• Price your home close to the selling price of comparable homes in your immediate neighborhood.
• Major improvements seldom add enough value to recover their cost. Kitchen and bathroom improvements might be necessary to sell older homes.
• Spend time and money on painting, putting bright lights and carting services to clean out the garage, basement and attic. Get rid of all unnecessary clutter. (Take down family pictures and nick nacks, and put the antiques in storage.)
• Visit model homes in a new subdivision and aim for that look.
• Circle real estate ads that grab your attention and write something similar for your home.
• Print the facts about your home on 8 1/2 by 11-inch sized flyers, and distribute them at supermarkets and neighborhood apartment complexes.
• Have a contract ready for when a buyer agrees to your price and terms.

Tips for marketing your home online

• Express yourself. Unlike newspapers, Web sites won't bill you by the word. Keep your ad brief and catchy, but take advantage of the freedom to fully describe your property without confusing abbreviations.
• Tell your house to say cheese. Be sure to provide an unobstructed view of the front of your property looking its best. If you don't have access to a scanner, pick a site that will take care of that for you.
• Have a theme. Zero in on your property's best features, and make them the focus of your ad. Chances are, the reasons you bought the place are still its strongest selling points. Use these features in a headline to generate interest, and fully explain them later in your ad.
• Don't waste time. It's important to pick a site with broad reach. That way you submit just one listing, and they spread it around the Web for you.
• Remember to use newspaper classified ads. They are still a great way to reach potential buyers. The trick is using your newspaper ad to direct folks to your more complete online ad. Not only will you save money, you will hear from more fully informed buyers -- and that saves you time.

Tips for pricing your own home

• Compare and contrast. The professionals set prices based on what similar homes have recently sold for in your area. These lists are called home comparables, or "comps." You can find free home comps on Internet sites like Owners.com, or your real estate agent can provide you with a Competitive Market Analysis.
• Go to a few open houses. Choose neighborhoods that are like yours, with houses of similar style and size. Home comparable reports only include prices of homes that have already sold, so it is a good idea to take a look at prices of homes that are currently for sell. Plus, you'll also get ideas for how to run your own open house.
• Get an appraisal. Your buyer's mortgage company probably won't use it, but having a formal document on your side can help you confidently set your price and stick to it. You can get an inexpensive "market value estimate" (about $50-$100) in which public records are searched to create a report. Or you can commission a formal physical inspection of your property performed by a licensed appraiser (about $300-$500).
• Take your market's temperature. Are you in a hot market where homes are sold within a few weeks, often for over the asking price? Or are you in a cold market where houses stay on the market for several weeks and sell for under the asking price? Once you've determined a range, you can price slightly higher in a hot market but go slightly lower in a cold one.
• Share the wealth. Keep in mind one of the reasons buyers are interested in properties sold by owner is that they think they will share in the savings of the real estate commission. If you are not offering to share any of the savings, buyers may simply move on to traditionally listed properties.