Selling a home can be a complicated undertaking involving numerous agents, conveyancers and buyers, and you can feel overwhelmed watching your investment juggle between many people's hands. Prepare your property for sale with the help of an experienced estate agent and turn your house into a marketable asset.

For starters: Make the first, crucial step of dissociating yourself from your bricks-and-mortar home, where countless memories have been had, and many more will be made, in your new home. Mentally pack these recollections up before you begin the sprucing and cleaning in order to present the best side of your house to buyers.

Step away: Now carefully pack you photographs, mementos, figurines and personal items away, so that buyers can focus on your house's assets rather than your personality. Take the opportunity to pack items that you'll be taking with you (for example, an heirloom vase or crystal chandelier) and think of it as getting a head-start on packing that'll need to be done soon anyway.

Clear up clutter: Don't let snooping Susans get the better of you. Tidy your kitchen and bathroom cabinets, shoe and hall closets, desk and paper drawers, and all the other places that tend to collect junk. Make it easy for visitors to envision themselves living in your home, rather than for them to wonder in awe at the mess in your bathroom cabinet.

Fix it: Many people deliberate over the extent to which they should invest in fixing their houses before selling. It's advisable to make minor repairs, particularly on items that are obvious to the naked eye (for example, cracked floor tiles or leaky faucets), while a new coat of neutral-coloured paint can really give the house a facelift.

Scrub, scrub, scrub! Clean all the surfaces of the house, including the windows, air out the rooms, wax the floors, polish mirrors, caulk the tubs, wash curtains and hang fresh towels. Try to reach into areas that are musty, damp, mildewed or not-so-fresh as odours are a number-on repellent among prospective buyers. A fresh smelling, clean-sparkling home is already half way there in terms of presentation.

Check curb appeal: Review how the house looks from outside and do what needs to be done to improve the exterior. Mow the loan, clear the sidewalks and gutters, plant seasonal flowers and trim unruly bushes. Finally, ensure the house number can be easily seen from the road. Get more advice on preparing a home for sale and update your knowledge of current property values at the same time.