[graciegirl]

I so agree with decluttering, cleaning and painting. We had our house sparkling when the two very fine realtors who were sent to us by The Villages relocation service came to evaluate its worth on the market.

Their valuation was very disappointing, but accurate and we decided to wait until the spring to see if the national economy and/or the real estate market in Cincinnati improves.

We think that we will NOT use the relocation services when we list in the spring. I found out here on TOTV that a portion of the fee earned by the listing agent goes to the relocation services. I am so naive I just thought it was another perk from The Villages.

It is sad to know that you can list your home for close to its value and a buyer may try to buy it at that value and then not be able to get a loan because the assessed value of all homes have dropped so much because of short sales and foreclosures. Dumb me, I thought that was happening in another part of town.

The reality is that we are in hard times and the homes that are placed on the market better be in optimum condition and priced low or they won't sell....at least here in Ohio.