And exactly why do you need to have a realtor in the middle of your transaction?

Eliminate payroll taxes for a year, make some structural tax cuts, and stop attacking capital formation.In other words...stop this senseless tax attack on "the rich" in the middle of a depression.I certainly don't have all of the answers, but something has to be done to get people employed.

The home is a beautiful antique colonial in a very desirable, upper middle class, new england town that my husband spent 5 years renovating while we lived there.

It will possibly be like the middle ages with lords and serfs.

Notice I did not say that you must actually provide an EMD, because I don't want to get in the middle of that fight.  

And I'm not liberal, I just knew that the NeoCons sucked big time.I actually believed Obama would restore our rights, end the occupations of the middle east, and do something to clean up DC from all the Wall Street lobbyists.

every time i deal with one of these guys that disappoint me, i tell myself that i should go back to doing these things myself. i know how to do them and have done lots of projects, but i am trying to get away from that.J Scott is right, but he is saying it becuase he has a great crew that he could rely on. most of us are not in that boat and struggle to find good help/people.i am just lucky that the guy i was using finished the windows. otherwise, it would have slowed me down a week until i found someone else that could do the job. the last thing i wanted is to change conractors in the middle of the project.btw, his bill came and some of the prices are inflated. some are new items that we never discussed. i think he thinks i will not notice. he even left money on the table since he had the chance to finish 1-2 slabs of driveway concrete for $1k, and will not come back. there are many mistakes/gross imperfections with the drywall he did, as well as he did not cleaned up AT ALL after himself, so i will be reducing the amount i pay him. the truth is i just wanted to reassure myself that i was doing the right thing by deciding it's time to part ways. that was the reason of this thread.

Considering I'm going to be looking to buy in what my city is to be considered a SLIGHTLY upper middle class neighborhood, what items should I buy?

The tenant benefits by being put in the middle of the 'moving' season.

In reality cost of renting is going to be somewhere in the middle.