline. Order the resale certificate day one. A late package pushes closing, and a pushed closing means more per-diem interest on your payoff.
• Forgetting prorated items beyond taxes. HOA dues paid annually, prepaid insurance (not refunded through title), and any transferable warranties all affect the final number.
• Not running the sheet before pricing. Build the net sheet at the listing stage. If you need $X to pay off and move, back into the list price from there, not the other way around.

Build it once, update it every week

Ask the title company you plan to use (choose it before you have a contract — Paragraph 6D lets the seller designate the title company, and in Bexar County it is customary for the seller to pick) to send you a blank net sheet template. Fill it in with your payoff, estimated taxes, HOA fees, and anticipated concessions. Update it the day you go under contract with the real contract price and closing date. Update it again after the option period if repairs or credits were negotiated. The final version should match the title company's closing disclosure to the dollar — if it does not, ask why before you sign.

To compare current rental options if you need a landing spot between closings, browse listings at /rentals. If you are weighing whether to list FSBO at all, you can post your home free at /list-your-home, or find a Bexar County agent at /agents who will run a professional net sheet alongside a market analysis.