Whether you like it or not, the real estate market has ground to a slow trot. Selling a home can be difficult and requires you to return to the time-tested basics of selling a home. Here are some keys to remember and use.

1. Make your home available. It would probably help to just accept that your home is in the public domain from 9 A.M until 9 P.M. daily until it’s sold.

2. When you are selling your home, keep it clean and tidy ALL the time. Let it get out of hand and an otherwise serious buyer WILL show up. If you don’t have time to clean, hire a cleaning service.

3. When you decide to sell your home, giving the kitchen the once over is a good first step. Kitchens are unique in our daily lives. For some reason, we always seem to congregate there. Buyers know this and will be focusing on the condition of yours.

4. When selling your home, be realistic about your asking price. You can check public record at the courthouse, or in many cases on-line, for the amounts of recent sales in your neighborhood.

5. When it comes to selling your home, your driveway tells potential buyers a lot about your property.If it has cracks and nasty oil stains, it is a blight on your property. Make sure to clean it thoroughly and repair all cracks.

6. You’re a seller who really needs or wants to sell your home within the next three months and the market is slow in your area. Getting enough people to come and look at your house is the secret to achieving your goal. Make price reductions until you do get 1 to 3 showings per week, and your home will sell.

7. When showing your home, you need to have a friend watch your pet. You also need to go through the home and remove all pet odors, hair and so on. Once you sell the property, you can buy another one with a bigger yard for your little one.

8. Most states require real estate contracts to be in writing to be enforceable. The buyer invests time and thought in the process of committing his offer to paper. When you receive his written offer, you know ALL the items the buyer is trying to “nibble” from you.

9. The true price of a home is the market price. The market price is not the asking price, the appraised price and so on. It is what the seller and buyer agree it is. If you are selling, do not hamstring yourself with anything other than that.

10. Many people ask escrow officers for advice or help. Don’t expect any! Escrow companies are supposed to be neutral third parties. They handle the paperwork, not negotiations or problems.

If you are a seller, the real estate news probably sounds pretty grim. It really isn’t. There is always a market for sellers and buyers. You just need to put your nose to the grindstone a bit. Since most people don’t, you’ll have an advantage and get that sale.