It seems that at this moment, everything comes and goes so fast. Everybody wants everything done fast in order to save time and money. But, not everything fast can give a better result and save more neither money nor time. Selling home fast is not an easy way but still possible to do. Selling home fast can be done with the help of the professional since we do not have the expertise in selling home.
There are numerous reasons why we want to sell our home fast, but do not make those reasons become barriers in selling your home fast. But, make them as an encouragement to you to selling your home fast with big effort.
First thing to remember in selling home fast is point out the very best part of your home to the customer. Make your home looks great and attractive. If you can make your home looks attractive and show it good to the buyers, the result will be much better than it should. Then, you will be asking how to make it looks attractive to the buyers while i already think that my home is attractive enough without costing much money.
If you want to sell your home fast, you will need some help from the professionals. To make the inside of your house is attractive; you will need to hire an interior design to create a lovely view of your home. A well-decorated will sell faster and for more money than one that does not well-decorated.
You will also need to hire the organizer to organize your home and storage such as bathroom, basement, garage, closets, and attic (if your home has one) so that your home will look organized and clean and tidy.
After your home is in its best performance, you can also hire a professional photographer to take some great pictures of your home. Why do you have to take pictures of your home? Because nowadays, lots of homebuyers, look for houses in the web and in that web you can put your home’s pictures so that the buyer can take a first look of your home. Remember that first impression is an important thing, how can you sell you home fast if your home itself does not look attractive on the web. Generally, if the buyers do not attracted to your home on the web, there will be little chance that they will be willing to see your home.
Make sure that your home is termite free, and has a good plumbing; water quality, lead, radon, septic tank, asbestos, electricity. You have to make the inside and outside your home is freshen up. After all those things set, you can start to make an “open house”. Open house should be scheduled on the time in which your home shows its best performance or condition. For example, if you have a beautiful garden, show it off during the morning before the flowers start to wilt. If there's one thing that you love most about your home, be sure to share it with potential buyers.
Selling your home fast is not an impossible thing to do. But yet, you still have to spend extra money to hire design interior, home organizer, professional photographers, and other expenses. But those expenses really worthwhile compare to the money that you will get. Hope that you can sell your home quickly.
Important Factors in Real Estate
When we speak of the enigmatic real estate economy, we tend to use national statistics but speak locally in terms of actual sales data. On the other hand the stock market is based on the national or even the world economy. The real estate markets are based on local or even micro-local economy. What is happening in LA may not directly affect what is happening in Kansas City.
What affects all real estate markets together are the interest rates. There is no single barometer to measure the entire housing industry in US that let us know precisely what causes a house to sell quickly or slowly or not at all.
So, while statistics calculations and economic factors are relevant, equally important is using one’s common sense. We must keep our eyes wide open and take a look around and see what is happening. Talking to real estate agents, investors and lenders in a particular area can be a big help to access a market.
These are certain issues one must consider while dealing in real estate.
One major issue facing corporate real estate managers is how to effectively manage the real estate assets in the current market environment.
Secondly, real estate agents provide information about utilities, zoning, schools etc. But two common issues a buyer faces while buying are-
i. Will the property provide the right environment we want for a home?
ii. Will the property have a good resale value when we are ready to sell?
Another important issue that any buyer/investor faces is the legal issue. Real estate laws vary from state to state. One must consult an attorney licensed to practice law in the state in which the property is located.
At times, the property a buyer is seeking is available but not properly advertised. It may take you some time and effort to search for and locate the right property.
The important issue of finance. We must know our financial reserves plus our borrowing capacity. If we know about our current savings, income and debt, then we can take help from lenders; banks and mortgage companies, which offer some choices according to your financial capability.
In America, some real estate association and commissions have sponsored regulation that require all real estate brokers to provide a minimum level of services which forces sellers to buy services they do not want or need.
There is the issue of rebates on transaction fees. Some states in America allow rebates of commissions or fees on real estate transactions but some states have legislated regulations which prohibit rebates.
