[Boomer]

NJBlue, even though we plan to keep our Ohio home, I am very interested in this thread. It is so kind of you to take the time to help others by sharing your insight. I have bought and sold several houses and I find myself drawn to such discussions as this, whether I have a house on the market or not.

The thing you say about turning on every light in the place is so easy to do and so important. Even in daytime with the window coverings wide open, lights should still be turned on. It might even be worth buying an extra floor lamp or two to stick in rooms that are a little darker than others. Not only does good lighting make the house look proud of itself, there is also that psychology of light thing that happens.

I also think, like PGB said here, that HGTV has created a mentality of buyers thinking they can fling themselves around and expect perfection. That attitude coupled with the market does make things more difficult in many cases.

But I made use of that buyer expectation mentality when I sold a house in 2007. Only I used it in a kind of backwards manner.

It was not my own house. It was for family. The market had not yet totally tanked in our area, but it had begun to slow down. My plan was to try a FSBO first with the help of an attorney for the contract.

We had some work to do before the house could be put up for sale officially, even as a FSBO.

So while we were working on getting the house ready for the market, I put a sign in the yard. The sign said, "For Sale Soon." Just that and my phone number.

We just kept on working on the project at hand. Getting the house ready to put up for sale.

Something about that "For Sale --- Soon" worked wonders. The buyers came after us. Curiosity? The possibility of a deal? Whatever it was, the house sold almost immediately.

We did not have to do a bunch of major cosmetics. That would have been the next step. We adjusted the price accordingly. Inspections were done. The attorney wrote the contract and all went well. Could it have brought top dollar with more elbow grease and investment of money? Maybe. Maybe not. We saved time and we saved money and the seller was happy with the outcome.

If you are in the process of getting things ready, but you're not quite there yet, maybe Boomer's "For Sale Soon" sign could work for you, too.

Boomer