To help you get started, I've outlined most of the key steps to selling your home and detailed the ways that I can provide assistance. As you get ready to sell your home there are usually some simple improvements that can help you get the most for your house and sell it quickly. Here are some important steps in getting your home ready for the market place.

1. Prepare yourself and your property: Know all the facts about your property, including lot size, exact square footage, property tax rates and historic amounts, zoning, and repair history (including permitting issues and code violations).

Consider your neighborhood. Positive amenities include nearby parks, schools, shopping areas, and restaurants. Negative aspects include noisy streets and run-down areas; be honest about these, even if you think it will hurt your sale. Buyers will appreciate your full disclosure. If you live in a master-planned community, secure brochures or make a list of neighborhood amenities, and compile information about your homeowner's association, dues and fees, and other items which will affect your buyer.

Objectively assess the condition of your property; any obvious defects will either need to be repaired or disclosed to potential buyers. Whether it will be more cost effective to discount the list price of the home or make the repairs yourself will depend on the nature of the repair and your personal situation.

If you're unsure about certain aspects of your property, or if you're concerned about structural issues, it may be a good idea to hire a home inspector for a pre-sale inspection. A pre-sale inspection report is always a positive from a buyer's perspective, and may alleviate your liability if additional defects are found in your property by the buyer's inspector. 

2. Learn Its Value Before You List: Setting the right price before you list is critical to getting the most for your home and selling it quickly. Having a professional with experience in your market will prepare a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) to give you the facts and insight to set the right price.

Why you need a CMA:Acronym for "Comparative Market Analysis." A CMA report is generated for you by a licensed Real Estate Agent in order to compare your home to similar properties in your area.

To begin the process of compiling a CMA, an agent will inspect your property. This is not a home inspection, merely an analysis of your home's features and attractive qualities, which will help determine your home's worth in the current marketplace. When your Agent arrives for the inspection, your home doesn't need to be in showing condition, only neat and clean enough for the Agent to make an accurate determination of its condition. Please inform your Agent if you plan to make any changes or improvements before you sell; you may discover that your changes will end up "overvaluing" your home in the context of your neighborhood.

Next, your Agent will obtain data on comparable homes in your area, usually through the Multiple Listing System (MLS). An experienced agent will also know of properties that have sold without being listed on the MLS, such as 'For Sale by Owner' properties. Comparing your property to those that have recently sold will help your Agent determine what you can expect to receive for your property in the current market. Please remember that a CMA is not an appraisal, and will not constitute a legal valuation of the home.

I offer a CMA free of charge, without obligation, that you can request online by clicking here.

3. Choose a Professional: A great agent helps you better understand the selling process and gives you a number of advantages in selling your home. Their local knowledge of home values and their expertise in pricing and negotiating are important assets in getting the most for your house. With over 4,000 real estate professionals in the Memphis area, I have proven my desire to sell, ability to. See what my past clients have had to say about their experience with me by clicking here.

4. Networking: Getting the best price is about bringing you the right buyers for your house. This is a combination of a solid marketing plan, targeted media exposure, and taking advantage of our powerful network of local and out-of-town buyers through our Award Winning Relocation Department at Prudential Collins-Maury, Inc. These are resources no other firm can match.

5. Develop and Implement a Marketing Strategy
Develop a marketing plan to create excitement and exposure for your home. There are a number of different vehicles available to market your home including:

• Local Advertising
• National and International Advertising
• Relocation and Referral Services
• Internet and Email Technologies
• Signage
• Multi-List Service

Remember Real Estate Marketing has changed.I don't think you'd be surprised to know that print advertising really doesn't sell your home. It markets the real estate company and the agent, nothing wrong with that but what are you paying them to do?

You need technology.....you yourself are using technology to begin your home selling process or you would not be reading this page right now……would you? Buying a home is NO different.

Do you need a Real Estate Agent?

