They call it kerb appeal, that all-important first impression that gets potential buyers to stop driving past and make your property one of the few homes they'll view.

The Americans, of course, dreamt up the term. It is one of the mantras of the presenters of the countless house and garden programmes that are littering the television schedules. But mantra or not, American or not, first impressions really do count. People buy on emotions and with 18% of viewers deciding to buy a house by the time they walk through the front door, it's vital to get your potential buyers emotionally hooked before they even enter the garden gate.

It's time to get the house ready to sell - so where do you start? Outside, that’s where. Walk out into the street and take a cold hard look at what you see. If possible, get a friend to go with you - it's surprising just how much you can ignore something that you see everyday. If you see just one of the following, you can be sure it will affect your sale - that’s not just the price, but maybe whether you even get a viewer:

• Cracked concrete drive, peeling paint on front door, discoloured doorbell or knocker, tired looking paintwork on the front door
• Scuffed doorstep, long grass, weeds in the flower bed, overgrown or dead plants, kids toys under the overgrown hedge
• Rotting window sills, gate hanging open or askew, kid's bikes propped against the garage door
• Oil spots on the drive, car cluttering the drive, weeds growing through the drive or path
• Water stains from a leaking gutter, bricks crumbling away, plastic window frames discoloured
• Paving slabs askew, waste bin in front of the house, rusty metalwork on gates
• Damaged door or paint-work scratched on garage, broken flower pots or empty hanging baskets
• Missing tiles from the roof, house number missing or unreadable, cracked glass anywhere
• Dirty widows inside or out, tarnished door furniture, letterbox flapping open
• Leaves, litter and dirt in corners, blocked vents and drains

Then there's price to consider. Professionally 'staged' homes sell for around 15% more than competitive homes. Some estate agents reckon just kerb appeal can add as much as 10% to the value of a home.

Don't despair! We are talking about first impressions here. With a little TLC and a splash of time and paint you'll be able to get that 40% of house hunters who decide whether to look any closer at a property from the comfort of their cars as they drive past outside, to return and view.

Is it all about first impressions? Of course. People only have so much time to view and won't even stop if they risk wasting another hour, so they have to make a value judgement, whether they do it consciously or not. But it doesn't start with potential buyers - the first visitor you get will be the estate agent. He/she will take the property on with a much happier state of mind if it has a clean and tidy look about it. Think about his/her sales patter in the office when giving out sales details. As impartial and eloquent as they may be, if they have to talk your potential viewers into looking past 'first impressions', any reservations will always show through.

Also, in these days of digital photography, images of the property are very clear and show every detail, so tidy up outside well in advance of instructing your estate agent. Outside really is the place to start.

Begin by planning which jobs to tackle. It may help to divide the front of the property into three separate areas. One area is the drive, gates and the garage; another is the front of the house including the paintwork, the front door and the windows. The third is the front garden, however small.

Make a complete list of jobs for each area - at this stage don't take into account the cost, difficulty or otherwise - just make the lists. And don't make the jobs unspecific like 'sort out the lawn', but list the major component parts like ' cut grass, trim edges, weed and feed'. Daunting it will be as the list gets longer, but take comfort in the knowledge that some jobs are small and won't take long to do.

Next make a list of materials and/or tools you'll need - this way you'll only spend time shopping for materials on a rainy day when you can't easily work outside anyway. Get round to buying the materials well in advance of doing the job - you can knock items of the 'jobs' list very rapidly if everything is to hand in that hour when the rain stops.

Then set a time scale if you can. Again, break it down into sections - there's nothing like a deadline to get something done, but if your sections are too big you won't feel good about missing a deadline, whereas if bits can be 'ticked off' the list you'll know you are making progress even if a deadline is missed.

Now plan some of the jobs - painting can't really be done until the weather is warmer and not threatening rain (unless you are prepared to remove the door and paint it in the garage) - but fixing the gates so they close and oiling the hinges so they don't squeak can be done in less than an hour if you have the tools and materials ready.

Talking of garden gates; these really must be in good working order without squeaks, and the paintwork or stain should be clean and fresh. Even if they are never normally closed, make sure they work and then close the gate(s) to show them off when a prospective purchaser is due to arrive. Nothing looks quite as untidy than swinging gates to path and drive.

And another point about gates and drives - if you think your car takes away from the look of your house, park it down the street so as to give a clear view of your property.

Tackle some large jobs in the early days of the kerbside view clean-up so that they are not all left to the end. One big area at the front of many homes is the garage. Garage doors can be imposing and take up a large area of all-important eye line space. Dirty garage doors and peeling paint will put off many buyers, so this is a good early contender for your clean-up project.

While we are talking garages, clean it out entirely if you can. Admittedly it's not a first impression item but what a winner it is if the drive is clean, oil free and tidy - the car is spotless on the drive (or parked away from the property) and wow! the garage is empty and tidy too!

If you intend to spend a little money on kerbside appeal - and it will be worth it - then a garden tidy up complimented by a new block drive will absolutely transform the appearance. But don't do a half-job. When using blocks the project will look far better if instead of just doing the drive, the remaining untidy edges or odd corners and paths are paved as well.

Another job that can be done in cold or slightly inclement weather is to clean of moss and mould from drives paths, patios and walls. Even some paintwork (garage doors for instance) will look a million times better with a good clean. Moss & mould killer can be obtained from garden centres and a pressure washer from hire centres to clean the walls and patios. (Take care not to allow the pressure washer to damage rendering – they can be very powerful). If the house is brick, wash the bricks to remove stains from lichen and mould and replace missing or damaged pointing and crumbling bricks.

Oil spots on the drive can be cleaned with an oil spot remover bought from a DIY store. And some early gardening won't go amiss, but leave the bulk of this until the weather improves. Too much movement over soft ground won't do it any good.

All the tidying up can be done in any weather - in fact the colder the better as you'll warm up nicely taking away rubbish to the tip or, if wanted, to the rear garden shed or somewhere else tucked away. Clear away all the leaves and litter that so easily gets trapped in odd corners and under shrubs.

Now - all you have left to do is the gardening, painting and repair work to guttering - if you've planned and purchased ahead properly then as soon as a warm dry weekend turns up you can be started straight away.

Yes! You know it is in your heart - and it's not difficult and not necessarily expensive, although if you can afford it, it will be easier to ask tradesmen to tackle some parts. Even then, you'll need to start with a grand clean and clear up.

Your estate agent will be able to do a better job, your potential buyers will be converted into viewers, and there will be fewer reasons for the buyer to mark down the property or the price.

And a final thought. First-time buyers in particular have their eyes set on a newly built home. Often they only look at older properties after being disappointed with the cost of availability of new homes. In this frame of mind it is very easy to pass by even the slightest 'tired' looking kerbside view.