Decide to Sell
Deciding to sell your home is a big decision. The first step in this process should be to understand your motivations, expectations, financial considerations, goals and what you plan to do upon the sale of your home. Many people begin the sale process with unrealistic expectations or unclear goals. It then becomes difficult to meet their goals because these goals have never been clearly defined. You must begin to view your house, no longer as your home, but as an investment property that you want to market.

Setting the Price
Of course one of your most difficult questions is the listing price of your house. What price should you ask? This is an important part of the sales process. If you set the asking price too high, you may scare away buyers. Agents who feel that your house would not be a good investment may not even show the house. After the house sits on the market for a while, people begin to feel that there is something wrong with it because it hasn't sold. Even if you could sell your house for an inflated price, many times a lender won't approve a loan on a house that doesn't appraise for that amount and the sale might fall through at the last minute. If you under price the home, you won't realize the maximum potential of your investment.

Many people do a quick comparison of price per square foot, but that does not take several variables into consideration and can sometimes be misleading. Take into account many different factors including other comparable listings, special features of your home, neighborhood and local school information, current market conditions, availability of mortgages and insurance, supply of homes in your area and price range and recent sales.

Marketing Plan
Decide on incentives that to be offered to buyers, determine the best places to advertise, and determine how to show the home. Remember that that goal is to sell the home for the highest price, in the least time, with the fewest hassles.

Prepare the Home for Showing
There are two important ways that you can have an impact in making your house attractive to buyers: property condition and listing price. After deciding on a listing price, setup an appointment with a decorating company. They will give you some suggestions for making your house look its best. This process is called "staging." The suggestions might be simple such as clearing cluttered counter tops. Or they might be more involved such as painting front doors or repairing obvious defects.

The staging company will look at your house from room to room and will offer advice on how to make each room show great. They will also look at the exterior street appeal, backyard and garage. They have a lot of tips that can make your house shine. After this meeting, you will have a list of what you should do to prepare your house for sale. Following these suggestions in a timely manner will ensure your home shows at its best.

Remember that "staging" addresses the appearance of the house and not necessarily other problems, which might become evident during an inspection. An inspection will uncover most defects that eventually may have to be repaired. In this way you can have the repairs done before a potential buyer's inspection uncovers a defect that might cause a buyer to either change his mind or to want a substantial repair allowance deducted from the price. It is a signal to buyers that you are a responsible, reputable seller. It also allows you to have plenty of time to schedule any work that might need to be done.

Offer a residential service contract to buyers. This guarantees the major appliances in your home as well as other systems and structures. You can also include coverage for your house while it is on the market so you dont have to pay for any unexpected repairs.

Marketing the Home
Now the fun begins. Here are some ideas that can be used to promote your home.

• Arrange for a professional evaluation and staging of the home
• Offer a pre-inspection
• Offer a Home Warranty
• Do any necessary repairs
• Put up a yard sign
• Put a "lockbox" on your house
• Take digital photos
• Put listing into MLS
• Prepare Color Flyer
• Send out just listed cards
• Prepare virtual tour
• Arrange Realtor tours
• Send flyers to other Realtors
• Place ad in Buyer's guide
• Place ad in paper
• Consider doing an Open House
• E-mail alert sent to potential buyers and other Realtors
• Showcase house on internet sites