interesting d-d.... As a potential client, I wouldn't care about having all those details written out, although I can see why you might want them in writing in case of disputes. We had a rough time line for the house renovation/addition but it was not written into the contract. We had a desired completion date but it was not a hard-and-fast thing because we were all well aware that things never go quite as planned and our desired completion date was somewhat(!) unrealistic (and in fact completion happened 6 weeks later than we had hoped.) There was no time-line/phases written into the contract with the architect either. I found verbal discussion (supplemented with e-mails with the architect...) was sufficient for both sides to understand what was going to happen and when. The relevant issue that I would be looking at if that quote was provided to me is the total cost and a target date for completion. The ultimate question would be whether I thought that it was worth paying that price for your particular skills and experience or whether I thought I could use a less experienced/less expensive designer and still get an acceptable design. The details in that quote aren't going to have much of an impact on that decision. Reviewing your portfolio, checking references, seeing examples of your previous work - in person perhaps - are the things that would help me make that decision. How you present your fees (or what goes into that $125/hr.) is of less importance than how you present yourself (i.e. are we compatable/am I comfortable that you understand and can deliver on what I'm trying to achieve...) and how your previous work presents itself are much bigger factors.

Hi Hand2! If you don't get an answer here there is a Garden Web Professional Gardener forum which discusses such things. You might check it out. Here is a link that might be useful: Pro gardeners forum ...

When you buy into the flat fee MLS you should use a company that provides it as part of a package that includes signs, internet presence, cross listings on other websites, in addition to the MLS and realtor.com and do be sure to check around if your area has a buyers/sellers magazine - we have one that sellers can put an ad in for free - it costs a buck at just about every store and it's circulation is great. People love it! I use Ebay for small stuff, but the Bulletin Board paper for big things like cars and refrigerators, etc. Put an ad in it. Newspapers are full of ads and are expensive and yours may get lost in the shuffle so be sure about that one. You can also call different real estate companies and get their fax numbers - then fax over your ad to various real estate companies. If you have a fax/printer/scanner you can usually set them up to "blast fax" to mulitple recipients. Before you do an open house, check to make sure you are in an area where an open house is not a waste of time. Google it and after researching it, make a decision - you will be opening your house to strangers and if you get a lot of visitors you could be overwhelmed, worse yet you could also be opening your house to unsavory people who may take stuff while there, or case your house and you to come back later. In my area open houses, according to the real estate agents are a huge waste of time, but they have them because - for a variety of reasons - and when there is one up the street - he does one every other Sunday - make sure you have plenty of flyers and your exterior is spruced up. The company I use does a full color magazine that is distributed for free at all the same locations as the realtor's free magazines. I do a lot of political consulting - and I'm trying to figure out how to do a 30 spot - maybe start out with a positive message - introduce the house, the beauty, play up the good points, fancy camera angles, etc. and then run a second ad doing a "comparative" to other like houses in the neighborhood - something like "See the house at 555 Sunset Street - Too Liberal to be somone's home." ;-P I'm kidding. (I live in Alabama - standard negative commercial always ends with "don't vote for so and so, he/she is too liberal for Alabama") But wouldn't it be funny? Run for cheap on the cable channels ... Ah, sometimes the fantasy overtakes reality and you realize you are just nuts. Agent or not - House selling is hell. ;-) Good luck.

I had that Dummies book from the library for awhile but the offer fell through, the book went back. Now the offer has come through (the intricacies of federal hiring) and so i will go back to the library and get it again. It wasn't a FSBO book per se - it was the Selling for Dumies which covered a little bit of everything. Do you have a different book recommendation? I was hoping to buy a flat fee MLS listing - so so many people (including myself) search the mls on their own. Many don't have realtors. But I can't seem to find a...service? that does that here. There is a bank that does the flat fee thing with an ad in the newspaper. Also a real estate lawyer, the one I bought the land from actually. I can use him for legal but he doesn't do mls either. Could it be against a state law or something? I can't figure it out from the googled websites I get. I think they are designed to confuse you.