Make your home warm and inviting to boost your home’s value and speed up the sale process.

The first step to getting buyers to make an offer on your home is to impress them with its appearance so they begin to envision themselves living there. Here are seven tips for making your home look bigger, brighter, and more desirable.

1. Start with a clean slate.

Before you can worry about where to place furniture and which wall hanging should go where, each room in your home must be spotless. Do a thorough cleaning right down to the nitpicky details like wiping down light switch covers. Deep clean and deodorize carpets and window coverings.

2. Stow away your clutter.

It’s harder for buyers to picture themselves in your home when they’re looking at your family photos, collectibles, and knickknacks. Pack up all your personal decorations. However, don’t make spaces like mantles and coffee and end tables barren. Leave three items of varying heights on each surface, suggests Barb Schwarz of Staged Homes in Concord, Pa. For example, place a lamp, a small plant, and a book on an end table.

3. Scale back on your furniture.

When a room is packed with furniture, it looks smaller, which will make buyers think your home is less valuable than it is. Make sure buyers appreciate the size of each room by removing one or two pieces of furniture. If you have an eat-in dining area, using a small table and chair set makes the area seem bigger.

4. Rethink your furniture placement.

Highlight the flow of your rooms by arranging the furniture to guide buyers from one room to another. In each room, create a focal point on the farthest wall from the doorway and arrange the other pieces of furniture in a triangle around the focal point, advises Schwarz. In the bedroom, the bed should be the focal point. In the living room, it may be the fireplace, and your couch and sofa can form the triangle in front of it.

5. Add color to brighten your rooms.

Brush on a fresh coat of warm, neutral-color paint in each room. Ask your real estate agent for help choosing the right shade. Then accessorize. Adding a vibrant afghan, throw, or accent pillows for the couch will jazz up a muted living room, as will a healthy plant or a bright vase on your mantle. High-wattage bulbs in your light fixtures will also brighten up rooms and basements.

6. Set the scene.

Lay logs in the fireplace, and set your dining room table with dishes and a centerpiece of fresh fruit or flowers. Create other vignettes throughout the home — such as a chess game in progress — to help buyers envision living there. Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones that let in more light.

Make your bathrooms feel luxurious by adding a new shower curtain, towels, and fancy guest soaps (after you put all your personal toiletry items are out of sight). Judiciously add subtle potpourri, scented candles, or boil water with a bit of vanilla mixed in. If you have pets, clean bedding frequently and spray an odor remover before each showing.

7. Make the entrance grand.

Mow your lawn and trim your hedges, and turn on the sprinklers for 30 minutes before showings to make your lawn sparkle. If flowers or plants don’t surround your home’s entrance, add a pot of bright flowers. Top it all off by buying a new doormat and adding a seasonal wreath to your front door.

More from HouseLogic

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11 Ways to Create a Welcoming Front Entrance for Under $100

Fragrant Plants that Will Keep Your Home Smelling Good

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who occasionally rearranges her furniture to find the best placement—and keep her dog on his toes. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

After finding a buyer, all you have to do to make it to closing is to avoid these five traps.

Finding a buyer for your home is just the first step on the homeselling path. Tread carefully in the weeks ahead because if you make one of these common seller mistakes, your deal may not close.

Mistake #1: Ignore contingencies

If your contract requires you to do something before the sale, do it. If the buyers make the sale contingent on certain repairs, don’t do cheap patch-jobs and expect the buyers not to notice the fixes weren’t done properly.

Mistake #2: Don’t bother to fix things that break

The last thing any seller needs is for the buyers to notice on the pre-closing walk-through that the home isn’t in the same condition as when they made their offer. When things fall apart in a home about to be purchased, sellers must make the repairs. If the furnace fails, get a professional to fix it, and inform the buyers that the work was done. When you fail to maintain the home, the buyers may lose confidence in your integrity and the condition of the home and back out of the sale.

Mistake #3: Get lax about deadlines

Treat deadlines as sacrosanct. If you have three days to accept or reject the home inspection, make your decision within three days. If you’re selling, move out a few days early, so you can turn over the keys at closing.

Mistake #4: Refuse to negotiate any further

Once you’ve negotiated a price, it’s natural to calculate how much you’ll walk away with from the closing table. However, problems uncovered during inspections will have to be fixed. The appraisal may come in at a price below what the buyers offered to pay. Be prepared to negotiate with the buyers over these bottom-line-influencing issues.

Mistake #5: Hide liens from buyers

Did you neglect to mention that Uncle Sam has placed a tax lien on your home or you owe six months of homeowners association fees? The title search is going to turn up any liens filed on your house. To sell your house, you have to pay off the lien (or get the borrower to agree to pay it off). If you can do that with the sales proceeds, great. If not, the sale isn’t going to close.

