<p>Interesting suggestion, emeraldkity4 - I may try some on a spot in the foyer, but it is almost down to the bare wood in several areas, so may not be enough.</p>
<p>If you do have a professional refinish the floors, perhaps you can work a deal where they remove and refinish your lower cabinet doors at no additional charge. </p>
<p>I just repainted my entire kitchen, breakfast and casual area in a BenMoore color called Lenox Tan. It’s a little darker than what would be considered neutral, but because my kitchen cabinets and built-ins are maple and stained a reddish brown, it actually looks much lighter than if the paint were in an all white kitchen. Is it possible you will get the same optical illusion since you also have stained wood cabinets? I would go with whatever looks good and would be considered an update even if it isn’t quite neutral.</p>
<p>Also, carpet…there are some really great deals on synthetic sisals. Beautiful in combination with hardwoods and a great update.</p>
<p>I’m always fascinated to hear about East Coast real estate. We may be moving to that area and the housing costs sound horrifying…lol! (We’re in Texas.)</p>
<p>Response from a real estate agent in the L.A. area: </p>
<p>Hardwood floors: do whatever you need to make them have a top appearance before you market the house. The impact on Buyers…and your ultimate sales prices…is signifcant, far more than what you’d lose in giving a credit.</p>
<p>Kitchen: the only thing I would do is to take the designated cabinet doors to a refinisher, unless you can do an exquisite job yourself…in my case, I wouldn’t dream of it. Don’t bother with the walls, whatever you do will turn out to have been wrong with respect to what the ultimate Buyer will want. Definitely go with a professional for both floors and cabinets.</p>
<p>Light carpeting but not too light is ideal as general bland carpeting. However, replace only if the carpeting needs replacement…it’s amazing what a good cleaning can do. Ah…just skimmed the thread, okay…replace.</p>
<p>An emphatic “Yes” to de-cluttering, this from one whose home office is a clutter palace…and then there’s D’s room, the living room…good thing we aren’t selling.</p>
<p>Agents: you can probably bargain on commission but I’d look to find the “right” agent more than worry about 1 percent, which a good agent will easily get back for you. Self-description, but I’d look for a “steady producer.” You don’t want someone who does 1-3 deals a year, but imo a lot of the “big” agents, especially those with a whole team of assistants, treat listings as an assembly line process, with your open houses, etc., being handled by junior agents looking for Buyers…sometimes the only time you see “the Agent” is at listing and again at closing. Not just self-interest here: If I kick the bucket and my wife finds herself wanting to sell, I’ve given her the names of several agents to avoid like the plague as well as the names of some I favor.
All imo.</p>