People buy houses on emotion; make sure your house "feels right" to potential buyers when your house is being shown.

Before a showing...

• Turn on all of the lights
• Clean bathroom mirrors and faucets so they sparkle
• Put fresh flowers out in the kitchen
• Put a pot of cinnamon water on the stove
• Put fresh towels out in the bathrooms
• Set the temperature at a comfortable level
• Turn off the TV, stereo, and radio
• Get everyone (including pets) out of the house
• Be scarce and let the agent do the talking.

To-Do Outside

• Keep the lawn mowed and raked
• Trim the shrubs
• Clear away dead branches
• Sweep the driveway
• Store lawn equipment out of sight
• Put up shiny brass house numbers
• Clean the gutters
• Wash windows
• Clean the garage

To-Do Inside

• Do a thorough cleaning
• Replace light bulbs with higher intensity ones (make sure you don't exceed the fixture rating)
• Touch up paint, repaint rooms if necessary
• Eliminate clutter (will make house seem larger)
• Remove any excess furniture (will make rooms look larger)
• Clean out your closets, store items elsewhere (makes closets look larger if there is some free space in them)
• Have carpets professionally cleaned if necessary
• Launder drapes if necessary
• Clear off kitchen counters and cupboards (will make the kitchen look more spacious)
• Polish the bathroom tub, toilet, and sink
• Clean the bathroom tiles and re-grout and re-caulk if necessary
• Tack down any loose molding, glue down peeling wallpaper, replace unattractive switch plates.
• Keep your home as close to show condition as possible at all times.