Summer is here and it's a great time to be doing various DIY jobs throughout the home.

Even if you have only a vague notion that you might sell your home at some point, there are a range of improvements that you can undertake that will help to make your home more attractive to potential buyers. And the more you do now, the smaller the "to do" list when the time comes to sell.

OK here goes:

Lawns and yards - A regular maintenance program for lawns and yards pays dividends when the time comes to sell. Your front lawn, especially, is of major importance as it's going to help to form that vital first impression. Investment in plants and landscaping in general invariably goes down well with buyers and can actually create a defining difference with other similar competing properties.

Paintwork - Obviously a fresh coat of interior and exterior paint helps to make any home more marketable, but color choice is also a vital consideration. While you might personally favor deep reds and purples on your walls and bright yellows on external features, these aren't going to appeal to the widest possible audience, so it's important to make neutral color choices that will be acceptable to the vast majority of potential buyers.

Decks - When buyers view a tired looking deck they envisage a lot of work ahead. Any deck should be inviting rather than intimidating, so it makes a lot of sense to ensure it looks fresh and any necessary repairs are undertaken. Even if you never use the deck yourself, never lose sight of the fact that it can be a real asset when it comes to selling your home, or a real liability if it's not well maintained.

Air conditioning/heating - It's essential to make sure that your cooling and heating systems are regularly serviced and working as they should be. There are a number of things you can do yourself, such as debris removal and cleaning of the external aircon condenser unit. Filters should be changed reguarly too, depending on which one you use, so make sure these are up to date to help avoid bigger problems down the line. Everything needs to be functioning perfectly at the showing, whatever the time of year, so it's imperative that you create a comfortable atmosphere that's appropriately cool or warm as needed.

Attention to detail - Familiarity with our surroundings means that we sometimes overlook some of the minor things that aren't working, such as dead light bulbs and leaking faucets. It's reckoned that most buyers will assume there are several other problems waiting to be discovered, for every issue they find, so the importance of regularly checking the small details cannot be over-emphasized.

We hope that at least some of the suggestions above are useful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us at The Hyland Group at 928-445-2100 if you have any questions concerning real estate.