But I planted that rose!

There are a string of reasons why it is better to not go it alone when selling your home, but to keep it short and sweet, I am going to focus on just one of them for today and that is EMOTIONS.  If you have lived in your home for a long time you have built up many precious memories:  the tree your children used to climb, the floors you walked at night with a baby, birthday parties around the kitchen table...you get the idea.  Obviously your home is priceless.  Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Buyer have no such attachments to your home and do not view these memories as adding dollar valule.  So there is a grave risk that you have not been objective and have over priced your home, thus making it much more difficult if not impossible to sell  The other stumbling block is that you will sub-consciously be evaluating the buyers not as to whether or not they are financially qualified but whether or not you like them.  In either case you may lose a sale or let it go too  cheap.  The buying and selling of a home - even if it is your castle - is basically a business transactions and should be handled by a professional in the business