33. MAKE THEM SAFE.
Stair lighting should be more than adequate, stairs must be clutter free, stair railings tight and secure, and runners or carpeting tacked securely. Cheerfully decorated stairs are positive!

34. ADD VISUAL INTEREST TO THE STAIRWELL.
A carefully chosen accent might improve the area's visual appeal. If you have a wide, gracious staircase, emphasize this feature by hanging a few pictures along the wall. Draw attention to a handsome lighting fixture by polishing the brass and dusting each small light bulb or crystal prism. Any stair landing should also have an attractive focal point, be it a fern on a plant stand, a dramatic poster, a chiming clock, or a special chair on a large stair landing. If the staircase is narrow, fool the eye by minimizing clutter.

Bedrooms

35. CREATE A MASTER BEDROOM "SUITE" EFFECT.
Large master bedrooms are particularly popular among today's home buyers. Make your bedroom larger. Paint the room a light color, remove one of the bureaus if the room is crowded, minimize clutter to maximize spaciousness. Aim for a restful, subdued "look."
A private bathroom off the master bedroom is a real sales plus...decorate to coordinate with the color scheme of your bedroom, create the "suite" effect.

36. TACKLE YOUR CLOSETS.
Virtually all buyers are looking for a house with plenty of closet space. Try to make what you have appear generous and well planned...

- clear out all but your current seasonal wardrobe.
- a clear floor will make a closet seem more spacious.
- closet shelves should look well organized.
- when prospective buyers open your closet door, they should be greeted with a whiff of fresh-smelling air.
- be sure that every closet in your home has a light so that buyers can easily inspect the interiors.

37. DEPERSONALIZE TEENAGER'S ROOMS
Take the time to explain your house-selling goals to your children. Encourage them to participate in preparing your home for showing; particularly the principle of appealing to the widest possible market...store those personal posters until your home is sold.

38. CREATE A LOOK.
Decorate and personalize - create a pleasing, individual look. Add plants, shells you collected at the beach last summer in an attractive glass bowl or jar, pictures, a magazine rack, or display fresh towels that coordinate with paint colors, etc.

39. CONSIDER COLOR.
Remember, appeal to a wide range of buyers. Play down that all-pink look with contrasting dove-gray towels and matching bathroom rug. If your bathroom is mostly white or neutral, add a few cheerful accents of color; use towels in the popular shades. Don't hesitate to buy a few new towels and a rug; you'll be taking them with you to your new home.

40. INVEST IN A NEW SHOWER CURTAIN.

41. IMPROVE THE FLOOR COVERING.
Notice the word "improve" not "replace." Scrub and wax the older floor. Cover the largest area you can with a large scatter rug.

42. PUT OUT FRESH TOWELS AND SOAP.
Prospective buyers are very special guests in your home. Give the VIP treatment with fresh smelling towels and new soap in an attractive dish. Splurge on a box of fancy sculptures and perfumed guest soaps.

43. GO EASY ON AIR SPRAYS AND ROOM DEODORIZERS.
A gentle hint of fragrance in the air is fine, but keep it subtle.

44. EASE THAT CREEPY, HAUNTED FEELING.
Spruce up your attic space, hide the mousetraps, and install bright lights. If your attic does have windows, be sure to clean off the grime and let in as much light as possible. Clean as needed.

45. REARRANGE YOUR STORAGE.
Get rid of anything that you don't plan to move to your new home. Remaining stored materials should be neatly contained in boxes and trunks and positioned against walls.

46. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR ATTIC'S EXPANSION POTENTIAL.
If you have a large, cheerful, windowed attic, you're sitting on a potential gold mine. Don't renovate your attic, just stage it to suggest your attic space has potential.

47. MAKE IT AS PLEASANT AS POSSIBLE.
A dark damp-smelling basement will have trouble selling. One whiff of mildew and a prospective buyer may begin conjuring up scenes of wading through your flooded basement in rubber hip boots. Clean up mildew stains, throw out any upholstered basement furniture that retains that musty smell, and check the basement walls for high water marks. Many basements are creepy simply because they are too dark. Increase the wattage of your existing light bulbs, and if necessary, install a few more lights.

