Sell This House On Television!

Having trouble selling your house? Sell This House, a new reality show on the Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E) can help! Each Sunday evening at 5 (Eastern Time), the Sell This House team tackles a 'problem house' - one that's been on the market for some time and isn't selling. After snooping on prospective buyers who tour the house and recording their concerns, the show's team steps in to work wonders and transform a no-sell house into a hot property.

Hosted by Tanya Memme and Roger Hazard, Sell This House features a new property each week. Memme, a former Miss World Canada, is a sassy, wisecracking hostess who helps viewers see inside the minds and hearts of both buyers and sellers. Hazard is a decorator and design maven who has designed celebrity homes and restaurants, from the outside in. Together, the pair bring the concept of 'staging' to life - and manage to combine a great deal of entertainment for the viewer with a heaping helping of excellent advice for anyone trying to sell a house in today's real estate markets.

Says Hazard, "People want to feel good in a home, and it doesn't take much to create that environment."

And that is what "staging" is all about - creating an environment that appeals to the psychology of the buyer and makes them feel good just being in your house. Sell This House capitalizes on the concept of staging, and shows viewers easy tips and tricks to help them use staging to move their own homes in a slow market.

Sell This House has featured homes in Los Angeles, Seattle, Maui, Memphis, Fort Worth, Baltimore, Austin, Chicago and about 40 other cities. The houses are selected from homes submitted by viewers. After the camera spies on prospective buyers to hear concerns about the home, decorator Hazard sets to work to transform the property that won't sell into a property that gets snapped up in a heartbeat.

Each episode of Sell This House also features selling tips from the experts and advice on staging your own home to sell quickly in a soft real estate market. The reality decorating real estate show is sponsored by Coldwell Banker, who offer these top 10 real estate tips to both buyers and sellers.

1. Start with a plan when you purchase a home. Know whether you're buying a short term investment or a long term home.

2. Know your credit rating.

3. Use a professional realtor to have someone on your side who knows the local market and the real estate business inside out.

4. If you're buying - take photos to help you remember details of the houses that you view.

5. If you're the buyer, seek out all the alternative funding opportunities. If you the seller, KNOW them. Being able to steer prospective buyers to financing that works for them can make the difference between disappointment and a sale.

6. Know the local schools. According to realtors, being in a district with good schools increases the sale value of your house. If you're buying, choose a house in a good school district. If you're selling, be sure to point it out!

7. Do your research into local prices so that you know you're pricing your home in the right ballpark. An overpriced home is not likely to sell, no matter how beautiful it is.

8. Be sure to include information about local amenities in your sell this house ads. Travel routes, close to highway, good schools, within easy walking distance to stores are all great selling points.

9. Get feedback from realtors and prospective buyers who view your house. It will help you adjust your selling angle to sell more quickly.

10. Go for full disclosure. The law is very clear on what must be disclosed to prospective buyers about defects. If there are any, you're best off being open about them.