A landscaper and a contractor usually like to finish projects so they can be enjoyed and seen by others. But a resident might want to take more time to figure out, for example, the exact number of square feet of the kitchen garden. So one's yard becomes a work in progress: a dynamic landscape but not finished. My experience with my own yard is, one wants more kitchen garden space than one estimates at first. You could save some money by getting ideas from walks and drives in your area, looking over the fences of others' gardens; and also by doing some of the work yourselves. For example, you could have loam and manure trucked in, but spread it yourselves. You could have your fences put in, but do your own new-garden rototilling. You could certainly plant much of your own new plant material except for large shrubs and trees. And do you have to present a large lawn to your neighbors? (maybe there's a HOA rule about this.) There are better eco-ways to cover your acres, that would use less water and look more interesting, and -- who knows? -- be edible too. So my general advice is to take your time, don't do it all at once, and do some of it yourself. Carol

Do the windows function? From the photos, they appear to be quite dirty. Instead of investing in new windows, provided they function, spend some time cleaning them. I would suggest starting with some soapy water for a first round cleaning. After that clean them with a vinegar and water mixture. The screens also need to be cleaned. If you can't get to the outside, hire some one to do it. It will be cheaper than new windows. If the black areas are actually mold and not dirt, you may need to replace the windows if water is infiltrating them. I really think you need to do a bit of homework here. Find out the exact costs of the things you think might need to be done. Weigh those costs against selling the home "as is." It's not likely new windows will get you more money in a sale. It is likely that they will help sell the place. There are many things you can do to a house that will help it sell but won't get you more money. Windows and roofs fall into that category. It might be time to call in a real estate agent to discuss your specific situation as it seems a bit complicated. Do people buy fixer uppers in your location in that price range? Would the money you spend increase the value or simply result in a faster sale? Those are the questions you need to be asking some one that knows your market.

I would definitely be suggestive! Last summer my home sale fell through just before closing because of a job loss. Unfortunately, we had already moved everything out. In the two months it was empty we got a lot of negative comments about the floor plan and layout of the house. We put a table with 4 chairs in the dining room, placemats on the table, a sofa and chair in the living room, an accent table in the foyer, a chair by the fireplace in the family room, a table and 4 chairs in the breakfast nook, 2 stools by the kitchen peninsula with full place settings on the counter, one picture on the mantle, towels in the bathrooms, pillow shams and throw pillows to suggest bed placement in the bedrooms, a simple desk and chair in an extra room to suggest an office, and a tv stand to suggest TV placement in the rec room basement. In our case some of the smaller areas looked a lot bigger with a little furniture in them. Having something in each room gave it just a little more warmth, and I think it's hard for some people to make an emotional connection to an empty house. Some of the furniture we took out of our new house, some we borrowed, and some we bought at Ikea. After we did the staging we got a lot of "shows really well" comments and no more negative floor plan comments. We talked to one staging company, and they were planning to do only the living room, dining room, breakfast nook, and master bedroom.

Yes, 2nd floor air handler is in the attic. 2nd floor is around 1800sqft (but large chuck of that is open space about the family room and foyer). The air intake for 2nd fl unit is just in this big open hallway area. The original unit (Trane XE1000) is 2.5 ton, and we are being recommended the same size. The 2-stage one (XR17), it doesn't come in 1/2 sizes, so we'd do a 3 ton in that case. For any of the siingle-stage ones (XR14, XR15, XR16) we are being quoted 2.5 ton. It sounds like contractor is doubtful that we'd notice much of a difference using a 2-stage. If that is the case, then I would probably just go for the cheapest XR14 with var speed air handler. I am willing to spend the extra, if I would really notice a difference, then maybe its worth the extra +44% to go to XL17. But that's a big jump in price if there is negligible difference. Because we have such a big open area which combines with downstairs air -- will I notice a difference? I can't recall the AC not being able to keep up. The one thing that does annoy me about this design, is that the thermostat is out in the "open" area. So in the winter, if we turn down the heat downstairs, and people close their bedroom doors, then the thermostat ends up being much cooler than the rooms, and temps are all uneven. I think that is a different problem, and not affected at all by which unit I pick.