re: Proper steps to selling a house?

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So don't replace the roof. Is it actively leaking? If so, patch those spots. But don't replace the whole thing if you're getting ready to sell...

And start doing the word of mouth thing: tell every person at your gym, church, office, etc. that your house is for sale. Tell the neighbors on all sides that you're selling, and you want to try it without a Realtor. If they help you, it's a chance to pick the new neighbors.

Make a simple flyer w/a few pics, basic stats, and asking price. Make a PDF of the flyer so you can email/text it to people who ask about it. Marketing an appropriately priced house in a decent area isn't exactly rocket science. Making sure you've priced it right is the only tricky part: do a Trulia/Zillow search and find out what sales in your area are doing.

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Thanks for the advice. Nearly everyone I've spoken to who has been in my situation agrees with you and thinks I should not touch the roof...but most of the recently sold homes in this area have had new roofs installed in the past few years. It does not leak, but there's one area where the shingles are buckled and would need to be patched. It's luckily facing the back yard, and is obscured by a tree.

Zillow/Trulia listings in my area are going for a little more than I anticipated. I know my neighbor is about to list his place, so I'm going to see what he gets for his. If I can get about what similar area homes are selling for, I may be in better shape than I thought.

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Sounds like your sleep loss & queasiness are more about the larger relocation than about real estate sales

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It is. My skillset is pretty easily transferrable, and I have 4 years experience here now. This move is primarily for my wife's career. I just don't like the thought of selling this place and moving so far away from my aging parents. I feel like I got a beautiful old house for a fantastic deal at the bottom of the local market....and I'm going to have to go back to renting for a while in this new area.

There's the added complication of my boss living down the street from me, and she'd notice any "for sale" signs if I went the traditional route.

Thanks for the advice. I'll start putting word out as soon as things become more finalized.