Kec & Quirk, Lisonwal mentioned "$7,500 in closing costs"... but you need be aware of several things; Prepaid items (escrowed deposits for property taxes, and hazard insurance) add to the "cash required to close" but are not actual costs. The deposits they are replacing from the previous lender's servicing department are refunded generally within 3-6 weeks. NONETHELESS... many non-financial people look at their "bottom line" of their GFE and think "oh my God, that's "closing costs" ". NEXT; Lisonwal hasn't told what the buydown costs are for the interest rate they have locked. At a 5% coupon, depending on their loan-to-value, the loan size itself, their credit, and other factors, they may have a fairly sizable buydown included in their "closing costs." This is definitely not particularly a BAD thing, as it may have a breakeven point in their interest savings at a fairly short period. AGAIN; Taking a 30 FRM at "no points" or even "no costs" (when such a thing was actually available) is the MOST expensive money you can borrow, and hardly conservative in most cases. LASTLY; In the current mortgage meltdown environment, the back-end bond buyers are refusing to buy loans at enough of a mark-up for the lending banks to advance ALL the cash costs of the transaction itself. The bond buyers are offering a maximum of about 1.5% of a closed loan, while the actual costs run about 3-5%, with a cash minimum around $3,500+. Because of this the "no cost loans" of the past are... in the past. Folks who have sufficient equity to have their closing costs financed are still able to do so... but there are no "free" mortgages (beside the obvious TANSTAAFL reality.) Besides... lender-paid loans only made sense when rates still had the potential to drop lower... so taking the inflated higner interest rates that were offered in order to have the bank pay all the cash costs was something people would do on a speculative basis. No longer is it financially intelligent nor realistic to take a higher interest rate (simply in order to get it for "free") with the argument that you are saving yourself the ability to once again refinance when rates drop in the future. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner

AMG-roadter, I know your comment was to snowbaby but I had to chime in. You are so right the practical side is that Snowbaby is moving for an opportunity. This means she can make a beautiful kitchen in the next home. And in time can let these feelings go. The new owners can and should be allowed to do as they wish. But my sensitive side really understands snowbaby. I believe (I could be wrong) that Snowbaby accepts she is leaving the house to someone else. This is all part of moving. But she loves her kitchen so much, it has become a part of her. The sad part is the kitchen has become her baby. The planning, nuturing, excitement with each new peice, creating changes, colors, searching for the perfect granite, wood, cabinets, lighting, trim and the deep personal investment (not money) will be hard to part with. She enjoys just drinking a glass of juice and looking around her kitchen with happiness. Will she ever have a kitchen as wonderful as this again? Will someone love her kitchen the way she did and still does? The memories of her kitchen will always be with her. It may sound silly to some. It does not to me. When I look back at my first move ever. I was devastated to learn the people who bought my house changed everything I did. They ripped out the brand new carpet, hated the flooring, wall colors, and shared this with my old neighbors. I was sad but my DH reminded me we made a great profit and to let it go. I really loved all my old homes. I moved countless times. And the first move was the most painful. After that I became more practical. And now before I sell a home, I take out my favorite lights, or window treatments pack them all up for a new place and replace it all with a standard set for the new buyers. I would do well to live in Europe where I could pack up my kitchen every time I move. Maybe this explains a little how she might be feeling. I do not wish to speak for her just to sympathize with her position. ~boxerpups

It is a really nice house cimmaryn. Before going any further I would get the loan appraiser over. You have in your mind what the home is worth, but with this economy banks have a completely different idea. Also, you have that retaining wall issue. If I were a bank, I would hesitate to finance a house that the hillside might swallow up. From Picture 8, my guess is if the bottom wall fails, the dirt behind it would slide and there goes the support of the top wall. You really have to take care of that. You are fixing up a house that you hope will be worth $185. Save your money and take care of that wall along with the grading. Without that a potential buyer would have a hard time getting a loan or insurance. Again, From your photos alone, a giant red flag to me. How does that air conditioner breath? To me it says if they didn't take care of this simple once a year maintenance item of hosing it off, in years judging buy the clogs, what else didn't they take care of? If you are not going to replace the A/C, it and probably the furnace need a major cleaning before anyone, including the banker, sees the house. Once those two are taken care of, spend the $300-$500 to hire a home inspector. Make sure he goes into the crawl space and checks for water damage along with everything else. It would cost you less to repair now, or at least know about potential repair costs, before the buyers inspector nit picks, and he will. For the inside. Paint the walls but not the cabinets. They are nice cabinets. I would rather have them than the nightmare of cleaning painted cabinets daily. Also the knobs on the kitchen cabinet are nice. They look like they match the sink so they work. If I am seeing them wrong, change them to silver. The only issue I see with the knobs/cabinets are the ones above the microwave are really crooked. lol Let the buyer deal with that. From the photos it is hard to tell the condition of the kitchen floor but it looks like a nice vinyl. If it isn't dirty beyond scrubbing and isn't damaged, leave it. The only thing I would do in there is replace the counter tops with a laminate in a neutral color. ONLY because in the photo with the stove I can see it is chipped and missing the edge on the right of the stove and part of the back splash is missing at the bar end. You keep saying re-laminate. It would be more cost effective to just replace it. Go with a mid grade laminant that looks good and be done with it. The only lights I would change are the ones in the bathrooms. The bathroom with the white sink, the dark light sticks out like a sore thumb. Change that and the gold cabinet knobs. An inexpensive silver/chrome for both would look great. Then clean really good, put new caulk around the sink, paint and call it done. The bathroom with the dark sink, the same thing only here remove the wallpaper and also change the cheap builder grade gold towel bars to the same cheap builder grade but in silver. Finishes go in and out of style but chrome has stayed in style since indoor plumbing was perfected. Ignore TV, Our home was built new and we moved in September 2003. Six months later I saw a show on HGTV and the decorator yanked down the same lights we have saying they are outdated. Six months old and outdated? LOL Notice the credits on every show, checks are being passed for those credits and pushing products happens.

post pictures on the design forum to help with room staging, and consider putting down runners/small area rugs if the stains are localized. do not spend any money on replacing carpet. there are all kinds of "fixes." removing 50% or more of your belongings (you will need to pack up anyway if you are moving) and leaving the place sparsely furnished will help sell quick. Go on real estate websites to see sales in the last 6 months and be brutally honest with yourself. A house that sells fast will put money in the bank for you because you will not have to pay mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc. be aware that leaving a house vacant waiting for a sale may raise your insurance, your rate is based on occupied property. if something happens after you leave and you do not report that the property is vacant to your insurer, they can deny a claim. so sell ASAP by cleaning out, and pricing well.