Real Estate Investors Online

Selling your home in today's market can be tough. Rising property taxes, exorbitant insurance rates and a buyer's market have created a strong headwind. Feng shui, which is the placement of objects based on compass directions, can be an effective antidote to these challenges. In fact, feng shui is used by powerful people in the real estate community including Donald Trump, K. Hovnanian and other large residential real estate developers.

Feng shui can improve the energy level in your home giving it a more welcome feeling to potential buyers. Here are some specific tips to enhance the opportunity for you to sell your home:

• Make any necessary repairs. Although this may sound like an obvious suggestion, broken door knobs, peeling paint and torn window screens represent more than just eye sores and inconvenience. Broken objects of any kind represent broken energy (or ch'i as it is referred to in feng shui). When energy is broken it is prevented from flowing through your home and gets "stuck" in the broken places. To get buyers' interest in your home flowing you have to get the energy flowing.

• De-clutter everywhere you can. Spend 15 minutes a day de-cluttering your home. Have a waste basket available for items you want to throw away, a box for items you want to give away and another box for items you want to sell. If you don't need it or don't love it, get rid of it. De-cluttering helps the energy in your home flow more freely. It also gives your home a more open and relaxed feeling.

• After sundown, turn the lights on at the back of your home for at least five hours in the evening. Make sure the lights are shining on the back of your home and not out into the yard. The lights send a message that you are ready to leave your home and have someone new move in.

• In the Northwest and Southeast areas of your home place a copy of your Listing Agreement with the word SOLD! written across it in your handwriting. The Northwest represents the helpful people area of your home and the Southeast represents the wealth area of your home. By placing copies of your contract in these areas you are stating your intent to bring in the right people to help you sell your home and to buy your home at an offer that's attractive for you and your family.

• Close the door. The sinks, shower and bathtub drains as well as the toilets create a lot of flushing energy in a home. Be sure to keep the toilet lids down and the bathroom doors closed to prevent flushing your home's good energy.

• Place your For Sale sign on the right side of your yard. The right side of your home (as you face your front door from your yard) is the active (or yang) side of your property. Since you want you home to "get moving" use your yard to your advantage.

A number of real estate articles over the past several years say that a home that has been feng shui'd will sell up to 80 times faster than one that hasn't been. The good news is that with these great tips it won't cost you anything to find out and it won't take you long either.