mjl5007, You have the deck stacked against you,as far as spring seeding goes. Aggressive summer annuals that are hard to kill compete against your grasses, soon to be hot weather, disease, traffic ( this is when you want to be enjoying your yard), and a shallow root system from your newly seeded grass. So no, I would not seed anything now. Get a few pieces of sod if you have larger bare areas, it will stand a better chance. Thinner areas will fill in be patient warmer temps, longer days and a little fert. will go a long way. Yes, if you need to regrade large areas get some fill dirt and use a good screened topsoil for the top 3 to 4 inches. The screened topsoil will keep most of the troublesome perennial weeds out of your lawn. I would say to hold off on the aerifying because you said your lawn is thin in areas, and I would not want to thin it out even more. Also, without any pictures it's hard to say, but light, moisture, and nutrients are more limiting factors to turfgrass growth than compaction. Unless you guys play a lot of sports on your lawn, then I would say yes aerify. When you aerify you need to go over the lawn four or five times to affect any real surface area. You will also need to aerify in the fall before you seed. The reason for aerifying when you put out lime is that lime moves very slowly in the soil, so your raising the pH in the soil in the top 2 or 3 inches instead of just the top inch.

I agree with badgergrrl. "TLC" means there are things that aren't working properly. Or flooring that is in great disrepair. ANd I would also throw in that the kitchens and baths are probably in need of something between super-scrubbing and dynamite. "Updating" means things work, but aren't current. I would think this means original kitchens and baths in a 1960s - 1990s home, and possibly wallpaper, panelling, vinyl flooring and carpet that needs to be removed. As far as plumbing and electrical go . . . it sounds like you're looking at homes more than 50 years old. In my area it is seldom mentioned in the listing that the electrical/plumbing needs to be updated, but it WILL be mentioned if it HAS been updated.

aputernut Watched good bones last night, no good bones in the disgusting, rotten old house, that I saw? foundation falling in, 2nd. floor had to be removed, sure they bought it for only 4 Grand but put in $210,000 tons of work/labor and only made 25 Grand (how dumb is that?) It would have been more profitable and smart to tear it down clear the lot and build a house. And the mothers idea of landscaping or outside décor Suks! Thing is, who's to say say they would have made any profit on a new build? One thing IMO that is amazing to me - that they even made a profit on that horrid hse. I think in some cases not making the biggest amt pays off w/branding nd with good relations w/neighborhood/community orgs. Remember their goal is to preserve/reno what's already existing. Yes, I wasn't impressed by exterior landscaping & staging. One wonders if they had a grander plan and just ran out of $$$$?

The first thing I notice is the almost total lack of color in your bedroom. It also lacks curtains, and there is very little softness, and a lot of dark and angular furniture. In the inspiration room that Beverly shows there is a definite and very cohesive color scheme, and much more softness to the bedding, and some strong and definite pattern. You might consider buying an area rug you love and taking color and pattern inspirations from that. The art in your room is too small and timid, and I would look for much larger and more colorful art to bring life to this room. A large easy chair in front of the window in a beautiful color and some decorative pillows could also become part of your color scheme. A very spare and modern aesthetic may not give you the warm and cozy vibe you say you're looking for. It might be better to wait until you've bought the furniture you want before asking for advice since I gather everything in the room will be different. The orientation of the bed looks good to me in relation to everything else, including where the door is.