When preparing to sell a house, you should always consider the options of selling a home privately or listing with a real estate agent. Of course, the most cost effective option would be to sell your home privately, but what about the number of Home Buyers in the market who are not willing to consider a private sale listing?

I am a firm believer that people should be able to sell a home privately but, like a lot of people, was not the kind of person who would be comfortable buying from a Private Home Seller. What would happen if I made an appointment to view a Private Sale listing and then disliked the home? I would then be face to face with the Home Seller. I would be reluctant to say what I was really thinking. "I hate it...I'm wasting your time...You are wasting my time...You want how much for this?"

More frightening than that scenario, would be the problem of viewing the for sale by owner home and loving it. Negotiating an offer of this magnitude with the Home Seller, directly, could be intimidating and stressful. How could I be absolutely sure that I could trust a person whom I had never met before and, who obviously just wants me to buy their house? Once it was sold and I moved in, where would they be, if any pre-existing problems were discovered?

This is why I created the Virtual Agent?, which provides a For Sale by Owner solution, which facilitates an agent between the Home Buyer and Home Seller in the private sale process. With XstreamRealty.com's Real Estate Listings, I, as a home buyer, can now drive by a beautiful for sale by owner home and, instead of calling the home seller for an appointment, I can first access the real estate web listing from the comfort and privacy of my home and be able to:

• Find out the Home Seller's asking price;

View the entire interior and exterior of the property for sale with a complete 360? virtual home tour;

Review the property condition disclosure statement online; Determine if this property is worth the next step of calling the Home Seller for a personal viewing; and

After viewing and deciding to make a purchase offer, I can return home and, with the assistance of the Virtual Agent's? interactive forms, submit a purchase offer online without the need, discomfort, of negotiating a real estate purchase face to face with a Private Home Seller.

With real estate listed for sale on XstreamRealty.com, I can rest assured that:

• The real estate purchase offer forms are exact and in the best interest of both parties;

The Home Seller has completed a legally binding property condition disclosure statement which will prevent unwanted surprises;

An agreeable offer of purchase and sale will be instantly transmitted tolawyers for all parties, for final Closing; and

My Virtual Agent?, will send me email reminder dates for completing the tasks required before Property Closing.

The Virtual Agent? Software has been created to be the best of both worlds. Now, Private Home Sellers can have a larger market size by listing on a site that provides Home Buyers with the security and comfort of a virtual third party agent. Home Buyers, who were previously hesitant in considering Private Sale Listings, are now able to rest easy with a safe and hassle free real estate purchase process, opening up the number of real estate listings for them as well.

? February, 2004 - Xstream Realty Incorporated

Amie Walton is the president and founder of Xstream Realty Incorporated, a Virtual Agent? online real estate service. She has retained her ASP designation in Home Staging and is managing both XstreamRealty.com and XstreamStaging.com as complementary businesses for assisting homeowners to sell their homes quickly and profitably.