'For sale by owner.' Four words that are becoming more and more common in the real estate market. But it selling your home yourself the right approach for you? And if so, how do you go about it?

Let's start with the first question. The "for sale by owner" approach is for anyone who doesn't want to pay estate agent fees, deal with a communication bottleneck, or give control of the marketing and selling of their property to a third party.

If that sounds like you, then follow these tips to sell your own home successfully.

Know the value of your property

Any estate agent will give you a valuation of your property, of course. But estate agents have a vested interest in raising the bar. They're hoping to convince you to choose them over their competitors, so they'll often claim to be able to sell your house for more than it's really worth.

Luckily, finding out the true worth of your property isn't too difficult. Take a look around you. Look at properties for sale in your area, and find out what their asking price is. To find out what they actually sell for (a figure which may bear no relation to the asking price), websites such as www.ourproperty.co.uk can help you out. There are also a number of websites dedicated to helping sellers market their properties themselves www.privateseller.co.uk is just one of them.

Get your house into shape

The value of your home, of course, will depend largely on what kind of condition it's in. While there's nothing you can do to change the age or structure of your building, there are many things you can do to make it appear more inviting. You've probably heard how the smell of baking bread or freshly brewed coffee can make a property seem more welcoming, but you don't even have to go that far: just making sure your home is clean, tidy, and in a good state of repair will work wonders. Get rid of your clutter before you open the door to your first viewers even if you have to put it in the attic and get rid of pet smells, underwear on radiators and unwashed dishes. (You'd be surprised how many people don't!)

Manage your viewings properly

Once you have the house clean and ready to welcome viewers, don't think you can just sit back and relax. Viewings are the most crucial time of all when you come to sell your home, and it's important that you do everything you can to make sure they go smoothly. Again, make sure that pets are kept out of the way or under control; turn off that blaring TV and stereo; was the dishes, and make sure that the environment your viewers come into is one they can imagine living in. Make sure you're on hand to answer any questions they may have, but don't follow them around the house, breathing down their necks. Give your viewers the privacy to inspect the property in their own time, and to talk to each other in private about what could be the biggest purchase of their lives!