SELLING A HOUSE More tips

Don't cook foods such as cabbage, because the odor can linger. Any effort to hide the odor with air freshener might give the impression you are trying to hide something more serious, such as the smell of leaking pipes.
Turn off the television and turn on some easy-listening music.
If a room is dark, install more lighting.
Clean the closets. Older houses tend to have limited closet space; the more cluttered, the less space buyers think they have.
If you want to take something with you, such as a light fixture, remove it before the house is shown, otherwise, potential buyers may think it is included.
Buyers head for the kitchen first. A country kitchen or a combined kitchen-breakfast room-family room is a big seller in the suburbs. Updated kitchens in older houses also sell well, but they should retain some of their original charm.
Next on the list is the basement for the husband and the master bedroom for the wife. Bathrooms, too, should have enough sizzle to convince prospective buyers their search is over.
Lowest on the list of buyers' priorities: "bedrooms two through four," where the children sleep.
Make sure your teenagers remove their posters from the walls. Young families do not seem to favor houses where there is an overwhelming presence of teenagers, agents say.
When your house is being shown, get the children to an off-premises baby sitter. The same goes for the dog and cat; exile the gerbil and hamster, which many people think are rats.
If you are there when your home is being shown, let the agent answer all the questions. Greet people and then excuse yourself.
If you are asked questions, answer them honestly. And do not give in to the tendency to point out tiny imperfections.
Source: Knight Ridder Newspapers