By now it is common knowledge that the home sellers market in Kitsap County and around the nation is tough. Pick up any newspaper and you can't miss the variety of articles bemoaning the loss of value for homeowners.

So, what do you do if you absolutely must sell your home? Imagine your employer offers a pay raise if you will move to another state. The money sounds good, your spouse may be willing, yet everywhere you look, you see information stating how hard it is to sell a home right now.

Difficult, yes; impossible, no! There arehomes selling in Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo and every other corner of Kitsap County. Each and every month, in this difficult market, many homes change ownership. And they are not always the cheapest house on the market. Below you will find a list of 5 tips for selling a home in a Buyer's Market ,gathered from an informal poll around our office about how we would sell our own homes if we needed to, based on the fact that we spend every workday in the Real Estate business. We have a birds-eye view of what works and what doesn't.

This is not the usual mow-the-lawn, plant-some-flowers, paint-the-rooms type of list. This list is meant to make your house stand out from the crowd.

Have Your Own Open House

Where is it written that only a real estate agent can do an open house? Have an open house of your own and call it a block party! Really!

All of your neighbors and all of your friends have friends of their own. When you add up all the friends of friends, it totals hundreds of people. You need to let everybody you know or come in contact with that you want to sell your home. This is a great way to get some exposure for your property.

Spruce up your house, print up some flyers (or ask your agent to get a batch for you) and invite everybody from your neighborhood over for burgers and pop. Pass out the flyers freely. Let them wander through the house and tour the property. Let them ask questions and hang out for a while. If they like your house (remember, they probably live in one similar to yours, so they'll like it), they just might invite one of their friends to come live in the neighborhood.

Selling is a numbers game. The more people who know what you have to sell, the higher the chance you will find a buyer.

Call a Mortgage Professional (a good one can help you sell)

No, this isn't where we tell you to call us! The reason to call a mortgage professional is simple. You need to know if there is any special financing available for the geographic area in which you house resides. You might be surprised what you learn.

Here's an example. In Bremerton there is a little known loan program available for certain neighborhoods. The funds come from the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. Only one of the local banks handles these loans and only one local Mortgage Brokerage (that would be us) is signed up to market them. This loan program has low, fixed interest rates, flexible credit requirements, no mortgage insurance and low down payment requirements. Yet very few Real Estate Agents know it exists and even fewer consumers are aware of it!

Also, with the high number of Military families here, you need to know about VA Mortgage requirements and FHA home loans. A good mortgage professional can give you all the details concerning requirements. The more you know about what a buyer will be faced with, the better you can align your marketing to attract the attention of as many buyers as possible.

Remember, you are selling! It is not a spectator sport! The more active you are promoting your house, the more people will hear about it, and the better your chance of selling.

Selling is a numbers game. If you have more financing options than the house down the street, your house will appeal to more potential buyers.

Give Something Away (how about a boat, a lawnmower or a vacation?)

Why not? If you plan to do this from the start, you can work the cost right into the price. You lose nothing. Do anything you can think of to make your home stand out from the crowd.

No matter when you sell your home, you will have other properties competing for the buyers. Imagine that just when you decide to sell, 15 other similar properties happen to be also for sale. Buyers are going to want to see all of the 16 properties to compare which one is the best deal for them. That's perfectly normal buyer behavior. You need to do something to make your house different from the other 15 homes. So, give something away! Make purchasing your home a better deal than the others.

Selling is a numbers game. The more people who take a second look at your listing because it is different from all the rest, the better chance you have of selling quickly for the price you need.

Get High Quality Photos Taken of Your Home

Professional photographs cost a little extra money and are worth every penny of the investment. Ask your agent to arrange for a professional photographer to take a series of attractive photographs of your property.

If you spend a little time looking through the houses available on the Multiple Listing Service (almost every Real Estate Website will have access to these listings), you will notice that a high percentage of the listing look very similar. Many of the photos will be under or over-exposed, some will be tilted, others will be off-center. In short, the photos won't jump out and grab anybody's attention.

You, on the other hand want to grab attention! Professional pictures will do just that. A good photographer will make your home look even better than you would believe. Once again, this is a way to make your property stand out from the dozens (or hundreds) of other homes for sale that are similar to yours.

According to the National Association of Realtors, over 80% of home shoppers turn to the Internet to gather information about available properties. Often the pictures on the Multiple Listing Service are the first chance you have to make an impression. You don't want to waste the opportunity!

Your new collection of attractive photographs can be used other places as well. Why not use them on your flyers and websites?

Selling is a numbers game. If your pictures jump out at viewers because they are so much better than your competition's pictures, you have additional chances to get noticed by a home buyer.

Request a Broker's Open House

You've never heard of a Broker's Open? Don't feel bad, your competition hasn't either. A Broker's Open House is a semi-private open house that is only advertised to Real Estate Agents in your area. Normally a group of Agent will carpool on a scheduled day to visit a small number of currently listed properties. Your agent will know exactly what this is.

It is pretty well-known in Realtor circles that statistics on homes selling because of a Public Open House are very low. It's not bad to have an open house, just don't expect much from it. The reason many Agents will agree to an open house is simply because sellers expect them to, not because they work very well.

A Broker's Open, on the other hand, will attract the attention of a multitude of professionals in your area who have access to BUYERS! Real Estate Agents often go on the Broker's Tour (another name for it), because they are actively shopping for a homethat fits a client's needs. These are not "Looky Lou" visitors. Agents know a good buy from an average buy. They can cover a lot of territory in a short period of time while gathering accurate information. Agents have no interest in wasting your time, they won't stand and chat for an hour. They will get in, get out and head back to their office to contact the buyers they are representing.

Remember, this is a numbers game.

At a Public Open House, each visitor represents one person; themselves. At a Broker's Open House, each visitor may very well have multiple clientssearching for homes. At a Public Open House each visitor may be in the market right now. At a Brokers Open, each visitor has clients in the market right now! Play the numbers. Spend your time with the group that is more likely to produce results.

One Final Thought (or maybe two)

This is a worrisome market. There is bad news on every corner. If you are in the position where you need to sell your home, regardless of the current market condition, all is not doom and gloom. There are things you and your Agent can do to greatly increase the chance of getting your property sold.

It is very difficult to think creatively when we are worried or anxious. But selling a home in a tough market requires some creative action. This list is meant to get you thinking about slightly unusual or unique ways to get as much attention for your property as possible. It's meant to shake you up a little bit. It's meant to give you a dose of enthusiasm that there just might be some things you can do to affect your financial future. Don't rely entirely on someone else to handle something this important.

Most importantly, don't expect to be able to sit back while your Agent brings you a long line of people just begging to buy your house. It is not going to happen. Buyers are in the driver's seat right now, and they know it! You must be actively involved in the sale of your home! You must take the "bull by the horns" and grab the attention of the buyers. Your Agent will be doing a long list of things to get your property sold. They can't do everything! There are not enough hours in the day for one person to do everything.

It's important to think of your Agent as your team member, not "the hired help". This is not a situation when you hire someone to complete one task for a fee. This is a relationship more like a Team Captain (the Agent) and Team Members (you and your family). Teams accomplish incredible things when they work together!

In closing, consider this: If you do exactly the same thing your competitors are doing, you will get the same results your competitors are getting. Ask you Agent for current market statistics and you can predict those results. It will probably take months to get your house sold. And, each month will whittle away at your home's value.

Do something different! Get different results!