On his podcast, Clark Howard answers real reader questions on money, credit, debt, retirement, travel, and more, along with co-host Christa DiBiase.

Clark's answer: I originally thought the whole instant home-buying model was going to be phenomenal when it took off roughly a decade ago, but those companies ended up losing huge amounts of money. Over the years, I only ever sold one property through a service like that. They operated under a different model: they guaranteed a set buyout price if the house didn't sell within 45 days. The guaranteed figure seemed solid, but once it hit the open market, it sold in less than a day for significantly more because I had simply underestimated market demand at the time. To my knowledge, that company isn't even around anymore, and it was the only time I tried anything outside the norm.

Every other rental property I sold went through a traditional real estate agent. Over the decades, I’ve experienced just about every scenario imaginable with property sales. I’ve had homes that sat on the market forever, rotting like an apple to the core — the longest took 14 months to find a buyer — wondering if a sale would ever happen. But far more often than not, my properties have sold within the very first week.

My personal philosophy when selling real estate is to price aggressively on the low side. When an agent runs the market comps, I always instruct them to list it just below that number. My goal is to generate strong interest and scare up a committed buyer within the first two weeks. I would rather leave a little bit of money on the table to secure a quick, clean sale than hold out. That holds especially true with investment properties: while a house sits vacant on the market, you aren't collecting rental income, and holding costs add up. I just want the transaction done.