Investment Concerns for Selling Your Home

Besides the emotional upheaval of uprooting from your home, your property is most likely the biggest investment you have ever made, and its sale causes financial stress as well. You must protect your investment nest egg and secure your future.

Not only do you want the highest sales price, you want to make sure you don't pay too much in selling costs. If you feel comfortable showing your home and handling some details yourself, check out flat-fee real estate brokers who list homes on the MLS for a lower price than the usual six percent commission.

However, note that a great listing agent may be able to sell your home for more money and make sure that you don't pay more than your fair share of closing costs.

A friend of mine just sold her home. The first offer brought to her had her paying the seller's closing costs. Her listing agent didn't make this clear to her. This is why you must understand what the sales contact means to you, in detail. Her second offer--the one she signed--has the buyers paying their fair share of closing costs, plus they put up a $5,000 deposit and $140,000 down. This secure offer will pay her thousands more than the first offer.

Do some research and reading about the selling costs, real estate commissions, and sales price before you list your home.

Ask your agents to give you a net sheet. Look at all the costs to you. If you don't understand what an expense means, ask.

Don't just consider where you're moving to and how to unload your current house. Keep your emotions under control. Protect your equity. Selling your home and moving on can be a great financial boost to you when you pay attention to the bottom line.

Jeanette Fisher is the author of real estate and interior design psychology books, including how to "Sell Your Home for Top Dollar--FAST" and "Home Staging for Top-Dollar Sales." For more articles on how to sell your home, see http://www.sellfast.infoFor Home Staging tips, see http://www.homestaging.us

MORE RESOURCES:

Real estate bust: Toledo wins at Big House - San Francisco Chronicle

Great Food, Good Drinks and Luxury Real Estate on Main Street - Eastside Business Journal

BIZ DATA: Boulder real estate foreclosures - Daily Camera

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/oct/12/Boulder-real-estate-foreclosures/cid=1257047711ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNF58xKnj9pajuRKsaG49ueF72DcrABIZ DATA: Boulder breal estate/b foreclosures/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDaily Camera,nbsp;COnbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b Boulder; Aurora Loan Services LLC; $1519142.90; $704000 334 E. Eighth Ave., Longmont; Front Range bReal Estate/b Partners LLC; $227838.20; $90500. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-1fd=Rurl=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/oct/12/Boulder-Broomfield-county-business-calendar/cid=1257047711ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNHUg2izDm531X2hlSfH7QenRDh_hABoulder, Broomfield county business calendar/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrDaily Camera/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1257047711hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Real estate growth strategies in focus - Gulf Daily News

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.ameinfo.com/171116.htmlcid=1257033209ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNFrzyhNo7mbZk5wPmJs8Oml2FGBVQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=OVxW3Ww3hKMJimgurl=www.ameinfo.com/images/news/0/64970-1111111111111.jpg width=55 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2AME Info/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp%3FArticle%3D231633%26Sn%3DBNEW%26IssueID%3D31207cid=1257033209ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNHDdUlvWnR6HkPOSIEDY0ptlpmbvAbReal estate/b growth strategies in focus/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fGulf Daily News,nbsp;Bahrainnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1GROWTH strategies for the breal estate/b sector amid the global economic downturn will be discussed at a major conference in Bahrain next month. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-1fd=Rurl=http://www.ameinfo.com/171116.htmlcid=1257033209ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNFrzyhNo7mbZk5wPmJs8Oml2FGBVQStephen Lee is coming to Bahrain/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAME Info/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1257033209hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Making fortunes from real estate investment - The Punch

