When you’re putting your house on the market there’s a lot to think about—and how to price your home is probably one of the first things you’ll mull over. In the buying and selling process an integral step is the home appraisal when a licensed professional from the state assesses the worth of your home.

Even though fresh baked cookies and fragrant flowers might make a good impression, there’s a lot more that goes into an appraisal than how nice of a host or hostess you are. In order for your home to be appraised well, consider the following home improvement projects you might undertake while getting your home ready to be appraised and sell.

Kitchen and Bathrooms

Do you only have a renovation project that will cover one or two areas of your home? Kitchens and bathroom renovations get you a great bang for your buck. A nicely updated kitchen can be a focal point for the house and a new shower or tub in the master bath might be just the ticket to up your home value. Make sure to keep your pulse on interior design trends to that your renovation is cutting edge—even if it is just in one or two parts of the house.

Color Palate

Research shows that homes with a neutral color palate (think in the beige range) sell better than homes with more…adventurous…color schemes. Though that teal wall might look good to you, it might not jive well with every potential buyer, or appraiser. If you’re repainting your home to get ready for an appraisal, better to be safe than sorry when it comes to colors.

Bedrooms and Office Space

A sure-fire way of adding value to your home is adding more bedrooms. Think of how it will be listed—by square footage and bedroom/bath number generally. If you are thinking of changing the floor plan, consider adding an extra bedroom or office space in order to increase the value of the house and attract more buyers.

Outside Perks

One of the greatest things about owning a home is having space to entertain—and for that a wooden deck is just the ticket. Adding a deck to your home where you could place patio furniture, a grill, and other fun items makes the home much more attractive and is something the appraiser will consider when assigning your home a dollar value.

Landscape

Before the appraiser comes, make sure to weed, plant flowers, and keep up with basic landscaping around your house. A nicely manicured yard says a lot about you as a homeowner, but also makes the house feel like a home. The feel of your neighborhood also will be part of what the appraiser considers, so chatting with your neighbors about moving their eye-sore of a junk car to the garage might not be such a bad idea either.

Appraisals can be stressful, but they don’t have to be. Assuming you have a home in working order (not problems with leaky roofs, or drafty windows), a few renovation projects can add thousands to your asking price. Even if you don’t have a huge makeover budget, following the above advice can help you get the best appraisal possible.

My husband and I are looking at a house that has an HOA, but we never lived with one before so we are curious to know if there are benefits to having one. I liked how you pointed out that one good thing is that they will provide a landscape company to help with the yard work. It will be great not having to worry about spending all of our time doing it, but having it still look nice.

Very nice love the colors

I would love to have a tiny home to live in! It seems more manageable and affordable. The Hiatus in Oregon is beautiful. I love the wood floors. can you put a tiny house on any property? Thanks for the inspiration and information!

I have a home in Stamford CT and I am looking for someone to assume my mortgage. Not sure if you are interested in something like this based on what I saw on your website. Eric

Is it possible to buy a first home with a 580 credit score? The house is in Groton ct and is only $90,000