My hero(ine) Barbara Corcoran was on the Today Show yesterday, sounding off about mistakes sellers make. She also gave some tips for how sellers can get their homes off the market immediately.

I have my own take on this issue, too. Selling a home is not rocket science. In my opinion, there are only three elements involved in getting your home to sell, no matter how long it has been on the market, and no matter how slow the market is in your neck of the woods:

• Pricing,
• Condition, and
• Marketing.

And the greatest of these is pricing.

If your home is not selling, you must tweak one or more of these three elements. Here are my tips - and some of Barbara Corcoran’s - on getting your house to finally sell:

Pricing

Lower the price. Period. And not a whole bunch of little, inconsequential price reductions. Look at the sales price (not the list price) of comparable properties that have recently sold in your neighborhood, and price yours below them. You can’t really underprice a home - the lower the price, the more it looks like a bargain. The more it looks like a bargain, the more people will come see it. The more showings, the more likely you are to get a qualified buyer.

In the words of B.C.,

Nothing smacks of desperation more than incremental price drops. The longer a property is on the market, the more jaded the buyers become. The more times the price is cut, the staler the offering appears. Buyers reason that a lot of people must have seen it and that a lot of people must have rejected it. And if that is the case, then why even bother to consider it?

Instead, slash the price. Find out what your house is worth by looking at similar properties in the neighborhood and price it 10% below them. The most enticing houses on the market are the newest and the cheapest. If you can be both, you’ll offload yours in no time at all.

Marketing. Marketing can include both exposing your home to prospective buyers and creating additional value or incentives for buyers to choose your house over the others on the market. At a minimum, your place should be all over the internet, because over 80% of home buyers start house hunting on the web. This is really your Realtor’s job, but you should double check and be sure that you can find your home on the top 5 websites home buyers visit:

1. Yahoo

2. Craigslist

3. Zillow

4. Trulia

5. Homes.com

Other sites, like Move.com and Realtor.com are also no-brainers.

Tara’s Tip: Some of these sites require that your listing be refreshed on a weekly basis to stay visible to searchers. If your place has been on the market for 30 weeks, you might want to check and make sure it is still actively listed!

Barbara Corcoran also had some great marketing strategies to consider:

• Include a financial goody bag for the buyer
  For example, you could offer to prepay taxes or closing costs. You can also pay for a year of landscaping, pool cleaning or maid service. Be creative and see what kind of incentives you think would entice a buyer.
• Offer a big broker incentive
  Consider offering your broker a weekend in Paris or a luxurious day at the spa.
• YouTube your house
  A YouTube tour gives the buyer your personal perspective on what’s special about your house and can be linked with most major search sites. If you choose this method, you should be proactive in getting the video seen. Send links of the video to any interested parties and make sure your broker is doing the same. Insist that your broker get it on to their company’s

Condition

If your home has been sitting on the market for ages, chances are you’re not interested or able to do massive work to improve the property itself. But a little bit of sprucing can go a long way. When speaking about the most expensive mistakes a seller can make, look what made Barbara’s list:

Showing your house before you get rid of your clutter
You wouldn’t try to sell your car without first clearing it out, would you? Trying to sell your house when it is full of clutter is the same thing. People don’t see charming family mementos and alluring bric-a-brac; they see visual noise, like empty soda cans and banana peels strewn on the back seat of a Chevy. The buyer doesn’t want to see your house; they want to see their house of the future. Find a temporary home for all of your cherished possessions and let the house speak for itself.

If you think you already have de-cluttered, but you’re still getting negative condition feedback from your Realtor or other agents who have shown your house, consider following this sage piece of advice from Corcoran: hire a professional home stager - the money you spend now could get your house sold - period. And if you really need to unload it, it’s worth it.

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Filed under: Asset Protection, Remodel, Sell