Generating curb appeal and using model home staging techniques are better ways to spend your money than loading up on major home improvements when it's time to sell your home in any market. Both market conditions and your home's condition dictate what additional projects you should complete before you open your home to prospective buyers.Should you make home improvements when you plan to move anyway?.

Curb Appeal Deserves Top Priority
Durham NC home sellers should give top priority to improving their home's curb appeal—the view that buyers see when they drive by or arrive for a showing. A large percentage of home buyers decide whether or not to pursue a house based on that initial impression, so take steps to ensure you won't lose them before they have a chance to see the interior.

Get Detached
It's difficult to look at our own house in the same way that potential home buyers do.  When we become accustomed to the way something looks and functions, we cannot see its faults. Your goal is to open your eyes and stop thinking of the property as a home. It's a house—a commodity you want to sell for the highest dollar possible.

Curb Appeal Exercise
The next time you come home, stop across the street or far enough down the driveway to get a good view of the house and its surroundings. View the property from the same position as a home buyer who is doing a drive-by.

         Leave on certain lights during the day. During “showings” turn on all lights and lamps.

         Have stereo FM on during the day for all viewings.

Durham Real Estate Tips: Staging your Moncure home to sell Faster for Top Dollar.  Staging the outside of your home for curb appeal sets the mood for buyers and invites them into your home. This is the all important first step of staging your home.  Check out these and other Tips for Home Sellers from Barb Scharz, the interior designer turned real estate professional who first coined the term "Home Staging" at her web site PrepareYourHomeforSale.com

         Go around the perimeter of the house and move all garbage cans, discarded wood scraps, extra building materials, etc., into the garage.

         Check gutters and roof moss and dry rot. Make sure they are swept and cleaned.

         Look at all plants... prune bushes and trees. Keep plants from blocking windows. “YOU CAN’T SELL A HOUSE IF YOU CAN’T SEE IT.” Plants are like children — they grow so fast!!

         Weed and then mulch all planting areas. Keep lawn freshly cut and fertilized. Remove and dead plants or shrubs.

         Clear patios or decks of all small items. such as small planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues, toys. etc.. (Put them in the garage or a storage unit.)

         Check paint condition of the house — especially the front door and trim. “CURB APPEAL REALLY WORKS!”

Home staging involves the commonsense advice that real estate agents have been giving home sellers for decades, but with some fresh additions. The process takes preparations for getting a house ready to sell a bit further, showcasing a house so that home buyers can visualize living there.

What Goes, What Stays?  Tidying up and clearing the clutter are important steps in Home Staging. 
Potential buyers like to look in kitchen cupboards, storage areas, and closets to see if their belongings will fit. If your closets are packed to the brim it's time to weed through things. You can either sell or give items away or pack them up for your next home. Every storage area in your home -- including display shelves -- should be neat, organized, and clutter-free.

Box Up the Pix.  Take down your wedding photos, the kids' school pictures, and refrigerator art. A buyer needs to picture himself living in the house. That will be more difficult if your personal photos, awards, and momentos are evident everywhere. It will only take a few hours to box up these items and move them to your storage facility.

Stash the Valuables. Carefully pack up any collections, artwork, or valueables that might be damaged by strangers coming into your home. You'll have potential buyers, realtor walk-throughs, open houses, inspectors, cleaners and handymen coming in, so it's a great idea to pack up your art glass collection in preparation for the move.
http://interiordec.about.com/cs/homestaging/a/homestaging.htm

Hint for staging small rooms in your home   When considering a small room re-do, be clear on the rooms exact purpose. Is this space a quiet reading spot or a busy home office area? Work out your furniture arrangement & color scheme according to it's function. You can actually change the visual size of your room by changing colors, lighting, & furniture arrangement. http://www.homestagers.com/staging-tips.html