More from HouseLogic

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Reducing closing stress

Other web resources

More on calculating closing costs

More on the closing process

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who wanted a successful closing on a Wisconsin property so bad that she probably made her agent rethink going into real estate. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

An inviting open house can put your home on buyers’ short lists.

Get ready for your open house—stress-free—by starting early and breaking down your to-do list into manageable chunks. Use this timeline of 35 tips and your house will stand out from the competition on open house day.

Four weeks before the open house

• Ask your parents to babysit the kids the weekend of the open house. Then book a reservation for your pet with the dog sitter or at the kennel. Having everyone out of the house on the day of will help you keep your home tidy and smelling fresh. Plus, no dogs and no kids equal more time for last-minute prep.

• Line up a contractor to take care of maintence issues your REALTOR® has asked you to fix, like leaking faucets, sagging gutters, or dings in the walls.

• De-clutter every room (even if you already de-cluttered once before). Don’t hide your stuff in the closet—buyers will open doors to size up closet space. Store your off-season clothes, sports equipment, and toys somewhere else.

• Book carpet cleaners for a few days before the open house and a house cleaning service for the day before. Otherwise, make sure to leave time to do these things yourself a couple of days before.

Three weeks before the open house

• Buy fluffy white towels to create a spa-like feel in the bathrooms.

• Buy a front door mat to give a good first impression.

• Designate a shoebox for each bathroom to stow away personal items the day of the open house.

Two weeks before the open house

• Clean the light fixtures, ceiling fans, light switches, and around door knobs. A spic-and-span house makes buyers feel like they can move right in.

• Power-wash the house, deck, sidewalk, and driveway.

One week before the open house

• Make sure potential buyers can get up close and personal with your furnace, air-conditioning unit, and appliances. They’ll want to read any maintenance and manufacturer’s stickers to see how old everything is.

• Clean the inside of appliances and de-clutter kitchen cabinets and drawers and the pantry. Buyers will open cabinet doors and drawers. If yours are stuffed to the gills, buyers will think your kitchen lacks enough storage space.

• Put out the new door mat to break it in. It’ll look nice, but not too obviously new for the open house.

Week of the open house

• Buy ready-made cookie dough and disposable aluminum cookie sheets so you don’t have to take time for clean up after baking (you can recycle the pans after use). Nothing says “home” like the smell of freshly baked cookies.

• Buy a bag of apples or lemons to display in a pretty bowl.

• Let your REALTOR® know if you’re running low on sales brochures explaining the features of your house.

• Clean the windows to let in the most light possible.

• Mow the lawn two days before the open house. Mowing the morning of the open house can peeve house hunters with allergies.

Day before the open house

• Make sure your REALTOR® puts up plenty of open-house signs pointing in the right direction and located where drivers will see them. If she can’t get to it on the Friday before a Sunday open house, offer to do it yourself.

• Put away yard clutter like hoses, toys, or pet water bowls.

• Lay fresh logs in the fireplace.

Day of the open house

• Put checkbooks, kids’ piggybanks, jewelry, prescription drugs, bank statements, and other valuables in the trunk of your car, at a neighbor’s house, or in your safe. It’s rare, but thefts do happen at open houses.

• Set the dining room table for a special-occasion dinner. In the backyard, uncover the barbeque and set the patio table for a picnic to show buyers how elegantly and simply they can entertain once they move in.

• Check any play equipment for spider webs or insect invasions. A kid screaming about spiders won’t endear buyers to your home.

• Clean the fingerprints off the storm door. First impressions count.

• Put up Post-It notes around the house to highlight great features like tilt-in windows or a recently updated appliance.

• Remove shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, and other personal items from the bathtub, shower, and sinks in all the bathrooms. Store them in a shoebox under the sink. Removing personal items makes it easier for buyers to see themselves living in your house.

• Stow away all kitchen countertop appliances.

One hour before the open house

• Bake the ready-to-bake cookies you bought earlier this week. Put them on a nice platter for your open house guests to eat with a note that says: “Help yourself!”

• Hang the new towels in the bathrooms.

• Put your bowl of apples or lemons on the kitchen table or bar counter.

• Pick up and put away any throw rugs, like the bath mats. They’re a trip hazard.

15 minutes before the open house

• Open all the curtains and blinds and turn on the lights in the house. Buyers like bright homes.

• Light fireplace logs (if it’s winter).

• Didn’t get those cookies baked? Brew a pot of coffee to make the house smell inviting.

During the open house

Get out of the house and let your REALTOR® sell it! Potential buyers will be uncomfortable discussing your home if you’re loitering during the open house. Take advantage of your child- and pet-free hours by treating yourself to something you enjoy–a few extra hours at the gym, a trip to the bookstore, or a manicure.

