Start at the street. Is your mailbox old and rusty? Is the address on the mailbox peeling or faded? Paint your mailbox or get a new one! Freshen up the lettering and numbering on your mailbox too. This is an inexpensive way to start off on the right foot with buyers.

Take a close look at your driveway. Is the concrete cracked? Does the asphalt need to be resealed? If you’re not an expert on concrete or paving, call one! Find the most cost effective way to make your driveway look appealing. Buyers see damaged driveways as a drain on the checkbook before they even get out of the car.

Take a stroll down your walkway, and stop and smell the roses! Oh, the walkway is cracked and being swallowed up by grass? Repair the cracks, and do some edging. A well-edged walkway is inviting. Are those roses in need of tending, along with a row of unruly or dead shrubs? Trim or prune it if it’s alive, and remove it if it’s dead! Buyers don’t want to think about a summer of trimming hedges and removing dead shrubs when they survey your yard.

A porch or entry area should say, “Welcome!” Take a look at your paint. Is it peeling? If so, call a painter. Does your brick, stone, or siding need a good pressure washing? If you are a Do-It-Yourselfer, you can rent a pressure washer for the weekend. If spending a weekend wrestling with a pressure washer is not your cup of tea, then call a professional. It will be money well spent, because you will win buyers over before they ever open the front door!

Light it up! After you have repaired the cracks, trimmed the shrubbery, slapped around a paintbrush and pressure washed your home to perfection, it’s time to take a good look at those outdoor light fixtures. Do you have an outdated overhead light on your porch? Consider an update with a hanging fixture or outdoor ceiling fan. While you're at it, grab a broom and take a swipe at those spider webs (unless it's Halloween). Buyers will see themselves on the porch, relaxing in a rocking chair with a glass of sweet tea!

But wait, there's more! Now that we've worked on your curb appeal, scroll down and we will tackle the interior of your home!

Pucker Up! It’s time to kiss the clutter goodbye. Buyers want to see themselves in a home. They don’t want to see the seventy-five Hummel figurines that you inherited from Great Aunt Betty. So, pack them up! I know that you loved Aunt Betty, but this isn’t about you. It’s about the buyers. If they make an offer on your home, you and the Hummels can move on to a new one. Aunt Betty would be tickled pink if you got a top dollar offer!

Is your furniture lined up around the walls like the viewing room at a funeral home? Do you have small scale artwork that is hung way too high? If you answered yes, then you need a design intervention! Get the furniture off the walls and bring it into the room to create inviting conversation areas and direct traffic flow. Anchor these areas with fresh area rugs. Hit the mall, the estate sales, or your attic to find sizeable pieces of artwork and hang them a bit lower. Think of the floor when you hang them, not the ceiling. The center of your artwork should be no more than 60 to 65 inches from the floor. If the art is anchored by a piece of furniture, the bottom of the artwork should not be more than 5 to 6 inches from the anchor piece. Otherwise, it will look as if it is floating. Buyers will want to sit down and chat in a room that follows these guidelines.

After the Hummels take their hiatus, accessorize minimally and tastefully. Odd is good! (Odd numbers, that is.) Accessorize in groups of threes, paying close attention to vary the height and width of the items. Large items should go in the back and smaller in the front. Do you have any trays or coffee table books? If not, get some. Goodwill has great books. You can vary the height of your groupings by elevating them on some books, and trays lend importance to items placed on them.

Okay, your real estate agent is a Rock Star, but if your kitchen and bathrooms aren’t Rock Stars, you won’t get good offers! Get out your caulk gun and repair that cracked, mildewed caulk around your tub. Consider having your tile professionally painted if it is hot pink. Hang some fresh decorative towels on your towel bars. No buyer wants to see the over-used and under-washed towel you dry your hands on hanging there!

And now, for the kitchen: Start eating out! Minimize the cooking smells while showing your home. Are the appliances included with the house? If so, throw out the fuzzy, green, smelly things in the fridge and give it a good wipe-down. Remove clutter from your counter tops. If you have more than three appliances out, you have too many. Pack up the crock pot. You’ll have to do it anyway when your house sells. Take a look at your cabinets. Do they need a fresh coat of paint? Consider updating the hardware. Inexpensive hardware can make dated cabinetry show like new. Above all, keep it clean! Consider prospective buyers to be like inspectors from the Board of Health when they see your kitchen.

Buyers will look in your closets! If they are jammed full, your buyers will move on to a home with more closet space. Half empty closets seem luxurious to buyers, so pack up your out-of-season clothing. Don’t store luggage or other oddities in the closet. Put them in the attic or the trunk of your car. Put them anywhere but the closets!.