Take care to appoint an agent that will provide you with a complete professional service.

Look for and expect your agent to provide you with added value. Simply placing an advert in the ESPC may ultimately bring about a sale but to achieve the best results you need your agent to take a pro-active approach to marketing your property.

Arrange to have your property valued. You own idea of the worth of your property may be significantly different from its actual value and you need to know this as soon as possible. Arrange a marketing appraisal meeting where you can discuss the selling process in detail, ask any questions and agree the marketing stategy.

Ensure that your property is presented to the market in the best possible condition. You only get one chance to create a first impression so make sure that the entrance of the property is looking at its best. Go to the other side of the street - how does your house compare with the neighboring properties? Does the garden need tidied up or could it do with a few flowers to brighten it up? Is the paintwork in need of freshening up? Do the windows need a quick wash? Is the stairwell clean and tidy? Surveys tell us that most purchasers make up their minds about a property within minutes of arriving so make that first impression a good one.

De-clutter the property by removing any large unnecessary items of furniture, children's toys, dog baskets. You want to create a feeling of space. Small rooms can transformed by a large mirror on the wall.

Turn on the lights. A dark, badly lit entrance hall will immediately create a negative impression. If the hallway is naturally dark then make sure that you provide the light to make it feel warm and welcoming.

Make sure that your kitchen is spotless. Greasy hobs, crumby surfaces and sticky floors are an immediate turn off. Make sure the work surfaces are clear and that none of the kitchen appliances are running when you are viewing the property.

Spruce up the bathroom. Make sure that clump of hair is removed from the plughole, the mirror and tiles are sparkling and there's no grimy rim around the bath tub or loo. A couple of expensive looking soaps, a plant to bring some colour and a fresh matching towel set will help to make a gleaming impression.

Remove pets from the property at viewing times along with their baskets or cages. You don't wish any distractions from the property itself and there is nothing more aggravating for a purchaser than a small dog yapping away constantly.

Limit Your Personal Marks - When preparing your property for sale, remember that your utmost priority should be to create an environment that the potential buyer can picture him or herself living in. This means you should remove any excessive personal effects from open display. If you have family portraits everywhere or your children's drawings all over the fridge, it becomes difficult for the potential buyer to feel at home in the space: he or she will find it difficult to avoid viewing the house as belonging to someone else.

Prepare your sales pitch in advance. Have a good think about what you want to bring to the purchaser's attention in every room. Highlight the good points and if there are no obvious good points to highlight then that is when you should talk about more general - the lovely neighbours, the local shopping and schools.

Ask your viewers to leave a note of their name and contact details on a sheet of paper as they leave the house. This can be passed to your agent who will then attempt to contact the viewer for feedback. Any feedback, whether negative or positive, is invaluable to you in achieving a sale. If your agent doesn't call back viewers then it is time for you to look for a new agent!!

Decide to cook strong smelling food before your viewers arrive. Your property needs to appeal to both their sense of sight and their sense of smell. A few fresh flowers, one or two scented candles and the smell of freshly applied polish have got to be better than the smell of freshly cooked kippers!!

Close all the doors. Open doors create a feeling of space and also allow much needed light to filter through the property.

Enter the room in front of your viewer. The more people there are in a room, the smaller it will appear. Stay at the door and give the viewers there own space to enjoy the room. Never stand in front of the window when speaking to your purchaser.

Allow yourself to get carried away with your description of the property. Your Sales Particulars must be accurate and you will require to adhere to the Property Mis-description regulations. If you are asked a direct question then answer it honestly but do not feel under any obligation to draw negative features to the attention of the buyer.

Enter into discussions with the purchaser about price. More and more often these days a viewer will try to draw you into revealing the price that you would accept and you could end up asking for less than they would have been prepared to offer. Hide behind your solicitor - tell them that he has advised you not to discuss the price, that you are looking for as much as you can get for the property and invite them to submit a written offer through their own solicitor if they are keen to proceed. Remember a verbal offer is worth nothing!

Appoint your agent simply because they are the cheapest. Ask yourself what services you will be missing out on by choosing the cheapest agent and what difference a proactive agent would make as opposed to one who simply places you advert in the ESPC and then sits back and waits for a purchaser to come along.