Next is the issue of consumer participation. The consumer federation of America released a study that real estate boards and commissions are dominated by real estate practitioners and they recommended greater participation by consumers; which is opposed by practitioners – this works against the interest of ordinary buyers and sellers.
Last but not the least, a lot of hoopla has been floating around in the news media about the ‘bubble’ theory of real estate and that the real estate market is going to burst – this may have a psychological impact on the potential buyer or seller.
What affects all real estate markets together are the interest rates. There is no single barometer to measure the entire housing industry in US that let us know precisely what causes a house to sell quickly or slowly or not at all.
So, while statistics calculations and economic factors are relevant, equally important is using one’s common sense. We must keep our eyes wide open and take a look around and see what is happening. Talking to real estate agents, investors and lenders in a particular area can be a big help to access a market.
These are certain issues one must consider while dealing in real estate.
One major issue facing corporate real estate managers is how to effectively manage the real estate assets in the current market environment.
Secondly, real estate agents provide information about utilities, zoning, schools etc. But two common issues a buyer faces while buying are-
i. Will the property provide the right environment we want for a home?
ii. Will the property have a good resale value when we are ready to sell?
Another important issue that any buyer/investor faces is the legal issue. Real estate laws vary from state to state. One must consult an attorney licensed to practice law in the state in which the property is located.
At times, the property a buyer is seeking is available but not properly advertised. It may take you some time and effort to search for and locate the right property.
The important issue of finance. We must know our financial reserves plus our borrowing capacity. If we know about our current savings, income and debt, then we can take help from lenders; banks and mortgage companies, which offer some choices according to your financial capability.
In America, some real estate association and commissions have sponsored regulation that require all real estate brokers to provide a minimum level of services which forces sellers to buy services they do not want or need.
There is the issue of rebates on transaction fees. Some states in America allow rebates of commissions or fees on real estate transactions but some states have legislated regulations which prohibit rebates.
Next is the issue of consumer participation. The consumer federation of America released a study that real estate boards and commissions are dominated by real estate practitioners and they recommended greater participation by consumers; which is opposed by practitioners – this works against the interest of ordinary buyers and sellers.
Last but not the least, a lot of hoopla has been floating around in the news media about the ‘bubble’ theory of real estate and that the real estate market is going to burst – this may have a psychological impact on the potential buyer or seller.
Sell Your Home Fast Checklist
Home Selling Guide
Selling your home right now can be done by almost anyone. With the availability of information that can be found through the Internet and other sources, one person can sell his or her with the assistance from a real estate agents or selling the home by himself or herself. Today's various methods of technology that you can find anywhere can be a tool for you to sell your home fast and at a reasonable price, etc.
But, if you are wondering whether or not you want to buy real estate with agents or by yourself, you need some guides in selling home. There are steps in selling your home. Those guides really help you. Never under estimate them because they have lots of impact in your selling home performance.
These are some quick guidance to sell your home:
1. Preparation; show the very best condition of your home
Here is the first step to sell your home. Make a best first impression to your buyers so that they are attracted to buy your home. Get rid of dirt and rubbish, remove all clutter, repairs all flaws of your home, get rid of unused furniture to make it looks spacious.
2. Pricing your home effectively
A home that is priced right and reasonable will sell in a short time. You can use a third party service to give suggestion about your home’s value and the furniture in it. Don’t price too low that it will cost you more money, yet never also set high price that the you will loose your potential buyers.
3. When To Sell Your Home
You also have to know the right time to sell your home. You surely want to sell your home in a good economic condition and strong demand for houses, which tend to be stronger in June and July. If you sell your home at the right time and a good preparation, you will get the highest price of your home than your prediction.
4. A Bit About The Costs Involved
You should also involved any costs that you have spent in selling your home, whether it is attorney costs, closing costs, advertisements costs, etc.
5. Selling Privately
Selling home by yourself is not as easy as it seems but it is worthy to do because you can save about 2-6% of your selling price. Selling home privately is sure going to take much time and efforts for you to sell it.
