That’s the first thing I tell first-time sellers. We’ll hold your hand as much as you need. Most of the worry comes from not knowing what’s coming: what it will cost, who will walk through the house, what you have to tell a buyer, and how much you’ll actually walk away with.
So here’s what’s coming, start to finish, including the real numbers from a sale we just closed.
01
What you’ll actually walk away with
The biggest worry for first-time sellers is cost. How much of the sale price do I actually keep? So before we ever list a home, we put together an estimated net sheet alongside the market analysis and walk through every possible expense.
Here’s what that looks like on a real closing. This is a condo we sold in North Dallas in September 2026 for $380,000.1 The seller owned it free and clear, so there was no mortgage to pay off.
| Line on the closing statement | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | $380,000 |
| Listing commission (3%) | −$11,400 |
| Buyer’s agent commission (0%) | $0 |
| Owner’s title policy | −$2,165 |
| Title company escrow, document and tax-certificate fees | −$1,147 |
| Prorated county property taxes, Jan. 1 to closing | −$1,234 |
| Home warranty for the buyer | −$640 |
| HOA transfer fee at closing | −$240 |
| Notary | −$140 |
| Credit back for HOA dues the seller had prepaid | +$218 |
| Cash to the seller | $363,251 |
The title policy is the line that surprises people. In Texas, the seller usually pays for the owner’s policy that proves the title is good to the buyer, and the buyer pays for the policy that proves it’s good to their lender. The tax line surprises them too. Texas property taxes are paid in arrears, so at closing you credit the buyer for your share of the year so far.
Your numbers will be different. Commissions are negotiable, and a mortgage payoff, repairs or concessions to the buyer would also come out of the proceeds. That’s exactly why we build the net sheet for your home before you list.
02
Pricing: why the right number matters more than a high one
Many first-time sellers come in with a number in mind, from an online estimate or what a neighbor got. We sit down and talk through the details of the comparable sales: what sold, what it had, and why it brought what it did.
Then we talk about what happens when a house is overpriced. It sits. And once a house sits on the market, even for a short time, buyers start wondering what’s wrong with it and why nobody else has bought it. Time on the market is not attractive to a listing.
We can always show examples. Overpriced homes take longer to sell, they have to cut their price, and they end up selling at the market price or even lower. Our guide to how we price your home explains our approach.
03
Getting the house ready: the 110% rule
There are really two sets of things to think about before you fix, clean, change or renovate anything.
Improvements that add value. If you’re going to spend money to make the house worth more, make sure it adds at least 110% of what it costs. If it doesn’t, skip it.
Problems buyers will discount. These are the items a buyer will take off the price, like foundation work that needs to be done. Buyers always think a problem like that costs twice as much as it really does, even if you have bids. They’re also pricing in their own time, and they’re wondering what else might come up once the work starts. Fixing these before you list often saves you money.
In some cases, a pre-listing inspection makes sense, so you know about those problems before a buyer’s inspector finds them.
If an improvement won’t return at least 110% of what it costs, skip it. If it’s a problem buyers will discount, fix it.
Fixing it first helps at appraisal time, too. The new appraisal report, required for appraisals submitted on or after November 2, 2026, logs defects by location, and a safety or structural problem can hold up the buyer’s loan until it is repaired. Our guide to the new appraisal report walks through it.
04
The Seller’s Disclosure Notice: the one document that can get you sued
The Seller’s Disclosure Notice is a very important document. It’s the one document that can get you sued after closing. Fill it out completely and clearly, and when in doubt, disclose.
Texas law requires sellers of most single-family homes to give buyers this notice. Our Home 101 guide to the Texas Seller’s Disclosure Notice walks through what it covers and when it’s due.
05
Living there while it’s for sale
There are two levels of ready. The house needs to be perfect on the day we shoot photography. After that, we know you have to live there, so keeping it photo-perfect every day isn’t realistic. We just ask for show-ready.
Put away the pet dishes, and take down anything that identifies you, like diplomas, certificates and awards. In real estate deals, buyers are always trying to figure out who the sellers are so they can decide how to approach the negotiation. It works the other way too. The minute an offer comes in, sellers start Googling the buyers’ names.
And step out for showings. Leave 15 minutes before the appointment starts, and don’t come back until 30 minutes after it ends. Under no circumstances should you come back in while buyers are still looking, even if they showed up late.
06
Comparing offers: it’s not just the price
When an offer comes in, the first thing we do is build an estimated net sheet based on that offer’s terms. If there are several offers, we line them up as columns in a spreadsheet so you can see what each one actually puts in your pocket.
Then we rank them by how likely each buyer is to close. A financed offer at a higher price can lose to a slightly lower cash offer with a quick close and a week of leaseback. The cash buyer has no loan to fall through, and the leaseback gives you time to move. For a lot of sellers, that’s the better deal.
Once you accept, a whole new stretch begins. My partner Weston wrote about it in what happens after you accept an offer.
07
Two pieces of advice I disagree with
“List high. You can always come down.” This is a very bad approach. It almost always means more days on the market, and your first price reduction makes you look desperate. Buyers notice.
“Skip the agent and save the commission.” That rarely puts more money in a seller’s pocket. In the National Association of REALTORS® 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the median for-sale-by-owner home sold for $360,000, against $425,000 for agent-assisted sales.2 NAR notes that part of that gap is the kind of homes sold by owners, which are more often lower-priced or rural. Only 5% of recent sales were by owner, a record low.
08
Nervous is normal
One first-time seller we worked with recently was nervous about everything from the very beginning. They worried a neighbor would come walk through their unit. Yes, that happened. It always happens at the first open house. They worried people would leave doors unlocked. That didn’t happen.
We just kept assuring them, all along the way, that this was the normal process. And it turned out beautifully.
If you’re thinking about selling for the first time, call or text me at 214-597-7229, or email info@updikepugh.com. Ask for our free seller’s net sheet, and I’ll send it to you. Or start with what your home is worth.
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