How To Sell Your Home Even In Michigan!

1. Get a kick-butt realtor! We heard Katie-K in EGR was the best. Still we interviewed two others as well.
Katie stood out because of her Internet Marketing skills.
She is also brilliant and fun. In this economy that's exactly what we needed.

Katie's known for selling the biggest and the best. I decided to make myself and our home memorable in her mind so I gave her an autographed copy of my book. She read it, loved it and sent it to a friend. Mission accomplished.

2. Contact your realtor each week. I used to say, "Hi Katie, this is Tess just checking in. Anything new?"

3. Listen.The first thing she told us was our price was to high. We lowered it. "Ouch!" We lowered it again later. "Ouch, Ouch!"
My cousin who is also a realtor told me in two to six months it would be worth even less if it remains unsold. We listened.
Plan B was to rent it out if it didn't sell by September 1.

4. Stage your home. Our home became "spotless" with no repairs needed. You have to be willing to do what it takes. Get rid of clutter. When you think it's gone get rid of more!

5. Pray! We called the prayer line the first of every month. They pray 24/7 for 30 days so we never went uncovered. My devout Catholic mother said two rosaries daily. Roger and I also made it a habit to pray and be happy for others when their homes sold! When we passed a home that had a sold sign I would say, "That's for me." (There's always the temptation of jealousy and the pity pot.) Don't go there.

6. Use affirmations. "My house is sold I just don't know who bought it yet" was my favorite. It's like holding a vision and never "talking doubt." Remember it takes one person. There are 6 and 1/2 billion people in the world. We needed two buyers one for our home and one for our cottage. Remember the right person can call anytime. Life changes in an instant.

7. Stop listening to negativity. We stopped watching the news and stopped reading the newspaper. Who needs to be reminded daily about the economy and the war? Not me. Negative news is depressing. If you think you're going to miss something you're wrong. If something bad happens someone will tell you about it. Otherwise you can say to someone, "What's new today?" They will tell you.

8. Each time we knew someone was coming to look at the house we bought fresh flowers and lit candles. I would pick up while silently repeating my mantra "The buyers are coming! The buyers are coming!" to the tune of "Follow The Yellow Brick Road" from the Wizard of Oz. We also hid laundry, any mail laying around and all kinds of things that shouldn't be seen. (I plan on recovering everything while packing!)

9. We visualized people being happy and smiling when they looked at our home. We prepared like we were being visited by royalty. We also visualized a red and white sold sign. We took a picture of the sign and digitally enhanced it !

10. We buried St. Joseph in our front yard with friends. Now do I think that statue sold our home? No. I do think the prayers we said while standing in a circle holding the hands of several friends helped sell the house.

11. All good energy. We often block our energy by speaking, acting and doing negative things.
If you do this in your home it will be filled with negative energy. Think about the energy you feel when you walk in a nursing home, an angry teenagers bedroom or outside in your garden. There's a big difference! So keep all your energy positive. When people look at your home they can feel and sense energy. Stay happy and positive. Count your blessings. Become grateful in advance that your home will sell.

12. Believe! Put your faith in a miracle. When you become doubtful do something to lift yourself back up. We painted the basement floor and painted the deck just days before our home sold. Keep busy making it the best place on the block. Eventually someone will notice!

My friend Marsha lent me her "Expect A Miracle" sign. We hung it up where we could see it everyday. If all else fails repeat no. 5 and never never give up! There is no problem bigger than God.

Please forward this to anyone you know who needs to sell a home or who is frustrated and losing hope!

Meanwhile...Stay Happy!
Tess Marshall
http://www.tessmarshall.com/