At some point in his or her life almost every person sells his or her home. This may range from annually to just once. Whatever the reason, or season, to buy your home a prospective buyer has to see some benefits whether it be a completely renovated home or one that needs very little work left for person; satisfaction. Here are a few tips to spruce up your home:

The Outside: Curb Appeal

1. Clean Up

Without Superman's x-ray vision no one can see beyond the masses of shrubbery that clouds over many yards. By just missing a year's pruning you can watch your manicured yard turn into a jungle, so get the clippers out and give your shrubs a haircut. You may want to limb the lower branches of the trees but if you have doubts get a free estimate from a couple of arborists.

Now clean up all garbage (this includes old wood that you've been keeping for a project that may or may not happen). No one likes yard clutter so remove tacky plastic fences and ornaments that will distract a buyer from concentrating on the good points of your yard.

2. First Glance

There is an old saying, "You never get a second chance at a first impression." The way your home looks at first glance will definitely stay in the mind of the buyer and may be the deciding factor for a full tour. If you want a good impression invite several real estate agents to look at the property and get theirviews (This is a good way to interview them, as well). Now ask your friends to bring their friends and acquaintances, ones who have never been to your home, to come over and give their ideas. This will give you a good over-all idea of what homebuyers will say. Tell them to be brutally honest but don't take it personally!

3. The Exterior

If your home is wood clapboard, or another wood product, you will probably need a complete paint job. Very few people can see through faded and chipping paint to appreciate a house so whether you do-it-yourself or hire it out this is a good place to start. If the paint just needs touching up paint stores now can match a chip to a pretty close shade of the original paint. However, if you want top dollar spend the $3,000 and get a pro with a crew to do it. It will add thousands more to the price and save you weeks of time. If you have a fence get a price on that too. Hey, they are already there.

4. The Entrance

This is another place where spending some money will reap rewards. If you have an old wooden door a new entrance door with sidelights will do much to welcome buyers into your home. The painting contractor or paint store rep will help you choose the right color and trim. In addition, you might place a seasonal wreath with matching material and dried plants in planters. The hardware should also match, as should the mailbox and numbers. These are small things but they all add up.

5. Landscape

Cleaning and trimming should spruce up the place, and if it's any season other than late fall or winter you will be able to find some flowering plants to edge the driveway or sidewalk. You can even get three or four small cedars in planters and line them up. The grass should be uniform so re-sod any brown spots and use and edger to make a sharp trim. As well, build up beds with mulch. This really finishes up the yard and covers any weeds.

6. Deck

If you have a deck rent a power washer and give it a good clean. If the deck is wood spend an afternoon staining it in a color to compliment the home. This is easy so you don't need a professional. If in season put hanging flower baskets at intervals and potted shrubs in the corners.

The Inside: Follow the Water

1. Kitchen

Despite what many television "home experts" will tell you spending a fortune in the kitchen is a crap-shoot. Because although a kitchen may be the one of the most important areas of concern for a buyer it can also suck up all of your renovation budget without any noticeable return.

Cabinets: The older-style cabinets were well-built so ripping them out to put in cheap, wood-filled replacements for $4,000 doesn't make sense. Because the cabinets themselves are probably good plywood that you can paint and for 1/3 of the new price you can get new doors and hardware. However, if you don't want to spend this kind of money repaint the whole cabinet system with a quality paint. Make sure you prime them with a shellac or other good oil-based primer. If you want to take the guesswork out of the job a pro painter can also come in and spray them. Now, get pulls and hardware to match your new cabinets.

Countertops: For around $400 you can put in a new laminate countertop. If you have the time you can put down 3/4" plywood and install granite tile yourself for $6 a square foot. Use a nice wood or stainless-steel nosing to finish it off. There are dozens of websites to show you how to do this.

Sink: Forget the new-style, acrylic and engineered stone sinks. Some of these top out at $600 with $250 for matching faucets. Polish your old stainless sink with jeweler's rouge and maybe fork out $125 for modern taps.

Flooring: Cushion floor is the easiest but tile gives style. At around $3.00 a foot installed tile creates quite an impression.

Lights: Don't go nuts on this but a fixture to match you hardware will tie it all together. Under-the-cabinet LED work lights are cheap and give the kitchen a modern edge during a showing.

Window: Clean the window and, if necessary, replace the molding.

Backsplash: Tile again. This is a do-it-yourself job that will take less than a day and cost less than $100.

2. Bathroom

Let's say your bathroom is 1970's with a steel tub and wallboard surrounds.

Tub: First, rip out all the old (moldy) silicon and check the walls. If they are not spongy then you are okay. You can replace the tub but first check out some acrylic products at your local home store. These are glazes that come in many colors (but stick to white) and you them brush on. The paint finishes to a hard, smooth surface like real porcelain. You can clean up your present hardware (if it's not too dated) or spend less than $100 for new ones.

Shower: For around $100 you can buy a new acrylic tub-surround and glue it over the old tile or "bath board." Your tub should be white because most tub surrounds are this color. If you have a knack for tiling get the big tile (16") and do all the walls. If your bathroom is small get smaller, lighter ones. Now, spend a few bucks and get a shower rod with two adjustable heads. This will bring the bathroom up to date.

Flooring: Again, tile makes the impression but if the the bathroom is small you can buy a small chunk of tile-design cushion floor for $25 and put it down yourself.

Sink: The sink should be the focal point of the bathroom and the set the style. This can be a modern basin-style with matching mirror or a funiture-style cabinet with sik insert. These would come in at under $500 and would be worth it because it would breate a lasting impression for the buyer.

3. Walls

Consult several painting stores and get ideas from the staff. The colors should tie the home together.

4. Floors

Remove the carpet if it looks worn, otherwise have it professionally cleaned. A classic laminate flooring works in the bedrooms and hallways. For the living try a laminate with a large rug that matches the décor. These are $150 and the buyer won't know if the flooring underneath is dark maple or $1.49 for laminate.

Remember, to sell a home in a buyer's market you have to be creative but spend your money in the right places. For more information