I have had bad luck with realtors, I know there are some fantastic ones out there, I just pick the wrong ones. Because of this, I have sold the last two homes myself. The first home that had previously been listed with a realtor for six months sold in two weeks, the second sold in a few days. I didnÂt give them away either, the 2nd home sold for the next to the highest in the neighborhood. ItÂs all about creating urgency though if you are going to go this route. I also eliminated phone call burnout by getting a second phone line. When you list by owner, you get every one and their mother calling to find out what your house is up for. Have a nice recorded message describing your home and the asking price with instructions to leave name and phone number if they want to schedule an appointment. This process will help with no shows because you will call ahead of time to verify appointments and you also have a record of people coming into your home. You will also get millions of real estate agents wanting the listing. When you call them back, you will tell them that they are more than welcome to sell your home at an agreed % but you are not signing a contract. However, the very most important thing you do is to schedule your appointments fifteen minutes apart to create the urgency. I chose two days a week to do showings, Wednesday and Sundays. When I called people back I would just say something like is Sunday at 4:00 good for you if not I would ask if Wednesday at 6:00 was good. When people arrived for their appointments fifteen minutes apart there was always people coming and going. In a slow market, you may have to do showings once a week in order to create the urgency. Every one told me this way of scheduling would never work because you must be available at all times, but I say its all how you do it. I used a title company that has an attorney on hand if needed, (I didnÂt) and they even gave me some contracts. Another thing worth mentioning, donÂt talk too much while showing your home, itÂs a distraction. I also did all the usual stuff like renting storage to remove the extras, fixed the broken, painted, made flyers, had for sale signs with appointment only on them and advertised locally. ItÂs a lot of work but I find it less stressful selling your self because your house only needs to be spotless on Wednesdays and Sundays.

igloochic, cowslip is a Valspar (Lowes) color, Laura Ashley collection. I'm no expert, but I have sold 3 houses since 2003. Two of the houses received offers within 2 weeks of listing. One was a victim of the swift decline in house prices as well as increased foreclosure properties. We still received an offer within 4 months, given the real estate climate in 2006 in that area, it was pretty good. Each was staged, but we were not living there. If at all possible, stage the house with simple furiture, art and live plants. The furniture and accessories allow people to imagine a lifestyle, not just square footage, paint and carpet. A great book is Ready, Set, Sold by Michael Corbett. It has great tips and tricks for simple staging. As for color, use what you have. Only repaint rooms that need paint. Try to keep your color choices in the middle to light section of the color card. If it's already white, then go ahead and paint. No need to go into an elaborate color scheme or to paint the whole thing builder's beige. If you choose to try to sell without staging, then your paint choices need to speak, but not yell if that makes sense. Without furniture or art on the walls, the eye has no place to rest. A furnished room tends to look larger than an empty one. I'm attaching a link from a realtor's article about colors that sell. Amazingly, the BM Pottery Barn colors are tops. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: Colors that Sell

Hire someone to do taping +skim coat if you cant manage it - paint color is really an insignificant consideration compared to obvious visible flaws in drywalling. People WILL see it. I would not spend time and money on trying to conceal the flaws with paneling or whatever - just get the finish right and leave it at that. Keep it simple. BTW the drywall should have been hung vertically with the edges where 2 pieces meet fastened onto a stud. That way you don't get that ridge where the 2 pieces meet As a soon to be buyer, it irks me when I see a house with amateur workmanship and then Im supposed to pay more for the supposed upgrade. Sorry to be blunt, but it really is something you might hear from a buyer.

Hi, I will be moving in a few months into a pretty much open concept colonial. What are some new light neutral paint colors for an interior home. I currently have SW Agreeable grey in my current home and love it but was thinking of trying something new for my new home. Any suggestions? Thank you