The next time you drive up to your home, instead of going in through the garage, walk up to your front door. It's a short walk, but it reveals a lot about the personalities of you and your family.

Even if you aren't planning to market your home in the near future, it makes sense to plan ahead, and the front walk may be a good place to start. A home sale can be lost before prospective buyers even look at your new kitchen.

Overgrown shrubbery can reach out and knock an unaware visitor right off the pathway or even trip him up. Our advice is: cut it back, rip it out, or transplant. Nothing can date a home more than small evergreens grown into monster proportions, overhanging the gutters, dripping needles and leaves.

If you are re-landscaping, you could always move the path out of reach of threatening greenery. It helps if there is a pleasant curve or meandering bend as it leads you to the entrance. A nice pot of flowers is friendly and welcoming. Of course, no broken flags, cracked cement or unsightly weeds should be in view. Front steps should be freshly painted or in good repair. Keep the paint around the doorway fresh, clean and well-maintained.

Ring your doorbell! Does it work? If it doesn't, how will you know that the Coldwell Banker agent who called a little while ago to show your home to prospective buyers has arrived?

If you are considering home improvements like these, we have a number of tips to share about the best ways to spruce up a home. So if you are planning on retiring or "moving up" in the next several years, call us now for some suggestions and help.