Establish a marketing budget. Your budget should include items such as:

• Advertising costs, signs, other fees.
  
• Attorney, closing agent and other professional fees.
  
• Excise tax for the sale.
  
• Pro-rated costs for your share of annual expenses (property taxes, homeowner association fees, and fuel tank rentals).
  
• Any other fees typically paid by the seller in your area.

TIP: Investigate the real estate sections of local newspapers and other publications. Call the local newspapers to see how much it will cost for advertisements. You'll want to run daily and Sunday ads in the newspapers.

Don't forget the Internet. Some newspapers automatically (or for an extra fee) offer Internet advertising tied in to their traditional print ads. Since 86% of home buyers now begin their search on the internet, it’s imperative that you have a presence there.

TIP: Be sure to build a website to help sell your house.

Establish a MARKETING PLAN

Now that you know what advertising will cost, create a plan, within your budget, to best reach prospective buyers (both local and out-of-town). Since many people do relocate from a distance, be sure to include Internet advertising in your plan. If your town is large enough, the "local" newspaper might have a national edition that you want to place your ad in, at least periodically.

Write the text and/or design your ad. At the very least, you will need a few well written sentences that will run as a classified ad or a photo box ad. In addition, you might decide to run a larger, custom-designed ad in the paper and/or to use as flyers to hand out at open houses (or anywhere else you might meet prospective buyers).

TIP: Don't skimp on this. A professional looking, well-crafted ad can attract buyers; while a poorly designed ad can turn buyers off to your property.

Market your house to real estate agents. Most buyers use a real estate agent, so marketing to real estate agents is essential. At a minimum, you'll want to send a letter and sales flyer to all real estate agents within a 30 mile radius.

Clear your schedule. Make arrangements so that you have free time to schedule appointments at the prospective buyer's convenience. You'll want someone to be readily available to answer inquiry calls and schedule appointments.

TIP: Be sure to schedule showings as quickly as possible - even the same day.

Purchase and install a "For Sale" sign. This should be well designed, attractive and weatherproof. The sign must be placed where it can be seen clearly from the street.

Tip: Be sure to check with local officials to determine if there are any restrictions on where you place signs. 

Prepare a fact sheet. Design a single sheet description of your property listing the features and benefits that will attract prospective buyers. Have enough copies on hand to give out at showings.

TIP: Buyers expect fact sheets to take with them when they drive-by or tour a house for sale.

Set up a schedule of open houses. While most are held on the weekend, this is not convenient for all buyers. Make sure that you coordinate your print advertising to include information about your next open house.