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Most real estate experts agree that being too emotionally attached to your home can lead to poor decision making, such as over-pricing the listing and making hasty choices based on feelings rather than facts.

Of course, removing emotion from the home selling equation is easier said than done. After all, it is your home. It’s only natural to be emotionally connected to it. So, how do you ensure that emotions don’t get in the way of selling your house quickly and for the best price? Here are some strategies:

• Think of selling your property as a business transaction only. Focus your emotions on the new home you’ll be moving into soon.
• Stow as many personal items as possible, such as trophies and family pictures. Turn your home into an attractive product.
• If a buyer makes a negative comment about your property – “I hate the deck color.” – don’t take it personally.
• Avoid judging offers to buy your house based on whether or not you like the buyer.

Finally, whenever you make a decision during the home selling process, ask yourself: “Am I making this decision based on fact or emotion?” If the answer is “fact” then, chances are, you’re on solid footing.

Ideally, you want to be the only buyer who makes an offer on a particular property. That way, assuming your price is acceptable to the seller, you’re almost certain to close the deal.

But, it doesn’t always work out that way. In the case of highly desirable homes, it’s very common for there to be competing offers.

So, what do you do if there’s a competing offer on a home you really want?

First, don’t panic. Just because there are other buyers interested in the property doesn’t mean you won’t get it. There are many factors that influence a seller’s decision to choose one offer over another.

For example, sellers are generally skeptical of offers from buyers who do not have a pre-approved mortgage, or have not yet put their own home on the market.

Conditional offers based on these factors are often a red flag. Most sellers will readily accept an offer conditional on a satisfactory home inspection. However, if there are other more stringent conditions – such as an offer conditional on the buyer selling his own home for a particular price, or an offer conditional on arranging satisfactory financing – many sellers will be reluctant to accept the offer.

Deciding whether to stay in your current home or look for a new one is tough. So tough in fact, that there is a reality TV show about it!

If you’re struggling to make that decision, here are some tips that can help:

• Find out the current market value of your home. This will give you a clear idea of how much your property is likely to sell for in today’s market.
• Find out how much you can afford to invest in a new home. This is calculated, in part, by how much of a mortgage you qualify to receive.
• Determine whether your current home still suits your needs. Do you need to move up to a larger place? Downsize to a smaller property?
• Figure out whether this is the right time to move to an area that you’ve always dreamed of living in.
• Assess whether your community has changed in a way that you don’t like.
• Decide whether you are still happy where you live. Is it time for a change?

Imagine coming across a “Home for Sale” listing on the internet. It’s in a community you’re seriously considering. You and your family are excited. You can hardly wait to view the property and see if it could be your next dream home.

Then, there’s a problem.

When you contact the agent, she says the homeowners are busy people and won’t be able to show the house until next week. Even then, the only time available is at noon on Wednesday, when you’ll be miles away at work. How about viewing the property on Saturday? Forget it. The homeowners are having company over that day.

Chances are, you’ll lose interest long before you ever get a chance to see that property!

This may sound a little extreme, but it does illustrate an important point.

If you don’t make your home readily available for buyers to view, many simply won’t view it, and your property may not sell.

That doesn’t mean you have to be inconvenienced each day by a steady stream of buyers stomping through your property. However, you do need to be flexible.

When buyers become interested in your home – by seeing the listing online, for example, they want to view it as soon as possible. The longer they have to wait, the more likely it is that another property will capture their interest.

They may even make an offer on another home before they get a chance to see yours!

This is traditionally the time of year in which people set goals for the year ahead. But, unfortunately, most people who set goals – especially New Year’s resolutions – never achieve them.

How do you beat the odds? Here is the rundown of what the most popular experts advise.

Tony Robbins recommends that you, “Decide what you’re absolutely committed to achieving, take massive action, and notice what’s working or not. Then, keep changing your approach until you’ve achieved what you want.”

Jack Canfield, co-author of the Chicken Soup For The Soul series, says, “Write your goals down in detail and read that list every day. Then ask yourself, what can I do today to move closer to achieving one of my goals?”

When you’re feeling discouraged, motivational guru Zig Ziglar provides this simple truth: “You do everything better when you’re thinking positively than when you’re thinking negatively.”

And, although most are not superstar authors, social scientists who study goal achievement recommend that you focus on no more than five goals at a time, and mix performance goals such as “Lose 10 pounds” with learning goals such as “Learn how to cook five new nutritious meals.”

So, set a goal and achieve it. This is your year!

When you purchase a new home, the most exciting day is closing day. That’s the day you take possession of the property and, in most cases, move in. But the process isn’t necessarily over. There are still some important details to take care of in the weeks and months after the move.

For example, it’s a good idea to make sure you’re getting all your mail. Ideally, you will have made arrangements with the post office prior to your move to have your mail redirected to your new address. However, that service will eventually expire. Here’s a tip: Introduce yourself to the new owners of your old property. Ask them if they wouldn’t mind holding any of your mail that has been inadvertently delivered to them and you’ll make arrangements to stop by periodically to pick it up. Chances are, they won’t mind.

Also in the weeks after the move, you should take care of any repairs or other maintenance issues that were identified before you purchased the home. In the busy days leading up to moving day and in the excitement of settling in, these issues are easy to forget. You don’t want them to become bigger issues later on.

When you’re buying or selling a home, there are so many details to look after that it’s easy to miss something. One thing you don’t want to forget is insurance.

Once your property has sold, you’ll need to contact your insurance company to let them know the date that ownership of your property will be transferred (the “closing date”). They’ll arrange to cancel your insurance once you’re no longer the owner of that property.

If you’ll be taking possession of your new home, and leaving your current property vacant for a period of time, you’ll need to make sure both properties are insured. This may also apply to a condominium even if the unit is completely empty. (Contact your insurance company to ask about continuing liability coverage while discontinuing the insurance on contents.)

When you purchase a new home, don’t leave the insurance to the last minute. Contact your insurance company right away. Make sure they are aware of all the features of the new home that may reduce your premiums, such as alarms, and wired-in smoke detectors.

When viewing a home for sale, many buyers look at the property from a “macro” perspective. They ask themselves questions like: “Is it large enough?”; “Are there enough bedrooms?”; “Is it in a nice community?” While those questions are important, it also pays to consider a potential new home from a “micro” perspective.

Here are some things to consider:

Living room and family room. Are they large enough to fit all the furniture? Are the rooms conducive to family get-togethers and entertaining? Do you need a separate living room and family room?

Kitchen. Is it important to have enough space to eat comfortably in the kitchen as well as the dining room? Does the kitchen have all the cupboard and other storage space you need? Will your fridge fit?

Bathroom. Is the main floor bathroom uncomfortably small? Does the ensuite bathroom have all the features you desire, such as a large tub and/or separate shower? Do you need double sinks?

Bedrooms. Is the master bedroom large enough to fit the bed and other furniture? Does it have the closet space you need? Are the other bedrooms large enough for your needs? (It’s a good idea to get the measurements of these rooms as it can be difficult to judge measurements during a viewing.)

Storage space. This is particularly important if you’re shopping for a condo. Does the storage space or locker have the space you need?

Closets. Are there enough closets for your needs? Is there a linen closet?

Garage. Homeowners use the garage for more than just cars. If you plan to use this space for storage or hobbies, check that the garage will be suitable for those purposes.