Before deciding whether to attempt to sell your home and keep the commission you would pay a real estate agent, consider these important details.

Consulting a Real Estate agent about placing your home For Sale By Owner will probably result in their advising you against it, and they will tell you that it will take you twice as long to sell the home than if they helped you do it.

However, remember when you bought your house. If you're like most home buyers, the Real Estate Agent walked you through the house, had you fill out a few real estate forms, and then you sat in the Escrow office while they did the rest, and the Agent pocketed the 5 to 6 percent commission (or more).

I'm not saying the Real Estate Agent has an easy job, but do your homework and you will be in a very good position for a FSBO quick sale.

First, determine whether it is a buyers or sellers market. In a buyers market, there are more buyers then homes available, making it easier to sell. In a sellers market, determine if you want to take a chance and pay an extra two to three mortgage payments on your house while you try to sell it, or hire an Agent.

Evaluate the homes listed for sale in your neighborhood. How long is it taking for them to sell? If the other houses are selling slowly, you may decide to remain in your home until you locate a buyer, which allows you to take longer to find a buyer, but provides you with less time to move out.

Next, make preparations. No experience is more frustrating than encountering numerous questions you are not able to answer. Seek an online home evaluation (which usually costs nothing) to provide evidence of your home's value. Contract with a Real Estate Attorney to provide the necessary legal documents and close the transaction. The State Real Estate Commission website lists the forms necessary for the transaction.

Identify an Escrow company that will reliably hold the good faith deposit and consult with a Title Company. Buyers are responsible for locating a Mortgage Broker, Escrow Company, and selecting a closing attorney, but if they are not familiar with these processes, offering your assistance will result in their appreciation, as well as an increased likelihood of closing the sale.

To cut costs, advertise only when Real Estate Ads are most prominent in the newspaper, and if other open houses are going on in the immediate area, show yours concurrently.

If you have done all of these things and still are not encountering potential buyers, you may need to contract with a Discounted or Medium Service Broker, or possibly with a low cost Real Estate Broker (these resources may provide their services through the Internet). By using these agents, a seller might be able to advertise with a Multiple Listing Service. The extra cost required for contributing a picture of the house is well worth the investment. A written advertisement is completely inadequate to effectively list your home.

One final alternative is to evaluate the benefits of contracting with a Buyers Agent. These Agents, who normally work for a buyer, will share their commission with the Sellers Agent. Because you are functioning as the sellers agent, this may benefit you, and you may be able to sell your home for only 2.5 to 3 percent of the contracted price.

Again, weigh getting help with having the house on the market for a longer period of time. A 3% commission on a 300,000 house is still $9,000 to a Buyers Agent, but compared to the 6% that Real Estate agents charge, that's an extra $9,000 that stays in your pocket.