Step one - complete

I met with the real estate agent yesterday and it was positive. She looked over the house and was impressed with what I had accomplished. She told me to not worry about the kitchen and to leave it for the next owner, but to keep working on the front rooms, as I have been doing.
She was positive, and did not seem to think that it would be impossible to sell the place. I will be hearing from her early next week with estimates of what we could expect to be able to list it for, so that we know how to proceed from here.
If the listing price is acceptable then I don't have to go the bankruptcy/foreclosure route just yet and have some hope of a fresh start with some dignity and maybe credit intact. It would just be a matter of time.
We shall see.