6. Selling At Auction
Selling at an auction can also be an option. But it is not a suggested option because it will cost you more money and also it is a volatile way in selling your home. This is a way to sell your home quickly.
7. Get a real estate lawyer
You can make the flow of documents so easy and having a professional advice by getting a real estate lawyer in your selling process.
8. Marketing your home
There are many ways to market your home:
· Writing your sell ad
· Home Photos: a picture can describe a thousand word
· Lawn signs
· Open houses
· Home Brochures/Information sheets
· The MLS (Multiple Listing Service) provided by the agents
· You are your home's best salesman
9. Negotiating an offer on your home: This is best accomplished with the help of an agent or a lawyer as it can very awkward to do face to face with the buyer.
10. Home inspections: You will want to accompany the inspector and write down things that she says so that nothing is overlooked. As a seller, it is your obligation to remedy the items needed or compensate the buyer through cash at closing or a price reduction. This is the case because your sales price that you set and the eventual offer that the buyer puts in already assumes that these items are done and in working order.
11. Closing: Again, closing is another phase that I prefer to do separately. It can be very awkward to close face to face with the buyer. Easier to do separately and most competent closing agents can assist you.
Selling your home right now can be done by almost anyone. With the availability of information that can be found through the Internet and other sources, one person can sell his or her with the assistance from a real estate agents or selling the home by himself or herself. Today's various methods of technology that you can find anywhere can be a tool for you to sell your home fast and at a reasonable price, etc.
But, if you are wondering whether or not you want to buy real estate with agents or by yourself, you need some guides in selling home. There are steps in selling your home. Those guides really help you. Never under estimate them because they have lots of impact in your selling home performance.
These are some quick guidance to sell your home:
1. Preparation; show the very best condition of your home
Here is the first step to sell your home. Make a best first impression to your buyers so that they are attracted to buy your home. Get rid of dirt and rubbish, remove all clutter, repairs all flaws of your home, get rid of unused furniture to make it looks spacious.
2. Pricing your home effectively
A home that is priced right and reasonable will sell in a short time. You can use a third party service to give suggestion about your home’s value and the furniture in it. Don’t price too low that it will cost you more money, yet never also set high price that the you will loose your potential buyers.
3. When To Sell Your Home
You also have to know the right time to sell your home. You surely want to sell your home in a good economic condition and strong demand for houses, which tend to be stronger in June and July. If you sell your home at the right time and a good preparation, you will get the highest price of your home than your prediction.
4. A Bit About The Costs Involved
You should also involved any costs that you have spent in selling your home, whether it is attorney costs, closing costs, advertisements costs, etc.
5. Selling Privately
Selling home by yourself is not as easy as it seems but it is worthy to do because you can save about 2-6% of your selling price. Selling home privately is sure going to take much time and efforts for you to sell it.
6. Selling At Auction
Selling at an auction can also be an option. But it is not a suggested option because it will cost you more money and also it is a volatile way in selling your home. This is a way to sell your home quickly.
7. Get a real estate lawyer
You can make the flow of documents so easy and having a professional advice by getting a real estate lawyer in your selling process.
8. Marketing your home
There are many ways to market your home:
· Writing your sell ad
· Home Photos: a picture can describe a thousand word
· Lawn signs
· Open houses
· Home Brochures/Information sheets
· The MLS (Multiple Listing Service) provided by the agents
· You are your home's best salesman
9. Negotiating an offer on your home: This is best accomplished with the help of an agent or a lawyer as it can very awkward to do face to face with the buyer.
10. Home inspections: You will want to accompany the inspector and write down things that she says so that nothing is overlooked. As a seller, it is your obligation to remedy the items needed or compensate the buyer through cash at closing or a price reduction. This is the case because your sales price that you set and the eventual offer that the buyer puts in already assumes that these items are done and in working order.
