Go look at other homes in the area in the price range you think you will sell in.

They are the competition.

Note their condition in comparison to yours.

I agree with brickeye. Also, talk to three local realtors who have sold homes in the last three months.

Figure out what you MUST get for the house and see how that stacks up with what the realtors tell you. Too many sellers make the mistake of losing that first, best week on the market by overpricing, then gradually dropping the price. Often your first offer is the best one you'll get.

Do not over-do the improvements. Give the house a divorce! (No granite!) Clean, no clutter, no wallpaper, *liveable* as is should be enough. I'd keep 'rental' in the back of my mind, if that's a possibility. It could take some years for the RE market to improve. (Don't know about your market; ours is pretty bleak.)

You've got two years to prep the house for sale. Do nothing major. Clean and then clean some more.
Go look at other homes in the area that are for sale in your price range. See how they compare.
A 45 yr old house is very likely to have hardwood floors. If it does don't go thru the expense of replacing carpeting. It will be more attractive to have those hardwoods sanded and showing.
Worry more about things you can fix easily like a too cluttered landscape and over grown trees that add up quickly in a buyer's mind in both time and money.
As someone else said make the selling price reflect the fact that upgrades need to be made but don't put yourself thru the work, it's just not worth it in this market.

I appreciate the feedback. Although I was kind of hoping to enjoy some kitchen and bath updates for the remainder of time that I am here...! ;) I have spent a lot of time planning and imagining how much nicer the house would look with a few updates. The logical part of me understands that it would be far easier to cut the price and let the next owner deal with the headaches, but the emotional part of me wants to see it come to fruition.

So to clarify what all of you have said: See some open houses and talk to some realtors to get their opinions. At a minimum, remove wallpaper, paint walls/ceilings in neutral tones, clean well, repair what can be repaired, declutter, and focus on curb appeal. I assume that means not repainting cabinets or woodwork unless recommended by realtors?

The house did not have hardwood floors, but we did put in engineered wood in the family and living rooms last year. Kitchen and entry have original brick floors. Only the hallway and bedrooms are carpeted now, and that carpet absolutely needs to be replaced.

Fortunately, our area has weathered the economic conditions much better than other parts of the country. Homes are selling here, and those in our neighborhood usually don't sit on the market too long unless they are in really bad condition or have weird floor plans, etc. But many are smaller than ours with one car garages, small lots, etc. so are priced lower than ours would (hopefully) be. We live on one of the more desirable blocks with a little larger homes/lots, and the surrounding homes are well maintained. So even pricing it low to allow for updates, I think the asking price would still be higher than many of the others that have sold. I don't know if that higher price would deter buyers looking for a less expensive home or if the need for updating would deter those who are looking for something at a slightly higher price point.... Guess that is a question for the realtors.

Other feedback is still very much appreciated.

I would not want to pay an otherwise all-things-being-equal-to-comps price on something with obviously new counters that did not suit my style. Much rather have things just left alone and a price reflecting the need for some work.

Excellent advice here.
Place yourself in the shoes of a buyer.
Be absolutely honest about everything, the prospect will see most of the "weaknesses", but not all - so point these out as well. The problem is not knowing the costs of renovations....and avoiding the fly-by-nights.
There are people out there who make a living just doing renovations, but some are fly-by-niters..You could secure work estimates and qualified contractors for the prospect.. I think that this would be most helpful..
Many prospects are , like me, DIY..
Also, DIY in selling, we need a lot more of this..

Dents and dings in wood can be repaired with wood filler and sanding and then painted.

Do you have the capability to do this yourself? It wouldn't cost you much at all except your time. Painting trim is actually cheap except for the labor if you pay somebody to paint it for you. Often 1 gallon of paint is enough to cover a whole house.

earthworm - You advise to put myself in the shoes of the buyer, and that is exactly why I struggle with whether to make the updates before selling. If I were a buyer, I would not even consider buying my house because of the condition of the woodwork and lack of updates - at least cosmetic ones. But I am someone who wants a house that is in nice enough condition to move right in and defer any improvements until a little later.

lyfia - I don't feel capable of doing the work myself - except for possibly the wallpaper removal. DH is here most weekends but is not interested in spending that time on improvement projects. So we would have to hire it done.

Great input already. I'd add that fixing the trim and keeping everything repaired is really important. I am not a DIY and if I see trim, floors and paint in disarray, I assume the home has not been well taken care of and what's unseen will be even worse.

gilmoregal is it a physical thing about not being able to do it yourself or are you just unsure on how to do it. It is really very simple and if you are somewhat detail oriented you can get a great paint job done by yourself and just do it one room at a time. It really isn't complicated at all and doesn't require much. I'd be happy to go over the steps with you as I'm sure many others would as well on the Home Decor forum or the paint forum.

You could always try it in a small area and go from there.

SPOTLESSLY clean and tidy sells houses.

Concentrate on getting rid of the "negatives" instead of adding "WOW", and sell it as-is with a price that is a bit below the ones that have been heavily upgraded.

Don't over-improve. It's going to be harder to sell something with YOUR choice of granite, because if a buyer doesn't like it they will be thinking "I'm paying for stuff I don't like and tearing out" versus thinking "the kitchen is blah and 40 years old, but I can live with it until I can afford to re-do it and this house is a bargain for the neighborhood".

Make sure all plumbing is in good repair, get rid of popcorn ceilings, make all locks and doors function smoothly, check under sinks to make sure the cabinet base isn't water damaged. Do a conservative, neutral paint scheme, including the trim.

One ingenious way to deal with chipped and unmatchable tile is to remove the damaged ones and replace them with accent tiles that are used elsewhere in the bath - removing some good ones if you have to, to make it look planned. Or, carefully remove the tiles from one area, re-tile that area, and used the ones you removed to repair other places. You can usually scavenge enough from a vanity to patch a couple of showers.

That is provided the substrates are solid and not leaking, with no chronic mold problems.

If they need repair, a mid-grade tub and tile (think Lowes or Home Depot, not Anne Sacks!) in a classic neutral will get you more bang for the buck than a fancy glass mosaic job.

Today's market? Unless you find a buyer that likes a challenge of remodeling or your price..it might sit on the market for long time. Certainly get all the rooms painted, scrap the popcorn, new carpet, fix up the outside, and give it a shot.