Every realtor who has been around the industry knows that a home that is polished is more attractive to the buyer, which means that it will sell much more quickly and for closer to the asking price. In addition, any buyer will be more likely to purchase a home that appears as though it has been taken care of by the previous owner because it will decrease the maintenance costs in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to get your home looking as good as possible before showing it, so that you can maximize your earnings on this sale. Because of this, it is important to think about:

1. The amount of money you should spend on this process

2. How the exterior looks from the road

3. How much should you spend

One thing to remember in this process is to spend as little as possible, in order to get the most out of your investment. Even though new siding will greatly improve the look of your house, it will not increase the value enough to pay for it in full. Therefore, be sure to only make minor improvements that will improve the overall look, without putting you in a hole financially. This includes things like dusting, painting, and polishing, rather than extensive renovations. Speak to a real estate agent about what you can do to improve the look of your house for sale without spending too much money.

Maximizing exterior and curb appeal

This means that you must make the home look as good as possible to people standing on the curb. This does not have to be expensive, but is rather a series of minor alterations that can be made, such as:

1. Making sure the lawn is in great shape.

2. Keeping all hedges, trees, and flowers watered and pruned.

3. Fix all cracks in the steps, patio, foundation, or walkway

4. Repaint doors and windows if they are peeling. 

5. Make sure that the gutters have been cleaned and that they are doing what they are supposed to do. 

6. Have the chimney inspected and cleaned.

7. Have a look at the roof and replace any loose and damaged shingles. 

8. Loosing siding should be fixed.

9. If you live in a colder environment, be sure that your walkways do not have any snow or ice accumulated on them.

10. Add a few flowers to the outside of the home in order to make it look nicer. A few flowers make the house seem more cared for.

11. Have the driveway re-sealed.

12. Make sure that the garage is always closed to avoid showing clutter.

13. Move any RVs and old cars somewhere else for the time being.

14. Make sure that the door is freshly painted or even replace the front door as a whole.

15. Maximizing interior appeal

On the inside of your home, you can make it more appealing by:
Cleaning every room in the entire house thoroughly, while also removing anything that you do not need. This gives the house the appearance of being bigger, since no space is being wasted. Some people even rent out a storage space while they are selling in order to make the home seem larger than it normally does.

Bringing in a professional cleaner every couple of weeks while you are selling. This gives the home a clean look all the time.

Remove anything that is not being used on a regular basis from the kitchen and closets and store it elsewhere. This makes these areas seem much cleaner and, therefore, more inviting for your guests. Since also starts the moving process for you, as everything will have to be removed eventually anyway. 

You may also want to paint all of your walls a neutral color, because these colors are less likely to be thought of as ugly. This is also something that can be applied to your carpeting, but do not to through the expense of replacing this. 

There may be cracks in the basement or attic that will lead to leaks, so be sure you repair all of these that you find.

Also, repair any cracks or holes in the plastering, wallpaper and tiles.

If you happen to have broken windowpanes, replace these, along with any other woodwork inside the home. Have the plumbing, heating. A/C, and alarm inspected by a professional and fix anything that needs it. 
Dripping faucets and showerheads will show a lack of care being paid to the house, so be sure to fix these. 
Make sure to kitchen looks great by cleaning it and giving it a quick paint job. It will improve its overall look quite a bit.