By Jeanette Joy Fisher

With today's changing real estate market, home sellers need to take extra care preparing their home for a top-dollar sale. Home buyers have more houses to choose from and will select the home that stands out from the other houses they preview. These tips will help you attract a buyer:

1. Start at the Street. Pretend you are a prospective buyer seeing your home for the first time. What do you see from your car? Make your home so inviting buyers will get out of their comforting cars and walk to your front door. Place fresh seasonal flowers, in pots or planted, along the front walk or by your front door.

2. Make Repairs. Lubricate squeaky door hinges, fix dripping faucets, and make sure toilets flush properly. You get used to the minor faults in your home, so ask a friend to inspect for minor defects.

3. Exterminate. One bug or spider, dead or alive, can cause some buyers to leave immediately.

4. Remove Clutter. Not only does a neat, organized house feel larger and more inviting, clutter-free homes give prospective buyers a chance to see the home’s features.

5. Deep Clean. Remove dust, spiders, and odors.

6. Depersonalize. Pack your personal mementos and photographs. Give your buyers the opportunity to visualize their personal effects in your home.

7. Lighten Up. During the winter months, use bulbs with the highest wattage recommended in light fixtures. Add small table lamps for extra lighting. If you have room on your kitchen and bathroom countertops, a small decorative lamp adds a warm glow with a designer’s touch.

8. Wash Walls or Repaint. Fresh paint gives you the best return on your money.

9. Clean Carpets or Replace. You may be accustomed to the way your carpet looks, but what do buyers see? If you're selling to first-time home buyers, they most likely won't have the money beyond the down payment to pay for new carpeting. Move-up buyers expect perfection, even if they want to tear it all out.

10. Consider having your pets taken care of by family or friends. Some home buyers are allergic to pets, while others will be turned off by pet odors. You get accustomed to your pets’ odors, but these scents drive buyers away.

With a little thought and effort, you can persuade buyers that your house exceeds their expectations-- and is worth getting out of the car.

Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher

By Russ Miles 

For posting the "Truth" on your website, some FSBO’s will not like you. These prospects would not have listed with you anyway. For Sale By Owners – that can receive sound advice – will appreciate your courage, celebrating by having listed their home with you.

Sometimes, the “Truth” hurts. Yet, being ripped off, raped, or even worse – hurts a whole lot more. Ask any police officer if home sellers should open their doors wide to strangers. Better yet, inquire how frequently FSBOs cry to law enforcement after being robbed, assaulted, or otherwise endangered by persons masquerading as home buyers.

Since many agents – in an attempt to appear professional – resist telling prospects the whole, atrocious truth, all too many FSBOs are not properly informed of the very real risks they are taking. In an effort to put safety of others ahead of a personal profit motive, you can rest assured that you – a true “Professional” – have done the right thing.

It is absolutely the owner’s right to sell their own home – without the assistance of a real estate agent. Yet, more often than not, the dominant marital partner says, “We can sell our home ourselves, Honey, without paying any real estate commissions. We will need those extra dollars ourselves for when we move.”

No thought of the danger is realistically acknowledged.

Rather, the man says, “I’ll go get the For Sale By Owner sign. You write the ad for the newspaper. We will save thousands by selling this way!”

His compliant, even if apprehensive, companion places the advertising, is supposed to field the phone, make appointments for – supposedly interested – home buying prospects to come view the “For Sale” property. She wants to be certain that her husband is home – with her – when people come to see their home. If that is not always possible, she likely has enough of an awareness of inherent evil lurking about that she will try see to it a friend is.

Soon, the parade of the unqualified begins. These are the curious “Lookie–Lews.” People arrive into the FSBO’s home, eager for their own reasons, not all of which are honorable. For thieves, it is a “Free-for-all.” For shrewd real buyers, “It’s Bonanza!” Unfortunately, “Little Joe” Cartwright isn’t there to protect the homesteader’s interests.

Every year, dozens of real estate agents are abducted, robbed, raped, and murdered. The NAR®, National Association of Realtors® continually warns it own members to be vigilant, careful whom they work. The “Truth” is: For Sale By Owners can not be too careful…