There’s no question that the current economic slump is tearing into the housing market hard. Every month, the news coming out from the government is bad: housing sales fell, new home sales are down, new home construction is down. With the end of the recession still a while away, and housing prices continuing to fall, nervous homeowners who might be looking to sell are in a tight place. Those who can’t afford their payments anymore and need to sell now are afraid they will not get enough for their house, or perhaps they fear they can not sell the house in its current condition. These folks may give up and go into foreclosure or simply surrender the house to the bank/lender (mortgage holder).

There’s no question that its a buyer’s market right now, with prices near all time lows. Savvy buyers can snatch up property and “hold onto it” until the market improves. Unfortunately for sellers, the prices being paid for houses remains relatively low.

So, if you’re looking to sell your home, the question on your mind is clearly “How can I get the highest selling price for my house? Heck, I think its beautiful!”

Here’s a few tips on how to make your home more appealing to buyers and drive up your asking cost (and actually get it) during tough economic times.

1.  Clean it up!

Many home sales fall through or get a lot of foot traffic without a lot of offers because the house isn’t cleaned. A recurring theme throughout these tips will be to make the buyer feel at ease and comfortable in your home. There are many factors that contribute to this, but certainly a clean home goes a long way. You should clean your home thoroughly, and pay attention to details (because buyers will). Clean the floors and walls, the carpets, the windows, your cabinets, the closets, appliances (even if you’re taking them with you) and all the rooms.

2.  Remove unnecessary furniture or clutter

This closely correlates to Tip #5. Make the rooms look bigger by removing unused or unnecessary furniture. Sure, this will certainly mean a living change for you in the short term, but you never want the prospective buyer to feel cramped in any space. Be prepared also for buyers to open your cabinets. They’re not checking on your appliances or eating habits – they’re looking at space. Clean it and unclutter them to make them look big. People love their kitchen gadgets – they want to make sure they’ll all fit! Show them that they will! Pack up whatever you don’t use often and store it out of the house.

3.  Keep everything unobstructed

What you really want is unbostructed views of the whole room. I’m not saying empty everything out, but you definitely need to “create” paths in every room where buyers are free to roam. In other words, if they want to look at something in more detail, the room layout should let them. Again, unobstructive views are important. Open the shades, draw the curtains, make the views big and the room bright.

4.  Neutral color schemes

Part of making the room look bigger is to make sure the room is a neutral color. Also, neutral colors make it easier for buyers to picture themselves in the room, or imagine what color they’d like the room to be.

5.  Open the floor plan

We’ve covered alot of this already, but rearragning the furniture and providing unobstructive paths throught the room are important. For most people, eliminating furniture and avoiding placing furniture in the middle of a room usually does the trick. Forcing things against the walls opens the room up, which makes it look bigger, and more accomodating.

6.  Landscape and invest in annuals

The very first thing anyone will notice about your home when they come to look at it is the outside. The first focal point is usually the condition of the house, then condition of the yard. So their first impressions are always formed before even getting out of the car! Landscape your home, make sure the lawn is cut, leaves are picked up, and there is no trash. Trim the bushes, add a new fresh layer of mulch and add plants. Annuals are perfect, because they add instant color and life, are very inexpensive, will continue to flower throughout the spring and summer, and are easy to care for. Again, giving the appearance of a well kept and cared for house is important. (Note: Perennials are find, but they don’t flower as often and are more expensive. Remember, you won’t be in the house next year – so don’t worry about replanting annuals!)

7.  Re-caulk the lavatory

Back inside the house, people want clean rooms. They especially look for cleanliness in the lavatory, or bathrooms. Grime, mold, dirt, and everything else is the last thing people want to see in a place they clean themselves. Recaulk the tub, sinks, around the toilet, etc. A fresh layer of caulk is cheap, not hard to do, and costs a few bucks. No amount of cleaning will ever look like a fresh bright coat of caulk.

8.  Clean the sinks, toilet, etc

While you’re caulking in the lavatory, take special care to clean sinks tubs and toilets with scrubbing brushes and household cleaners. Again, you want them to look their best.

9.  Arrange the garage and attic

Garages, attics, and basements are three areas that are last on the list all the time, and often accumulates the most clutter. These areas are often the “final destination” for items you don’t know what to do with. For example, how many times have you simply placed an item or box in one of these areas because “there’s no where else to put it.” Here’s why you should pay special attention. Even though everyone places items here, an uncluttered and cleaned (and organized) attic will automatically give you the upper hand. People love storage spaces – and often view these pseduo-rooms as storage. If your home has ample storage space and you show it, buyers are more likely to put in a higher bid.