More from HouseLogic

7 Tips for Staging Your Home

Seasonal Maintenance

10 Steps to a Perfect Exterior Paint Job

Dona DeZube has been writing about real estate for over two decades. She lives a suburban Baltimore 1970s rancher on a 3-acre lot shared with possums, raccoons, foxes, a herd of deer, and her blue-tick hound.

An inviting open house can put your home on buyers’ short lists.

Get ready for your open house—stress-free—by starting early and breaking down your to-do list into manageable chunks. Use this timeline of 35 tips and your house will stand out from the competition on open house day.

Four weeks before the open house

• Ask your parents to babysit the kids the weekend of the open house. Then book a reservation for your pet with the dog sitter or at the kennel. Having everyone out of the house on the day of will help you keep your home tidy and smelling fresh. Plus, no dogs and no kids equal more time for last-minute prep.

• Line up a contractor to take care of maintence issues your REALTOR® has asked you to fix, like leaking faucets, sagging gutters, or dings in the walls.

• De-clutter every room (even if you already de-cluttered once before). Don’t hide your stuff in the closet—buyers will open doors to size up closet space. Store your off-season clothes, sports equipment, and toys somewhere else.

• Book carpet cleaners for a few days before the open house and a house cleaning service for the day before. Otherwise, make sure to leave time to do these things yourself a couple of days before.

Three weeks before the open house

• Buy fluffy white towels to create a spa-like feel in the bathrooms.

• Buy a front door mat to give a good first impression.

• Designate a shoebox for each bathroom to stow away personal items the day of the open house.

Two weeks before the open house

• Clean the light fixtures, ceiling fans, light switches, and around door knobs. A spic-and-span house makes buyers feel like they can move right in.

• Power-wash the house, deck, sidewalk, and driveway.

One week before the open house

• Make sure potential buyers can get up close and personal with your furnace, air-conditioning unit, and appliances. They’ll want to read any maintenance and manufacturer’s stickers to see how old everything is.

• Clean the inside of appliances and de-clutter kitchen cabinets and drawers and the pantry. Buyers will open cabinet doors and drawers. If yours are stuffed to the gills, buyers will think your kitchen lacks enough storage space.

• Put out the new door mat to break it in. It’ll look nice, but not too obviously new for the open house.

Week of the open house

• Buy ready-made cookie dough and disposable aluminum cookie sheets so you don’t have to take time for clean up after baking (you can recycle the pans after use). Nothing says “home” like the smell of freshly baked cookies.

• Buy a bag of apples or lemons to display in a pretty bowl.

• Let your REALTOR® know if you’re running low on sales brochures explaining the features of your house.

• Clean the windows to let in the most light possible.

• Mow the lawn two days before the open house. Mowing the morning of the open house can peeve house hunters with allergies.

Day before the open house

• Make sure your REALTOR® puts up plenty of open-house signs pointing in the right direction and located where drivers will see them. If she can’t get to it on the Friday before a Sunday open house, offer to do it yourself.

• Put away yard clutter like hoses, toys, or pet water bowls.

• Lay fresh logs in the fireplace.

Day of the open house

• Put checkbooks, kids’ piggybanks, jewelry, prescription drugs, bank statements, and other valuables in the trunk of your car, at a neighbor’s house, or in your safe. It’s rare, but thefts do happen at open houses.

• Set the dining room table for a special-occasion dinner. In the backyard, uncover the barbeque and set the patio table for a picnic to show buyers how elegantly and simply they can entertain once they move in.

• Check any play equipment for spider webs or insect invasions. A kid screaming about spiders won’t endear buyers to your home.

• Clean the fingerprints off the storm door. First impressions count.

• Put up Post-It notes around the house to highlight great features like tilt-in windows or a recently updated appliance.

• Remove shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, and other personal items from the bathtub, shower, and sinks in all the bathrooms. Store them in a shoebox under the sink. Removing personal items makes it easier for buyers to see themselves living in your house.

• Stow away all kitchen countertop appliances.

One hour before the open house

• Bake the ready-to-bake cookies you bought earlier this week. Put them on a nice platter for your open house guests to eat with a note that says: “Help yourself!”

• Hang the new towels in the bathrooms.

• Put your bowl of apples or lemons on the kitchen table or bar counter.

• Pick up and put away any throw rugs, like the bath mats. They’re a trip hazard.

15 minutes before the open house

• Open all the curtains and blinds and turn on the lights in the house. Buyers like bright homes.

• Light fireplace logs (if it’s winter).

• Didn’t get those cookies baked? Brew a pot of coffee to make the house smell inviting.

During the open house

Get out of the house and let your REALTOR® sell it! Potential buyers will be uncomfortable discussing your home if you’re loitering during the open house. Take advantage of your child- and pet-free hours by treating yourself to something you enjoy–a few extra hours at the gym, a trip to the bookstore, or a manicure.

