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In years past, selling a home was always considered a fairly 'standard' process. You choose a realtor, the realtor shows your home to people, you sit back and wait for offers, you hope an offer comes in that you'll like, and if it does, you sell. That's it ' the way it's done.

Only, not so much anymore.

Today, as with everything, there are new advances that have made the process different, and which give the seller multiple options when selling a property, and the smart seller will take advantage of them to get the best price, in the fastest time, with the smallest amount of money spent to get there.

THE STANDARD SALE: Forget it. This real estate market has exploded in the past few years, and the time where you could find a young couple from Boston moving into your neighborhood who just loves everything they see in your home is long gone. Times have changed. Nowadays, everyone is watching 'home improvement' shows, and they all know that the crack in your living room wall is a place they can start asking for a thousand dollars off the sale price. Roof looking a little old? That'll be another $5k off the price. And that cheap lino flooring in the kitchen? That'll need replacing' there goes another $2k' Everyone's an expert these days, and if you're not an expert too, then the standard sale will mean you rely on a realtor, who for all you knows, might be just as happy to make a quick sale and get his or her commission check, as they are holding out for a good price.

THE AUCTION: In some parts of the world, such as Australia, real estate auctions are standard practice, because the seller can find themselves in a bidding war and get a great price above market rates. But in North America, an auction generally indicates you're in a panic to sell for whatever you can get for the thing, which means those bidding wars rarely happen. And if the price you want isn't hit, you've got a bill to pay for the auctioneer's time.

THE SALE BY OWNER: Sure, this'll save you realtor fees, but are you really confident that you can do all the paperwork yourself and not screw something up ' at a high price to your bank account? Are you a good enough sales person to get the best price, or are you going to get pressured by an aggressive potential buyer? When a buyer asks about local zoning laws' will you have an answer for him or her, or will you shrug and not know how to respond? And what happens six months down the line when you realize you were pricing your property out of the local market?

THE ANSWER: It might not be for everyone, but a LOT of people is finding that it's much easier, faster, and less stressful to sell their property ' NOW ' to a company that specializes in offering fair market prices for quick sales on properties that they can develop for a profit way down the line.

Sure, you could develop your property yourself ' you could bring in the roofers and carpenters and painters and floorers and plumbers and gardeners ' if you have the money to pay them all while you're paying a mortgage. And at the end of it all, you might even make a profit. But there's a lot of 'what ifs' there. What if the average real estate value in your area drops while you're developing the property? What if the laborers screws up the job and you have to have it redone? What if your great ideas for home d'cor turn out to be not so great, expensive reasons for people not to buy?