I live in Maywood, IL (Cook County). How much would I have to sell my house for in order to make an $80,000 profit. The balance on the mortgage is $55,000, but I don't know how much the commission would be or the closing costs.

Rough estimate about 150,000 dollars, But you need to discuss this closer with a real estate broker locally.

The profit from the sale of a property is the sales price minus the cost basis. So if you bought the house for $100K then you would needs to sell for $180k for an $80k profit.

So I think what you are asking is how much you need to sell for to get $80k in cash. Closing costs are generally paid by the buyer, not the seller, the seller takes the sales price and then pays off any outstanding liens (like the mortgage balance) and the real estate broker.

Generally brokers get 6%, but you can negotiate a different deal. So you start with $135K and add the commission.

If you are going through a broker, you can discuss this with your broker who can advise you. But you also have to look at comparable property values. You may not be able to get $135K in this market.