Listen to your broker
Nan Miller, with Prudential Connecticut Realty in Rowayton, recommends: "Get two or three brokers to look at your house and give you their thoughts about what you need to do to get it ready for sale." Don't resist their suggestions just because you don't like them. This isn't your home any longer; it's a place you're selling.
Make it green. Green homes can bring in more greenbacks. Get your utility company to do a free energy audit and put your renovation dollars toward whatever they recommend. "Then you can market the house as energy efficient," says Alison Rogers, a broker with DG Neary Realty in Manhattan. Improvements could be anything from using low- VOC paints to replacing nonfunctioning appliances with ones that have high Energy Star ratings.
Make it clean. Smokers and people with pets often become desensitized to smells. "Have a friend walk through for a sniff test," Rogers suggests, and pull up smelly carpeting if you have wood floors underneath. Bathrooms should be immaculate, so go after dingy grouting with a bleach-soaked toothbrush. Replace cracked sinks, tubs, toilets and tiles and give walls a fresh coat of paint, sticking with neutrals like white or ivory.
Look at the outside. "If the front door is dirty and the paint is peeling, it will set the tone for the rest of the house," says Miller. If the exterior needs painting, have it power-washed and then you might be able to get away with just touching up the doors and the trim. Clip trees or bushes that cut off light.