Lol, kitty had just been shooed off the dr table. I brought home a sample of porcelain tile tonight. It's looks very nice and goes perfectly with the dark bath cabs & is ok looking with the counter. CordovaMom, this tile makes me dizzy too! I've always hated it, but dh wanted the floors to be the last thing we tackled, so here we sit. Tile in the LR is perfectly acceptable here (and common), but so is carpet. Wood floors and laminate wood really aren't very popular, except with people like me who prefer them when doing an update- and the rare custom builds have also used them, but for the most part it's tile. If the layout has the LR or a FR separated, then that's more likely to get a carpet. I'll see what the real estate agent thinks - he should know what people want or will think when they see our floors. I'll carpet if he thinks we should, but otherwise I think we'll leave it as is...if we had the time to install new flooring (even laminate wood) ourselves it might be worth our while cost wise, but since we'd have to high the labor I don't think it'd be worth it. I'd rather offer a flooring allowance if it comes down to that. After all, we still bought the home like this and it's a much stronger sellers market now than it was 4 years ago. It's rare that any of the older homes here have had any updating at all, so I think we'll be in the lead somewhat...if someone wants to look for themselves just shoot me an email and I'll send you the real estate link. I'll take a pic of the kitchen tomorrow after dh has cleaned up his mess from working on it today.

Jane, you can not base your asking prise based on other homes that are currently on the market! Over half of those homes will not sell. You need to use homes that have sold over the last 6 months, and then, take into account that prices have dropped x amount over that time too. Most buyers prefer "off roads" assuming I understand what you mean by that. if your property is on an "on road" you may be looking at a deduction of your value as opposed to the other way around. Most buyers do want some sort of useable back yard... place for kids to play, patio, future pool, house additions, etc... There is no way to give you a value for this over a forum... you just have to pour over the comps (sold), and assign a FMV for all of the features that your home has, based on what buyers in your area consider normal.

I don't know your market and certainly can't tell you what your home should sell for, but it should show very nicely if you can do just a little for the curb appeal. If the neighborhood is good and desirable, it's too bad you aren't enjoying it, but someone else should. I suspect the realtors are having a hard time because of a difficult market and/or the fact that your charming studio could be worth nothing to one buyer and worth a great deal to another. You'll need to play it up for the later. By way of example, we are facing a 25% increase in our appraised value this year because the only two homes to sell in the last 2 years have been very large corner lots with huge backyards on a greenbelt. As our area develops out, lots are getting smaller and there are some folks who will pay a HUGE premium for a large lot and a greebelt. My backyard though, on the oppposite side of the street, is small. I have to go in and argue that the recent comps on my street are not as accurate for my home as the next street over. Some neighbors are protesting and others are not -- they want to refi and remodel. The appraisal picture will continue to get fuzzier as the area ages. Back to your home and getting it sold. From what you have shown, the inside is lovely and the studio is charming -- play them up, but you have to get folks inside to do that. That means doing what you can to help the curb appeal and draw them in. If you can't paint the whole house and fix everything, try to fix anything that is structural and small enough that you can do it yourself without a significant expense. A small piece of rotted trim or a hole that can be filled and touched up might be repaired at little or no cost to thinking of but suggest thousands of dollars -- even no interest in making an offer for a buyer. For the cosmetic side, you just need enough to draw them in. Can you use your artistic nature and create a slightly weathered, but warm and inviting picture? The white shutters do stick out like a sore thumb. They were probably picked to tie in with the white window frames, but by themselves, they aren't working. I'd paint the porch columns, spindles, trim, maybe even the brick (or sandblast off the paint on the brick railing and spindles, but that would be more money and mess if you can't do it yourself and don't have the equipment). I was originally thinking black -- reminds me of New Orleans and wrought iron, and use it as a neutral backdrop to the plants and some color. Maybe more white or another color. Maybe someone with photoshop can help you there. Looks like the garden has color but could be a little neater -- maybe just trimming. Do you have a couple of mosaic pieces to add some color and interest? A birdbath or one larger piece might do it, or a couple of smaller pieces. If your studio has a bath and can be used as in-law unit, guesthouse, a rental, etc., really play that up in your listing and perhaps also in how you stage it for showing. It may be only workspace for you, but find ways to include some furniture and/or accessories to suggest an additional living area. Do some work yourself to carefully analyze the comps you are being given. What do they have that is the same, what is different, what is their condition (cosmetic and structural -- inside and out) and what would a person have to spend to get your home into tiptop shape? Good luck.

Just to provide an update: We listed for $113K and we're under contract for $107K. The buyers are a late-middle-aged couple that wanted a single-story and called the house "pretty." They really clicked with the next-door neighbor that showed them the house too, so that probably helped. :-) BTW, sorry for abruptly dropping off this thread before. I felt like I was arguing (particularly about the condition of this house relative to its neighbor comps) when there was no way to settle it other than to let the market speak. NC, we did send DSS to visit the comp around the corner. He said it was very nice inside, and the sellers said it had been on the market for a couple months. It hasn't yet sold, and the listing expired mid-December. I'm assuming that was either the 60- or the 90-day mark, as that's how listing contracts run with QCFSBO. I've been watching all the comps since we listed and none of them have sold yet either. Some have dropped off the MLS, but they're not showing on the assessor's website as changing hands, so I'm assuming.... Could just be a time lag, though.