1.  Emotional appeal. Make sure your home looks, feels and smells its best. You're competing with 900 to 1,200 other homes for sale. Buyers buy on emotion... let your home be the cleanest, freshest and cheeriest, and you'll have a much faster sale... at a higher price.

2.  Read my "How To Show Your Home" flyer very carefully. If your home is logically a good value, but a buyer doesn't feel warm and emotionally attracted to the home, it will not sell. Buyers buy on emotion, not logic. You'll want lots of people to say or think, "Wow! This is nice! I would like to live here!"

3.  Lots of light. For maximum effect, turn every light on, even on a sunny day. Open all window shades. Clean your draperies and curtains. Make sure your windows are spotlessly clean. Let the sun in and keep those lights on. Leaving all your lights on for two hours costs only 23 cents, and makes your home look larger and more spacious.

4.  Constant exposure. Your home won't sell unless buyers know about it. To get top dollar, be sure to have your home repeatedly exposed to qualified, ready-to-buy buyers. Some brokers charge you a discount commission, then don't advertise your home. This is a mistake. The $2,500 or $5,000 you save in commission is more than offset by a sale price of $10,000 or $20,000 less than what you would have received if your home had been properly marketed. Remember, buyers can't know about your home unless you or your buyer has a marketing plan to ensure that your home is brought to the attention of home buyers.

5.  Non-traditional advertising. 73% of buyers looking for a home in the $400,000 to $550,000 price range are first-time home buyers. Many first-time home buyers don't even know they can afford a home. They don't know that owning a home can cost less than renting. They think that they need 20% for a down payment, plus closing costs!

If your home is in the first-time homebuyer price range, a substantial portion of your marketing dollars should be aimed directly at first-time homebuyers. This means advertising and marketing in areas other than the "Homes for Sale" classifieds or Sunday Open Houses in the Orange County Register.

6.  Education. First-time homebuyers are more likely to pay top dollar for your home. If your home is in the first-time homebuyer price range, make sure that your marketing program shows first-time buyers the benefits of home ownership and how affordable your home is. Design a marketing plan to get first-time home buyers to see the inside of your home.

7.  Aggressive Target Marketing. Lots of buyers will buy your home for less than it's worth. The secret in getting top dollar is to find a buyer who is perfectly "matched" to your home. Right now, there are at least ten buyers who would love to own your home, can afford it, and would pay a fair asking price... if only they knew about it! Some of these buyers may not even be thinking of buying yet, but if they knew about your home would love it! It takes a lot more than just a sign in the yard and an ad in the paper to market a home effectively. Aggressive target marketing will find those buyers!

8.  Create urgency. The Rule of Full Price states that if a buyer feels the asking price is fair, and has sufficient sense of urgency, he will pay the full asking price. Example: Showings of my listings to more than one buyer at a time creates a feeling of urgency. Prospective buyers feel an "auction effect" because of other buyers showing interest in your home at the same time. I have found that the more buyers I can show your home to at the very same time, the higher the feeling of urgency. The auction effect causes people to become more excited and enthused about your home, thereby creating a sense of competition and urgency which results in full price sales for 96.5% of my clients.

A note from Christine Donovan:

I am not a sales person; I am a marketer of homes.

As a free service, I am happy to prepare a Marketing Plan for your home. This Marketing Plan comes to you free of charge, and without obligation. I'll show you the most cost-effective places to advertise. I'll show you how to slash your ad costs, while at the same time tripling your ad response. I'll actually prepare ads for you that cost very little to run, and obtain results far out of proportion to anything else you could try.

This Marketing Plan is yours to use even if you sell your home yourself or list with another broker. It comes with "no strings attached" and absolutely no selling.

Why do I do this? Because I've found that helping people like you market their homes for no obligation brings me even more business. When I help you, you will tell your friends and associates about me. That brings more business to me than I could ever attain by "selling." It's all part of my personal philosophy of helping, rather than selling. I believe (and have experienced) that the more people I help, the more business that comes my way.

So, please, feel free to call me without any commitment or obligation. You can call me at (714) 319-9751.

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About the author: Christine Donovan is a California Residential Real Estate Broker with experience in assisting clients buy and sell residential real estate.

Are you upside down in your home? Is it worth less than you owe? Are you concerned about making your mortgage payment? Contact me at christine@donovanblatt.com or 714-319-9751 to discuss your options.

Want to buy a home or to list your property for sale in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach or Orange County? Contact me at christine@donovanblatt.com or 714-319-9751 to learn about her system which will make your buying and selling experience easier.

Click Orange County homes for sale to view all OC homes for sale. Copyright © 2008 by Christine Donovan, All Rights Reserved. Eight Simple Steps You Can Take To Ensure Your Costa Mesa Home Sells At Top Dollar.