When first impressions count the most

There's no need to spend a ton of money remodeling your home before you sell. A few key improvements could significantly increase your selling price and make for a faster home sale.

Curb Appeal

• Keep your front entrance well-maintained
• Repaint your front door
• Repaint or replace door hardware
• Repaint or replace house numbers to make them easy to see
• Repaint the mailbox
• Make sure the doorbell works
• Repaint or replace stair railings
• Do a little landscaping
• Garden beds need to be well defined and freshly mulched
• Keep the lawn edged, cut and watered regularly
• Trim hedges, weed lawns and flowerbeds, and prune trees
• Add a few showy annuals, perhaps in pots, near the front entrance
• Take care of other exterior features
• Check the foundation, steps, walkways, walls and patios for cracks and crumbling
• Inspect doors and windows for peeling paint; keep the windows clean and free of spider webs and vines
• Clean, align and secure the gutters
• Inspect and clean the chimney
• Keep shutters in good condition, freshly painted and hung straight
• Repair or replace loose or damaged roof shingles
• Repair or repaint loose siding and caulking
• Keep the garage door closed

Walk into Something Wonderful

• Give every room in the house a thorough cleaning. Wash the windows inside and out, clean the carpets and wash the walls.
• If the walls and carpet are especially dingy or brightly colored, repaint or re-carpet with a neutral shade, such as off-white or beige.
• Get rid of the clutter and make your house appear bigger and brighter.
• Rent a storage unit
• Have a garage sale!
• Donate your excess "stuff" to charity
• Repair cracks, holes or damage to plaster, wallboard, wallpaper, paint and tiles
• Replace broken or cracked windowpanes, moldings, and other woodwork
• Inspect and repair the plumbing, heating , cooling, and alarm systems
• Repair dripping faucets and showerheads
• Re-caulk bathroom shower or tub if necessary
• Spruce up a kitchen or bathroom with new cabinet knobs, curtains and towels
• Repair anything that could be construed as dry rot
• Repair a leaking roof or wet basement
• Make sure every electrical outlet and light switch is in working order
• Replace all lightbulbs with the maximum wattage bulb permissible. Light sells!