Recently, I decided to get myself in shape and start going on the trail for some running and some walking...mostly walking right now, but we aren't here to discuss my endurance!!! Last night when I was on the Minneola Trail, I noticed a few houses that had "For Sale By Owner" signs in the front yard. These signs were obviously old and weathered. The poor owners apparently have been trying to sell their home for some time with no success. I started to think about all of the articles that you can find online that give sellers advise on how to better sell their homes. You've seen the articles, you know the ones I am talking about. There are PLENTY of them out there. I decided last night that I will be a little different...I will make a list of ways to help a seller NOT SELL THEIR HOUSE. Follow the steps I am about to give you and you most likely won't sell your house. It isn't full proof though...you may do everything I say here and still sell your home. You know what they say...even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile!

5 Things To Do To NOT Sell Your Home

1.) Don't Hire a Real Estate Professional. I'm not going to sit here and quote you the same old National Association of Realtor stats that you have heard over and over. You know, the ones that say that if you use a real estate agent to sell your house, you will most likely get 16% more than if you were selling it yourself. I can't prove those statistics, so I don't want to use them. Here are some of the benefits of using a real estate professional, which, if you don't want to sell your home, you don't need.

1.) Your home gets placed on the Multiple Listing Service of your area. This allows other co-operating brokers to be able to find information about your home.

2.) If you use a real estate agent to list and market your home, more than likely, if you pick a good agent, your home will get a ton of online exposure. In the 2008 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, they state that of the information sources used in home search, 87% was on the internet and 85% was by a real estate agent.

3.) Pre-Qualified Buyers coming to your house. A good agent will make sure that only pre-qualified buyers come to your home. Your time is valuable and doesn't need to be wasted on "lookers".

2.) Ignore your Real Estate Agent's Comparative Market Analysis and set your own price. The Joyner's down the street sold their house 4 years ago for $250,000, you should be able to sell your home for AT LEAST that in 2009, right? A good real estate agent is in the market everyday. They are monitoring house prices everyday. This is what they do. They are professionals. If they say your home is now only worth around $175,000, you should insist on your price of $250,000...if you don't want to sell your home.

3.) Ignore your lawn. If a buyer can't see through your thick jungle of a front yard and see the value of this over priced home, so be it...right? Real Estate Agent's will tell you to keep your lawn well maintained. Simple things like cutting the grass, weed eating, edging, trimming the bushes, etc...these are things that create "curb appeal". If you don't really want to sell your home, stay inside on a Saturday and watch college football...how high can the grass possibly get?

4.) Ignore the minor repairs and hope they go away on their own. Just like in your car, if you hear a rattling sound, if you ignore it, it may go away on it's own. Same thing with that leaky faucet, and the running toilet and that chipped tile in the kitchen that you always trip over...More than likely, if you have followed these tips, your home is already overpriced. Why make minor repairs? If a buyer has the money to pay your asking price, surely they have the money to make their own repairs as well!

5.) Ignore the stagers advice and keep your house cluttered. So you are a collector..big deal! It's your house...you aren't really trying to sell it. Keep your 278 beanie babies lined up on a shelf in your spare bedroom. All those McDonald's toys you used to collect? Put them on display. All the shot glasses and mugs from every city you have been in across this great country...put them on display!!!

I can't guarantee it, but if you do these 5 things I mentioned, you probably won't sell your house. If you have alot of time and don't mind wasting it, this is definitely the route for you to take!!!

Good luck!!!