What I've learned from selling our home

Buying a home for the first time, we learned a lot as all first time home buyers do.

Selling a home for the first time, we learned a lot more.

First, we learned that from whatever you make from the sale (Sale price - Your principle loan balance), you also have to subtract commission for the real estate agents. The commission in our case is 6%.

Second, that might not leave much if you've only lived in a home for 3 years.

Here's why:

We listed the home for $140,000.
Our first offer was for $125,000.
We said we'd take $135,000.
He countered with $130,000.
We countered with $130,000, but he pays half of the commission.
He refused.
We accepted the offer.

Here's how those numbers work:
If we sold the home for $140,000, we'd make $20,000 from the sale (before commission).
At 130,000, we'd make $10,000 (before commission).

From that $10,000, you have to subtract commission, taxes, titling fees, etc.

So what I've learned in all of this is that owning a home can be very expensive, but so can selling it.

We lost about $9000 in the sale of the home and did not recoup any of the money that we put into it (new kitchen, bathroom vanity, paint, eaves and overhangs, carpet, etc.). 

Selling a home is more stressful than anything I've ever done.

The waiting continues now as he will have the home inspected and has a 10 day option to retract the contract.