to contract. All of them closed successfully. It means that virtually twice as many homes sold during the same period last year ... a HUGE difference.

So, why do so many people still believe that homes sell immediately?

Sadly, some Realtors® suggest they can achieve "immediate sales" to get a listing. "I have a buyer for this home," they say. Once they take the listing, the buyer mysteriously disappears.

Moreover, many real estate agents equate taking a listing with their willingness to promise larger-than-likely prices. There's an old saying in the real estate business: "List To Last." Whoever has the listings, can rely on the nature of the market to reach enough sales to hang on to the lifestyle they enjoy.

But when things start to slow down, it often leads to a frustrated seller. Some Realtors® reason that they just need more listings to reach their goals, since they sell fewer of them. New sellers enter the market willing to believe their homes are worth more than the market will pay. Over-promising agents grab the listing (at any price). They lower the price when the seller gets frustrated. They lower it more when it proves to be "stale" because it did not sell (at the right price) in the critical first three weeks of listing. They blame it all on the market. Eventually they make the sale.

They move on to their next overpromise.

There is another way. If you want the truth, and hard work aimed at getting you the best price, list with Temple and Kerstin. Nobody understands cyberspace selling better than we do. Nobody does a better job of selling your home.

We deliver. No bull.

Why list with us?

The Palm Beaches has more than enough real estate associates ... it's no joke that there's about one for every 15 homeowners. So what makes us different from other hard-working Realtors®?

The answer goes far beyond our decades of experience in real estate, or our knowledge of cyberspace selling and real estate in general.

It starts with our unique marketing plans (click on the link to see a typical one). And our initial comparative market anaylsis (this links to a typical one, which is a PDF file ... PDF stands for Postscript Data File ... they can take a while to load). Both the real estate marketing plan and the real estate comparative market analysis point to our greatest strengths ... integrity, honesty and reality when selling a home.

When you list with us, we help you from the initial contact to the closing table ... every step of the way. We don't list and hope the home sells itself. We bring the market to you. And we help stage your home for top dollar.

Give us a call. Sell your home. It will be our privilege to do so.

20 ways
smart sellers
raise the price
of their home.

1. Curb appeal sells: Do some landscaping. Plant some flowers. Remember that the front door greets buyers. Make sure it looks new.

2. Decorate For A Quick Sale: Faded walls and worn woodwork reduce appeal. Invest in a few cans of paint. Brighten up the interior.

3. Let The Sun Shine In: Open draperies and curtains and let the prospect see how cheerful your home can be. Dark rooms do not appeal. One trick which always seems to work is to replace 60-watt bulbs with 100-watt bulbs, and have your Realtor® turn them all on, even for a daytime showing (and off after the showing).

4. Fix That Faucet! Dripping water suggests faulty plumbing, one of the greatest fears that savvy buyers have.

5. Repairs Can Make A Big Difference: Loose knobs, sticking and squeaking doors and windows, warped cabinet drawers, and other minor flaws detract from home value. Fix them. Most buyers assume there will be ten hidden problems for every one they see.

6. Clutter clogs sales: Display the full value of your space by removing all unnecessary articles. Consider storing things you don't need all the time.

7.Safety First: Keep halls and stairways clear. Avoid cluttered appearances and possible injuries.

8. Clean Your Closets: Neat, well ordered closets look bigger, suggesting that storage space is ample. One of any home's biggest deal-killers remains: "Not enough closet space."

9. Bathrooms Sell Homes: Check and repair caulking in bathtubs and showers. Make the room sparkle!

10. Arrange Bedrooms Neatly: Remove excess furniture. Use attractive bedspreads and window treatments, with freshly laundered curtains if you use them.

11. Harmonize The Elements: FM radio or stereo on softly, TV off. All lights on, day or night. Drapes open in the daytime, closed at night. If it's hot, cool it!

12. You Can Sell Pride Of Ownership. Cleanliness counts. Potpourrie works. So does a nice-smelling stew simmering on the stove. Happy buyers often tell us: "I liked the smell of the home." And you'd be surprised how many people walked away from a "perfect" home because "the owners were smokers."

13. Three's A Crowd: Avoid having too many people present during a showing. Potential buyers need to feel at home, not like intruders being hurried through the house.

14. Noise does not sell well. Let the Realtor® and buyer talk, free of disturbances. Background "soft playing" music is okay, but the wrong sounds will turn buyers off. Noisy children and animals are roadblocks to a contract … and traffic, trains, and planes must be dealt with honestly, if they are part of the deal.

15. Pets Underfoot? Keep them out of the way ... preferably out of the house. Many people are acutely uncomfortable around animals. Nothing can stop a sale faster than man's best friend, wagging its friendly tail at a prospect with an allergy.

16. Silence Is Golden: Be courteous but don't force conversation with a potential buyer. He wants to inspect your house, not pay a social visit.

17. Be It Ever So Humble: Never apologize for the appearance of your home. After all, it has been lived in. Let the trained agent answer any objections. That's the job of your Realtor®.

18. Never Stay In Your House With House Hunters: Let the agent handle it, and remove yourself if possible. Remember that the Realtor® has worked many hours with these people, and knows what they're looking for, and how to work with them. Let the Realtor® do the job without interference.You may feel that an agent isn't showing the important features of your home to the prospect, but the agent knows people aren't sold by details until they've become emotionally involved with the "big picture" of your home. The presence of any member of the seller's family can't help. It always unnerves possible buyers. It often prevents a sale.

19. Don't Put The Cart Before The Horse? Trying to dispose of furniture and furnishing to a potential buyer before he has purchased the house often loses a sale.

20. Let your Realtor® discuss price, terms, possession, and other factors with the prospect. They are qualified to bring negotiations to a favorable conclusion. A smart Realtor® knows, in certain rare cases, when to tell a buyer and seller to sit down and negotiate the final price on their own. And if you don't think you have a smart Realtor® … well, you know where to find them if you are reading this page.