I know nothing about your market, but it sounds like you're losing sight of your prime directives: 1) we don't want to overprice for the neighborhood and 2) don't want to put money in and not get it out. My guess is that you would not recoup the money you'd spend on most of these improvements. You say that the area's housing values are decent because of affordability, location and a good school district. You can't improve the school district rankings or location, and you can only make your house less affordable by extensively remodeling.

I would fix things that are broken. Make the house look well-maintained. Replace rotten siding, of course. Paint. Replace obviously dingy carpeting. But don't go trying to make it look like some home makeover extravaganza.

Imagine that your current budget constrained you to shopping in neighborhoods like the one you now live in, and ask yourself how much more you would be willing to pay for a house with a given bit of work already done. You might not like that gameroom staircase, but would the price you'd be willing to pay for the house go up by the cost (perhaps a few thousand $) of replacement? I doubt it.

If I were preparing the house, this is what I would do:

Replace any rotten/deteriorated parts. If you don't this will KILL your resale price. Suddenly you will only be really attractive to DIY'ers or flippers, and trust me, we are cheap.

For the siding, can you just replace the rotten pieces and repaint the siding on the house? If so, I would do that. If not, I would go with vinyl because it is much cheaper. You may be able to find it at a local salvage yard for an even better price than your local big box store. Personally, I would rather buy a cheaper house with vinyl that I can replace with my color choice of upgraded siding at a later date.

Installing any type of siding is not hard to install - you can easily DIY -especially vinyl.

Can you clean and paint the gutters instead of replacing them?

If your interior staircase has the black metal 80's railing, then replace it. If it has wood railing, consider painting it. But if it's the metal, replace it, replace it, replace it. You'll get more back than you put in it.

no to replacing the sinks and toilets. Pedestal sinks may look nice, but many buyers want storage, which as you noted, they do not offer. Consider painting the vanity and changing the hardware if you want to refresh the look. Replacing the toilets would be an un-necessary expense, especially if they are white in color.

Doors- I wouldn't replace. The current trend is actually away from 6 panel doors toward the two section doors with arched tops. If you have the budget, and can do it cheaply I would consider the arch top doors.

Yes to replacing the outdated light fixtures. It's cheap and can make a huge difference in the look of the room.

Yes to removing ALL wallpaper. That would be one of the major complaints of a prospective buyer - so do remove it.

Maybe to removing the popcorn ceiling. It would be attractive to buyers, but may be a budget breaker to do it over the entire house. I would consider doing it in the living room, kitchen and perhaps any attached hallways and leaving the bedrooms and others areas as is. You can replace it with smooth - or 'knock down' texture. A good light knock down job looks good and should be cheaper than smooth. Google it to see examples.

If you remove the carpet, do use the engineered wood. However, consider adding a flooring allowance to the purchase of the home. Some buyers like dark floors (me), others like light colored (my mom). Offering a flooring allowance allows them to chose what they want and keeps anyone from being turned off by the color you choose.

Don't change out the kitchen cabinets. Again, paint them if you need to freshen the look and consider adding new hardware and faucets. The kitchen forum has people with great advice on doing this and I've seen some amazing transformations for under $1000. If the budget permits, do add the granite, but get a neutral one and be sure to update the hardware on the cabinetry and faucets, but not the cabinets.

I hope this is helpful. When trying to sell, just remember that you want to spend as little as possible and get as much 'bang for your buck' as you can. If you aren't afraid of DIYing, then you can save a lot of money. One thing you didn't mention was painting the interior. I would definately paint the interior a netural tan-ish color. Cleanly painted walls and ceilings look nice and help show-off any nice trim you may have.

Nancy

You're not going to get any of the money you pay in labor to a contractor back. If you can DIY, it's possible it won't cost you more than the cost of the improvements when it comes to sale time though. However, you'll take a big big hit to anything that shows deferred maintainence, like the siding. People will discount in their offers much more than the actual job will cost, so while you won't add any value to your home by spending the money on residing and painting, you'll probably not lose anything either, and you might get a sale.

If you are able to DIY any of the cosmetic minor jobs in the home, do so. They won't be worth wasting money by hiring a contractor. Otherwise, leave well enough alone and just price it aggressively. That means pricing it under current market value---which in most areas of the country continues to drop steadily. Be realistic about the price you ask, and you might actually sell.

It really isn't so much a question of the price you'll get in this market, but a question of whether buyers find your house attractive enough to see themselves living there at any price. So, yes, fix anything that needs fixing, including the deferred maintainence items like the siding and window frames. If the rug is in bad shape (or heaven forbid, smells), replace it with something neutral. Remove the wallpaper and paint the place out. If you hire someone to paint, make sure they do a good, neat job. Do try to do something about the popcorn ceilings. Clean up the front landscaping. Style or dated issues are lower priority. Good luck.