Real World Estate

I find that during the day I try to think of interesting topics to write about. It seems to help take my mind away from the daily stresses of life. Now, with that said, just because I think of them doesn't mean that my topics are of any interest but to myself. No one reads this blog at this time so my only audience is myself.
For the last year my wife and I have been working on our house to make it more marketable for sale. It's been filled with weekends of pressure washing, painting, deck sealing, landscaping, etc. I thought we were actually coming to the end of our list of chores. My wife scheduled a couple of real estate agents to come and look at the house and give us an idea of what it's listing price may be. Both agents sell heavily in our neighborhood. One (A) has been selling here for about 15 years while the other (B) may have been here for 5-6 years. It was interesting how my wife and I dissected the agents spiel. Agent (A) has a wonderful marketing plan and her listing price was substantially higher than agent (B). For various reasons, we were looking for a fairly quick sale with the largest monetary amount realized. After each session with the agents my wife and I talked about the different approaches the agents made. Agent (B) complimented us on the way the house looked as far as presentation but, pointed out many flaws that she thought were especially detrimental and pricing our house accordingly. Agent (A) also complimented us on the presentation and told us repeatedly that the house was "move in condition". When we pressed agent (A) on the faults that we could see, she dismissed them. She told us point blank that all the houses in this area had the same faults, being that they were all built in the 70's. She said "Let's get it on the market and have an open house immediately". The feed back received from the open house would determine our next moves. Agent (B) told us that it needs to be "priced right" in the beginning or we would sit on it for months.
My wife and I have mulled over this for a few days and then she shocks me by saying "let's stay for a little while longer and re-side/paint the outside of the house". Just when I thought that our (my) projects were done! The rear of the house already has new Hardiplank. The two sides and the front will need to be completed. Of course she wants this done ASAP. So here we go. The siding was one of the faults that agent (B) pointed out. In my wife's mind and mine, I must confess, we would like to be "on top". By saying that we mean that we want to be in a position that we can get the maximum amount of money and have it sell quick. By the time the bargaining and agents commission is all said and done, it doesn't leave us with the money we need for a different house that is both larger and possibly newer. Considering that the labor will be ours, we will get back our investment easily. Everything here in the Atlanta area is all about looks. No one cares about things they can't see, but are neccesary. We feel that by improving the appearance of the outside of the house that it will have the curb appeal that will lure potential buyers to make offers immediately.
Well, I guess I need to go make some plans for my next project... siding. Oh boy. I'm excited. (9)


For future reference, the number represented in parenthesis is what I call the "sarcaso-meter" The numbers range from 0-10, with 10 being the highest level of sarcasm. Good Day!