1. KNOW WHY YOU'RE SELLING

• Look closely at why you want to sell.  Your motivations play an important role in the process. They affect everything from setting a price to deciding how much time and money you'll invest getting your home ready for selling.

2. DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE SETTING A PRICE

• Every home in your neighborhood may be different in minor or substantial ways?the house next door may have added another bedroom, for example, or the one across the street might have recently renovated the kitchen or bath areas. As a neighborhood evolves over the years, you may find that there aren't any homes that are truly comparable to your own. The most common way to set a value is to look at homes that have sold in your neighborhood within the past 3 to 6 months, as well as those now on the market. That's certainly how prospective buyers will assess the worth of your home. Your Realtor, will do all the market research and provide you with comps showing where your home should be priced to best meet your goals?a fast sell, maximum profit, etc.

4. GO HOME SHOPPING YOURSELF

• The best way to get to know your competition, identify features that are popular and learn what turns buyers off is to check out other open houses. If you can, plan on spending a few weekends touring other homes on the market to learn what other sellers are asking. Make note of the floor plan, condition, appearance, size of lot, location and other features. If you visit enough homes and pay close attention to the details (and what other "buyers" are saying), you'll develop a good understanding of how different features affect pricing. Then you can apply what you've learned to the task of setting your price. But don't forget to include in the equation what homes are actually selling for, not just simply what people are asking. And remember, if you're serious about getting your home sold quickly, don't be more expensive than your neighbor.

5. KNOW WHEN TO GET AN APPRAISAL

• Sometimes you can use a good appraisal to your benefit in marketing your home. However, an appraisal costs money. It also has a limited life, usually no more than 3 months. And you may not like the figure you hear.  Keep in mind that any buyer financing their purchase is going to be limited by the lender's appraisal value. 

6. YOUR TAX ASSESSMENT MEANS ALMOST NOTHING

• Some people look to tax assessments to assign a value. The problem here is that assessments are based on a number of criteria unrelated to property values, so they often don't necessarily reflect the true value of your home.

7. GIVE YOURSELF ROOM TO NEGOTIATE

• Make sure you leave yourself room to bargain. If what you ask for is unacceptable to the buyer, and their first offer is unacceptable to you, make sure you have someplace to go that is acceptable to you. Start with the absolute minimum price you would accept, and then pick the price you'd get if the world were perfect. This gives you your range to keep in mind when working with your Realtor to negotiate the sale.  Keep in mind that price is not the only thing you may be negotiating - the terms of the offer can play just as important a part.

8. MAXIMIZE YOUR HOME'S SALES POTENTIAL

• Appearance is critical.  You may not be able to change your home's location or its floor plan, but you can do a lot to improve its appearance. And you should. The look and "feel" of your home generates a greater emotional response than any other factor. A prospective buyer reacts to what they see, hear, feel and smell.
• Pick up, straighten, declutter, scrub, scour, dust... clean it like you've never cleaned it before.  If your living room feels crowded, take out some of the furniture. If your home still isn't ready to appear in a magazine, then clean some more. Remember, you're not just competing with other people's homes ? you're competing against new construction as well.
• Fix everything that needs to be repaired.  The step that squeaks, the light switch that doesn't work, the hairline crack in the bathroom tile ? they might be minor annoyances to you, but they can also be deal-breakers. The problem is that you never know what will turn a buyer off. Something minor that's gone unattended can suggest that perhaps there are bigger, less visible problems as well.
• Make your home as neutral as possible. Anything that interferes with a prospective buyer's ability to see themselves living in your home must be eliminated. A few carefully chosen accessories and family portraits may add warmth and character to the home, too many are a distraction. Avoid unique or trendy color schemes; paint and carpet should be in neutral shades of white or beige are best.
•  Little touches can make a big difference.  While personal items can detract, other small touches can help make your house a home to buyers. A well-placed vase of flowers, accent pieces of sculpture, potpourri in the bathroom ? all can enhance the attractiveness of your home in a subtle, soft-spoken way. Try perusing the home magazines for tips.
• Don't let a smell be your downfall. Odd smells kill deals quickly. All traces of food, pet and smoking odors must be eliminated. Even when you're sure they're gone; don't encourage prospective buyers to imagine things. If they know you're a smoker or that you have a dog, they'll start smelling odors and seeing stains that may not even exist. Be safe. Don't leave any clues.

9. DISCLOSE EVERYTHING

• Smart sellers proactively go above and beyond the laws to disclose all known defects to their buyers ? in writing. If the buyer knows about a problem, he can't come back with a lawsuit later on.

10. DON'T GET EMOTIONAL DURING NEGOTIATIONS

• It's not always easy but try to let go of the emotion you've invested in your home and approach negotiations in a detached, businesslike manner. You'll find the process to be a lot less painful. The first offer is invariably well below what you both know the buyer will end up paying for your property. Don't get angry or feel insulted; evaluate the offer objectively. Make sure it spells out the offering price, amount of down payment, mortgage amount, a closing date and any special requests. Now you have a point from which you can negotiate.If you feel an offer is inadequate, now would be a good time to make sure the buyer has been qualified to carry a mortgage of the size this deal would require (if you haven't learned this already). Ask how they arrived at their figure, and then suggest their agent use comparables to establish what homes are going for in your neighborhood.  An unacceptably low offer should not be taken personally or seriously. Rather, it should be countered, even with the slightest of reductions in your asking price. This lets a buyer know that their first offer isn't seen as a serious one.

12. MAKE SURE THE CONTRACT IS COMPLETE

• The best way to avoid problems is to make sure that all terms, costs and responsibilities are spelled out in the agreement of sale. A contract should include the date it was made, the names of the parties involved in the transaction, the address of the property being sold, the purchase price, where deposit monies will be held, the date for loan approval, the date and place of closing, type of deed, any contingencies that remain to be settled, and whether there's any personal property included (or not) in the sale, among other things.

13. DON'T DEVIATE FROM THE CONTRACT

• Resist the temptation to diverge from the contract. For example, if the buyer requests a move-in prior to closing, just say no. Now is not the time to take any chances of the deal falling apart.