Tips for making your home more marketable:

• Look at the front of the house. Buyers make judgments based on outside appearance.
• Tidy up the lawn.
• Allow the home to be easily shown. Have keys accessible to Realtors who often show homes on short notice.
• Make sure house paint isn't peeling, stucco isn't in poor condition and the door looks good.
• Keep home clean and uncluttered - even closets. Clutter makes a home look smaller.
• Keep everything in working condition.
• Make sure bathrooms are spotless.
• Consider improvements on the home only if you can recoup the expenses.
• Ask for a market analysis to determine value of neighborhood homes and what yours will sell for. Don't overprice.

• Determine income before taxes. Add up debts, including credit cards and car payments.
• Calculate housing debt - which covers property taxes, insurance and principal and interest. Lenders look for a figure no more than 28 percent of pre-tax income and total debts of less than 36 percent.
• Check credit reports. They could be incorrect and lenders look at them closely.
• If a credit report is incorrect, call or write the creditor to correct information. If you have an unresolved dispute, you can have an explanation put on your credit report.
• Repair bad credit it by paying off debts. You may need to wait a few years to show how you improved your credit before you can buy a home.
• For every $50 in excessive debt, you can expect about a $5,000 reduction in the mortgage amount you can qualify.
• In most cases, 5 percent is the required down payment when buying a home. That means you'll need $3,000 for a $60,000 home.
• Save for closing costs, which average 3 percent to 5 percent of the loan.
• Check out financing options, such as Community Home Buyer's Program. You may be able to get in a home with nothing down.