I prefer somewhere around 30 inches above grade for first floor. Low enough that you wouldn't need a railing on a porch if you didn't want one. High enough that siding is away from the dirt, less excavating for a basement, and good size basement windows even without window wells. Of course there are no truly flat lots, you might have more slope than you think, and there will be some fill so that the finish grade directs water away from your house.

We listed in May of 2007 with a local realtor with a good reputation who had been in the business for a few years. Our asking price was $10k less than the house two doors away which was a bit smaller than ours and did not have a new kitchen, bath, and other features ours had. We saw three houses that were in our neighborhood, one listed at $5k more than ours and the other two listed even higher sell in the first 3 months we had ours listed. I'm very realistic and just knew that ours wasn't being marketed effectively. Also, I could look at the good and bad in our home and knew ours was in much better condition and in a better location than two of the three that sold. Two of them were on a busy street while ours was on one of the most desired streets in our town. We ended up cancelling our listing after promises similar to yours of people who were "really interested" never materialized. We were going to forget about moving for awhile and relax about the whole selling situation. However, I saw an article in a local paper the week after our listing was cancelled about a real go-getter in the RE business. She didn't promise to sell in any specified amount of time but this woman sold houses that others didn't, even after being listed for months. Two months after listing with her and having had three times as many showings as we had in 7 months with the other realtor, we sold our home. The couple who bought our house wanted to look at it after driving by, they hadn't been looking in our area but our home caught their eye. Their realtor called ours after hours and they saw the house at 9:00 P.M. on a Saturday night because they were scheduled to fly home the next morning. When she asked me if I would leave the dining room drapes, I knew we had sold our home. She said she walked in and knew that was it. We had come down in price about $40k, but it was only 5% of our original asking price so I was happy to sell when we did. We had also cancelled a contract we had on another home that we were going to build when our home didn't sell with our original realtor. In the long run, we ended up getting a bit less for our home, but we also bought our new home for less than we would have and received even more builders' incentives so in the long run, things worked out for the best. I know that is hard to hear but I kept telling myself that everything happens for a reason and it is true. We just need a lot of patience to believe that and keep telling yourself that whatever happens is meant to be. I'm not making light of the situation for those who have to sell and haven't been able to but I really do believe everything happens the way it's supposed to in life. If you're not happy with your realtor, evaluate the situation and think about finding a new one if you don't think they are doing their job. Take a good, hard look at your home with a critical eye and ask your friends to tell you what you can do to improve your home. We had friends offer excellent advice but because we lived with it on a daily basis, we never saw our home the way others did. Most of all, your home has to be priced right. I've noticed in the area we left, homes have come down an average of 5 to 7% since we left and some of them were on the market at the same time ours was. If it's not priced right, it won't sell, no matter how nice it is. Good luck to everyone and may the new year bring you a buyer for your home!

I never measure. I just mow at the highest setting. I can't get excited about changing from 4 inches to 3.92535623456 inches simply because some university thinks that is a better height.

Even though I said "2" I think the really honest answer would be that I was addicted before I bought even one because I found this forum and was blown away by all your gardens and those of a couple we have lost since then. I don't share much because my gardens don't hold a candle to others here-for example, almost every hosta I planted on our hill has been washed away with the rains this year, along with the mulch and much of the soil. I always seem to be trying to repair and replace all the failures. At least I am doing my part to keep all our nursery friends (the Boyz at Naylor Creek, Hallsons, NH Hosta, etc.) in the black.