There is absolutely no question that selling your own home can help you save thousands of dollars. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that many people are trying their luck at selling their own home without having an agent. That makes perfect sense... Home prices have dropped so much in recent years that people selling their home cannot lower the price any further than they already have and still manage to pay the agent the standard 6% fee.

The easy solution would appear to be to lose the middle man...the agent. In doing this you save thousands of dollars that you would have to pay in real estate fees and can therefore reduce the price of your home to ensure it actually sells.

On the other hand, if you are selling your own home then you need to start behaving like a realtor. There is a good reason that real estate agents make their commission... because selling real estate is hard work! Real estate agents work their butt off to generate a sale. So, if you're selling your own home then you need to do the same thing.

Here are 6 tips on selling your own home:

1. One of the first things you have to do is educate yourself on various home selling techniques. Don't forget, knowledge is power. If you have friends or colleagues that are successful real estate agents then speak with them. Question them what methods have worked for them and what has not. Also, become familiar with real estate marketing. Make it a daily habit of looking at real estate ads. Get an idea of the way the ads are worded. Search for the keyword phrases that grabbed your attention.

2. Be realistic. Do not price your home too high. Do some research by looking at the other homes for sale in your area. What are those homes priced at? Just how do they compare to your own house? These days, the home that sells will be the best home at the best price. Also, you need to research what homes have already sold in your town. What did those homes sell for and how do those homes compare to yours?

3. Get ready to have open houses every weekend. Real estate agents work weekends and you are now your own real estate agent so get used to working the weekends.

4. Keep it clean! You may even want to hire a cleaning service. Given that you will need to show your house on a moments notice it will need to be clean all the time. The last thing you want to do in today's real estate market is turn a potential customer away or put them off until another day. Have your home in ready-to-show condition everyday.

5. Take advantage of the internet. Today most people find homes using the internet so be sure you are utilizing websites like Craigslist, Realtor.com, YouTube and many others to assist you in selling your own home.

6. Get placed in your local MLS (Multiple Listing Service). One of the biggest disadvantages of selling your own home is that licensed real estate agents are the only people who are able to place your home in your local MLS. This is still the number one method homes are sold in the country. Roughly 90% of all home sales are a direct result from being listed in MLS. Thus, if you are selling your own home you should use a flat fee MLS service in which you pay a single flat payment to have your house placed in MLS. These flat fee services differ in price and in what they provide so be sure to do your research as not all flat fee MLS providers are the same. Some only list your home while others provide lockboxes, "for sale" signs, contract forms, and may even do virual tours and open houses.

As you can tell selling your own home is not easy. It is hard work...that's why real estate agents make a commission. Also, while selling your own home can save you thousands of dollars, some of that savings will be required for advertising costs, cleaning and maintenance, not to mention listing you home with a flat fee service. Ultimately though, if you are willing to put in the time you'll still save yourself thousands of dollars which will let you decrease your asking price which will get you more visitors and ultimately improve your chances of making a sale.