Q: We’re getting ready to sell our house and have some questions.

Our daughter says that we should paint the whole place inside and out. That would cost us a lot of money we just don’t have right now. I really think it looks pretty good but I’d like your opinion. We also wonder about re-doing our driveway. There are some potholes and it looks kind of bad.

A: After visiting your home I would recommend that you absolutely do something with the driveway. Some of those potholes could cause real damage to a low riding car. It will distract a buyer who, instead of enjoying the drive into your lovely yard, might be concerned about their car making it into the property and worry that they could get whiplash!

As for painting, the outside paint looks like it’s in good condition to me. What is needed is cleaning. In our climate it’s common to have moss grow on outside walls. Most of our houses in this region would look like they had new paint if we just pressure washed the exterior or cleaned the outside by hand. There are also marks from dirt and grass thrown against the house by lawnmowers and weed eaters.

The interior of your home does look a little tired. Fresh paint in a light color would add a fresh and sunny look that will make it show much better. If you’re careful, you can even do this yourself. If you simply can’t do that, then at least wash down all the walls very carefully so that you remove any grime. That will perk it up a little bit, anyway.

We should all thoroughly clean the inside and outside walls of our homes if we’re thinking of selling, or just to keep it nicer for ourselves. After people really clean and paint their homes to get ready to sell, I’ve often heard them say that they never had it looking that good all the time they lived there. What a shame.