HOW TO PREPARE YOUR HOUSE TO SELL:
Here is a quick "How To" list providing you the fundamentals of getting your house ready to sell. Remember that you don't get a second chance at a first impression.

Difficulty Level: easy Time Required: one day 

Here's How: 
1. Sweep the driveway and walkway. 
2. Mow and edge the lawn. 
3. Clean the front door and entry. 
4. Clean off kitchen counters to make them appear larger. 
5. Clean out the closets. 
6. Scrub all sinks and toilets. 
7. Wash and/or vacuum all floors. 
8. Clean all windows. 
9. Clean the gutters. 
10. Make minor repairs (i.e. fix doorbell). 
11. Paint where necessary. 
12. Replace loose or damaged roof tiles. 
13. Plant some inexpensive plants. 
14. Clean out the garage. 
15. Wash the dog. 

Tips: 
1. Make sure you clean off all kitchen counters and put away any appliances. This will give the impression that you have more counter space. 
2. Clean and organize your cupboards. Buyers will look in them and this will also give the impression that the closets and storage areas are larger. 
3. Keep your house clean!

'COMPREHENSIVE' PREPARING YOUR HOME TO SELL
Selling your home is going to take some work on your part, regardless if you sell it For Sale by Owner or if you enlist the services of a Realtor. You can't just put up a signboard, place an ad, and POOF! - SOLD! It doesn't work like that. You need to begin by preparing the house for the sale. This doesn't mean pick up the dirty socks and clean the ring out of the bathtub and you're ready. This means that it is time for you to step back and look at your house as if you were a potential buyer. 

Buyers will typically form an opinion within 2-3 seconds of seeing your home, so it is important that the outside be ready to go. 

Let's go outside:
Go outside, walk across the street, and look at your home objectively. Start at the roof and work your way down. Is the roof in need of repair? Now work your way down the house. How are the gutters? Are they falling off or do they need to be cleaned? Cleaning your gutters may sound trivial, but any little defect the buyer finds is a point against you. Pay attention to detail at all times. How are the siding and the paint? Is the paint faded, chipped, or cracked? If so, then you may want to repaint the house. If you can get away with some touch up painting, then do that. Only repaint the entire house if it is absolutely necessary. How does the yard look? During the time that your house is on the market, you want to ensure that your yard stays mowed and that you keep it free from any unwanted clutter. Trim the edges of the lawn to give it that professionally landscaped look. If you can afford it, hire a landscaper to come in and "spruce up" your yard. By adding some inexpensive flowers, you can add some color and freshness to your yard without breaking the bank.

Is the pool clean and crack-free and is the equipment in good working condition? Does the irrigation system actually work? Is the driveway paving clean? If not, attend to it. 

Now walk up to the front door. Is it clean? Does the doorbell work? If not, then fix it. This falls back to when I mentioned "first impressions". If you have any pets that may normally chase intruders across the countryside, you may want to put them away while your home is on the market, if possible. I think you should start to understand where I'm going with this. You need to really pay attention to the little things.

Let's Go Inside:
As you enter a house, what is the first thing that hits you? That's right, the smell. Psychologically, smells play an important role in a persons overall mood and impression. You can purchase potpourri that smells like pies cooking or like wild flowers. These are great in creating a real homey atmosphere. How clean is your house? Are the windows clean inside and out? Have all of those dust bunnies been corralled? Go through the entire house and give it a good solid cleaning. Scrub everything because you never know where your buyer is going to look. Clean out all of your cupboards and storage spaces. Have yourself a nice big garage sale and get rid of all that stuff that you've been talking about throwing away for the past six months. By doing this, you open up those areas making them appear more spacious (not mention you might make a couple of bucks in the process). The same holds true in the kitchen. Put away all of those appliances on the countertop. This will really open your kitchen up.

