Ohhh, I couldn't resist this one

As a fellow Wisconsite/cheesehead who just sold and bought her house and has a love of color, here is what I learned:

1. Unless it's a truely eye popping color, your house does not have to be neutral. For example, my former kitchen had buttercream colored walls with - ready? - brick red cabinet faces with white cabinets. My bathroom was sky blue, my bedroom was a medium brown suede, the playroom was avacodo green any my sons room was tan with a navy blue ceiling. Dark colors that are cool do not darken a room.

2. Stage the house! Get rid off all your family pictures and declutter everything. A good RE agent will be able to help you with this and may even suggest moving the furniture around for better flow and visualization for buyers.

3. Clean it and Fix it. I was told and was of the same mind set, that homeowners in this area are more concerned with not having to put a lot of money into fixing up a house (unless they are flipping them). They want to move in and be done with it. If they have to do anything, painting is their cheapest investment. You need to fix doors, handles, stairs, railings, etc.

4. Get a home inspection done on your dime. It may cost you a couple hundred dollars, but then you will have time to fix anything that needs fixing or use it as a negotiating tool. It also tells your prospective buyers that you're not hiding anything.

5. Interview a couple of RE agents. This is important. I listed with someone I was comfortable with but who wasn't an aggressive agent. My house showed a lot but I never got an offer. After 6 months, I interviewed 3 agents and chose one who had an agressive marketing plan, helped me stage the house, did a market analysis so we could list at a more competitive price and had a broader customer base than the first one. She sold it in 30 days at what I wanted for it.

All that and the Packers finally won one! Good luck selling and happy house hunting!