When selling a house, you usually only have one chance to impress potential buyer. By taking the time to prepare the house for showings, you might be rewarded with a faster sale and a higher profit. And no, you dont just clean it even though everything from floors to ceilings have to be spotless but it takes more preparation than that to make your house ready for sell.

If the house has offensive odors, find the source of the smell and kill it. Make the house more spacious by putting away small kitchen appliances and other items on the counters or tabletops. Organize closets, shelves and cabinets. Pack family photos or your personal collections away, this will also allow the buyer to imagine their personal possessions in the house. Repaint the walls if possible. Try to expose desirable features of the house, if it has nice hard floor you might want to remove the rugs, etc. For the outside of the house, clean the drain gutters, clear out or organize items that make your yard looks messy and enhance the landscape if you can. Make the front entry looks inviting by either repaint the door or replace it.

If the house is vacant, keep the lawn and landscape cleaned even if it means you have to hire a gardener to do it. Vacant houses often put home buyers off with a blast of stale or mildew-laden air. During cold months, the interior of a house without heating always feels colder than it is outside and this causes a great deal of mildew. Leaving the heat or A/C running while a house is on the market reduces odors and makes the house more appealing.