In A Nutshell:
The areas of your home that you need to pay particular attention to are the kitchen and bathrooms. These rooms are what sell homes. Make sure that all of your cupboards are well organized and that there are no dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. Also make sure all the toys are put away and that there is no Spiderman toothpaste stuck to the bathroom mirror. These things may sound obvious, but you would be amazed at how many people do little more than sweep and vacuum.

The bottom line is that the impression that you give the buyer is one that makes them want to come back and buy your home. If your home is not in its best condition, the buyer may think that you have neglected the home and that there may be something seriously wrong somewhere. So, keep it simple and keep it clean.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Every real estate expert on the planet will tell you, "Price it right, and it will sell!" This isn't rocket science here, this is common sense. But the problem is, most people don't realize it. 

I heard a seller the other day say; "I bought my home 6 months ago for R225,000. Now it's time for me to make some money so I'm selling it for R 275,000 ". Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. 

The value of your home isn't based on the fact that you want to make some money. Your property value is based on homes, similar to yours, that have sold recently in your area. That's it! 

There are several things to be aware of when pricing your home. If you price it too high, your home is going to sit on the market and you are going to give the impression to buyers that you are unrealistic and hard to deal with. If you price it too low, then you run the chance of selling yourself short and loosing money. 

So how do you know if it's the right price? The best thing you can do is to hire the services of a professional appraiser. This can cost you a few hundred rand, but it's money well spent. It also helps when it's time to negotiate. You have documentation stating why your property is worth so much money. If you don't want to spend the money or can't afford an appraiser, call your favorite local Realtor and ask them for a market analysis. Most Realtors know the market pretty well and can be quite accurate, but some don't, so have two or three done and compare. Keep track of homes similar to yours that are for sale, "price and compare". 

It is important that your price be accurate. Buyers typically know the market better than most sellers because by the time they buy a home, they have already looked at many, many homes and have a good idea of what market value really is. So do your homework and get your price set right, the first time.

MARKETING YOUR HOME
Next to setting the correct asking price, the most important aspect of selling a home is exposing it to the market. After all, if nobody knows it's for sale, how can they buy it? It's a good idea to set up a marketing plan that provides you maximum exposure without putting you in debt. 

Sign Boards:
The first place to start is with a signboard. If you are using a Realtor, then they will likely provide a sign for you. If someone tells you that you don't need a sign, don't listen to him or her. Real estate agents get nearly 50% of their buyers off signboards. More importantly, you need to have a professional looking sign. 

Sure you can go to your hardware store and pick up a little black and red sign for a few rands, but don't do that. A professional looking sign tells buyers that you are serious about selling. You can have a nice sign produced for anywhere from +- R120. Make sure that the sign clearly states "Home For Sale". 

If you are selling your home on your own, make sure that you have your contact phone number prominently displayed on the sign. Also have a nice brochure with a proper description and photograph of the house made, which you can give to prospective buyers, that's a plus. Buyers will collect several brochures / flyers while driving around and visiting houses, the picture helps to remind them which house is which. 

Newspaper Advertising:
Advertising is typically the largest expense that a Realtor will encounter. And for good reason, it makes the phone ring. So naturally you want to make your advertising count. 

In your classified ad, use complete words and avoid abbreviations whenever possible. You don't need to advertise everyday because that will get rather expensive. Usually a good time to advertise is Thursday through Sunday when people like to go out and look around. If you can afford a display ad (with picture) then do so. But it can be very expensive. 

If you are using a Realtor, ask them to advertise your property in any and all prominent local real estate publications. If you are selling it on your own, then look for an appropriate local publication to advertise your property in. 

Regardless of where you're advertising, be sure to use concise language and don't over exaggerate. At the same time, don't give away too much information since you do want buyers to call and ask questions. 

Internet Advertising:
There are a few web sites in South Africa that is worth advertising your home on. Listing fees differ from site to site. When you are looking into advertising on the Web, look at the quality and content of the site that you are considering advertising on. That should give a good idea of the level of expertise and who you dealing with. 

