1. If you have the time and money to place your own advertising, typically a 3 line ad in the Florida Today News Paper cost about $250 per week.

2. If you have the time, money and knowledge to list your home on Yahoo Real Estate. and other high traffic websites. A good Real Estate listing should be listed on  at least Realtor.com (5 million visitors per month) and Yahoo Real Estate.

3. 3 out of 4 buyers start on the internet and 33% only look at homes with a Visual Tour. If you have the time and knowledge to build your property a web page with at least 5 pictures and a Visual tour. Try to list your home on several websites with a total of at least east 5 million  hits per month .

4. If you have no time limit on selling your property and can afford to wait many months for buyers.

5. If you are available all the time by phone and have someone that can show your home at any time during the day. Many calls to tour a home are made just 1 hour prior to requested tour time. It's never a good idea to show your home yourself, it's  hard enough to sell a home, don't add selling yourself also, have a friend that shows your home, preferably not a next door neighbor.

6. If you have a way to screen buyers to make sure they are pre-qualified for your asking price. Always ask to see the pre-qualification letter. Many  investors may target "By Owner" property attempting to purchase at a lower than fair price since they may feel the owners are not fully educated on the home value and market conditions.

7. For safety reasons always make sure to ask for an ID from the buyer and make a copy if possible.

8. Only accept written offers in an approved format, verbal offers often go sour and do not hold up in court.

9. Make sure you provide the buyer all required legal forms and statements to avoid a court case against yourself.

10. Always offer the buyer a home warranty; it's a small cost that goes a long way towards saying "this home is in top shape".

NOTES: When you've had enough or you're just not getting the results you want, consider hiring a professional.  It sure makes life easier when you get the important things done right.

1. Experience; some companies such as Coldwell Banker have 100 years of experience using powerful systems to market real estate. These proven strategies are the advantage you may need in a sluggish market or to capture a higher sale price in any market.

2. Price: Realtors have access to a wealth of information and are trained in Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). CMA gives you and estimate of what your home should sell for in the current market. A survey in 2005 by the Florida Association of Realtors found that homes in Orlando sold by Realtors sold for an averaged of $45,000 more than similar homes sold by owners in the same area.

3. Advertising; Some local Real Estate firms spend in excess of $35,000 a month  advertising the properties they are hired to market. Many real estate firms will list your home not only on the local MLS, and news paper, but in several magazines as well as  exclusive and high traffic internet websites. The cost of this amount of advertising would not be practical for most private sellers.

   • The main advertising media for any Realtor would be the Multi Listing System or MLS; this is how all 3000 Realtors get your properties information.

   • Many agencies advertise your home on Realtor.com (6 million customers per month), Yahoo Real Estate, Google Ads,  and their own websites; some large company sites get over 3 million visits  per month.

   • You may very well get a web page dedicated to your property just for advertising.

   • Your property should be listed in traditional advertising media such as the local "Real Estate Guide", the "Home Source", as well as some of the larger companies such as Coldwell Banker have their own "Property Guide".

   • Many companies have Realtors trained in Visual Tours, Internet Marketing and other media creation. Make sure you ask for a Visual Tour, research shows ads with a visual tour get 40% more views on Realtor.com.

4. Knowledge; Some companies  have very lengthy  and detailed training programs for their agents. An agent in a busy office has access to years of knowledge from his broker and coworkers which can translate to dollars in your pocket.

5. Buyers and Sellers; The average full time Realtor makes 10 contacts in a week, there are 3000+ Realtors in Brevard County; that's 30,000 possible buyers for your property each week; now that's networking!

   • Buyers brought in by a Realtor should be pre-qualified and identified before they view a property.

6. Access: By using the new digital lock boxes your home can be viewed at any time, this is a huge benefit to sellers. These lock boxes also track anyone that opens them for added security.

7. Legal: Your Realtor should have access  to all the appropriate forms and disclosures required to properly sell your home.