so, we're looking to sell Rancho Uly

We met with a realtor tonight, and we've evidently appreciated quite a bit, enough to get us out of credit debt and provide most of a down payment on a new and improved casa.

For those who remember the "What fresh hell is this..." post, Peanut is probably beaming somewhere at having help raise the value of the place. :) I'll miss breaking my ass digging up the rock and clay in the front yard.

We've never sold a home before. How much of a pain are we in for?

Good luck with the sale! I think your appreciation is a good thing. Maybe you can get into a place where Peanut will not be as needed.

Uh...does Peanut do fencing? Can you send him over here?

:) I'll see if I can't track him down for you.

It was pretty painless for him, but he raved about having a really competent realtor. Apparently it's worth asking whether your agent is a buyer's agent or a sellers agent. You want a seller's agent. It makes a difference. They'll have your best interests at heart.

Of course, we're looking for someone who can help us find the next place, too.

do yourself a big favor, have your house inspected first, fix what needs to be fixed. The buyer will won't their own inspector of course but you can save yourself money and time down the road if you do this first..

Clean up your house and stage it....flowers, new towels or yor best towels, set the dining room table like dinner at your house is an event. Carpets if your have them should be cleaned even if they look clean and try and declutter and put things instorage. One last tip...closets, try and get them as organized as possible, the less thats in them they bigger they look.

except getting our own inspector. That's an idea.

i sell houses for a living and it's the small investments such as staging and cleaning that will get your house sold a little quicker, also bake cookies or bread that will make the house smell good, many people will the stove top potpourri works well but I've found that the smell of baked good has universal appeal.

you are obligated to disclose that to the seller. But, it might help you set a price. Pros and cons to that, I think.

and many times it's something small but people get really hung up on little things.

There were enough big things with my house that I never noticed the little things. :7

chimpsrsmarter brought up some excellent points, and to that I would add a complete professional cleaning so that things literally sparkle. You may want to ask your realtor who he/she suggests.

Another tip is to get rid of a bulky piece of furniture (armchair, bookcase) and rearrange the living room and master bedroom so the rooms look bigger. Also, a fresh coat of paint in a neutral tone is a good idea.

Painting is next on the list - both the outside and a good bit of the inside need it desperately.

When i sold my house in Houston i had the front flower beds landscaped, the total cost for the labor, plants and rock was about $500-in '00 dollars and that added so much curb appeal so much so that i was pissed i didn't just do it for myself.

We've put a *lot* of effort into the front yard - it's not perfect, but when everything blooms and leafs out, it's very nice. Needs maintenance now, though.

so the space looks bigger.

Painting really helps, I just painted my dining area, and it looks like a new room!

My ex is in real estate, and I've watched way too many shows on HGTV! ;-)

Our realtor walked through our house with us before we put it on the market. He recommended we remove some furnishings to make the house appear bigger. Most of the stuff came off the kitchen counter, including the microwave (which takes up quite a bit of counter space).

Another piece of advice that we got was to remove our personal photographs from the walls/mantels/dressers. That way people don't feel like they are invading someone else's space.

I staged the house - white table cloth on the dining room table, stunning floral arrangement on the table, bowl of apples on the butcher block in the kitchen, brand new (and highly impractical) off-white towels in the bathrooms.

Our house sold the day after the open house (and spent less than 3 days on the market). I hope you are able to sell yours quickly!

in PA....

I spoke to a realtor about selling our house and she said to expect almost $20,000 in fees (combined) for selling and buying a home...that doesn't include the deposit money...

We've never sold, either. We're still in the first house we ever bought. We've gone back and forth on putting our house up on the market because we've outgrown this one already. I think we're terrified of selling, and that's what is holding us back.