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In real estate, buyers buy space. The more space you're able to show, whether it be living or storage space, the more you'll be able to sell for. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done. Most people are pack rats. Rooms have too much furniture and you'll find stuff overflowing in every nook and cranny. There's little space for walking sometimes, much less for living.

De-cluttering is the process of reclaiming the space in your house from years of collecting and storing. Don't expect the buyers to ignore all this and imagine your house in its clutter-free state. Buyers sometimes see dozens of houses in one day and their brains are overtaxed. De-clutter so the buyers can see your house, not your mess.

If you do nothing else to improve the value of your house, at least do this. Remarkably, de-cluttering is free (it just takes time and elbow grease) yet a lot of sellers don't put enough effort into it!

Here are some advice and tips to get you moving,

1. Check your inventory

Make four distinct piles: Trash, Return, Donate, and Might Need.

Trash Pile: Be ruthless! Dispose of trash as soon as possible. There's no point in going through the exercise and then letting it all sit in piles. You're just creating a bigger mess than when you started out. Eliminate the following:

Return Pile: Return anything that doesn't belong to you. You're going to be busy packing and moving your own stuff. Don't add to your woes by moving someone else's belongings.

Donate Pile: You will find things that are still in good condition but they're of no use to you. Feel guilty about throwing them away? Consider giving them to your friends and families, charitable organizations, or advertise in the free section of the classified ads in your local newspaper.

Might Need Pile: It's human nature to hog stuff. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Would you go out and buy one today?

• Do you know what it does?

• Did you even remember you have it

• Have you used it since your last move?

If you answer ‘No' to any of the questions, then you should consider tossing it or donating it.

2. Restore Rooms to Original Function

Do your rooms have identity crises? In making your house a home, you may have overloaded a room to suit a purpose it wasn't intended for; for example, your family room also serves as a music room; the living room is doubling up as an exercise room; perhaps your dining room has been transformed into an office.

It may surprise you that many buyers are not imaginative and they believe what they see. When the rooms are in disarray with mixed functions, buyers will think the design of your house isn't well laid out or they'll think a room is missing altogether. This is why you must return all the rooms to their original intended use.

Your house becomes more organized because everything is in its rightful place. You automatically de-clutter the offending rooms because they have less furniture and fewer knick-knacks that don't belong. You won't confuse your buyers. They'll be better able to visualize their own furniture fitting into the room.

Instead of shuffling furniture from one area of the house to another, you should consider putting these items away until your house is sold. When this isn't realistic, perhaps your basement can be partitioned to host some of the secondary functions such as sewing, exercising, playing music, etc.

3. De-Personalize

• This is very important. You want your buyers to visualize themselves living in your house, not you living in it. Personal artifacts distract so you have to put them away - photographs, souvenirs, trophies, medals and certificates, posters, religious items, and family heirlooms.

• If you're a collector, then pack away your collectibles and valuables. Don't forget your refrigerator's door as it is one of the most common place to hang cute magnets, memos, postcards and all sorts of personal stuff.

• The other reason to de-personalize has to do with safety. Buyers rummaging through your house are strangers and it would be better if they don't know who lives there, or have access to any other personal data.

4. Pack for Moving

Once you've thrown away all the junk, returned the things of others, donated all the stuff you don't and won't need, and returned the rooms to their core functions, the house will feel a whole lot lighter and spacious. We're now ready to proceed with the next de-cluttering step: Packing!

You may be thinking, Is this premature? I haven't even sold my house! But you're going to, right?

Pack overstocked and off-season items. If you're selling your house in the summer then put away winter wear and sporting gear. Box infrequently used items: clothes, shoes, books, CDs and DVDs, cookware, small appliances, etc. Clear out all the stuff from your linen closet, kitchen cupboards and cabinets but for the essentials for day-to-day survival. You need to learn to live on bare necessities while selling your house. Pack now and you'll have that much less to do later when you move. Make sure you label the boxes so you know where they should go in your new house. Off-site storage is best.

All information taken from the following website:

http://www.prepareyourhouseforsale.com/declutter-house.aspx

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 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 her 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, 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 of the transaction and because they are skilled. It's part of their job description. Good agents 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 nor 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.

http://homebuying.about.com/od/realestateagents/tp/Whyhireagent.htm

By Elizabeth Weintraub, About.com

For homebuyers, green is fast becoming a priority - whether it's because they want to reduce their energy costs, minimize their carbon footprint or improve indoor air quality.

Here are 10 questions that prospective buyers or renters ought to ask to find out how green a house or apartment is.

1. How big is it?
The bigger the home, the more energy it uses. The U.S. Green Building Council considers a "neutral size" home - basically what most people need, without what might be considered luxury space - to be 900 square feet for a one-bedroom home, 1,400 square feet for two bedrooms and 1,900 square feet for three bedrooms. A 100% increase in the size of the home adds anywhere from 15% to 50% to energy use.

2. Where is it?
Can you walk to public transportation? Are there sidewalks or easy places to walk in the neighborhood, so you don't always have to drive? How close are shopping centers and other places you would frequent? The Web site walkscore.com rates the walkability of cities, neighborhoods and individual addresses and shows the distances to stores, restaurants, schools and amusements.