With so much information readily available online, clients sometimes ask me, "Why should we hire a real estate agent?" They wonder, and rightfully so, if they couldn't buy or sell a home through the Internet or through regular marketing and advertising channels without representation, without a real estate agent. Some do OK, many don't. So if you've wondered the same thing, here are 10 reasons why you might want to consider hiring a professional real estate agent.

1. Education & Experience You don't need to know everything about buying and selling real estate if you hire a real estate professional who does. Henry Ford once said that when you hire people who are smarter than you are, it proves you are smarter than they are. The trick is to find the right person. For the most part, they all cost about the same. Why not hire a person with more education and experience than you? We're all looking for more precious time in our lives, and hiring pros gives us that time.

2. Agents are Buffers Agents take the spam out of your property showings and visits. If you're a buyer of new homes, your agent will whip out his sword and keep the builder's agents at bay, preventing them from biting or nipping at your heels. If you're a seller, your agent will filter all those phone calls that lead to nowhere from lookie loos and try to induce serious buyers to immediately write an offer.

3. Neighborhood Knowledge Agents either possess intimate knowledge or they know where to find the industry buzz about your neighborhood. They can identify comparable sales and hand these facts to you, in addition to pointing you in the direction where you can find more data on schools, crime or demographics. For example, you may know that a home down the street was on the market for $350,000, but an agent will know it had upgrades and sold at $285,000 after 65 days on the market and after twice falling out of escrow.

4. Price Guidance Contrary to what some people believe agents do not select prices for sellers or buyers. However, an agent will help to guide clients to make the right choices for themselves. If a listing is at 7%, for example, an agent has a 7% vested interest in the sale, but the client has a 93% interest. Selling agents will ask buyers to weigh all the data supplied to them and to choose a price. Then based on market supply, demand and the conditions, the agent will devise a negotiation strategy.

5. Market Conditions Information Real estate agents can disclose market conditions, which will govern your selling or buying process. Many factors determine how you will proceed. Data such as the average per square foot cost of similar homes, median and average sales prices, and average days on market and ratios of list-to-sold prices, among other criteria, will have a huge bearing on what you ultimately decide to do.

6. Professional Networking Real estate agents network with other professionals, many of whom provide services that you will need to buy or sell. Due to legal liability, many agents will hesitate to recommend a certain individual or company over another, but they do know which vendors have a reputation for efficiency, competency and competitive pricing. Agents can, however, give you a list of references with whom they have worked and provide background information to help you make a wise selection.

7. Negotiation Skills & Confidentiality Top producing agents negotiate well because, unlike most buyers and sellers, they can remove themselves from the emotional aspects f the transaction and because they are skilled. It's part of their job description. Good gents are not messengers, delivering buyer's offers to sellers and vice versa. They are professionals who are trained to present their client's case in the best light and agree to hold client information confidential from competing interests.

8. Handling Volumes of Paperwork One-page deposit receipts were prevalent in the early 1970s. Today's purchase agreements run 10 pages or more. That does not include the federal and state mandated disclosures or disclosures dictated by local custom. Most real estate files average thicknesses from one to three inches of paper. One tiny mistake or omission could land you in court or cost you thousands. In some states, lawyers handle the disclosures, thank goodness!

9. Answer Questions After Closing Even the smoothest transactions that close without complications can come back to haunt. For example, taxing authorities that collect property tax assessments, doc stamps or transfer tax can fall months behind and mix up invoices, but one call to your agent can straighten out the confusion. Many questions can pop up that were overlooked in the excitement of closing. Good agents stand by ready to assist. Worthy and honest agents don't leave you in the dust to fend for yourself.

10. Develop Relationships for Future Business the basis for an agent's success and continued career in real estate is referrals. Few agents would survive if their livelihood was dependent on consistently drumming up new business. This emphasis gives agents strong incentives to make certain clients are happy and satisfied. It also means that an agent who stays in the business will be there for you when you need to hire an agent again. Many will periodically mail market updates to you to keep you informed and to stay in touch.