Although you could put up a sign, have an open house, even advertise, Emerick Real Estate, Inc. can do things you can't do yourself:

• Establish a realistic price using market research
• Provide greater exposure through MLS and our Realtors
• Tap all of the potential buyers who are looking at other Emerick Real
  Estate, Inc. listings
• Help overcome buyer objections
• Make the process smoother by negotiating for you and making sure contingencies are followed up
• Provide pre-qualified buyers
• Provide purchase and sales agreements

This entire site could be devoted to answering this question. But to be as concise as possible, a successful sale requires that you concentrate on five considerations: your price, terms, condition, location, and exposure.

As soon as you decide to sell it. If you want to get the best price for your house, the key is to give yourself as much time as possible to sell it. More time means more potential buyers will probably see the house. This should result in more offers; it also gives you time to consider more options if the market is slow or initial interest is low.

Average listing times vary from 30 to 180 days, according to market conditions in a particular region, town, or even neighborhood; and of course, price, terms, condition, location and exposure play an even greater role. Selling in any market is easier if you keep time on your side. Most professionals will tell you that allowing yourself at least six months will put you in a position to get a better return from their marketing efforts.

Because it makes better sense to price your property at our researched market value. First, it will attract serious buyers who feel they can afford your home instead of thinking that it's overpriced or out of their range. Second, you won't lose the first month's prime marketing time or run the risk of the property getting "stale." And finally, after months on the market, you won't panic and sell the house for less than it is worth. To get an estimate of fair market value, contact Emerick Real Estate, Inc. and ask for a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) of your house. We will provide this service free of any charge, without obligation. The analysis will give you a realistic figure based on the most salient points of the local real estate market. It should provide information about recent sales of similar houses, including how much they sold for and how long it took. The broker's price opinion is very helpful in determining the right asking price.Should I fix my house up before it goes on the market? Unless your house is nearly new, chances are you'll want to do some work to get it ready to market. The type and amount of work depends largely on the price you're asking, the time you have to sell, and of course, the present condition of the house.

"Curb-Appeal" is the common real estate term for everything prospective buyers can see from the street that might make them want to turn in and take a look. Improving curb appeal is critical to generating traffic. While it does take time, it needn't be difficult or expensive, provided you keep two key words in mind: neat and neutral. Neatness sells. New paint, an immaculate lawn, picture-perfect shrubbery, a newly sealed driveway, potted plants at the front door -- put them all together, and drive-by shoppers will probably want to see the rest of the house. Hand in hand with neatness is neutrality. If you're going to repaint, stick to light, neutral colors. Keep the yard free of gardening tools and the kids' toys. Remember, when a family looks at a house, they're trying to paint a picture of what it would be like as their home. You want to give them as clean a canvas as possible.

First, make your house look as clean and spacious as possible. Remember, people may look behind your doors -- closet and crawlspace doors as well as those to the bedrooms and bathrooms. So get rid of all the clutter; have that garage sale and haul away the leftovers. After you've cleaned, try to correct any cosmetic flaws you've noticed. Paint rooms that need it, re-grout tile walls and floors, remove or replace any worn-out carpets. Replace dated faucets, light fixtures, and the handles and knobs on your kitchen drawers and cabinets. Finally, as with the outside of your house, try to make it easy for prospective buyers to imagine your house as their home. Clear as much from your walls, shelves, and countertops as you can. Give your prospects plenty of room to dream.

Certain home improvements that are useful to almost everyone have been proven to add value and/or speed the sale of houses. These include adding central air conditioning to the heating system, building a deck or patio, basement finishing, some kitchen remodeling (updating colors on cabinets, countertops, appliances, panels, etc.), and new floor and/or wall coverings, especially in bathrooms. Improvements that return less than what they cost are generally items that appeal to personal tastes, like adding fireplaces, wet bars, and swimming pools, or converting the garage into an extra room. The challenge that comes with any home improvement designed to help sell your house is recouping your investment. There's always the risk of over-improving your house -- that is, putting more money into it than neighborhood prices will support.

Professional renovators have found that, no matter how much you improve any given house, you're unlikely to sell it for more than 15% above the median price of other houses in the neighborhood, whether you do $1,000 worth of work or $50,000. That's why you might want to ask your agent's opinion about the viability of recouping the cost of any major renovation you have in mind before you start the work.

Neither. Statistics show agents provide the real marketing muscle. 90% of buyers come from agents as a result of their contacts. Only 10% come from open houses, newspaper ads and the Internet. The truth is, open houses are a better way for agents to make contacts than to sell your property. As for advertising, only one in every 360 to 400 people will buy a house they see in the paper and call about it, but the real estate firm meets another prospect.

Because they strengthen the real estate firm's network, and the net result is bringing in more qualified buyers.

Exclusive services that can make selling your house faster and easier, unparalleled expertise in local and national markets -- those are some of the reasons why no one can sell your house more effectively than Susan Gallagher. Beyond that, I am sincerely interested in helping make the experience of selling your home as smooth and easy as possible. So even if you're not ready to list your house quite yet ... if you simply have questions about the market in your area, price or mortgage trends, anything at all about real estate as it relates to you ... just pick up your phone and call me. It's "Just the kind of help you'd expect from a friend."