How we verify every walk-away.
Every figure published on Nest is sourced from public records, lender statements, or seller-supplied documentation. Self-declared amounts are flagged. We do not publish what we cannot verify.
What goes into a walk-away.
A verified walk-away is the sum of four lines — the mortgage the sale must clear, the down payment it returns, any documented renovations, and the cost of closing. Each has its own verification method and appears on the listing as a separate, auditable figure. Every document comes from the seller's own records: nothing to buy, nothing to order.
Three tiers. One standard.
Every line on a listing is tagged with how it was verified. Public-record-verified lines come from documents authored by third parties — Land Titles, lenders, municipal offices — that the seller obtains and uploads. Seller-documented lines come from receipts, invoices, and policies the seller curated and retained. Seller-stated lines are flagged and never count toward the verified figure.
Third-party authored
Documents authored by third parties — Alberta Land Titles, federally regulated lenders, and the lawyer who closed the seller’s purchase. The seller supplies each document from their own records; Nest reviews it and cross-checks the set against itself. The document’s authority comes from who wrote it.
- · Alberta Land Titles
- · Federally regulated lenders
- · Purchase closing packages (lawyer-authored)
Seller-documented
Documents the seller curated and retained — contractor invoices and receipts for claimed renovations, with municipal permits where code required them. Nest reviews each line. No claim, no document, no line.
- · Contractor invoices & receipts
- · Municipal permits where required
Seller-stated
Amounts the seller claims but cannot document. Shown as a separate line on every listing. Never counted toward the verified figure.
- · Shown as a separate line
- · Never adds to the verified figure
- · Marked with a warning badge
- · Visible to all buyers
Every line, explained.
Each component of the walk-away is documented below: what it is, how we verify it, and what we need from the seller.
Registered ownership
Not a dollar line — the gate every listing passes first. The Certificate of Title names the registered owner and lists every charge registered against the property. Each charge that appears on it requires its own statement below.
+Why the title copy is also the checklist
Outstanding mortgage balance
The balance owed to the seller's lender, from a statement dated within 30 days of listing. The definitive payoff — per-diem interest, discharge fee, and any prepayment penalty — is confirmed by the lender's payout statement once an offer is accepted.
+Private mortgages
Down payment
The cash the seller brought to their original purchase — the money the walk-away exists to return. Read from the statement of adjustments or trust ledger the seller’s own lawyer prepared at purchase, and cross-checked against the mortgage registered on title.
+Refinanced since you bought?
Documented renovations
Permanent upgrades the seller claims and can document: kitchens, roofs, windows, additions, structural work, major mechanical systems. Each line needs a contractor invoice or receipt on file. No claim means no documents and a $0 line.
+What counts as a renovation
Closing costs at sale
The costs the seller pays to close: legal fees, mortgage discharge, adjustments. Estimated at listing from a flat Alberta sale-side figure; the seller's lawyer produces the precise number at closing.
Every listing carries its own verification record.
Every figure on a listing is traceable to a specific document, a reviewer, and a date. Nest preserves the verification record for every walk-away and surfaces it to buyers on request.
What a walk-away never includes.
The walk-away is a record of actual money paid, not a projection of what the home could be worth. The following are excluded by policy.
Carrying costs
Mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, condo fees. The cost of living in the home — not cash recovered at sale.
Routine maintenance
Painting, landscaping, snow removal, minor repairs.
Personal property
Furniture, appliances unless built-in, decor, electronics.
Opportunity cost
What the down payment or equity could have earned elsewhere.
Sweat equity
The seller's own labour on renovations or improvements.
Inflation adjustment
Past dollars are not converted to current dollars. We use nominal figures.
Future commission savings
The 5% you save by listing on Nest is yours, not part of the walk-away.
When verification gets complicated.
Inherited or gifted properties+
Properties refinanced multiple times+
Joint ownership and partial buyouts+
Renovations done without permits+
Purchase papers lost+
Missing documentation+
If a number is wrong, we want to know.
Flag a suspected error
Buyers can flag a suspected error on any listing. Submissions are reviewed within three business days by a verification team member who is not the original reviewer.
Request a re-review
If a line was miscalculated, sellers can request a re-review. Approved corrections are reflected on the listing, and the original figure is preserved in the verification record.
Outcomes are logged. Sellers cannot delete a verification record; they can only add a correction notice. The verification history of any listing is permanent.
Nest is not a real estate broker, lender, lawyer, accountant, or financial advisor. This methodology describes how we verify figures published on the platform. It is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Sellers and buyers should retain independent legal and financial counsel before completing any transaction.
Verified Walk-Away figures reflect documented historical costs, not market value. A walk-away above current market does not mean the home will sell at that price. A walk-away below current market does not constitute investment advice.