Selling like the Pro's
Buying real estate is often an emotional decision, but when selling real estate you need to remove emotion from the equation.
Think of your house as a marketable commodity. Your goal is to get others to see it as their potential home, not yours. If you do not consciously make this decision, you can inadvertently create a situation where it takes longer to sell your property.

de-Personalize
The first step in getting your home ready to sell is to "de-personalize" it.

The reason you want to "de-personalize" your home is you want buyers to view it as their potential home. When a potential homebuyer sees your family photos hanging, it puts your own brand on the home and momentarily shatters their illusions about owning the house. Put away family photos, sports trophies, collectible items, knick-knacks, and souvenirs. Pack them away so they'll be ready for your move.

Remove the Clutter
This is the hardest thing for people to do because they are emotionally attached to everything in the house. After years of living in the same home, clutter collects in such a way that you may not even be able to notice it. Clutter severely effects the way buyers see the home. Clutter on shelves, counter tops, furniture and closets is your main concern.

Let a friend or neighbor point out areas of clutter, or your realtor should be able to help, as long as you can accept their views without getting defensive your on your way to selling like the pro's.

Kitchen Clutter
Get everything off the counters - everything - even the toaster. I put the toaster in a cabinet and take it out when you use it. Your find that properly displaying your home for buyers may involve all new routines in the way you live. Find a place where you can store everything in cabinets and drawers. Home buyers will open  your cabinets and drawers, especially in the kitchen. They want to be sure there is enough room for their items so make them look empty. If your kitchen cabinets, pantries, and drawers look jammed full, it sends a negative message to the buyer. Empty the pantry, only buy what you need for the week instead of storing months of can goods and other items in the pantry.

Closet Clutter
Pack up and/or sell off extra clothes, shoes. If you cannot part with them but rarely use them pack them away and do without these items for a couple of months. For example if it's summer, then pack up all your winter cloths and put them in storage.

Furniture Clutter
Too much furniture in rooms make the room look small. You want to give the illusion of space that a homebuyer would like to see. Tour some local new home models to get the idea of how to arrange your furniture.

Storage Area Clutter
Garages and sheds accumulate lots of clutter.  Although it better than having it in your home, if possible these areas should be as empty as possible so that buyers can imagine what they would do with the space.

Fixing Up Inside

Plumbing and Fixtures
All your sink fixtures should look clean, new and be in working order, if not buy new ones. Nothings worse than someone else's dirty sink, all sinks need to be spotless.

Ceilings, Walls and Painting
Check all the ceilings for water stains, water stains are a huge problem for buyers, you must remove the stains, assuming the leak has been fixed.  Do the same for walls, not only stains, but also where dirt has accumulated like to corners and light switches. Painting can be your best investment when selling your home. It is not a very expensive operation and you can do it yourself. Do not choose colors based on your own preferences, but based on what would appeal to the widest possible number of buyers. Light colors, whites, beiges, ask the paint specialist at your home store.

Carpet and Flooring
Clean it and leave it alon , unless it appears old, worn, stained, or outdated , in that case replace it with a neutral color.

Odor Control
If you smoke, you might want to have a order removal treatment and then minimize smoking indoors while trying to sell your home.

Eliminate pet orders, you may not even notice but others will. Try to removed pets or keep them elsewhere while your home is on the market.

Costs of Repairs
No major remodeling should be needed, the most profitable projects are de-clutter, painting and cleaning.

The exterior  and front entry can be the most important areas. You need to get the buyers in your home with a good first impression. Take a look at your home from across the street. Look at nearby houses and see how yours compares.

Landscaping
Is your landscaping at least as good as other, is your grass green, if not green it up fast with some $15 fertilizer from your local home store. Your lawn should be evenly cut, freshly edged, well watered, and free of brown spots.

House Exterior
Paint or not to paint? When you look at your house from across the street, does it look faded or fresh? Can you see the block edges through the stucco, do you have large brown water satins from your sprinklers? If so, a paint job may be in order; It is often a very good investment. Once again choose a light neutral color, dark blues, pinks, reds, purples and greens are no no's.

The Front Door & Entryway
The front door should be especially sharp, since it is the entryway into the house. Polish the door fixture so it gleams. If the door needs refinishing or repainting, make sure to get that done.
If you have a cute little plaque or shingle with your family name on it, remove it. Even if it is just on the mailbox. You can always put it up again once you move. Get a new plush door mat, too. This is something else you can take with you once you move.
Make sure the lock works easily and the key fits properly. When a homebuyer comes to visit your home, the agent uses the key from the lock box to unlock the door. If there is trouble working the lock while everyone else stands around twiddling their thumbs, this sends a negative first impression to prospective homebuyers.
Meeting With Realtors
So you’ve decided to sell your home and have a fairly good idea of what you think it is worth. Being a sensible home seller, you schedule appointments with three local listing agents who’ve been hanging stuff on your front doorknob for years. Each Realtor comes prepared with a "Competitive Market Analysis" on fancy paper and they each recommend a specific sales price.
Amazingly, a couple of the Realtors have come up with prices that are lower than you expected. Although they back up their recommendations with recent sales data of similar homes, you remain convinced your house is worth more. When you interview the third agent’s figures, they are much more in line with your own anticipated value, or maybe even higher. Suddenly, you are a happy and excited home seller, already counting the money.
Which Realtor do you choose
If you’re like many people, you pick Realtor number three. This is an agent who seems willing to listen to your input and work with you. This is an agent that cares about putting the most money in your pocket. This is an agent that is willing to start out at your price and if you need to drop the price later, you can do that easily, right? After all, everyone else does it!
The truth is that you may have just met an agent engaging in a questionable sales practice called "buying a listing." He "bought" the listing by suggesting you might be able to get a higher sales price than the other agents recommended. Most likely, he is quite doubtful that your home will actually sell at that price. The intention from the beginning is to eventually talk you into lowering the price.
Why do agents "buy" listings? There are basically two reasons. A well-meaning and hard working agent can feel pressure from a homeowner who has an inflated perception of his home’s value. On the other hand, there are some agents who engage in this sales practice routinely.
What Happens Behind the Scenes
Whichever the case, if you start out with too high a price on your home, you may have just added to your stress level, and selling a home is stressful enough. There will be a lot of "behind the scenes" action taking place that you don’t know about.
Contrary to popular opinion, the listing agent does not usually attempt to sell your home to a homebuyer. That isn’t very efficient. Listing agents market and promote your home to the hordes of other local agents who do work with homebuyers, dramatically increasing your personal sales force. During the first couple of weeks your home should be a flurry of activity with buyer’s agents coming to preview your home so they can sell it to their clients.
If the price is right.
If you and your agent have overpriced, fewer agents will preview your home. After all, they are Realtors, and it is their job to know local market conditions and home values. If your house is dramatically above market, why waste time? Their time is better spent previewing homes that are priced realistically.
Dropping Your Price...Too Late
Later, when you drop your price, your house is "old news." You will never be able to recapture that flurry of initial activity you would have had with a realistic price. Your house could take longer to sell.
Even if you do successfully sell at an above market price, your buyer will need a mortgage. The mortgage lender requires an appraisal. If comparable sales for the last six months and current market conditions do not support your sales price, the house won’t appraise. Your deal falls apart. Of course, you can always attempt to renegotiate the price, but only if the buyer is willing to listen. Your house could go "back on the market."
Once your home has fallen out of escrow or sits on the market awhile, it is harder to get a good offer. Potential buyers will think you might be getting desperate, so they will make lower offers. By overpricing your home in the beginning, you could actually end up settling for a lower price than you would have normally received
Cut-Rate Listing Commissions
With the advent of the web, a lot of agents are offering "cut-rate" commissions. Most of the time, lower commissions are tied to a lower level of service. If all you want is to be listed with the Multiple Listing Service and a sign in the front yard, then a cut-rate commission may be right for you. If you want an agent who will actively promote your property to other agents and spend money on advertising, then you probably are not going to get that level of service with a reduced commission.
At other times, the lower commissions are offered when you agree to tie in to other services offered by the broker, such as agreeing to use a specific lender, escrow, settlement, or title company. The broker (not the agent) will probably have some type of ownership or profit participation in those businesses. The problem with agreeing to tie in to these other companies is that they do not have to be as competitive in pricing their products or services.
Another common practice when you see an ad for a reduced commission is that the compensation is lowered when you agree to buy your next home through the same agent or broker. Usually, the reduced commission is not really being offered on the sale of your existing home but on the purchase of your next one. The ads are usually unclear on this.
As a result, when you see an offer for a lower commission, you should analyze what you are giving up by accepting such an offer. It probably will not be readily apparent in the advertisement. Be sure to ask lots of questions.
Why You Should Not Be Home
Homebuyers will feel like intruders if you are home when they visit, and they might not be as receptive toward viewing your home. Visit the local coffee house, yogurt shop, or take the kids to the local park. If you absolutely cannot leave, try to remain in an out of the way area of the house and do not move from room to room. Do not volunteer any information, but answer any questions the agent may ask.
Lighting, Fragrances, Pet Control and More
Lighting
When you know someone is coming by to tour your home, turn on all the indoor and outdoor lights – even during the day. At night, a lit house gives a "homey" impression when viewed from the street. During the daytime, turning on the lights prevents harsh shadows from sunlight and it brightens up any dim areas. Your house looks more homey and cheerful with the lights on.
Fragrances
Do not use scented sprays to prepare for visitors. It is too obvious and many people find the smells of those sprays offensive, not to mention that some may be allergic. If you want to have a pleasant aroma in your house, have a potpourri pot or something natural. Or turn on a stove burner for a moment and put a drop of vanilla extract on it. It will smell like you have been cooking.
Pet Control
If you have pets, make sure your listing agent puts a notice with your listing in the multiple listing service. The last thing you want is to have your pet running out the front door and getting lost. If you know someone is coming, it would be best to try to take the pets with you while the homebuyers tour your home. If you cannot do that, It is best to keep dogs in a penned area in the back yard. Try to keep indoor cats in a specific room when you expect visitors, and put a sign on the door. Most of the time, an indoor cat will hide when buyers come to view your property, but they may panic and try to escape.
The Kitchen Trash
Especially if your kitchen trash can does not have a lid, make sure you empty it every time someone comes to look at your home – even if your trash can is kept under the kitchen sink. Remember that you want to send a positive image about every aspect of your home. Kitchen trash does not send a positive message. You may go through more plastic bags than usual, but it will be worth it.
Keeping the House Tidy and Neat
Not everyone makes his or her bed every day, but when selling a home it is recommended that you develop the habit. Pick up papers, do not leave empty glasses in the family room, keep everything freshly dusted and vacuumed. Try your best to have it look like a model home – a home with furniture but nobody really lives there.