Take time to prepare your home for sale and you'll increase it's value

It's important to be objective and look at your home through the eye's of a buyer. Some of the minor quirks and/or items in disrepair in your home may not bother you, but they may cause potential buyers to walk away and prevent your home from ever being sold.

Make your home as appealing and uncluttered as the home you would like to buy and you'll increase the value of your home.

Outside

• Make the entry to your home inviting. The front door should be bright, clean, and attractive. Add a wreath, welcome mat, brass accessories, and potted plant to achieve this look.
• Mow the lawn, and trim the trees and shrubs away from the house so it can be seen. Rake leaves and remove any dead or unsightly plants or shrubs.
• Check and replace or repair any broken roof shingles, gutters, shutters or siding. Clean out the gutters.
• Fix cracks in the driveway or sidewalk. Remove oil stains from the driveway and resurface it.
• Wash all windows inside and out.
• Remove clutter from the yard. Put away tools, garbage cans, hoses, toys, and any other "hobby" items (e.g. that classic car jacked up on cinder blocks).
• Powerwash the exterior of your home and patio or deck, and paint the exterior of your house if it looks at all like it needs it. Make everything outside look fresh, neat, warm, and inviting. Buyers will drive by and not come in if your home does not have some "curb-appeal."

Inside

• Paint the interior of your house with neutral tones. If possible, paint the ceilings white or use ceiling paint to make the rooms seem larger. (Few things can increase the value of your home more than painting.)
• Professionally clean the interior of your home, removing all cobwebs, washing windows inside and out, and removing any "distinctive" smells such as cat litter, heavy spices or oils from cooking, etc. Air out the house.
• The kitchen is the most important room in the house. Make sure it's clean, and redecorate if needed. Put away all minor appliances. Do everything possible to make the kitchen uncluttered. Wash and polish the floor.
• Clean, clean, clean the bathrooms. Make them spotless.
• Other than the kitchen the master bedroom is most important. Organize all closets. Pick up clothes. Simplify the furniture. Open curtains every morning while your home is on the market.
• Steam clean all wall-to-wall carpeting. Replace any worn carpeting with neutral colors.
• Polish wood floors and stairs or refinish if faded or spotted.
• Repair or replace worn or outdated appliances (e.g. avocado green or coppertone appliances from the 70's).
• Repair dripping faucets, sticking doors, and other nuisance items.
• Add lamps or lighting to any areas of your home that are dark.
• Make sure that all major system such as furnace, air-conditioning, water heaters and other appliances are in good working order. Otherwise repair or replace them.
• Remove clutter from all rooms. Things that make your home a home for you may be distracting to a buyer and make your home appear small. Box up knick-knacks, magazines, books, toys, and other items that might influence a buyer's feeling about a room. Put them in public storage if needed.
• When the house is being shown... make sure it's straightened up (clothes off the floor, etc.); open curtains; set out fresh flowers; use potpourri, scented candles, or put a drop of vanilla extract on lightbulbs to give your home an inviting scent; play soft music in the background; remove your pets (particularly that cute Boa or Pit Bull). Create an easy-going relaxed atmosphere that makes your home seem comfortable and livable.

Make improvements to your home to make it competitive

All other things being equal, a buyer will purchase the home with up-tp-date kitchens, bathrooms, and other upgraded amenities. Remodeling can make your home more competitive, and the cost of many improvements can be recovered when your home sells.

Remodeling your home to bring it up to today's standards will in many cases pay for itself when you put your house on the market. However, by no means will every project return all or even part of the money you put into it. In fact an extravagant improvement can even make your home harder to sell.

In every neighborhood the limits on what a home can sell for are well-defined. If the houses range from $200,000 to $225,000, no matter how many rooms, baths, hot tubs, fireplaces, or skylights you add, your top resale price will be close to $225,000.

To get an idea of which improvements pay the best returns Money Magazine consulted a large national real estate appraisal firm. The appraisal firm evaluated thousands of comparable homes sold over a three-year period, interviewed dozens of independent appraisers, real estate agents, builders, architects, and homeowners around the country, and the consensus of the top ten common home improvements in order of their return is listed below.

Top 10 Home Improvements