48. SET IT UP AS A GAME ROOM OR TEEN ROOM.
Set your ping pong table (with balls and paddles as props), hang some bright posters, dust off the old upright, and you've instantly transformed the place into a teen hangout. Your "stage setting" needn't be complete and shouldn't cost a cent - it's only meant to be an imagination jogger that suggests further possibilities to buyers.

49. HIGHLIGHT A WORKBENCH AREA.
Many men dream of having a home workshop for woodworking projects. Clear off that dusty workbench in your basement and draw some attention to it as a sales feature. Clean the surface, set out a few scraps of wood, a box of nails, and a couple of tools, hang a light over the bench, and you've set a scene for an amateur carpenter. Naturally, if someone in your family is REALLY into woodwork, an honest-to-gosh project in progress will stimulate buyers to imagine themselves working in your pleasant basement.

Rutted driveways and junk filled garages spell OWNER NEGLECT, and can easily sour a buyer's otherwise positive impression of your home. Give these areas an honest appraisal and see whether a few small improvements might make a difference. Remember that buyers are scouting for flaws, which they can use to justify a low offer. If you hope to get top dollar for your home, don't give potential buyers any extra ammunition in a poorly maintained driveway or garage.

50. FIX UP DRIVEWAYS FOR FIRST-IMPRESSION IMPACT.
The driveway is no place for children's toys. Not only are such things dangerous, the clutter is unsightly. The surface of your driveway should be beyond reproach; after all, it's one of the first things a buyer will see when he drives up. Repair cracks and potholes, pull up pesky weeds, or get a new load of gravel.

51. ENLARGE AND IMPROVE THE APPEARANCE OF THE GARAGE.
A clean, organized garage appears larger. If dark, add more light, if it's a small, one-car garage - remove your car before buyers visit. An empty garage always looks larger. If it's a two-car garage with very little extra room, remove one of your cars so that the buyer can make their inspection in comfort.

Whether your property consists of fifty acres or a small suburban lot, much of the value is in the land itself. If your yard is a well-landscaped setting for your home, your chances of selling quickly will be greatly enhanced.

52. AVOID AN OVERGROWN, UNKEPT LOOK.
Does your yard radiate owner's pride? Drag out the lawnmower, sharpen up those hedge cutters, and shape up your yard:
Prune bushes, mow your grass, trim trees and hedges, edge along walks and driveways, spray stubborn weeds.
An inch or two of bark mulch around your foundation shrubs makes an excellent first impression.

53. MARK YOUR PROPERTY BOUNDARIES.
Paint stakes a bright red or yellow, and stick them in the ground at the corners of your property. This will not only show consideration, it will be an effective sales tool.

54. BRIGHTEN UP YOUR PROPERTY WITH SOME FLOWERS.
Place the plants into a well-placed wheelbarrow, and old fashioned washtub, or what have you. Such standbys as nasturtiums, petunias, impatients, and verbena are easy to maintain if you remember to water them regularly. Try a row of sweet smelling alyssum to line a short sidewalk or pop in some perky dwarf marigolds to form a cheerful oasis of color in your yard.

55. DRAW ATTENTION TO SPECIAL TREES.
Many buyers can't tell an oak from an elm, but they like the notion of having gracious, mature trees on the property they buy. Make sure yours grabs the buyer's immediate attention. Hang a swing from a strong branch, plant some bright, shade tolerant flowers like impatients, or set up your picnic table under the tree's leafy awning.

56. PLAY UP FLAT AREAS.
Set up your old badminton or volleyball net in that flat area of your yard.

57. SET UP A BACKYARD LIVING/DINING AREA.
It is important to devote at least one area of your yard to outdoor living. Buyers will still recognize a scene set with picnic table and chairs and respond positively to it. Cover your picnic table with a fringed, red-and-white checked cloth, set out some plastic plates and glasses, bring out the barbecue equipment, and buyers will almost smell the hot dogs cooking!