Bushnell looks at life and real estate in the Village - eTaiwan News

Hypo Real Estate Denies Report It Withheld Data on Liquidity - Bloomberg

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html%3Fid%3Dbb36578b-e605-4c92-97cc-af727b82e531cid=1251970064ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNGaO8xITS-ng5mRGMUv59JAtYCbYAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=JzoeQV1xHB0Jimgurl=a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/reuters/olusbus_iptc/2008-10-05t133503z_01_btre4931gx200_rtroptp_2_business-us-financial1.jpg%3Fsize%3Dl width=80 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Calgary Herald/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601100%26sid%3DaqQ6AbAsxYqs%26refer%3Dgermanycid=1251970064ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNFQ82yF40iGUOtr-wX44fneQ1fyGAHypo bReal Estate/b Denies Report It Withheld Data on Liquidity/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Oliver Suess and Karin Matussek Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Hypo bReal Estate/b Holding AG, the commercial property lender that needed a revised 50 billion-euro b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DdlzSEbBo2hocid=1251970064ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNEc2JtBhj7XHZWk2Dn5zNOTOofD9QVideo: Wells Fargo#39;s bid for Wachovia/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReutersVideo/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/dlzSEbBo2ho/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/dlzSEbBo2hotype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-2fd=Rurl=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/07/business/EU-Germany-Hypo-Real-Estate.phpcid=1251970064ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNE2vGQDPsfBz9mkwcfbbcMryBkcjwCEO of embattled Hypo bReal Estate/b to step down/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInternational Herald Tribune/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-3fd=Rurl=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200810061785.htmcid=1251970064ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNH1B2U345LqkPDZmCuMsTc0eoN1GAGerman Govt rescues Hypo bReal Estate/b in a Euro 50 bn package/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrHindu/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-4fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601100%26sid%3DavupZJMdl7gQ%26refer%3Dgermanycid=1251970064ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNH0uSovwc3vQmFV4DTlYeC07mPcfQnobrBloomberg/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-5fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601100%26sid%3Day6Rie7zHawQ%26refer%3Dgermanycid=1251970064ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNHP1rGiWnUmXEPHR8hn7Hc7N6mpXAnobrBloomberg/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1251970064hl=ennobrall 1,021 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Real-estate agents, mortgage brokers hurting - Bolingbrook Sun

Real estate in Acadiana and Wall Street - The Daily Advertiser

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/08/report_both_candidates_increase_health_coveragecid=1255319735ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNH2HQltWCYew9Tq8BHf-VZCZb89Igimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=rq483V9RrP8Jimgurl=cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/AP_Photo/2008/10/08/1223498947_4834/539w.jpg width=80 height=59 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Boston Globe/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20081012/BUSINESS/810120335/1046cid=1255319735ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNGxmMejrVbn5E5mHD1YXKuq-A7okgbReal estate/b in Acadiana and Wall Street/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fThe Daily Advertiser,nbsp;LAnbsp;-/font nobr18 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Fortunately, the Acadiana breal estate/b market is still strong because we did not have the speculation that was seen in other parts of the country. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DBAdIBCGcEo8cid=1255319735ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNGxu-h-0J2i1_jXhZx4GI2CkusRsAVideo: Obama: #39;Taxpayers Shouldn#39;t Pick Up Tab#39;/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/BAdIBCGcEo8/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/BAdIBCGcEo8type=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-2fd=Rurl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122351316270117559.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsjcid=1255319735ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNEGh56PF8fJ6Av0tbc6dUhUg_ZTsQMcCain Reshuffles Rescue Deal/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWall Street Journal/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-3fd=Rurl=http://www.clusterstock.com/2008/10/mccain-s-messy-mortgage-buyout-digging-holes-and-filling-them-incid=1255319735ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNE46mGvYkXxINiEbzXSjiwA28CI9wMcCain#39;s Messy Mortgage Buyout: Digging Holes and Filling Them In/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrClusterstock/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-4fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601087%26sid%3DacLuJmJz0roc%26refer%3Dhomecid=1255319735ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNHWyP9JpuEW5lOljtQ32DvhSjDabQnobrBloomberg/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-5fd=Rurl=http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2008/oct/12/troubled-home-loans-didnt-require-insurance/%3Fbusinesscid=1255319735ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNGdSYuBZJPElDvaJ2PSzbheB1iZlAnobrSt. Joseph News-Press/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255319735hl=ennobrall 1,096 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 10/12/08 - Luxist

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://www.luxist.com/2008/10/12/sunday-real-estate-round-up-10-12-08/cid=1256615524ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNEvrd43MMFqCMbSRq2QioTB4bK9MQSunday bReal Estate/b Round-Up, 10/12/08/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fLuxist,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1--More Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner breal estate/b rumors, this time it is said that they have put their home in Brentwood on the market for around $8 b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-1fd=Rurl=http://www.dailyherald.com/story/%3Fid%3D241072cid=1256615524ei=qbHySInhA5_S9QTq0Ly6Bwusg=AFQjCNFZ9F0hTLztdKpHyYoKSboC2JF97QDC, estate listed for $49 million/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrChicago Daily Herald/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1256615524hl=ennobrall 3 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Real-Estate - Google News

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