Simply review the following checklist of items, which can bring you closer to a sale. Every item, which you are unwilling or unable to implement, moves you further away from a sale. Just remember the goal -- to get your home sold.

1. Price the property competitively, typically, between wholesale and retail based on your needs and market conditions.

2. Be willing to consider offers based on VA/FHA terms. Government terms give many buyers a head start on the ability to afford a home.

3. Allow the property to be shown with or without an appointment! I know that's a nuisance, but it can help speed up the selling process.

4. Please arrange to be gone whenever a prospective buyer, accompanied by a realtor wants to see the house -- and stay away until they've left! Buyers need to "try it on for size," but they can't do that as long as you are there.

5. Eliminate any barrier to a free flow of traffic in the property. Such items as bulky or extra furniture; house plants that stick into traffic ways; toys or clothes not put away; or beds not made; etc., slow down traffic and make rooms look smaller and darker.

6. Watchdogs that provide so much security that no one can see the property without feeling threatened are a problem.

7. Your realtor is on your side and won't be paid until you get results. Advice from a professional is useless unless you take it!

8. Look at the front of your house. Size it up objectively and critically (that's asking a lot of any homeowner!). Ask yourself this question "If a buyer pulled up in front, would the appearance pull them inside?"

9. Make all necessary improvements with an eye toward neutral marketing. (You probably should shy away from unusual colors or styles, which might clash with a prospective buyer's taste.)

10. Be willing to consider any offer at any time. Remember, you are the final judge of what's accepted and what's not!

I'd be happy to go over all these items with you in person and to give you an idea of what could be reasonably expected from today's market. Please call for an appointment.