Oh. Sending peace and energy. Went through this X 2 some years ago.
In addition to emotional strain, we started out with real estate agents who said," ooh, you need to update the ( floor, counters- insert anything) with . ( time, granite, carpet-- insert new exiendive item) because buyers want..."
And we said, " you need to get over yourself and find us a buyer for as- is without giving it away, if we wi need to update YOU."
Well, something like that. We were out of state and working full time snd these guys were crazy.

Unfrumped, I know exactly what you mean! Fortunately, our agent understood us from the very beginning -- that we were not going to put in a new kitchen, bath, etc. I had the hardwood floors refinished (they had never been done in my lifetime, and they were badly cat-stained in many places, but they turned out beautiful!), put in new carpet in two rooms, painted, and cleaned every room, and ripped up floor tiles and tried valiantly to eliminate cat odor from the basement, but was only partly successful there. It's a great little house for a DIYer or for a young couple starting out, who can easily live there while updating kitchen and bath at their leisure. I'm so thankful our agent got that and didn't pressure us to do anything more than we needed to! That is so frustrating to go through.

When we went to sell our home, we had a problem agent who wouldn't market the house the way my DH and I thought it should be marketed. The house had great, unique features; but all he said was, "Great family home." I promptly typed up a list of features, included great photos, and created flyers. I then told the agent to use them. He honestly didn't act like he cared if the house sold or not. Worse, it was in 2008 when the housing market had taken a downturn. The house never sold, and we are renting it to this day. We are going to sell as soon as the present tenants move out because Century 21 has been mismanaging our account.

You were very smart in the type of updates you made to your house, Janet, doing just enough to sell it, while leaving it to the buyers to put their stamp on the house as they have the money to do so. I understand the pull on the heartstrings that selling a property you lived in as a child can have. I'll be facing that in the near future, and I do not look forward to it. I hear you on the basement problem. I have the same cat issue going on in my basement, which is currently being worked on. As I write, the crew is grinding down the concrete floor in prep for cleaning, painting and sealing. It's an arduous process. Somewhere along the way, I decided to make the basement my woman cave, so there is also some prettifying going on as well.

Thanks, Kate! Good luck with your renovation project and the cat odor -- it's a tough thing to deal with! The last tenant was there for over 12 years, and her health declined over the last few and she simply was not able to keep up with the demands of her home and her multiple cats. She's a family friend, so we tried to be as understanding as possible, but we just didn't realize how bad it was until she moved out.

When we sold our other childhood home 7 years ago, we did very little to it -- replaced some old light fixtures, painted, and that was about it, even though the kitchen and baths had never been updated since it was built in the 70s. It sold very quickly nonetheless. This one was a little tougher, but it's an older house with more issues!

BC, yes, some agents just seem to not care! Good for you for being proactive, but I'm sorry it didn't work then. Good luck with your renewed effort to sell!

My DH and I own a ton of duplexes and a few small homes, so we know all about tenants, flipping homes to sell, etc. I agree that you should only do the improvements necessary to sell the home.

It's all about return on investment, and what you are prepared to invest time- and energy-wise as well as financially. Redoing a kitchen or a bath is a lot of work and/or money (depending on how much you are able to do on your own, or whether you have a contractor you trust), so even though the conventional wisdom is "kitchens sell houses," you might not recoup enough of your money to make the renovation worth the while when you factor in time and stress. Besides, many people buying want to redo things to their own tastes themselves.

Janet, great news. Crossing my fingers for you that the deal holds together and you are able to close before winter and the concerns that come along with dealing with an empty home in the cold weather.