Of course, like all home sellers, you're fantasizing that the first prospective buyers who walk through your front door will fall madly in love with your home and offer to meet your price right there and then. It can happen, but it's a rare occurrence. Now your home is in peak sales condition, hopefully you've employed Wendy Greene with Metro Brokers, and your property is priced realistically. These three factors should give you a distinct selling edge. Before you rest on your laurels, however, study the following:

58. BE WILLING TO SHOW YOUR HOME (PRACTICALLY) ANYTIME.
Play the odds. The more people who see your home, the more likely you are to sell it quickly. Yes, it's an inconvenience to show your home at dinner time, but if the people buy your home, isn't it worth reheating the pot roast?

59. HAVE A FAMILY "GAME PLAN" FOR LAST-MINUTE SHOWINGS.
Prepare for the inevitable, unexpected showings with a family game plan. To be effective, this plan should be worked out by all your family and actually written down so that everyone knows what to do if you sound the alarm. No one is talking about major house cleaning at this point. The kinds of tasks you ought to be concerned with now are simple ones: dust the dining table top, stuff last night's dirty pans in the dishwasher, hide those damp panty hose hanging on the shower rod. Even young children can participate by`"cleaning" their room.

60. AIR OUT YOUR HOME HALF AN HOUR BEFORE SHOWING.
Any home will smell better if you can open the windows in each room and let in some fresh air. Stale air isn't appealing, particularly in a home with smokers or pets.

61. SET YOUR THERMOSTAT AT A COMFORTABLE TEMPERATURE.
Yes, we all want to save on our heating costs, but a chilly house can make buyers nervous and set them to wondering if you home is poorly insulated or your furnace is on its last leg.

62. TURN ON LIGHTS IN EACH AND EVERY ROOM.
You can make home showings smoother for your agent if you turn on lights in every room before prospective buyers arrive. This also gives you an opportunity to select the lighting effects you want for each room. Be sure not to overlook areas like your attic and basement where light switches are often difficult to locate. No area of your home should be dark.

63. TURN ON PLEASANT BACKGROUND MUSIC.
Music has a subliminal power. Why else would stores bother to pipe in soft background music if not to put customers in a comfortable, relaxed mood for what else - buying. Speaking of sound, every seller should know better than to leave a television blaring away when the home is being shown. This is rude and distracting.

64. PUT PETS AND SEND CHILDREN TO PLAY AT THE NEIGHBORS.
Perhaps it's unfair to lump children with pets, but that precious toddler can cause just as much inconvenience when you're trying to sell a home. Keep pets away from buyers.

65. KEEP OUT OF SIGHT WHEN THE SALESPERSON IS SHOWING YOUR HOME.
Once you've answered the door and welcomed the real estate agent and potential buyers, you should take a walk or visit your neighbors or go grocery shopping. The shrewd seller sets the scene so that buyers can walk onto the stage and immediately begin play-acting, pretend the home is already theirs.

66. NEVER VOLUNTEER INFORMATION.
If you've followed the previous tip, you won't be around to chat with the buyers, but if you are at home, resist the urge to volunteer information about what you consider to be important sales features. It's all too easy to develop seller's foot-in-mouth disease.

67. ASSEMBLE HOUSE RECORDS FOR BUYER PERUSAL.
In these times of rising energy costs, buyers will most certainly ask what your home heating and electrical costs are. If you are including any appliances in the sale price of your home, you should keep warranties and instruction booklets in this same file.

68. TELL EVERYONE YOU MEET THAT YOUR HOUSE IS FOR SALE.
Why keep it a secret? Your neighbors across the street may have a friend who has been waiting to move into the neighborhood. Word of mouth is a strong selling aid. If each person you tell that your house is for sale tell two more people, and those people each tell two more people, word can spread quite rapidly.

69. REMAIN OPTIMISTIC.
The buyer for your home will be knocking soon!

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