If you plan to sell through a Realtor, make sure that a proper Internet Listing is part of the Marketing Plan and ask them to stipulate the web address, so you can actually view your listing if need to. Appropriate Web / Internet advertising is imperative! as more and more consumers / potential buyers use technology. Also make sure that your Realtor places a picture of your home into the system. 

The bottom line is to make sure that you get maximum exposure. Post flyers on local bulletin boards in grocery stores, at local businesses, etc. List your property on more than one web site if possible and have an occasional open-/ show house. Be creative and you'll be amazed at the results. 
Good Luck!

WHY IS MY HOUSE NOT SELLING!
There are a variety of factors that help to determine whether or not a house will sell. These things can range from actual time on the market to exactly what you are offering, (or the lack thereof). Before you start blaming your agent or the newspapers lack of coverage in your area, step back and take an overall look at your situation and find out exactly where the problem is. 

How Long Have You Been On The Market?
If you’ve had your home on the market for a couple of weeks and you haven’t received any offers yet, don’t worry about it. Selling a home takes time and in some areas, it can take several months. Expect this upfront and you will save yourself an enormous amount of grief. If after a month or so you haven’t received any offers, then you need to start looking at some other areas such as your price.

If, on the other hand, you’ve been on the market for over six months, your property may be getting “shop worn”. This simply means that everybody has seen it and they are starting to get the impression that there must be something wrong if it hasn’t sold yet. 

Are You Getting Exposure?
Buyers are not going to make you an offer, unless they know your house is for sale. Are there buyers looking at your house? Are your open houses well attended? If people aren’t inquiring about your house, you need to look at how well it’s been exposed to the market. 

Some of the musts include: a signboard and brochures about your home, pictured advertising in any and all real estate publications available, classified advertising, Internet advertising, open houses, etc. 

How’s Your Market?
Since market conditions really vary from region to region, you need to look at your market. Talk with local Realtors in your area and ask them what the market is doing. You’ll hear terms such as ‘soft’ or ‘hot and cold’. Obviously, if it’s a hot market, things should go fairly quickly, but in a cold or ‘soft’ market; you may want to consider offering a few more incentives to entice buyers. 

Interest rates can affect a market as well. If the rates are high, there may not be very many buyers out there, if they are low, then you’ll see everybody and his brother trying to buy a home.

How’s Your Neighborhood?
Location, location, location. I know you’ve heard that term before. Location is very important to buyers. You need to take a look at your neighborhood and determine if that is an actual asset or a liability. You can try to improve your neighborhood to some degree, but it’s difficult at best. If you live in a particularly bad neighborhood, you may need to discount the price of your home to get it to sell.

The Condition of Your House?
Go across the street and take a look at your house objectively. Does it have curb appeal? Remember that buyers will typically form an opinion within the first 3 seconds of seeing a house. Make a checklist and go through everything methodically to prepare your home. Get some feedback from others that have been through the home and ask them what they did and did not like about the property. 

Is The Price Too High?
Price is everything! Check your market and make sure that you price your home accurately. Have Realtors do a market analysis or if you want some real hard numbers, have an appraisal done. The most important thing to remember is that lending institutions will only lend on the appraised value of a home, not what you think your home is worth. Price it right the first time. 

What Are You Offering (or Not Offering)?
Are your terms reasonable and realistic? Are you getting a lot of interest only to have buyers shy away as soon as you reveal all of the shortcomings of the property? Make sure that you are willing to give concessions when necessary and that you are realistic with what you are offering.

You really need to be objective in your overall analysis. Look at everything and really try to pinpoint where the problem is. Talk with your Realtor and ask them if there is anything that they can do differently or if there is anyway that you can help to expedite the process. If you really can’t figure out why it’s not selling, then you may want to consider taking it off the market for a while and give it a try again in a couple of months.

So, don’t get discouraged, get informed and solve the problem.
Good luck!