Before getting your house valuated think about the list below and if you should implement them to increase your house's value.

Clean up your house:
Clean your house thoroughly. By this I mean do everything humanly possible to cleanse your house. Clean the windows, the sink, vacuum the floor, scrub the toilet, take out the trash, make sure nothing appears to be in a sloppy mess.

Fix what can be seen before what can't:
Quite a few people believe that its important to work on the things you can see before the things you can't, this attracts more buyers. For example renovate the exterior before the interior before the creaky floor boards. If the house looks like a dump from the outside most people will not be willing to have a look around inside.

Seal the driveway:
Do you have a gravel driveway? Do weeds pop up, do you find yourself constantly raking gravel, do find that gravel manages to get into your house, do you get irritated by the loud noise of a car that's driving on it makes? It may be time to end these problems and increase your houses value by sealing your driveway.

Is the property secure?
People will tend to pay more for a house they feel safe in, so consider;

- Installing a burglar alarm

- Installing a fire alarm

- Installing security doors

- Installing secure and reliable locks

Do you need new spouting?
Spouting will be one of the first things an appraiser or buyer will notice when they look at your house. You do not want them to see rusted, dirty, broken spouting. Putting in new spouting will increase the value of your house and decrease the maintenance required.

Are your windows up to scratch?
Windows are a powerful tool in your home improvement arsenal. If your windows are not aesthetically appealing or are in an awful state consider double-glazed windows, although possibly a bit expensive, are a good improvement. They will provide your house with superior heat insulation and sound insulation. If a room isn't getting much light, consider enlarging the windows or putting in new ones. This will make the room a lot warmer and, "light and bright" which appraisers and buyer love.

Does the house need a power wash?
Unless you regularly clean your house with a scrubbing brush it will probably be a good idea to get your house power washed. Being inexpensive, this will help get rid of the grime, dirt, and any other disgusting build up on your house.

Temperature:
Curtains and windows will help with insulation but to really insulate your property you need to have a good insulator between walls such as fibreglass or foam. People will happily pay much more to be warm throughout the winter than spend the extra money on heating, so by doing this the value of your house can increase substantially.

If excess heat is an issue then consider installing an air conditioner. Again, people will always pay extra to feel comfortable.

Roofing:
Going back to the idea of "fix what can be seen before what can't", a roof improvement can be very beneficial to the value of your house. Firstly the roof needs to be cleaned, preferably power washed. If the roof is in that bad of a shape maybe a re-tiling is in order.

Things to think about before an open day.

-Make sure you have a plan and know what your doing on the day. Assign jobs to all family members or flat mates to get things done quicker in case there is a showing scheduled with short notice.

-Make sure everything smells nice and fresh, if you smoke do not smoke in your house for a few days before the auction. Open all the windows, use an air fresher if you have to.

-Get rid of all your pets for the day. They can be a nuisance especially if they are over friendly and may cause some allergic reactions.

-Your house should have a light and sunny atmosphere. Pull back all the curtains and blinds, turn lights if its dark or rainy.

-If you have the luxury of controlling the temperature of your house make sure the temperature is comfortable for all your guest.

-Clean your house thoroughly. By this I mean do everything humanly possible to cleanse your house. Clean the windows, the sink, vacuum the floor, scrub the toilet, take out the trash, make sure nothing appears to be in a sloppy mess.

-Leave the open home unless your do not have a real estate agent there. If you have to stay, don't let the buyers know your the seller and don't approach or smother them unless they come to you. Try to stay out of their way.

This article is owned by http://www.use-your-equity.com and written by John Whiteside. Learn more about real estate investing, and how to create and use the equity in your home! The original article can be found at http://www.use-your-equity.com/General.html