As a seller, your home must compete favorably with all the other houses in its neighborhood and price range. That means you should make your home as saleable as possible, but it doesn't mean you have to spend a great deal of money to obtain great results. Here are a few quick home selling tips to give your home an advantage, without breaking the bank in the process.

1. A great-looking front door will give buyers a positive first impression and may lead to a much quicker sale of your home. Besides painting the front door or replacing it, another designer trick--covering the door with wood-stained strips--adds weight and glamour. (Look for tongue and groove bead board at your home improvement center.)

2. Look at the doors inside your house. If the doors are ugly, old, cheap-looking brown wood doors, you can either replace them (which could get spendy, although you can get nice pre-hung six-panel wood doors for around $30.00 at home improvement centers) or paint them a bright white, which will add a touch of class to your home. Use a shiny high gloss or semi-gloss paint to obtain the most effective results.

3. Along with the shiny white doors, consider replacing the door handles, especially if the original ones are rusty or have a number of coats of old paint on them. They don't have to be expensive. You can get them for as little as $10.00 or so at home improvement stores. They come in many styles, and you might consider getting something a bit fancier for the master bedroom and bath.

4. Of course, if the wall paint is badly in need of attention, you should take care of that. However, if the walls are in good shape, consider just washing them thoroughly and then repainting just the trim and crown moldings. As with the doors, paint trim a bright, shiny white. Besides looking CLEAN, white goes with just about any dcor your potential buyers may have. For wall colors, consider the preferred colors your potential target buyers favor along with your selling season. Use cool colors to sell during hot weather and warm colors to sell in cool weather.

5. In the bathroom, soften the hard surfaces with plush towels folded and stacked like in a spa. Replace water-stained shower curtains. If you can't get stains out of the porcelain, try pool cleaners (with plenty of ventilation!) or replace. Buyers do not like stained bathtubs, toilets, or sinks.

6. Besides the bath, the kitchen is an important room when it comes to selling your home, so consider painting your kitchen cabinets, especially if they're the old dark-stained wooden style. You only have to paint them shiny white on the outside. You can leave the insides dark. The idea is to impress potential buyers with their bright, clean look from the outside. If they want to paint the insides, they're free to do that after they've bought your home.

7. Pack your personal treasures to lighten up your rooms and to give buyers a chance to imagine their possessions in the space.

These improvements don't have to cost a great deal, they're relatively easy for homeowners to do themselves, and they can add dollars to the offers you'll see--not to mention shortening the time of sale. So look around your home and see if you can't do some sprucing up BEFORE buyers begin to visit.

Copyright 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher