1. When you are selling your home, allow it to be shown at a moment's notice. Qualified buyers aren't "a dime a dozen."



2. When you are selling your home, keep it clean and tidy ALL the time. Let it get out of hand and an otherwise serious buyer WILL show up. If you don't have time to clean, hire a cleaning service.

3. If you have a limited budget for sprucing up your home, consider devoting a good chunk of it to getting your kitchen in top shape. Consider replacing appliances and fixtures. Whatever steps you take, just make sure your kitchen is in top shape.

4. When selling your home, be realistic about your asking price. You can check public record at the courthouse, or in many cases on-line, for the amounts of recent sales in your neighborhood.

5. Some offers for your home are better than others. A contingent sale is a bad one. The potential buyer makes their offer contingent on selling their own home first. Avoid these like the plague.

6. When searching for homes, buyers focus on those they can see. Regardless of where or how you market, you must include home photographs in your marketing material.

7. When showing your home, you need to have a friend watch your pet. You also need to go through the home and remove all pet odors, hair and so on. Once you sell the property, you can buy another one with a bigger yard for your little one.

8. Most states require real estate contracts to be in writing to be enforceable. The buyer invests time and thought in the process of committing his offer to paper. When you receive his written offer, you know ALL the items the buyer is trying to "nibble" from you.

9. Whether buying or selling, it is important to recognize the type of market you are in. After years of a hot seller market, the beginning of 2007 introduces us to a distinct buyers market. Home prices are falling, which means we have a volatile market.

10. Many people work so hard to get an offer on their home that they do not know what to do once they get one. Your choices are to accept it, reject it or make a counter offer.

If you are a seller, the real estate news probably sounds pretty grim. It really isn't. There is always a market for sellers and buyers. You just need to put your nose to the grindstone a bit. Since most people don't, you'll have an advantage and get that sale.