11. Closing: Again, closing is another phase that I prefer to do separately. It can be very awkward to close face to face with the buyer. Easier to do separately and most competent closing agents can assist you.
How Can I Sell My House Quickly ?
How can I sell my house quickly? This seems to be the question on the minds of many people as this housing depression moves into it's third year. Now more than ever you may have to make some tough choices regarding the number issue in real estate home sales: price.
Before you can sell your house quickly you should consider several things, foremost of which is the open market value of your home. This is the number one mistake that home sellers tend to make when attempting to sell their house quickly : they price their home out of the open market range. Many people, including real estate agents, feel that it is prudent to "price in" some negotiating room and also even some repair expenses that may be found during the inspection phase. This is not a good policy, however, because these expenses or negotiations are supposed to be subtracted from the market value of the home, not added to it. Pricing your home above the range of the fair market value will not help you sell your house quickly, it will only delay the inevitable price point.
For example, if you are buying a home that has an open market value of $200,000 and it needs around $25,000 in repairs in order to be on level par with the other comparable homes that have sold at $200,000, then would you feel that the owners would be justified starting the list price at $225,000 in order to eventually get to the fair market value of $200,000? The short answer is 'no'. The long answer is still 'no'. You cannot add repairs that need to be done onto the price of the house because the price itself is assuming that the repairs are already done or allowed for.
If, however, you do have your home priced to sell at the fair market value and you have already allowed for expected repairs and allowances but you still have not had much luck in your pursuit to sell your house quickly, then there has to be mitigating factors contributing to this problem. These factors are too often overlooked by both homeowners and real estate agents. Make yourself a simple checklist detailing the actual state of your house. Make two columns, the first should contain all the positives about your house and the second should contain the drawbacks. Be honest here or else this exercise will be useless. You will need to consider several things when making your list such as: age, bedrooms, condition of exterior and interior (room by room, include flooring), neighborhood, location, noise level, windows, insulation, floorplan, flow, entertaining capacity, storage, decking, roofing, and anything else you can think of. I find that for my clients it is easier to physically go from room to room and do a self appraisal. Pretend that you are a buyer or home inspector looking at the house for the first time. Leave your sentimental feelings aside for this.
Now, after you have formed your list you will need to go do some legwork. In this step you will want to visit some open houses in the area or have your agent show you some competing homes so that you can see their conditions. This more than anything tends to bring sellers back down to earth regarding their price point because they typically will see homes in better condition on the market for less than their own. Remember, the whole point of this is to make you money and to help you sell you house quickly, not to insult your pride. But, a bit of the latter may be necessary in order to achieve the former. After all, sitting on your house waiting for it to sell is humbling enough, there is no need to prolong the experience. You might as well bite the bullet and price it correctly from the start so that you can sell your house quickly. You may find that this actually saves time because you have conditioned your sentiment to a certain price point from the beginning instead of being insulted by open market offers should you have an overpriced listing.
Before you can sell your house quickly you should consider several things, foremost of which is the open market value of your home. This is the number one mistake that home sellers tend to make when attempting to sell their house quickly : they price their home out of the open market range. Many people, including real estate agents, feel that it is prudent to "price in" some negotiating room and also even some repair expenses that may be found during the inspection phase. This is not a good policy, however, because these expenses or negotiations are supposed to be subtracted from the market value of the home, not added to it. Pricing your home above the range of the fair market value will not help you sell your house quickly, it will only delay the inevitable price point.
For example, if you are buying a home that has an open market value of $200,000 and it needs around $25,000 in repairs in order to be on level par with the other comparable homes that have sold at $200,000, then would you feel that the owners would be justified starting the list price at $225,000 in order to eventually get to the fair market value of $200,000? The short answer is 'no'. The long answer is still 'no'. You cannot add repairs that need to be done onto the price of the house because the price itself is assuming that the repairs are already done or allowed for.
