Here are some tips to market your home if you choose to sell it on your own.

1. Advertise in the newspaper

People still read newspapers on a daily basis. Be sure to place an ad in the Sunday edition of the paper as well since people have more time to browse each page on Sundays than on any other day through the week.

2. Get a yard sign

If you live in a higher profile neighborhood, potential buyers probably ride through on the weekends to see if there are any houses for sale. A yard sign increases the traffic to your home. The sign should include your contact information in case potential buyers don’t have time to stop.

3. Get help writing home ads

The trick is to give the best impression of your home in the fewest words. Most ads use the same wording and abbreviations.

You will want something more unique. One rule is to show them the house in the ad. For example, instead of saying that the family room is a certain square footage, say that you have a “spacious great room”. This will mean different things to different buyers which is what you want. They will have to check out the house to see if it meets their expectations.

4. Advertise online on the Internet

More and more people are searching for homes on the Internet. It is easier and you can set the search parameters to satisfy

your needs. One feature is pictures. Pictures give a potential buyer a chance to check out the house or at least a few rooms of it. Don’t take too many.

You want the buyer to actually visit the house and not just the listing on the Web.

5. Dress your house

Nothing says, a hot commodity-like a well designed home. Home stagers are artistic professionals who come in after you have cleaned

and de-cluttered to the best of your ability. They use their talent to create a mood and theme to your home. Buyers will be blown away by the ambiance.

6. Hold an open house

This is a chance for you to tell anyone who will listen all about your home. Send the kids to a babysitter and get to work.

Welcome potential buyers into your home. Be sure to have a sign in sheet so that you can follow up later with them.

Marketing your own home is not easy but it is possible. If you are a motivated seller, you can express that to potential buyers who are interested in a home like yours. Try one, two, or all of these tips to get started, and sell that home.

Put your comments here and share your home selling tips to other readers.

Charitable contributions are cash and non-cash giving that are directed to charities.  Most people are familiar with deducting cash contributions to medical foundations and other non-profit organizations.  Cash can be deducted for the actual dollar amount given.  This includes tithing contributions to your church and other religious organizations.

The problem with charitable donations comes with regards to non-cash donations.  Each year people give away clothing, appliances, electronics, computers, artwork and even cars to charity.  The amounts that they claim for these items are varied.

While you can’t deduct the purchase price of the items if they are used, claims have been made for amounts that are certainly more than the items were worth at the time of donation.  Large donations were not being substantiated with proof of the price.  After this year, all of that will change.

For now, if the contributions are in excess of $250 there has to be a receipt received from the charity verifying the amount.  For property that is worth more than $5,000 a letter valuing the item is needed from a professional appraiser.  The value of vehicles donated is limited to the amount that the charity receives from the sale of the property, not what you paid for it or the blue book value.

The purpose of charitable donations is to give to someone who could use what you no longer can.  A good rule of thumb is to only give away items that are in the condition that you would want to receive.  People have bundled up items and donated them even if they don’t work or were tattered, and then claimed an almost new price on their tax return for the donation.  This will no longer be tolerated.

Items that are given away have to meet certain standards.  Clothing must be clean and in condition for wear by another.  Appliances, computers, electronics, and the like must be in good working order and not in need of repairs.  These items depreciate just like a car.  The full price of a new item cannot be claimed for your donation of a computer that you have owned for ten years, for example.

To avoid any problems with your charitable deductions, obtain a receipt for each item that you donate.  Specify the name of the item and how old it is.  The amount of the deduction is further reduced for anything that has already been subject to a tax break such as business equipment.  If you itemize, charitable deductions are limited to less than fifty percent of your adjusted gross income.

When this subject was first approached, deductions were claimed for things like using the family room to address envelopes for business invoices.  The home office deduction has been narrowed down to weed out uses that don’t qualify.

The use of the home for business has to meet certain requirements.  The use needs to be exclusive, regular, and for business.  The room in your home where you conduct business is the primary place of business even if you have someplace else where you also conduct business activities.

This does not mean that the family room can be used for a home office deduction if you address envelopes once a week.  The “exclusive” requirement means that the room is used for business and nothing else.  A room can’t double as the office and qualify for the home office deduction.

This also goes for equipment in the home office.  The use of the equipment has to be for business and not personal use.  If you have one computer in the home, chances are the other family members are using it when you are not.

A room that is set up as an office and is only used as such would qualify for the home office deduction.  Any equipment for the business that can fit needs to be in that room to ensure that no one else is using it for personal stuff.  For a qualified room, a portion of the interest paid on mortgage payments, taxes on the home, and utility bills can be deducted.  Take the square footage of the room and find out what percentage it comprises of the total footage of the home.  This is the percentage of the bills that can be deducted for the home office.

Those who don’t qualify for the home office deduction are not left out in the cold.  There are other ways to garner a tax deduction for your business.  You can deduct the amount of money spent on equipment that is used for the business.  This includes paper clips, printers, computers, copiers, pens, computer paper, and the like.

Exceptions do exist to the exclusivity rule that applies to the home office deduction.  If the office is used as a daycare facility or to store inventory, the square footage of the room can be deducted.  The deduction for the home office is limited by the amount of profit that you make from the business.

Add up your business expenses and the amount of profit you made during the current tax year.  When profit is more than or equal to the business expenses, you can claim all deductions that apply for the home office.  On the other hand, if your business expenses are more than the profit you made, the home office deduction is limited.