| "When you make the decision to sell your | | | | • Married |
| home, you are under no obligation to | | | | • Mature |
| hire a real estate agent or broker to | | | | • Mother-in-Law quarters |
| help you with the sale. Nonetheless, | | | | • Professional |
| most people prefer to hire a real estate | | | | • Section 8 |
| agent in order to better protect | | | | • Seniors |
| themselves and in order to put | | | | • Singles only |
| themselves in a better position to | | | | • Sports-minded |
| successfully sell the home in a short | | | | As you can see, some of these terms seem |
| amount of time. | | | | perfectly innocent. Therefore, it is a |
| When you hire a real estate agent, you | | | | good idea to get the help of a real |
| gain access to a wealth of knowledge | | | | estate agent so you can tap into his or |
| that will help keep you out of trouble | | | | her knowledge and experience in order to |
| and will help provide for a smooth | | | | stay out of trouble. |
| transaction. Here are just a few things | | | | State Real Estate Laws |
| that your real estate agent knows that | | | | Although there are similarities in real |
| you probably do not. | | | | estate laws from one state to the next, |
| The Federal Fair Housing Act | | | | each state has its own set of rules that |
| According to the Federal Fair Housing | | | | must be followed. If you do not |
| Act, you cannot discriminate against | | | | understand these laws or are unaware of |
| someone when selling a home. The act | | | | these laws, you can inadvertently break |
| defines seven different classes that are | | | | the law when selling your home. In |
| protected against discrimination, these | | | | addition, by not being fully aware of |
| include: | | | | your seller's rights, you might actually |
| • Race | | | | lose out on money during the |
| • Color | | | | transaction. |
| • National origin | | | | Taking Advantage of Connections |
| • Sex | | | | Aside from legal matters, a real estate |
| • Religion | | | | agent simply has a vast number of |
| • Handicap | | | | connections that makes it possible to |
| • Familial status | | | | sell a home more quickly and for a |
| If you do not enlist in the help of a | | | | higher asking price. Similarly, since |
| real estate agent, you put yourself at | | | | people come to real estate agents when |
| risk of violating this act if you refuse | | | | searching for homes, you are able to tap |
| to sell your home to an interested | | | | into a much larger market of interested |
| buyer. In addition, you might even | | | | buyers when you get the help of a real |
| accidentally violate these laws without | | | | estate agent. |
| realizing it. For example, there are | | | | Since a real estate agent has experience |
| certain words that cannot be included in | | | | with selling homes, he or she can also |
| your advertisements for your home | | | | provide you with tips to help increase |
| because they are in violation of the | | | | the market value of your home and to |
| Fair Housing Laws. Some of these words | | | | make the process go by more quickly. |
| include: | | | | For example, small things such as |
| • Bachelor apartment | | | | painting a room a different color can go |
| • Children welcome | | | | a long way when it comes to increasing |
| • Couples | | | | the appeal of the home. By taking |
| • Gentleman's Farm | | | | advantage of the realtor's expertise, |
| • Golden Agers | | | | you just might have a much more |
| • Handicapped | | | | profitable selling experience. |
| • Integrated | | | | |