If, however, you do have your home priced to sell at the fair market value and you have already allowed for expected repairs and allowances but you still have not had much luck in your pursuit to sell your house quickly, then there has to be mitigating factors contributing to this problem. These factors are too often overlooked by both homeowners and real estate agents. Make yourself a simple checklist detailing the actual state of your house. Make two columns, the first should contain all the positives about your house and the second should contain the drawbacks. Be honest here or else this exercise will be useless. You will need to consider several things when making your list such as: age, bedrooms, condition of exterior and interior (room by room, include flooring), neighborhood, location, noise level, windows, insulation, floorplan, flow, entertaining capacity, storage, decking, roofing, and anything else you can think of. I find that for my clients it is easier to physically go from room to room and do a self appraisal. Pretend that you are a buyer or home inspector looking at the house for the first time. Leave your sentimental feelings aside for this.
Now, after you have formed your list you will need to go do some legwork. In this step you will want to visit some open houses in the area or have your agent show you some competing homes so that you can see their conditions. This more than anything tends to bring sellers back down to earth regarding their price point because they typically will see homes in better condition on the market for less than their own. Remember, the whole point of this is to make you money and to help you sell you house quickly, not to insult your pride. But, a bit of the latter may be necessary in order to achieve the former. After all, sitting on your house waiting for it to sell is humbling enough, there is no need to prolong the experience. You might as well bite the bullet and price it correctly from the start so that you can sell your house quickly. You may find that this actually saves time because you have conditioned your sentiment to a certain price point from the beginning instead of being insulted by open market offers should you have an overpriced listing.
Real Rentals
The art of trading home equity for real rentals is not lost on the masses. One would surmise that, with the recent bursting of the real estate bubble, the real rental market would begin to boom. Over the last ten years, one of the favorite tag lines for most real estate agents has been that there must be a tipping point at which it is actually cheaper to buy than to rent. Add to that the inevitable follow-up benefit of gaining equity and the real estate deal-maker silver bullet was born. And it was used often.
Fast forward to the present real estate market and now we find out that a return to owning rentals may indeed be better than owning your own home. Let's not go into the fact that for real estate agents who sold property under the auspices of it being a good investment was downright illegal. Setting that aside for another post, let's concentrate instead on buying real rentals vs. owning your own house or other investments.
First, as we all know and by the very definition of a real estate bubble bursting, the actual market value of property has declined significantly and accept that as not only fact, but also an understatement. This makes buying property in this market attractive. Combine this buyer's market with insanely low mortgage rates and we have the perfect storm. The kicker is that a good number of past or would-be homeowners are no longer homeowners due to the massive amount of defaults in conjunction with the new neck-strangling requirements the banks now exercise in order to issue a real estate loan. The overall effect of this has been a good swell in the real rental market, so the landlords are now in a position that the home sellers were in a short number of years ago.
Secondarily, rents have been driven up by the huge demand from those who no longer own their own home or those who cannot qualify for a construction loan in today's lending climate. And, with rents often exceeding mortgage note payments (remember super low rates?), many have flocked to real rentals as an alternative to traditional investments.
Fast forward to the present real estate market and now we find out that a return to owning rentals may indeed be better than owning your own home. Let's not go into the fact that for real estate agents who sold property under the auspices of it being a good investment was downright illegal. Setting that aside for another post, let's concentrate instead on buying real rentals vs. owning your own house or other investments.
First, as we all know and by the very definition of a real estate bubble bursting, the actual market value of property has declined significantly and accept that as not only fact, but also an understatement. This makes buying property in this market attractive. Combine this buyer's market with insanely low mortgage rates and we have the perfect storm. The kicker is that a good number of past or would-be homeowners are no longer homeowners due to the massive amount of defaults in conjunction with the new neck-strangling requirements the banks now exercise in order to issue a real estate loan. The overall effect of this has been a good swell in the real rental market, so the landlords are now in a position that the home sellers were in a short number of years ago.
