1)    BE CASUAL, NOT SERIOUS, ABOUT SELLING!

A sage once quipped. "money is only important when you don't want something enough." Real estate expert  R.L. Brown said that if half of the 58,000 sellers in Maricopa County removed their for-sale signs we'd be at normal inventory levels. Good advice for us in the Twin Cities real estate market. Actions speak louder than words in this market. Discretionary sellers should wait for a less competitive environment.

2)    PRICE IT WRONG!

A home properly priced is half sold. No amount of full-color ads glossy fliers, multiple photos, virtual tours, agent luncheons, Goodyear blimps, Viking cheerleaders will compensate for a wrong, timid retail price.

3)  IGNOR  YOUR AGENT!

Attorneys believe if you represent yourself, you have a fool for a client. Doctors don't self diagnose. Professionals use professionals. Even though many people believe they're experts on raising kids and real estate, full time career pros usually know what's best. Listen to them very carefully.

4)    MICROMANAGE THE MARKETING!

If  you sold cookware in college, carts in California, or carpeting in Cranston, it does not qualify you to second guess your agent. If you had a real estate license years ago, save your stories about the "good ole days" for your children. You can share your concerns and time lines, but leave the details to the listing pro.

5)   REJECT STAGING SUGGESTIONS!

Someday shag multi-colored sculptured carpeting will come back. White washed cabinets, Navajo white walls, linoleum flooring, lots of personal photos, and Elvis paintings on black velvet need to go NOW.

6)    DISCOUNT THAT SMELL!

My house doesn't smell of pets, baby diapers, curry powder, garlic, fried fish, coconut incense,  cigars, manure, mulch, dairy farms or low tide. The buyer must be confusing my castle with a tract home.

7)    DISMISS FEEDBACK!

What do buyers know anyway? They can't possibly mind my barbed wire fence, heavy duty rebar, back yard bomb shelter, airport runway views, lights from the power plant, hum from the high voltage power lines, rail road tremors, scorpion skeletons, termite mud tubes and pet snakes. What are they thinking?