It doesn't matter if you are selling your own home, FSBO, or selling your home using a real estate agent you need to make sure you follow these suggestions.  If you want your home to stand out amongst the crowd then get busy.  Take a look at your home from the street.  Imagine driving up to your home for the first time.  How does your home look from the street?  Is the yard neat and well landscaped?  Are the trash cans out of site?  Are the kid’s toys out of the way?  For only a few dollars and some hard work you can make your home look good from the street.   How does the home look close up from the outside?  Does your home need new paint on the outside?  Are the windows clean?  Is anything growing out of the gutters? If your home needs paint then paint it.  The cost of painting your home is well worth the value it adds to your home.  Take a look around the outside of your home and look with a critical eye.  If you can't pay to have something done then do it yourself.  The first time a potential buyer drives up to your home is the time to make a great impression.  If your buyer doesn't like the outside of the home they will not come in.  The look of your home from the street should be tops on your list.  Walk into your front door and note what you see.  Just stand in the front entrance and look all around.  Do you see and inviting home?  Do you smell any odors?  Get your neighbor to go inside with you.  Ask them what their concerns are.  Is your home perfectly clean?  I mean spotless.  Are your personal items put away?  Personal items like pictures, things you collect, souvenirs etc... Keep in mind that people want to envision the home for them.  It is hard to see a home when it is cluttered by personal items.  Take a look at the kitchen and make sure it is absolutely perfectly clean.  Make sure the appliances look new.  If they don't look new consider buying new appliances.  Make sure you give the kitchen a thorough cleaning.  Take a look at all the walls.  Do you have out of date wallpaper?  Are the colors on your walls too bold?  Consider painting your walls a neutral color and removing the wall paper.  Look at your carpets.  Do they need to be replaced?  Try to get buy with a deep carpet cleaning.  Walk into your bathrooms.  Are they clean and uncluttered?  Clean the bathrooms and remove as much as you can from the counters.  Consider adding flowers or a new towel set.  The best way to make sure your home is in tip top shape is to look at it with a critical eye.  Ask your neighbor to make a list of things they don't like.  It might hurt your feelings to hear about the problems but it will help you sell your home.