...I should also mention that it has a porcelain sink that needs to be replaced. Due to budget constraints, I lean towards stainless, but that doesn't thrill me as a drop in (what I could realistically do). I have been haunting craigslist, and at the moment, there are a couple of silgranite options, though I don't know how long they will be around. They are also very dark in color, which seems to dictate darker in the countertop. Often, there are used porcelain sinks that look better than mine (too much use of cast iron cookware), and even a used porcelain or corian type sink would look better than the current one. So thoughts on practical stainless vs. whatever other budget option I can come up with?

Yes, on the pictures once I clear boxes that are moving over to the new place.

If you haven't sold your property yet, I would STRONGLY advise you to talk to your Realtor about what improvements must be done to effectuate a quick sale. You talk about not wanting to spend money on the house, but frankly that may be a bad decision if your house sits on the market for six months. I spent time getting my previous home ready for sale and had to put in a new kitchen because I got transferred to a new job just after the old kitchen was taken out. I put in a middle of the road, nice kitchen, quartz countertops, butcher block in the Butler's pantry. I also painted and replaced carpet and staged the home. I signed the listing agreement on Sunday night, it went on the market Monday and I had a full offer on Tuesday night. I recouped THREE times what I spent on getting it ready by the increase in sales price. I am not suggesting that you put in a new kitchen, but I do think you need to evaluate what you are doing. For instance, the interest charges per month on a $2000 a month mortgage payment are about $1000 per month (depending on how long you have lived in the home). If it takes you six months to sell, you have spent another $6000 in interest charges alone, plus you will be lowering the cost of your house because it is not selling, likely in $10,000 increments. You can do a lot of fixing up for $20,000. No I am not a Realtor, I am a realist. In this part of the country we call that penny wise and pound foolish.

And I enlisted the help of my decorator to neutralize the house. You an get remnant granite from the fabricator and put in an undercount sink. Again, it needs to be neutral and look nice & clean.

Yes, please talk to your realtor before doing anything. In a hot market you might be advised to just clean and list; in other markets you might need to make improvements. I've done it both ways over the years and learned the hard way that each market is different. You hire a realtor for their expertise -- take advantage of it.

Totally agree w/other respondents-- get a professional realtor's opinion. Emphasis on professional. In our area, it usually doesn't pay to remodel for resale as you'll typically only get 70-80% return in the first year. (And we're professional remodelers. .
). If that's true in your area & you're trying to sell, it may be wise -- read "Money-wise" to let the next owners decide what they'd rather do.

You could even add a "kitchen allowance" credit to the buyers as part of the sales agreement, which gives buyers the option of making updates, putting that money toward a full Reno, or living with the kitchen and using that money for another purpose.

personally I would't do anything with the kitchen accept fix things that are broken and paint or change hardware to update the look. any thing you do will most likely be changed. make allowance in the price rather than putting time and money into major work there. some people like white cabinets others hate them, others like dark stain its a crapshoot. spending thousands to get a few thousands more - is it worth your time and money to guess?

I dislike remodel for listing. Cheap fixes tend to make no difference whatsoever, perhaps a slightly faster sale......or not. Price the house with the accurate consideration of the state of the less than desirable kitchen. Let the next owner do as they wish. Scrub it and the house within an inch of its life, get rid of clutter, and move on. Everything sells at the right price. Yes, everything.

I agree with Jan and Wallner Builders, you better off selling as is so the new owners can choose their own style. If anything you can offer them some credit (half what you would spend on remodeling) when negotiating the sale price and that will boost your chance to close the deal.

All good advice here in soliciting the advice of your realtor. This idea of updating for selling is a result of watching too many "flip" shows on HGTV. If you're going to put any money into the house, put it into something boring but necessary, like a new roof or HVAC systems, something that no one wants to spend money on, and has no decor effect.

Pictures are worth a thousand words.........Do you have any pictures?