These recommendations are the result of years of experience helping people buy and sell homes. In my local real estate market I provide a For Sale By Owner Help Kit to individuals that are selling their home without the help of a realtor. My core value is to be helpful even if there is nothing in it for me, perhaps especially if there is nothing in it for me.

You never know what is right around the corner. If you are acting as your own agent the first rule of business is Safety First. Research is simple, go to Realtor.org and search for the word safety. You will discover nearly 7,000 entries. In fact, there are many good articles on this site that will help sell your home. But no matter how bad you want to sell, it is not as important as your safety and that of your family. It would be crazy to let a total stranger in your home without some type of safety system in place. If you live alone ask a family member, friend, neighbor or co-worker to help out when showing your home. Never divulge personal information in your advertising materials.

It is important to be well informed about your local real estate market when selling a home. If you are acting as your own agent it is part of your job. There is an easy way to estimate market conditions. Determine the total number of homes listed on your local MLS and divide that number by the number of homes that sold last month. It will give you a hint of what to expect. If the number is higher than six months, dig in because most of the sales last month were closed by realtors. If you are going it alone it pays to be informed. At least this will give you an idea of how long it may take.

Personally I have never had a lot of success with classified ads, but sellers believe they are important so I have placed a few in my time. Spend a couple of hours thinking about your home before placing an ad. That may seem excessive but not when compared to the cost of running an ad for the entire marketing period. This is why I suggested researching the marketing period so you can know what to expect. It will allow you to estimate one of the expenses that is coming up. If you run an ad daily for the entire period it could cost $3,000 to $4,000. Those are hard dollars; you pay even if it doesn't bring you a buyer. A soft dollar example would be to offer that same amount as a bonus to any realtor that brings a buyer to the table.

My guess is you are still going to run an ad, so here is how to go about it.

1. List all of the best features of your home and then number them from most important to least. A buyer may enjoy the same things.

2. Focus your ad copy on top 5 features on your list.

3. Use an attention getting opening statement describing the home: not a 3 bdrm brk ranch.

4. Use warm, soft words that appeal to all of the senses.

5. Avoid exaggerating.

6. Less is more. Include some facts about the house but keep it brief.

7. Include your name, phone number, email address and web site.

8. If you use photos, show the best feature of the house instead of the standard front shot. If using a shot of the fa?ade take it from an angle and not at noon. I prefer early morning or late afternoon. Use the shadows for adding depth to the picture.

9. Here are the top things a buyer wants to know about a property:

a. Location

b. Price (don't be shy or play games)

c. Type or style

d. Square footage

e. Number of Bedrooms

f. Number of Bathrooms

g. Lot size

h. Amenities

i. Garage size

j. Your phone number

10. End by asking for action, ?For a private showing appointment, call 555-555 today.?

Want to know where most of my buyers come from? Other realtors. I can only work with three or four home buyers at a time, but I know hundreds of realtors. Assuming they can also work with three or four buyers at a time it is like cloning myself a hundred times over. I may look at things strangely but like I said earlier, focus on High ROI activities and you will win most of the time. I am having breakfast with a realtor from out of town in the morning and she called tonight to confirm, asked me if I could handle a referral. That is my favorite way to find buyers.