House needs a roof but we're ready to sell.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. If I were spending money in order to sell, I would do cosmetics, cleaning and de-cluttering

I think required watching for prospective sellers and clueless realtors is that show on one of the DIY channels, Sell This House.

On that show, they spend a couple hundred bucks on new paint, cleaning and staging. They concentrate on staging odd or misused rooms - like turning front porch junk rooms in to elegant little sitting areas. Or staging unfurnished bedrooms and dining rooms in to furnished rooms - sometimes even using boxes to create a bed or sheet wrapped lawn furniture to create a dinning room.

It think it's hard to overestimate the bang you get for the buck on a new fresh paint job.

I don't know that I would spend money on a roof that is not leaking. I would spend money only on the more enticing items and worry about the roof if it comes up. Then you can negotiate anywhere from zero, to a portion, to full replacement cost if comes up on inspection.