Selling a home is never easy, and the housing market can be difficult to navigate, even for sellers and buyers with a lot of experience. Still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot you can do to make the selling process as simple and successful as possible. It’s essential to take your time to plan and educate yourself. It can be easy to let selling your home cause a great deal of stress and anxiety, but a lot of it is avoidable if you take the proper steps to prepare yourself and your property for sale. If you’re expecting to put your house on the market in the near future, read on for five basic tips for selling your home.

1. Enlist professional help.

The reality is that the housing market is incredibly complex, and finding the right real estate agent to help you navigate it will play a big role in how successful your home sale is. Real estate agents know how to connect homeowners to potential buyers, how to set a fair price for your house and the best ways to market your property to maximize its value. Being able to set an accurate asking price matters, and setting your price about 15 to 20% lower than you hope to sell for can result in multiple potential buyers submitting a bid.

2. Create a welcoming environment.

You want prospective buyers to envision your home as the place they want to unwind at the end of a long day, and be able to picture themselves in it. That means when you start showing the house, you don’t want it to look too personal or busy. Empty a portion of your closet to make it look larger and more open. Any dirt, mess, or clutter should also be taken care of, so it can often be useful to hire a professional to clean before you begin any home sale, and especially prior to any open houses. Homeowners can also hire someone to help stage their house prior to letting buyers view it. At the end of the day, you want the buyers to imagine themselves in the living room or dining room, which is why taking out personal items and photos is a great way to entice homebuyers who are considering your home.

3. Boost your curb appeal.

Improving the curb appeal of your property is one of the best ways to speed up the process of selling your home. Landscaping is easily overlooked when making a list of home improvement projects to take on, but it makes a real difference with potential buyers. It’s one of the few upgrades that’s generally considered to have a positive return on investment, and an attractive yard makes for more eye-catching photos when it comes time to advertise the property online.

4. Go green.

Buyers are starting to gravitate towards homes that are eco-friendly. Investing in technology like solar panels, LED bulbs, and window treatments designed to help regulate temperature without the help of a heating or cooling system are all simple ways to help. Smart technology is another way to help reduce unnecessary energy consumption. Whether it’s a smartphone, a smart plug, or any of the many other smart home devices, technology and gadgets that run efficiently are desirable for prospective buyers. An HVAC system with a smart thermostat that has a programmable timer, for example, will allow you to stop wasting money on heating or cooling your home when you’re not home or when you’re asleep. You can often set these types of smart home systems to maintain a temperature, so they will shut off automatically when they’re not needed. You can look into how to upgrade your house to a smart home online, and look into which smart products might be a great option for you.

5. Don’t spend too much on upgrades.

While buyers do want an upgraded, modern home, it’s easy to spend too much on home improvement projects that don’t generate a positive return on investment. It’s easy to get carried away or to spend on appliances and fixtures that don’t provide any real benefit for you and the price of your home. Kitchen renovations, for example, are often costly and aren’t worth the price. Simple deep cleaning will do the trick, and that doesn’t cost any money. A professional realtor or interior designer can give you a better idea of what might be best for your situation.

There’s no doubt that selling your home is complicated and it can easily become overwhelming, but there are resources available both online and off that can make the selling process go as smoothly as possible. Make sure you work with a quality real estate agent who you trust, and who can give you some peace of mind and keep you informed. They’ll also often be able to give good advice on how to do other important things like improving your curb appeal and which upgrades to avoid spending money on. Take your time and follow professional advice and you’ll be well on your way to a completed home sale.