Clean up, clear out and freshen up.

When it comes to selling your house this year, area experts say that investing a little time, money and effort up front can pay off with plenty of interest — financial and otherwise — in the end.

“It can mean another $5,000 to $10,000” on the sale price, said Lisa Ramler, president of the Lawrence Board of Realtors. “And it can mean one day on the market as opposed to 90 days. If you want to sell your house, it’s worth a lot.”

And the stakes are rising.

With mortgage interest rates poised to climb and dozens of new homes set to hit the market this spring, homeowners looking to sell their residences are certain to face plenty of competition this year.

Such competition means owners of existing homes will find themselves working harder to make their offerings stand out in the marketplace, where listings of tidy, functional and otherwise presentable homes predictably outperform offers of grungy, cluttered and problem-filled properties.

And with more than 1,600 homes expected to change ownership this year, the heat will be on.

“A house that is clean — new carpet, fresh paint, cleaned up, no clutter — is going to sell 30 to 60 days quicker than a house that is not,” said Ramler, Realtor for Hedges Real Estate Realty Executives. “You can have two of the exact same houses — same floor plans — on the market, and if one of them has clean carpets, fresh paint, nice landscaping, and the other one does not, the one that’s good is going to sell months ahead of the other one.

“And at a better price.”

Getting ahead

People who follow the market know that many worthwhile preparations take relatively little time or money.

Dave Stoffer, who’s entering his 20th year as a home inspector, said it didn’t take a professional inspector to uncover the most basic moves needed to help a home show well.

Pick up trash. Mow the grass. Add some colorful plants.

And, by all means, make sure all the lights work.

“I go through houses people are living in and half the bulbs are burned out,” said Stoffer, who conducts more than 200 inspections a year on behalf of buyers and sellers. “That doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong, but I just start looking, maybe, a little harder, start questioning things a little closer. A house doesn’t have to be spotless, but (having it) just generally picked up makes a big difference.

“If you walk in and there’s dirty underwear and whatever else laying all over the rooms, it just gives you a feeling that these people haven’t taken care of this house. And you don’t want that.”

Stoffer suggests taking stock of a home’s status early in the process, either by talking to a real estate agent or hiring an outside inspector to help assess a home’s needs.

A professional “pre-listing inspection” notes what could and should be done, he said, and can offer a positive marketing tool by giving potential buyers confidence that the home already has been looked at and upgraded as appropriate.

“Anything you do ahead of time gets you ahead in the game,” he said. “People need to look at this stuff objectively and maybe take the opinion of, ‘OK, I’m coming to buy this house. Does it look right to me?’ “

Inexpensive investments

Among the easiest things to remedy, with or without an inspection:

• Reverse “negative drainage” outside with a couple truckloads of dirt placed around the foundation.
• Loosen stuck windows.
• Paint trim.
• Change furnace filters.

“It’s not really that expensive,” he said. “I’ve got some friends who are planning to sell their house in the springtime, and they’ve stripped all the wallpaper out and they’re painting the rooms. There are a lot of things you can do.”

Although Realtors rarely advocate making huge investments to prepare a home for market, Ramler said, there are two physical upgrades that offer the best chance of paying off:

• Paint. Interior walls that are extensively scuffed or covered with bright colors should be coated with less-intensive shades, she said. Try a taupe, sage green or “soft mustard yellow” to connect with potential buyers who might be put off by hot pink or deep-space blue.

Exterior siding and trim with signs of wear also should be repainted. Hiring a painter to handle everything outside can cost $1,500 to $2,500, she said, but tack another $3,000 to $5,000 onto the sale price.

“It’s definitely cost-effective to do that,” she said.

• Carpets. Either clean them or replace them, Ramler said.

Spending $200 to have the carpets cleaned can preserve $2,000 to $3,000 on the sale price, she said. Spending $2,000 more for new carpets translates into an increase of $4,000 on the sale.

“You can get your money back on those things,” she said. “I was just in a house, and they just need to clean the carpet. It will be a thousand-dollar difference, just cleaning the carpets versus not cleaning the carpets, because people will see the stain and want the carpets completely replaced. And that’s going to cost a whole lot more than just cleaning them. And it’s going to decrease your value so much more.”

But ask any real estate agent and they’ll tell you: Eliminating all messes is the biggest key of all, she said. Clear the countertops. Box up things you don’t need and stash them in the basement, garage or attic — or, better yet, an off-site storage unit.

“The very best thing is to not have any clutter,” she said. “That’s the No. 1 thing: Clean out your house prior to listing it. If that’s the only thing you can do, do it.”a