Secondarily, rents have been driven up by the huge demand from those who no longer own their own home or those who cannot qualify for a construction loan in today's lending climate. And, with rents often exceeding mortgage note payments (remember super low rates?), many have flocked to real rentals as an alternative to traditional investments.
Quickly Sell House | How to Compete for those Precious Buyers
Don't just leave it up to your real estate agent to come up with all the solutions to your housing crunch, jump in and get your feet wet as well if you really want to quickly sell your house. Just like the professional marketers preach to about multiple income streams and how they tend to add up, the real estate marketing tentacles can be woven after the same model. Don't be afraid to do a bit of the work yourself. Offer to help your realtor go post signs or drop-cards or sales fliers.
Let your realtor put your house on the MLS system, but also request that they feature it in one of their spotlight ads either in the newspaper or on the internet or both. This guarantees two, possibly three, distinct advertising angles right from the start: the MLS and the feature. Push your agent to advertise, advertise, advertise. Make sure that there is a virtual tour available not only on the realtors' website but also on the internet for the general public. You don't want to limit yourself to only one company's clients.
Every single ad stream only ads to the overall possibility of selling your home and also reduces the time involved. For example, if it normally takes exposing your home to 1000 people before you receive an offer, then it would stand to reason that the sooner you can get to that 1000 person milestone the better chance of selling. No need to wait around on one single source of advertising, such as the MLS, when you can multiply your exposure with a bit of squeal. By squeal I simply am referring to the old adage that 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease' and this is true in a broker/client relationship as well. The more squeal, the more attention you will be given and the more ad sources you will benefit from in order to quickly sell your house.
Let your realtor put your house on the MLS system, but also request that they feature it in one of their spotlight ads either in the newspaper or on the internet or both. This guarantees two, possibly three, distinct advertising angles right from the start: the MLS and the feature. Push your agent to advertise, advertise, advertise. Make sure that there is a virtual tour available not only on the realtors' website but also on the internet for the general public. You don't want to limit yourself to only one company's clients.
Every single ad stream only ads to the overall possibility of selling your home and also reduces the time involved. For example, if it normally takes exposing your home to 1000 people before you receive an offer, then it would stand to reason that the sooner you can get to that 1000 person milestone the better chance of selling. No need to wait around on one single source of advertising, such as the MLS, when you can multiply your exposure with a bit of squeal. By squeal I simply am referring to the old adage that 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease' and this is true in a broker/client relationship as well. The more squeal, the more attention you will be given and the more ad sources you will benefit from in order to quickly sell your house.
Selling Your House | 7 Tips
Selling your home quickly should be your primary goal when marketing your home. These real estate sales tips may help YOU in the selling of your home and may even help prevent foreclosure. If you want to sell your house then you have to be actively involved; you cannot just hire a realtor and then sit back and wait. If you really want a fast house sale, then read these tips and then implement them. You can find the forms for your real estate transaction here.
I've been selling real estate for about ten years now and have sold thousands and thousands of properties. This stuff just plain works. I'm not a very good blog creator but I am an excellent real estate agent, so please consider using these techniques.
ONE)
Check out your competition and try to price your house LOWER than theirs. Be sure to adjust for differences in properties. Okay, this sounds like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many people are in dire need of selling their homes but when it comes to pricing it they become very defensive. The price of your house is NOT a measure of your self-worth. Get it sold at a better-than-average deal for the buyer and move on. Remember that this is a buyers market; you are competing against foreclosure sales, auctions and the like.
TWO)
Offer Buyer Incentives. This is an old trick but one that so, so many people don't take advantage of. Do something cool such as offering a free 52" Plasma TV or a free hot tub with the purchase of your home. Don't be over-creative as you want to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. For some reason, just offering money towards closing costs doesn't register in buyers' minds as solidly as that new extra-wide stainless fridge awaiting them in their new kitchen.
THREE)
Offer a Buyer's Agency Bonus (See below for more on this). Remember, it probably costs you less to pay a bonus now instead of having to wait two years to sell your home. Keep in mind that many agents expect at least 3% of the total purchase price and perhaps more in this buyers market.
