The one thing you must do to draw in buyers is make your house stand out from the competition. Preparation is key to making the sale, and the following tips can make sure that your home won’t sit on the market for months.

De-Clutter
Every room should be de-cluttered to give the appearance of more space. Take one room at a time and remove all personal belongings like family photos and mementos. Buyers want to be able to envision their belongings in the space, but can’t if yours is blocking the view. Remove excess furniture, leaving only the bare minimum in each room. Rent a storage unit if necessary to store extra belongings in while your house is up for sale.

Clean House
Deep clean every inch of the home, so potential buyers will see a well-maintained house that they can move right into. Re-paint stained, dingy or bright colored walls using a neutral color. Steam clean or replace wall to wall carpeting and clean grout lines in tile floors or walls. Keep dishes and laundry done at all times, just in case a potential buyers drops in unexpectedly.

Stage the Rooms
The function of each room should be apparent at first glance and a little added staging will help entice buyers to make the purchase. Set the table in the dining, put guest towels out in the guest bathroom and light scented candles just before a scheduled showing. If your furnishings are less than stellar or if your furniture is already at a new home, rent basic home furnishings to stage the home to help buyers envision themselves living there.

Exterior Updates
The outside of your home is the first thing potential buyers see and often determine whether they'll even venture inside. To make a good first impression and draw them into the house, make a few exterior updates. Add a walkway, paint the porch and front door, add a new exterior light and house numbers. Simple, inexpensive exterior updates will make your house stand out from the others which are for sale on your block. If paint is peeling on the home’s exterior, go ahead and invest in a new exterior paint job to make your home more attractive.

Landscape
Trim shrubs, rake leaves, pick up toys and plant some flowers to instantly increase the value of your house. Even if outdoor space is limited, a container or two of colorful flowers and a small porch bench makes your home look inviting and more valuable. If your outdoor space is large, keep the lawn mowed, snow shoveled and driveway clear. 

Walk-Through
After you’ve done the work, do one final walk-through. Start outside in front of the house and look at it with objective eyes. Enter and walk through just like potential buyers will do. Does it look and smell clean? Is there anything else you can take out of the rooms? When you’ve done all you can to make your home as presentable and enticing as possible, have an honest friend or neighbor do the same!

Tamra Rivera writes about real estate, business and finance. Her most recent work extrapolates on the Top 10 Best Affordable Online MBA Degree Programs.