Decided to sell your Miami Beach home? Are you ready? What's your game plan? Well, most people who decide to put their home on the market know the process is more involved than just having some realty company stick a sign in the front yard. It requires planning, serious efforts to compile information about the home and a whole lot of elbow grease to make the house attractive and saleable.

Initially you'll want to review the homes that are already for sale in your neighborhood. You need to be a realist about the price you're wanting to get for your home. If the homes are open for viewing, take a tour and see what they look like, compared to yours. Make comparisons based upon size, age of the house, features, new updates and amenities. Visit the Miami Beach Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and see if you can find other homes comparable to yours that will give you some idea of what prices are being asked. Be prepared to adjust your price up or down based upon what you find in the comparisons.

Your next step will be to find a realtor who will work with you and do a good job of marketing your home. Your role will be to provide the realtor with as much information as possible, and help the realtor to fashion a strong marketing program for your home.

Finding a Miami Beach realtor will be a major step in your home-selling process. You'll want to interview at least three realty firms, but six firms will give you a wider choice. Ask each company to analyze your home and present you with their pricing and a basic outline of how they will market it. While they know the market and values, be frank when discussing your pricing analysis. Get them to validate their pricing, and be willing to defend your own pricing in an open discussion with them. They're going to work for you, and the higher the closing price, the more they'll earn. Here are some additional things to consider when choosing a realtor.

• Many realty firms send out top managers to evaluate homes, and then turn the actual work over to other agents. Ask that the realty firm only send out agents that will actually be representing your house.
• If the realtors you meet with have the attitude that they know more than you do, you may want to disqualify them. They usually don't do a good job of representing you.
• When you finally determine who will represent you, ask for a six-month agreement. The longer they work on your behalf, the more likely they are to make the sale.
• Insist upon a meeting that will last as long as it needs to last. No interruptions, no cell phones, no 15-minute, slam-bang, rush out the door to the next meeting or showing. Ask lots of questions about their marketing plan and ask for their input on making your home more saleable.
• Always be in touch with your realtor, and they with you. Get all of their phone numbers and email addresses, and make sure they have all of yours.

Most homes are listed with the Miami Beach MLS. Ask your realtor to arrange for the listing, but make sure that the listing information is accurate. If there's some information you don't know about the home, either research it or disclose that you don't have it. Misrepresentation can kill a sale at best, or foster legal problems after the sale, that can be costly. Approve all marketing materials, including the MLS listing. Be sure the agent uses good photos or videos, preferably digital images. You may want the realtor to use professional photographers or videographers. You can always negotiate who will pay for it.