Ever considered selling your home without using a real estate agent? It may seem like a huge undertaking but if handled correctly and with the proper guidance, the process can be quite rewarding. If you have any friends that are realtors, try to pick their brains about the kind of things that they do when preparing a home for sale. They may try to get you to list with them but stick to your guns. Its going to be a good idea to make a list of things that need to be done in order to keep yourself on track.

Perhaps the most important thing that you are going to have to deal with will be the marketing process. Most realtors have a huge advertising budget that places homes in prominent view to local buyers. It can be difficult to compete with, but a smart FSBO seller can compensate for this by flat fee MLS listings, and proper newspaper coverage. Also try to find a national FSBO web site and list your home there. This is will not only give your home exposure to a national audience, but it will also make your home known to realtors. It is likely that you will end up dealing with agents in some capacity as buyer's agents will undoubtedly have clientele interested in your home.

The next section of preparations are one that you would be doing yourself anyway. However, when representing yourself they become more important. This is the time for staging your home. Go on a cleaning spree and bring the kids with you! It's important to get the house into ship-shape condition if buyers are going to be interested in making an offer. Be mindful of things like aromas in the house. Pets can be a major cause of odors in the home, so burning some scented candles during showings is a good idea. Also, before the showings start try to de-odorize the house as much as possible by getting rid of the source of the smells. This may mean leaving pets outside or better yet, with a friend or relative for the duration of the showing.

It also might be in your best interest to get a professional hand with the closing contracts and financial concerns. These can be tricky if you are not used to dealing with them. You want to be sure that you are not left hanging with unreasonable contracts or conditions on the sale.