10. Clean and repair the driveway and sidewalk

This is one of those times that people will only ever notice if something is bad, but forget about it if it is good. Buyers will remember a cracked, damaged, or dirty driveway or sidewalk and this will be factored into their decision and offer. However they will never mention “Oh, what a beautiful sidewalk / driveway.” The exception, of course, is if you have a custom walkway or driveway. In any event, clean them well and make sure they are free of clutter.

11. Improve curb appeal

I mentioned earlier that people looking at your house already formed their first opinion before they even stepped foot in it. And many times, interested buyers will “drive by” your house to check out the neighborhood and condition of the property before they even think about going inside! This means your house has to have curb appeal.  Clean the outside well, restain the porch or deck (or repaint it), landscape well, etc. In short, do anything in your power/budget to make passersby go “wow” and want to look at the inside.

12. Use energy wisely to make the home comfortable

Back inside the house, use energy to make the home as comfortable as possible for the current season. For example, in the summer months, turn on the A/C and turn on the ceiling fans to “low” (so its not blowing everything everywhere) – just enough to get the air circulating. In winter, light a fire or make sure the heat is on so buyers will feel warm and at home. Use ample lighting after dusk to illuminate the home’s interior. Don’t run appliances that make noise, such as washers, dryers, dishwashers, etc.

13. Strategically place lights to highlight areas of prominence or features

You want to showcase your home – use lights (and specialty lights) to highlight unique features of the house or are a specialty. For example, if you have high vaulted ceilings, use lights specially placed near the corner of one of the vaulted ceiling supporting walls to highlight the ample wall space and high ceiling. If you have a large wall with some art, place track lighting or low power halogen lights to illuminate them and cast a different light on the wall. Use spotlights outside to highlight landscaping, large windows, or aquatic areas (ponds, etc.) Get some solar lights and place them along the walkway or garden to gently illuminate the grounds at night.

14. Remove personal accents or effects, especially if there are many of them

There’s a fine line between overdoing it on the pictures, art, and personal touches we add to our houses to make them “homes” and overdoing it. Remove or scale back the walls of pictures you might have. Take down the “knick knacks” and store them. Unclutter your desktops and the tops of furniture. Wallspace and space on top of furniture is a good thing. Clutter anywhere is not.

15. Plug holes in the walls and repaint, or repair damaged moulding, etc.

When you remove the pictures, there will be holes. Plug them with compund or plaster, then paint over them. Check for holes or damaged walls and make the necessary repairs as well.

16. Repaint

Even if you don’t change the color of your walls, give all the walls a fresh coat of paint. Plus, paint your ceiling. You’d be surprised how dirty it gets – especially if you have ceiling fans (they cirulate the air and help grime and dirt “stick” to the ceiling.) The room will look fresh and new.

17. Don’t forget the basements

The basement, in addition to being a storage area, can also be functional. It is usually where the furnace, hot water heater and other appliances are kept. Clean it up, clean up water damage, wash the floors (even if its concrete), paint the walls (if drywall), etc. Pay attention to this “room”, because like the attic and garage, the different between a basement and a great basement (even if its not a finished basement) can be several thousand dollars on the offer!

18. Prominently show or bring attention to updates

If you have new windows, show them off! Make sure they are clean, well kept, and not covered. If appliances are staying, clean them up really well! Keep literature (owners manuals) out by the appliances. New hot water heater/furnace? Keep the energy consumption stickers on them!

19. Remove your pets during showings.

We all love animals (well some of us do – others are allergic or don’t care for animals.) To help improve the ambiance of your home when showcasing it, try to have your pets out of the house. Dogs, cats, birds, etc. (Fish should be alright). This lets the buyers walk around more freely without being molested by a dog or hounded by cats. And by all means, clean or pick up the litter and dog messes outside.

20. Freshen the air in your home

Use air fresheners, deodorizers, etc to freshen the air in your home starting several days before the showing. A smelly or foul odor home (or rooms in the home) will completely derail a sale, or force the offers lower.

As you can see, your goal is to give prospective buyers the impression that the house is well kept, updated, cared for and accomodating. People are trying to “picture themselves” living in your space, and while they are sure to think about what they will change, your job is to make them feel as comfortable as possible. Don’t do anything crazy or drastic like remodeling a room or knocking down walls that costs a lot of money. Everything we pointed out above is free or very cheap, and just takes a little bit of effort.

Understand that when people prepare an offer, they are thinking of the aesthics in the house, and how they will fit in. If your house is meticulous and well kept, that impression will stay with the buyer and they will naturally start higher on ther offer. You can also stay on the high side for your counter offer, citing the impeccable condition of the home.