This one has it all: rot iron, chester drawers, lots of helpful ideas for fixing up all the broken pieces, even the reason she is selling her stuff. You really feel like you know her by the time you read to the end. Here is a link that might be useful: She must be blonde LOL

Ok, after looking at your pics, here's what I think you need to do: -Make your place stand out, and cozy it up! 1-LOWER your price. 2-Stage/Decorate. Maybe paint part of it some neutral, warm color. Make it look like I would would want to live there. Your place does not look inviting, hence a quick glance & off they go. When looking at a potential place to live, I want a place to say: come, sit & enjoy. Your place is very clean. That's plus. But it reminds me of how my sis used to keep her place. Very clean, & austere. We couldn't relax, because she was a cleanaholic-lol. She was also too thrifty to spend money on decor. As a result we hardly visited her & when we did, it was brief because we were uncomfortable sitting up straight in a cold looking environment. -get Fabreeze "fresh Linen" spray for a clean & inviting smell. -Give your home some color. -Put some fresh flowers on the Dining Table. Dress the kitchen counters with a bowl of fruit. Roll up some fresh towels on the bathroom counter. Decorate it. Make it alive. I know people should see the bare walls, but it's all in the packaging. Your place is very unwelcoming. Get a Stager or a decorating consultant. You definitely need help. You have lookers. Make it appealing to the buyers! get it sold in the Summer.

"One of his strategies was to take out the flyers from the for sale sign to force potential buyers to call into his office" If everyone else in your area has flyer's in front of their house, then you should have them as well. I am a buyer. These types of realtor games just make me angry. If I have to call this guy to find out what should have been on a flyer, I'm very likely to play a few games with him myself. It is his JOB to keep your flyer box full, or at least call and ask if you need any extra. "When I was at the house today the neighbors told me that 6 different families have been by in the last 2 weeks to look at the house yet my realtor just told me that no one has looked in over a month." OMG. You had SIX prospective buyer's come by and he didn't tell you about a SINGLE one? You hired this idiot to SELL your house, not hide potential buyer's. He sounds like he is trying to do everything but this. FIRE HIM. "My contract with the realtor isn't up for 2 more months but we are just taking it off the market. I feel bad because he did the pictures and virtual tour, but don't know what else to do." Don't feel bad for him. He is trying to keep your listing alive for the sole purpose of padding his real estate portfolio while you are stuck with the costs of paying for two mortgages. He should feel bad for lying to you and expecting to be paid for this. Glad you were able to rent it. It might be wishful thinking, but I think the market is going to improve by 2009. Maybe your renter might be interested in buying the house on a land contract? "I have not told the realtor how I really feel because he is in a business group and we are friends." He sure isn't acting like a friend. Otherwise, he would have told you about all the people who expressed an interest in your house. I'd go with ReMax next time, and follow xamsx's suggestions for only listing with an agent for three months instead of six. If you want to ask him about the six prospective buyer's, you might ask in a way that doesn't rat on the neighbor, but lets him know you have other eyes watching.

xamsx: I've seen plenty of bad photos that were from "professionals." Our local MLS is full of bathrooms with toilet seats up, fuzzy/dark/out of focus shots, kitchens with cluttered counters and dishes in the sink, backs of chairs/plants in the foreground, cats on couches, I could go on and on. We were FSBO for a while and had professional photos on our website. When we hired a realtor, we told them they could just use our photos, but they wanted to take their own set. I had to veto most of their photos because they weren't taken as well as ours. And they seemed oblivious to details like shadows on the front of the house, shoes/purses visible where they had left them, etc. So don't be stereotyping FSBOs. :-)