Twelve tips to sell your house in a crummy market

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Worthwhile reading over the weekend for those of you trying to sell a house right now -- 12 tips, plus a few extras, to sell your house.

The list compiled by Marni Jameson contains some of the usual suspects (Number 2 is ‘start at the curb’, and Number 3 is ‘Paint!’), and I’ll print the entire thing below. What struck me is the tidbit of advice that came after the 12 tips: get real about price.

In an effort to make this unpopular advice more acceptable, San Diego broker Sandy Fish puts it diplomatically. Don’t ignore the competition:

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Fish helps clients get realistic about their homes by showing them what else is on the market in the same price range. ‘When they see what they’re up against, including new homes, that often motivates them to get real about their price and what they should fix up,’ Fish says.

Click below to see the top 12 tips.

1. Get the right mindset. Once you list your home, detach yourself.
2. Start at the curb. Look at what people see when they pull up.
3. Paint -- it’s money in a can.
4. Focus on the entry.
5. Catch up on maintenance. Get around to the repairs you should have been doing all along.
6. Look for alternatives to expensive or messy upgrades.
7. Consider new appliances.
8. Add some house bling. Make anything metal in your home look new and shiny.
9. Start packing. ‘The average home would show much better if it had 50% less stuff,’ real estate broker Fish says.
10. Remove the ‘you’ factor. Sorry but home buyers don’t care about your trophies, your hobbies, your taste in art or your photos.
11. Clean house.
12. Banish smells.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo Credit: LA Times