The key for us as frequent transferees was to always keep the home well maintained and get rid of junk as we go along instead of becoming pack rats. We would usually take a few weeks from time my hubby accepted the transfer til the time we'd put the home on the market. We'd use that time to freshen up paint and declutter closets and children's rooms. A few times we'd have a project that was next on our list that we'd have to move up a time frame on, but usually just a small project. If you're trying to get the home on the market quickly, concentrate on the living spaces first, then work on the basement and attics. Tackle it in steps and it won't seem so overwhelming.

I just left the realtor a message explaining that I do not want to show the house on Saturday, that instead I need to talk to her about taking the house off the market due to my husband's health and financial problems. I have asked her to please call me, and I am waiting to hear back from her. Whew, I do feel better now, and I want to thank you all so much for encouraging me to bite the bullet and call the realtor. Also I want to thank you all for the good wishes for our family. My husband is doing fairly well, he has to do another thallium stress test this coming Tuesday. (when they tell you NO caffeine for 24 hours prior to the test, they also mean no DECAF coffee...apparently it has some caffeine in it still, so he had to reschedule his last test) I'll feel a lot better (I hope!!) after we get the results from this stress test, right now I kind of want to just keep him in a happy little decaffeinated stress-free bubble....lol. roselovr, sorry to hear about your husband's trouble with Allied....when they want to cut his pay, how do you fight back? We basically just had to take whatever my DH's employer dished out to us. My DH was originally on an hourly salary, was working a minimim of 20 hours overtime per week since he took his current position (he's had this position now for about 18 months and when they offered this position to him the agreement they worked out was based on a 40+20 guaranteed hour work week...but it was just verbal, not in writing). In mid December my husband got a memo, which started off something like "Due to excessive overtime...." Anyway, the memo outlined his new pay structure which basically took him off of hourly plus OT and put him on a salary. He told them he could not work 60+ hours per week for the salary they were willing to pay him, so he cut his hours down and found a part time job to make up the difference. The week prior to starting his new part time job, he told me he was having severe chest pains. I took him to the ER and they hooked him up to that machine (EKG?) and the alarms were going off, and lights were flashing and people rushing around. He was having a bad arrhythmia with high PVC runs and Vtach, and needed iv meds to stabilize his heartbeat. It was horrible and sitting in the hospital that night I wasn't sure I'd still have a hubby in the morning. Since that night, I have pursuaded my husband to turn down the part time job and I have increased my hours at work to try to make up some of the lost income and take some pressure off of him. We are in the process of reworking our budget to be more mindful of how we spend our money and I'm proud to say that both DH and I quit smoking four weeks ago (that's a savings of $350.00 per month!!). My new motto is "make do". There really wasn't a reason for us to sell our home...it's large enough for us(especially with our 18 year old headed off to college in the fall). We really just wanted to move to a different (translation......"prettier") neighborhood. The last few months have made it crystal clear to me that it's not worth risking your health just because you're ready for a change of scenery when you look out your kitchen window. I'll take my old view and my not-so-old husband!! Sorry for such a long posting! Thanks again to all of you! Jiggreen

I'm getting in late on this post, but essentially agree with everyone else who says the fence has to go! With that fence and those huge trees, you can barely see this house. I could easily drive by it and not even realize it's there. It does seem to me that the fence is hiding something. I like the pond and plantings but would move some of the outdoor furniture...it's a little too busy for my taste. I wonder where the "for sale" sign is? Six weeks on the market is nothing...we are closing this Wed. on our house after 3.5 months DOM. Our realtor also never showed the house herself, but got lots of other realtors to show it. The buyers are actually a young couple, of which the woman is the niece of a good friend of my husband's. We told the friend about the house, and he suggested that his niece and her boyfriend might be interested in it! So...yeah...we could have sold it FSBO. But who knew? You never really know where your buyers are going to come from.

I understand your desire to compensate in some way a realtor who you believe has worked diligently for you. There is just no rhyme nor reason in this business. I sold a home a few years ago and experienced more realtor errors than any one I know. I had decided to just let the listing expire & then move on. Well, my RA pulled in a buyer & closed on the property 11 days before listing expired. His commission -- $30,000 & he had done nothing to earn it. Now I'm a buyer & trying to be fair to a realtor who we had been working with (even though we had not signed an exclusive buyer's agent contract. He had showed us approximately 10 properties during past 6 months. We found a FSBO & brought the realtor in -- the seller agreed to pay half the buyer's commission. So I agreed to pay $5,000 -- as I said in the spirit of fairness. I wish I could say that the realtor has done a terrific job & saved us time & money in the transaction. No, he actually has ended up making the house more expensive for us (not including his commission). So, I know how that you feel that the realtor shouldn't be left with nothing, but then again, so often they end up with such a hefty check that is hardly warranted. Good luck Susan