Keeping the place immaculately clean is very important.

 Start with minimizing clutter, an activity which will also make your packing easier when it comes time to move to your new place. Before you even put your place on the market, take time to make that trip to the Salvation Army, throwing out anything you haven't used in a year. Once you have more room in the closets, you can further reduce the clutter around the house, putting away the things that are precious to you but which will only distract the prospective buyer, A clean house is the first step in a home makeover designed to help you attract buyers.

"You want prospective buyers to see the 'bones' of the property and not be distracted by clutter or art collections or tabletops filled with family photos,"

Organize the closets, clear the kitchen countertops, remove decorative magnets and the children's drawings off the refrigerator. Periodically we'll suggest some furniture be removed to give a room a more open, airy feeling.

Even though it may seem impossible to accomplish a total home makeover or even just get started cleaning the house with children around, you can probably come up with a creative way to get the kids to pitch in.

We think taking the papers off the front of the fridge is important, as is cleaning out the closets so buyers can see how much storage is available.

Once you've removed the clutter, consider having at least the bath and kitchen professionally cleaned. Professional cleaning can often hedge against replacement unless something is damaged. A small repair of damage from water leaks, burns, or other mishaps can "stave off counteroffers for defects."

It's crucial to consider the home's "curb appeal," because buyers often make their decision in the first few minutes of seeing a home.

Landscaping must be in order, and you should add or upgrade exterior lighting,

If possible, plant flowers near the door, mulch existing plants, trim shrubbery, and remove any dead plants or trees."

As with any suggestion, take into account the particulars of your area.

Sprucing up the place doesn't necessarily mean that you must invest in a remodel of the kitchen or bath —removing clutter, making a few small updates, such as new drawer pulls and other accessories, as well as a thorough, professional cleaning may be enough. And sometimes a big investment won't be what your potential buyers want.

"What one seller might choose as stylish and expensive is often ripped out and re-done by new buyers," Beautiful new countertops, kitchen cabinets, appliances — sometimes never used — get ripped out and thrown away so that the new owners can install their particular style."

While baths add value, so do extra bedrooms, porches, and in-ground pools. "The value of any improvement is relative to the total value of the home and its current condition relative to its neighborhood," he said.

As with everything else, a solid comparison with the other homes in your area and price range will help with these decisions. "A small kitchen remodel in a small home in a neighborhood of homes where most have been remodeled is a good thing and will usually pay for itself if not more.

A grand, expensive kitchen remodel in the same home will probably not pay for itself and might possibly overprice the home for its market when it's time to sell.

But if you're thinking of selling in a year or two, and your kitchen or bath is clearly outdated, doing the remodel now — so that you can enjoy the new kitchen or bath for a year or so — will still pay for itself when the time comes to sell.
 

The number of bathrooms in a home does dramatically influence the selling price, with each full bath adding about 24% to the selling price, so if you're considering adding a bath, this may be the time to do it.

It is often  found that a seller will get back, on average, over 90% of the money spent to remodel a bath and 77% of the money spent on a kitchen. "Again, these improvements should enhance the basic character of the home; often unique is not good when it comes to selling," she said.

No house buyer wants to pick up where the seller left off, It's too complicated and time consuming. So if a seller starts the project, the seller should plan to complete the project before selling."

Likewise, when thinking about wall color, consider another important home selling tip. Remember that there can be a huge range of tastes of your potential buyers, and don't risk putting off a more conservative buyer by painting the walls in wildly bright colors. Also bear in mind that any room that doesn't get enough sun will benefit from a light wall color. It doesn't have to be painted a harsh, pure white, but a pale yellow or pleasant, light beige will help make a room appear to have more light.

Dark colors will often make the room look smaller and it may be harder for the buyer to imagine their furniture and personal property in that space.

Alot of experts  agreed that lighter, neutral colors work best when you are decorating to sell your house.

Do not risk losing one buyer to gain another by choosing personal colors for the future buyer.  The buyer wants to pre-visualize their own colors or furnishings and a "blank canvas" is best for this. If the current decor is light and pleasant, it is not necessary to repaint.

While you're at it, take a good, honest look at the exterior paint of your house.

Exterior color should also be considered, and it should not distract from the style of the home and neighborhood."

Likewise, you don't want your decorating style to take over your home makeover to the point where the buyers can't imagine the house decorated in their own style.
 

Watch out for the "over decorated" home.    It is important that the decor reflect the character and style of the home.

Store some art, paint and patch the walls, remove any personal property that does not enhance the style of the home. By incorporating this decorating tip you are attracting buyers and can potentially sell your house for more money.

If you know you're going to be selling your home in a year or less, you may do better to hire a decorator to re-do the home with an eye to selling than to make it exactly the way you'd like it.  Even though "beautiful design is a sign of quality and value. The design should be influenced by the different goal of 'selling the place' which can be completely different from living there comfortably — so keep it open, minimal, and bright,"

Other than cleaning up the clutter and perhaps painting the walls a neutral color, the best decorating tip to help you sell your home is by the tried-and-true quick fixes, experts agree

The art of moving / re-moving objects and furniture to make the space feel as open and roomy as possible

The home's exterior and entryway, is quite important  Adding a pot of flowers to the front steps Healthy, well-tended, blooming flowers, replacing the doorknob.

Washing down the front door and having the windows professionally cleaned, is just one more of the many home decorating ideas for selling your house for more money.

The simple exercise of adding fresh flowers and turning on lamps works when preparing for a showing.