3. How is it oriented?
South-facing windows can trim heating costs in the winter. Shade from trees to the south and west can reduce cooling costs in the summer.

4. Is it well-insulated, and are doors and windows sealed tightly against air leaks?
The U.S. Energy Star Web site, energystar.gov, features a calculator to help determine how much insulation you need, based on your location. To guard against air leaks, windows and exterior doors ideally should have an Energy Star rating, which indicates they meet a certain standard of efficiency in preventing the loss of heat in the winter and cooling in the summer. You may be able to feel air leaks, or you can hire an energy auditor to conduct a "door blower test" - a big fan placed in a doorway sucks air out of the home, creating easily detectable drafts rushing in from outside wherever there's a leak.

5. Has the indoor air quality been tested?
Well-insulated, well-sealed homes not only hold in heat and cooling, but also can retain toxins such as formaldehyde, mold, asbestos and lead. A test will show whether any toxins are present in levels that exceed the safe maximums established by the Environmental Protection Agency. You might also ask whether the home was constructed or renovated with nontoxic building materials and furnishings, such as low- and zero-emission paints and sealants and materials such as strawboard for the subflooring.

6. If it's an older home, have insulation, heating and cooling systems and appliances been upgraded?
Newer products are far more efficient than those bought several years ago. Also, has higher-efficiency lighting been installed?

7. How efficient is the water usage?
Are the kitchen and bathrooms equipped with water-efficient plumbing fixtures? If it's a house, does it have a water-conserving irrigation system for the grounds, and landscaping that minimizes the use of water? It may also have a rainwater collection and storage system, particularly in drier areas where water is increasingly scarce and costly.

8. What's on the roof?
A lighter-colored roof reflects more heat than a dark-colored roof, which absorbs heat, putting more strain on the cooling system. Does it have skylights that let in natural light?

9. Where did the home's materials come from?
Recycled or salvaged building materials reduce the home's impact on the environment. Also preferable are materials that are locally available, can be processed with less energy and water, are reusable or recyclable, are durable and are abundant in the environment.

10. Has it been certified green?
The U.S. Green Building Council, the Environmental Protection Agency and others offer ratings on homes, based on inspections by trained third-party professionals.

By Sari Krieger of The Wall Street Journal

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=23255669

In this economy, houses aren't selling like they used to. If you have a house on the market, or are considering selling yours, there are some ways to improve your chances. Here are seven tips that will make it easier to sell your house and make a smooth transition from one owner to the next.

1. Maintain neutrality
Customizing your home is great if you plan to stay there, but extreme colors and themed rooms can scare off potential homebuyers. If you have customized every room with extremely bright or dark colored paint, wallpaper or wall fixtures, you may want to consider toning it down a bit. Using neutral colors on the walls can help prospective buyers create their own vision for the house, and will also leave them with less work to undo if they buy the house.

2. Less is more
Even though you have not moved out yet, removing some of your furniture can help the house move off the market. If you take pictures for your listing, having less furniture can help the home appear more spacious. When potential homebuyers arrive, having less furniture can also provide clear walkways.

3. That new house smell
Honestly, the new house smell isn't always the most pleasant, but at least it is new. In preparing to show your home, you should avoid strong smells. To avoid odors, make sure to take out the trash and clean the refrigerator regularly. It's also good to be mindful of what you cook in the days leading up to a showing; certain foods have strong scents. If you have pets, keep an eye on the litter box. Any smell that is too strong could send potential homebuyers running out the door.

4. Pay attention to the details
It's not a good idea to make major renovations when you are ready to sell your home; you may not recoup your investment. If you never got around to starting or completing that total kitchen or bathroom makeover, then you can make some small, inexpensive changes to spruce things up. Replacing the hardware on cabinets is a quick way to improve the appearance of older looking fixtures. Upgrading small items such as light switch and outlet covers can add a nice touch.

5. Maximize your "curb appeal"
The front of your home is the first thing prospective homebuyers will see, so keeping it presentable is a must. If there is a yard, keep the grass to a reasonable height and, if there are trees, be sure to keep the branches under control. The path to your front door should be a clear and welcoming one, not an obstacle course.

6. Don't get too personal
Upon entering your house, everyone will know it is lived in, but they do not need to see all the evidence. Get rid of excess clutter such as newspapers, magazines and mail. Be sure to put away your laundry and shoes. It may also be a good idea to put away some other personal belongings, like pictures on the refrigerator or mantle. For you, the pictures may make a house a home or display your personal touch. For the new homeowner, it may appear too personal.

7. Take care of repairs
Waiting to make repairs until after you find a buyer can be tricky. Depending on the nature of the repairs, you may not be able to find a buyer. Depending on how fast the buyer wants to close on the house, you may not have enough time to make the repairs. Save yourself some time and potential trouble by making repairs before you list your home. The repairs will have to be made anyway, so it is better to get them out of the way sooner rather than later.

First impressions can make the difference between a sale or no sale. Keeping things simple can give you a leg up on similar houses on the market.

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=23214579

By Tisa Silver of Investopedia