Do not put large amounts of money into your home to sell it - people are so individual about what they like. Also, many people have no idea that some thing is "in " or "dated" - they don't watch HGTV and they just know what they like. You could spend lots of money "updating" only to have someone with different taste change everything - happened to a house across the street from me last year. You can look on real estate sites like Zillow to see what home in your area are selling for and what they look like as most have several pictures of the home posted. Your real-estate agent will also be helpful - though I have heard them give poor updating advice too.

Sometimes, people want to get top dollar for their house by making last minute "updates". However, the best thing to do is price your house realistically. For example, if the kitchen dates from the 80's, painting the cabinets white is not an update that will bring in more money - it still is a 30+ year old kitchen. It cannot have the value of a new 50K remodel - which also would not up the price 50K because renovations rarely give 100% back on investment unless you did the labor yourself.

There is no such thing as everyone will like whatever you do. I agree with Darzy that you should declutter clean and clean again empty rooms of small bits and pieces of furnture that make the room look small. If you send some pics of the spaces we maybe could help more. A really good talk with a realtor will help you spend the money in the right place.

I would go with the hardwood. What did the insides of homes that have sold in the last year, look like. If you can look online and look into these, and homes that are on sale, this should give some idea of the tile and hardwood........other than that, post some pictures on Houzz.

I'd find a highly-recommended stager and take her advice!

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I have a good realtor and had one consultation with the stager, but so far just discussed what work needed to be done and what we could skip. The both gave good general advice, but I didn't have any samples picked out yet.

I have now moved out of the house and starting a new job on the other side of town, so just going around to different places to get samples and scheduling appointment with them to help select things is difficult. I figured I might get some idea of specific trends from stagers or house flippers on here to get the best samples and minimize extra trips and meetings for the rest of the project, and to avoid doing anything to the house that might be a detriment.

I'll post some pics later in the next day or two if I get a chance. We had painting done a year or so back, and are walls are mostly Sherwin Williams Passive with some rooms Pediment, and the trim is Kelly Moore "Dove White" which is similar to Benjamin Moore "White Dove" but slightly more grey and less yellow. We are keeping our black appliances, so looking for something to tie that into the trim color and the Passive. In the laundry room we have Sherwin Williams "Buff", which is like a dull yellow.

What city or area? $700,00 in Waco TX is very different from the same amount in San Francisco!

In our area 12 X 24 porcelain tile is popular for floors, fireplaces, showers. In a light to medium gray, beige or mixed. I would also carpet the stairs to deaden to noise factor. Hardwood floors I would select a light to medium color. For furnishings, less is more.

Sorry - Forgot to mention the house is located in Austin, TX. It is in a good location but not super close to downtown, so this price is split somewhat evenly between house and land value.

Remove all popcorn and wallpaper, huge turn off to buyers. Otherwise I think some things are best left to the new owners to choose. Hard to say without seeing your house.

I would go for a clean up, refresh with paint and price to sell. The money, and more importantly the headache, you spend on a renovation that will likely be changed by the new owner will probably balance out in the long run. Lots of people love the idea that they got a good deal on an out dated house and then they can fix it to suit.

The posters above all gave good advice.

I would not put too much into remodeling as the new owners will want to remodel to their own specific taste.

The best advice is to clean, declutter and paint.