Let's start by assembling a "dream team" of professionals to assist. This group may or man not include a real estate professional if you choose to sell the home yourself.  The group of people you select will be your expert network. Select these individuals based on their respective expertise and services.

Since you're the one managing the process you should find very qualified, reputable, and affordable professionals to make your team effective and stay within the budget allocated for the sale.

You can start by checking an online resource directory, looking in the yellow pages, or asking family and friends for referrals.

Real Estate Attorney

The first and probably most important member of your team will be a real estate attorney. Interview a few attorneys and make sure that they have in-depth experience with real estate as well as assisting individuals, such as yourself, who prefer not to use a real estate agent. Then select one to become a member of your network of experts.

Think of the attorney as your guru. You need to make sure you are comfortable with the attorney's ability and can get along with their personality. Some of the things you may have your attorney do are:

• write and review contracts
• handle transaction money
• fix defects in your title policy
• handle closing
• represent you in case of any legal problems

Financial Advisors

Depending on your financial situation, you may want to consider adding a financial advisor to your team - this could be an accountant, tax preparer, or financial advisor. A good advisor can help you assess your financial status and advise you on the best strategy - in particular, taxes and financing options. They can also advise you in investing your proceeds from the sale.

Contractors

Depending upon the amount of improvements and repairs you decide to make on the property, you may want to hire a general contractor or individual contractors, such as plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and so on.

A general contractor will manage your improvement or repair projects for you by hiring the necessary people to complete the project in a timely manner. Of course, they may cost a bit more than hiring each individual contractor yourself, but keep in mind, if your project is extensive you will have to do a lot of extra busy work - like calling contractors on a regular basis.

If you work during the day and don't have the time to constantly be pushing contractors to complete the job by a specified date, or if your project is extensive and involves many different skills, then you should seriously consider hiring a general contractor. They make sure everyone gets the job done in a professional and timely manner.

Mortgage Brokers and Lenders

If you are a prospective buyer, then you definitely will need either a mortgage broker or lender. So, why do you need one if you're selling?

Well, it's not you that needs the services. It's the buyer. You could have what might appear to be the best buyer in the world for your property. However, if you're not in the 4% of lucky people that receive cash for the sale or you can't secure a mortgage, your deal is crashing fast.

The best thing you can have on your side is a list of brokers or lenders that you have pre-screened (if you're also buying, then you can use the list you made for you're buying quest), and be able to present them to buyers who have not secured a mortgage.

So how do you know if a buyer has secured a mortgage, or at least found a broker or lender? Simple - just ask. As you are pre-screening the buyer, ask them if they are going to need a loan to purchase the property. A true buyer will answer this question willingly.

If they need a loan, you should ask the buyer if they are pre-approved for a loan or if they're at least pre-qualified. If not, ask them if they have met with any mortgage brokers or lenders and which ones. At this point, if needed you can give the buyer a pre-screened list of brokers and lenders that you have already met with, this will make it easier on the buyer, and perhaps make you and your property stay in their memory.

Be careful not to seem too pushy, you don't want the buyer to think that you are prying for personal financial information. If the buyer seems apprehensive, you can tell them that before taking the time to show them your property you want to make sure that they are serious. Nothing is more serious than securing a mortgage.

Appraisers

As we get you prepared for determining a sales price, an appraiser is someone you may want to consult with while determining the fair market value of your property. Whether or not you decide to use an appraiser, you should make sure that you have a list of several that are qualified by the professionals on your mortgage broker and lender list, so that you can give these contacts to the buyer for them to consider.

Inspectors

Typically, buyers will hire inspectors to assess the condition of the property. In many states a home inspection is required by law. Regardless this is something that most buyers should want to do and you should encourage the inspections. Not all inspectors are created equal - you should talk to a few and request a sample report. Find one or two inspectors that you can recommend to buyers, those who will provide accurate and honest detailed reports.

You may even want to consider hiring an inspector to examine your property prior to placing it on the market. This inspection will help ensure that you did not miss any necessary repairs or improvements during your walk through. If you choose to do this, then provide the report to buyers when they visit. This should help show buyers that you are not trying to hide anything. If you needed to make repairs as a result of an inspection, include the invoices for the repairs with the inspection report.

Insurance Agent

It is always wise, and in most cases required, to insure the property. You most likely already have an insurance agent that you deal with for your current property insurance needs. It is quite likely that a prospective buyer may not be familiar with the area. Perhaps they currently live in another state. It would be beneficial for you to be able to give the buyer a few names of reputable local insurance agents that can assist the buyer. Remember, if the buyer is opening a mortgage, then they need to carry home owners insurance on the property - otherwise the deal may not close.

Escrow Officer

Although you are not required by law to use an escrow officer, you may want to seriously consider hiring one. Their specific task is to be a neutral third party, who buyers and sellers can entrust with safekeeping of documentation and money. The escrow officer ensures that all conditions of the sale will be met before the buyer receives transfer of documents and you receive the proceeds. It's not over until they say so.

Title Insurance Company

Your title insurance company is needed to verify titles and correct them if there is a problem. They will check to make sure all titles are free of liens or charges prior to settlement. In some states, title insurance companies will also serve as the escrow officer. As mentioned earlier, title insurance companies, can also assist you in determining comparables (typically, free of charge), as well as answer other relevant questions you may have.

Relocation and Moving

If the property you are selling is your primary residence, then chances are you will be moving. Most likely you will need to move out prior to closing (unless you negotiate a later move date in the sale). So, if you decide that you're not going to rent a U-Haul and move yourself across country, you will want to hire a good moving agent that will help you move your treasured belongings.

Real Estate Agent

This is your opportunity to do the work of a real estate agent and save some dollars on the transaction. Thinking that you may not need all these people if you had an agent its not true. If you were working with an agent, you would still need these professionals. The only difference is that you are going to use your experts rather than have the agent recommend their pool of experts.

If you decide you need some help we're just a phone call away.

Time to look at one of the selling fundamentals, condition -->