Not much has been happening worth writing about. On Wednesday, we attended a seminar for people who intend to sell their homes. It was sponsored by a group of related professionals who offer services to the "For Sale By Owner" types - those who wish to avoid the high commissions of real estate agents. While there was some useful information presented in the seminar, all in all it seems like the stress level required to be directly involved in face-to-face negotiations with purchasers may be too overwhelming for us to go that route.

The most important aspects of the seminar were: you need to price your property correctly (not too high, not too low); and you need to do everything possible to make the property look attractive to prospective buyers. These points are common sense, but there were examples of how people tend to believe the improvements they've made to their own properties make them worth so much more than the houses around them... when the reality is that the neighbourhood and prevailing market sets prices far more than the individual merits of your home. With this depressing knowledge, we now believe we'll get $10-$20000 less for our home than we originally hoped, based on the prevailing market, and less still after commissions. It's too bad. Someone is going to get a real steal of a deal.

I've sent three resumes out in the past 24 hours - all to companies who are advertising positions for which I am qualified. One of those positions is an out-of-town opportunity, but the others are local. There was also a posting in the local paper for a government job, but I couldn't in good conscience apply, since I only had two of the five required skills.