When you decide to sell your home, the first question is often:

My answer is usually: probably less than you think.

I see sellers who immediately start thinking about renovating the kitchen, replacing bathrooms, repainting the entire house or spending a lot of money on improvements before they put the property on the market.

Sometimes those things are necessary.

But often they aren't.

There is a big difference between improving a property and preparing a property to sell.

You don't necessarily need to make your home better than it has ever been. You need to make sure that when a potential buyer walks through the front door, they see a home that feels clean, cared for, spacious and easy to imagine living in.

And many of the most effective things you can do cost very little.

Here are five places I would start.

If you want to make a room feel bigger, don't start by knocking down a wall.

Start by taking things out.

Over the years, we accumulate stuff. Furniture gets added. Kitchen counters become storage areas. Cupboards become packed. Spare bedrooms become dumping grounds.

You may not notice it anymore because you live there.

A buyer will.

Too much furniture can make a large room feel small. Too many things on counters can make a kitchen feel cramped. Overfilled cupboards can make buyers wonder whether there is enough storage.

Before spending money on anything, walk through the house and ask:

Remove furniture that isn't necessary. Pack away personal collections and excess décor. Clear kitchen counters and bathroom surfaces. Start packing things you know you won't need before the move.

You are not throwing your life away.

You are simply giving the house more room to sell itself.

There is clean, and then there is ready to sell.

When you live in a house every day, you stop seeing certain things. The marks on the walls. The dirty grout. The dusty light fittings. The windows that haven't been cleaned in months.

A buyer doesn't have that familiarity.

They are seeing it all for the first time.

Pay particular attention to the areas buyers notice immediately:

If carpets are looking tired, have them cleaned.

If the patio or paving is dirty, consider pressure cleaning it.

And don't underestimate smell. A home can look perfectly clean but still have lingering smells from pets, cooking, smoking or dampness.

You don't need to make the house smell like a perfume shop.

It simply needs to smell clean and fresh.

Every homeowner has them.

The dripping tap.

The loose cupboard handle.

The door that doesn't close properly.

The cracked tile.

The broken light fitting.

The patch of paint you've been meaning to fix for three years.

You may have stopped noticing these things because you've become used to them.

A buyer hasn't.

Small defects can create a much bigger impression than their actual cost would suggest. If someone sees five or six little maintenance problems during a viewing, they can start wondering what else might be wrong that they haven't noticed yet.

Fix what is inexpensive and visible.

Replace burnt-out light bulbs. Tighten handles. Fix leaking taps. Touch up damaged paint. Make sure doors, cupboards, drawers and windows work properly.

The objective isn't to make the house perfect.

It is to remove the obvious reasons for a buyer to hesitate.

Buyers don't start forming an opinion when they walk into your lounge.

They start forming one when they arrive at the property.

The driveway, garden, entrance, front door and general exterior are all part of the first impression.

Fortunately, improving this area doesn't necessarily require a landscaping project.

Cut the grass.

Trim overgrown bushes.

Remove weeds.

Sweep the driveway.

Clean the paving.

Tidy the entrance.

Clean or repaint the front door if necessary.

Add a few plants or simple touches around the entrance if the area needs some life.

Then stand across the road and look at your property.

What is the first thing you notice?

If the answer is something negative, that's probably where you should start.

A neat exterior creates an expectation that the inside of the property has also been cared for. A neglected exterior can do the opposite.

This is where I think sellers sometimes get confused about staging.

You don't necessarily need to rent expensive furniture or turn your home into something that looks like a show house.

Good staging is often about using what you already have more intelligently.

Move furniture if it makes the room feel cramped.

Create clear walkways.

Open curtains and blinds to bring in natural light.

Remove furniture that blocks windows.

Make sure each room has an obvious purpose.

If you have a dining room, let buyers see the dining area.

If you have a spare bedroom, don't use it as a storage room if you can avoid it.

If you have an outdoor entertainment area, make it look like somewhere people would actually want to spend time.

And don't be afraid to remove things.

The objective is to help a buyer understand the space and imagine their own life happening there.