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a sale simply doesn't provide the return on investment. If you have older teens or even better adult children willing to pitch in on this effort, well have at it and good luck.

My approach to purging is the following. I clear a space in the garage, lay down a tarp, and rent a small dumpster. I start at the top of the house and go room by room starting with the guest room. Each room is purged from closet through decorations, linens, and books and other; nothing is sacred anymore. Everything is left in the room that will be moved or is transferred to the garage for charity, thrown in dumpster, thrown in the book exchange pile, or thrown in the recycle bin. Once I have been through every room completely I take a day break from my purging and then do a final walk-through in case I have missed something. There are no take backs! Once the second purge is complete I call the appropriate charities for pick-up, have the dumpster hauled away, put the recycle bin out for pick up, take the books to the exchange, and ask for money, my purge is complete. Now I am ready for the movers.

These steps are really the hardest part of the front end. The back end is finding a new home to move into and really making it a home. Of course if you have a home to sell the challenge is timing, when to start looking; should you wait until your old home has sold or use some creative financing models to have the best of both worlds? There are some questions to ask yourself before you start the process of finding your new permanent home.

1.Does your relocation package offer temporary housing assignment or a mortgage bridge? If the answer is yes, for how long?

2. Can you afford the possibility of two mortgages?

3. What is the housing market like in your current area? How long do houses stay on the market?

4. Is there anything special or unique about your current residence that sets it apart from others in your neighborhood? Look at it as if you are a buyer, use a critical eye!

5. Last but certainly not least, how much do you honestly think you can sell your house for. Don't rely upon real estate agents for this answer. Do your own research. Find out how much houses in your neighborhood have sold for recently. Do the comparison for yourself. Find the last 5 to 7 sales; you are looking for price per square foot not total sales price. The average will tell you what to expect when you sell your home. You can ignore short sales and foreclosures just look for normal sales in the past 120 to 180 days.

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