FOUR)
Make your own web site featuring your home. Don't be afraid to make more than one. Link them all together for better search engine placement. Many sites offer free web site hosting / design or free blogs. http://www.blogger.com/ is where I did mine. Don't forget to submit your sites to all the major search engines when done.
FIVE)
Email ALL of the realtors in your area and let them know that your are trying to sell your home. You can easily find out who they are and get their email addresses by doing a quick search. Remember: Money talks! Be sure to tell them that you are prepared to pay a healthy finders fee for the one who can produce a buyer.
SIX)
Call local, large employers who may occasionally relocate to your area and let them know about your home. Try to ask for the person in charge of relocation and ask them if you could email your flier to them. Make SURE you let them about the buyer's bonus.
SEVEN)
Check out the local papers' online classified sections and get your home listed in them. Take advantage of all free publicity. Many online classified listings are cheaper than the printed version, and some are free. Online listings offer the added advantage of getting cross-listed in web searches as well.
Good luck to you and your family on this project. Please keep in mind that many realtors will tell you that you have to "be patient". I do not agree with this; this is more of a way that allows agents to buy time. Most successful sales happen within the first 3 weeks of the listing. If you have had your house on the market for a long time, then please get to work and employ some of these tactics. Even if you already have an agent you should still try to help as it is in your best interest. You can get the real estate forms here.
I've been selling real estate for about ten years now and have sold thousands and thousands of properties. This stuff just plain works. I'm not a very good blog creator but I am an excellent real estate agent, so please consider using these techniques.
ONE)
Check out your competition and try to price your house LOWER than theirs. Be sure to adjust for differences in properties. Okay, this sounds like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many people are in dire need of selling their homes but when it comes to pricing it they become very defensive. The price of your house is NOT a measure of your self-worth. Get it sold at a better-than-average deal for the buyer and move on. Remember that this is a buyers market; you are competing against foreclosure sales, auctions and the like.
TWO)
Offer Buyer Incentives. This is an old trick but one that so, so many people don't take advantage of. Do something cool such as offering a free 52" Plasma TV or a free hot tub with the purchase of your home. Don't be over-creative as you want to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. For some reason, just offering money towards closing costs doesn't register in buyers' minds as solidly as that new extra-wide stainless fridge awaiting them in their new kitchen.
THREE)
Offer a Buyer's Agency Bonus (See below for more on this). Remember, it probably costs you less to pay a bonus now instead of having to wait two years to sell your home. Keep in mind that many agents expect at least 3% of the total purchase price and perhaps more in this buyers market.
FOUR)
Make your own web site featuring your home. Don't be afraid to make more than one. Link them all together for better search engine placement. Many sites offer free web site hosting / design or free blogs. http://www.blogger.com/ is where I did mine. Don't forget to submit your sites to all the major search engines when done.
FIVE)
Email ALL of the realtors in your area and let them know that your are trying to sell your home. You can easily find out who they are and get their email addresses by doing a quick search. Remember: Money talks! Be sure to tell them that you are prepared to pay a healthy finders fee for the one who can produce a buyer.
SIX)
Call local, large employers who may occasionally relocate to your area and let them know about your home. Try to ask for the person in charge of relocation and ask them if you could email your flier to them. Make SURE you let them about the buyer's bonus.
SEVEN)
Check out the local papers' online classified sections and get your home listed in them. Take advantage of all free publicity. Many online classified listings are cheaper than the printed version, and some are free. Online listings offer the added advantage of getting cross-listed in web searches as well.
Good luck to you and your family on this project. Please keep in mind that many realtors will tell you that you have to "be patient". I do not agree with this; this is more of a way that allows agents to buy time. Most successful sales happen within the first 3 weeks of the listing. If you have had your house on the market for a long time, then please get to work and employ some of these tactics. Even if you already have an agent you should still try to help as it is in your best interest. You can get the real estate forms here.