When you put your house on the market, and prospective buyers come to see it, they usually decide whether they like it or not within the first two minutes. So the first impression means a lot. Even before they get to the front door. Making your home as presentable as possible is a great way to help you get the best price and a fast sale.

In todays competitive real estate market, you must do more than just put a "For Sale" sign in the front yard and wait for the offers to roll in. Your home must stand apart from the other homes on the market, and you must take extra steps to make it look appealing to todays buyer, who has more homes to choose from on the market.

Here are fifteen easy things you can do to make a great first impression with buyers. These are just cosmetic changes, with minimal investment required.

Curb Appeal

1. Cut back overgrown shrubs and trees. This has three benefits. It makes your landscaping look manicured and well maintained, it exposes more of the house to view from the street, and it lets more light into the house.
2. Fresh paint can do more for curb appeal than almost anything. If you can’t paint, then at least touch up gutters, window frames and shutters. Paint the front door.
3. Neat landscaping, fresh cut lawn, and flowers along a clean swept walkway make a great first impression.

Kitchen

4. The Kitchen is the most important room in the house. Make sure it is bright, clean, and attractive.
5. Remove any appliance that you keep on the countertop. Less clutter makes the counters look larger.
6. Replace any loose or missing tiles.

Bathrooms

7. Repair any dripping faucets.
8. Use special cleaning products to remove stains, calcium deposits and lime on sinks, bathtubs and toilets.

Living Areas

9. If you have a fireplace, clean it out and put new logs in it to make it look inviting.
10. Replace all burned out light bulbs, and use brighter bulbs.
11. Make sure wood and linoleum floors are clean and shiny.
12. Make sure every light switch in the house works.
13. If you do any painting, avoid off-beat colors. Stick to conventional white or earth-tones outside, and easy to work with beige or pastels inside.


When Your Home is Shown

14. Keep draperies and shades open to let in light. This will also make the room appear larger.
15. Neatness makes a room look larger. Don’t clutter. Remove some items for the showing, if possible.

Summary

In todays real estate market, your house must compete with many other homes that are for sale, some perhaps in the same neighborhood. Your home must have every advantage over the other homes on the market. These 15 tips are a start to helping your home look better, to more potential buyers, than the other homes for sale in the area. Following these tips will help you achieve your real estate sales goal.