If you're looking to spend some money to make your house memorable, ask someone who knows what will improve the market value, says Combs.
She remembers one $90,000 starter home that the owners wanted to stand out from the pack. They did a very expensive kitchen upgrade with lots of high-dollar extras. Unfortunately, it was an older home "in a market that was never going to be above $90,000," Combs says. "So the money they put in, they lost."
Conversely, the Foltzes followed their agent's recommendation to paint their stylish blue kitchen tan -- to match the walls of the adjacent open living room and attract more buyers.
"The cheapest thing you can do for a house with the biggest bang for the buck is to paint and replace carpet," says Ramsey. His recommendation: soft neutrals, which are easy on the eyes and have mass appeal.
Fresh carpet and that new-paint smell are also buyer-bait.
"I have never, ever seen a buyer get emotionally attached to a carpet-allowance sign," says Ramsey. "What they fall in love with is the new carpet in the house."