Top 10 tricks to sell your home

1. Make room. Clear out as much furniture as you can. Hallways and doorways, in particular, need to be clear and open.

2. Follow your nose. A home should smell good. That means no noticeable odor -- no pet scent, no stale cooking smells and no cigarette smoke. Scrub the house, have the air vents cleaned, replace old, smelly carpeting and smoke outside.

3. Remember, the next buyer is as lazy as you are. If the property needs work -- dated wallpaper, ratty carpet -- have it replaced now so that all buyers have to picture is moving day. The more changes buyers calculate they'll have to make in the home, the more concerned they get.

4. Deep-six the cigarettes. Having a smoker in the house eliminates a lot of potential buyers. Many shoppers won't even want to tour a home if the owner is a smoker.

5. Make your home ageless. There's a difference between an old house and a classic home. If the house looks 40 years old with 40-year-old paint, 40-year-old appliances and 40-year-old carpet, that's a hard sell. Keep everything fresh and up-to-date.

6. Let there be light. People buy space and light, for the most part. Open the blinds and turn on all the lights. Add lights in rooms that are dark.

7. Learn to love white walls. Paint is a relatively economical way to make a house look sparkling and fresh. And if you're going to repaint prior to selling, stick with neutrals. Remember that white reflects the light best and makes rooms look their largest.

8. Take a close look at the carpet. Get the carpet shampooed to get out any stains or smells. If that doesn't work, replace it.

9. Clean your closets. Sellers need to empty the closets of half the things they have in them. Partially empty closets look roomy -- and space sells. Do the same thing with kitchen cabinets.

10. Set your house apart. A real estate study was conducted in which potential buyers were shown many different houses in similar neighborhoods, all with similar features and amenities. The one that stood out? A home that had yellow roses on the dining room table. People not only remembered the detail, but they rated the home higher as a result.

You need to give the home a hook, something that makes it different in a positive way from the other houses.

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