More from HouseLogic

7 Tips for Staging Your Home

Seasonal Maintenance

10 Steps to a Perfect Exterior Paint Job

Dona DeZube has been writing about real estate for over two decades. She lives a suburban Baltimore 1970s rancher on a 3-acre lot shared with possums, raccoons, foxes, a herd of deer, and her blue-tick hound.

A mature tree can account for as much as 10% of your assessed property value, depending on your market.  With that much at stake, you sure don’t want to have to yell, “Timber!”

Here’s how to tell if one of your trees is in danger of falling over, and what you can do about it.

How to Inspect Your Trees

No one knows your trees as well as you. So after they leaf out in the spring, leaf off in the fall, and after a big storm, walk around and look at your lovelies, top to bottom, noticing changes in foliage, branches, roots, and bark.

• Inspect all sides of the tree, both up close and from a distance.

• Check for cuts in or peeling bark.

• Use binoculars to inspect the tree’s crown for dead wood and brown leaves.

Leaning Trees

Trees usually don’t grow straight, and a little lean is normal. But when your tree starts looking like the Tower of Pisa because of poor weight distribution or anchor root damage, it’s likely unstable. This is a good time to call an arborist.

Danger signs:

• Cracked or heaving soil, especially on the side opposite the lean.

• Exposed roots around the base of the tree.

Cures:

• Prune branches to distribute weight better.

• Brace the tree trunk with cables attached to stakes on opposite sides of the tree. Make sure to pad the tree before placing cables around tender bark.

Multiple Trunks

A tree with multiple trunks, or with splits in one trunk, can be unstable.

Danger signs:

• V-shaped or U-shaped multiple trunks are weak points for mature trees. The connective wood where the trunks come together may lose strength — and be more likely to split — with age and when storms occur.

• Cracks that extend deeply into or through the trunk.

Cures:

An arborist can stabilize split trunks by attaching cables between trunks and branches high in the tree. Cables won’t repair existing damage, but they will increase the safety, especially in strong winds, and extend the life of your tree.

This is dangerous work best left to experts, who will charge between $600 and $2,000; annual cable maintenance costs $100-$200.

Construction Destruction

Construction is tough on trees. Installing a driveway, putting on an addition, and digging up utility lines puts nearby trees under stress. Construction can damage shallow feeder roots, starving and destabilizing the tree. Construction equipment can scrape tree bark, providing a gateway set for disease and infestation.

Danger signs of construction stress (which can show up immediately or years later):

• Damaged bark

• Reduced, smaller, or no foliage

• Premature autumn color

• Mushrooms, conks, and carpenter ants at the base of the tree are a sign of decay and rot.

Cures:

Prevention is your best option. Before construction, set up a barricade around the tree; for each inch in diameter of the tree’s trunk, add a foot of protection. For example, an 8-inch-diameter tree needs a barricade with an 8-foot radius.

If the tree is damaged by construction, act fast:

• Prune to reduce weight and remove damaged limbs.

• Install cables or bracing rods.

• Water deeply.

• Aerate compacted soil around the root zone.

An Arborist to the Rescue

If you think your trees are changing, or you see any of the major warning signs above, they could be “hazard trees” — trees likely to fall and destroy what’s near them — like your house.

This is a good time to call a certified arborist. Get recommendations from friends or neighborhood list serves. Or, contact the International Society of Arboriculture, which maintains a list of certified arborists.

An arborist can help save your tree, or let you know if it’s beyond help. For example, bacteria or bugs could be harming your tree, and an arborist’s inspection ($150-$350) can diagnose which disease, trauma, or fungus is the culprit. An arborist also can determine if your tree is decaying internally, something that may not yet be obvious.

Aborists can either fix the problem, or calculate the risk of the tree falling and the likely objects it could damage. That calculation will help you decide if it’s worth spending money to keep the tree alive and upright, remove the tree, or just let nature take its course and topple the tree at will.

What About Lightning Risks?

If you live on the highest hill in the neighborhood, and own the tallest tree on the block, that’s pretty sweet. But it also increases your chances of a lightning strike.

If lightning strikes one side of a tree, your tree might close the wound and live its life. But if a bolt travels through the trunk, exploding wood and bark and damaging roots, it might be lights out.

To protect trees from lightning, an arborist can ground a tree with a copper cable system that extends from near the top of major trunks down to copper ground rods. These systems can cost $1,500, and may not be worth the money to protect a tree you could replace for $150.

Speaking of lightning, here’s how to save trees from storm damage.

And if you’re thinking of planting a tree, you might want to avoid one of these trees. HouseLogic readers told us which trees they love to hate.

Here’s how trees add value and help you be more energy-efficient.