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Everyone grew up in a neighborhood that has that house. The yard was a clutter of weeds and broken bottles, and an overgrown trellis masked the front door. You were scared to pass by at night.

In what has become one of the most-challenging housing markets ever, you’d be surprised how many people with homes like this think they’ll sell them. All things being equal, a would-be buyer will take the clean, attractive, uncluttered home and yard.  Here are great ways to send buyers packing:

Valley of the curb appeal monster

Photo by Ugly House Photos

I was stunned to find this photo at Ugly House Photos. The home backed upon my childhood home in the San Fernando Valley. In this economic climate, buyers aren’t that interested in huge fixer-uppers. It’s tragic, considering all the affordable ways to brighten your home’s façade.

Landscaping by Sparky

Photo by Cheap Bee Removal

Good luck staging a home for sale with Sparky in the yard, unless you’re tossing in a huge mallet to whack his furry lil’ skull. The tail-lights diminishing into the night, those belong to potential buyers.

Shrinking your expectations

Photo by Ripley's

That genuine artifact you brought back from Brazil just might diminish your closing points – if anyone buys your place. Better Homes and Gardens recommends 20 ways to boost curb appeal. But your family photo of Uncle Max with a geisha or the head of that elk you dropped last year must come off the wall.

When less is more

Photo by Career Line

Those cute extras you’re including in the sale – the garden shed, workshop, barn – will only hurt if they’re in considerably worse shape than the rest of the home. It’s like trying to swim the English Channel with an anvil on your back.

There are no guarantees in tough times, but when it comes to staging a home and property, it pays to be a clean freak.

It’s time again for a roundup of tools and appliances that manufacturers have recalled thanks to pressure from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In rounding up this installment, I discovered that the CPSC actually has some muscle. In negotiations with the watchdog, Hewlett-Packard Company has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $425,000 for not reporting hazardous defects in lithium-ion battery packs.

According to the CPSC, HP released 32,000 lithium-ion battery packs (since recalled) knowing that there were defects that caused hospitalization. And now, onto recent recalls:

Trimmer tool with a vengeance

Photo by CPSC

American Honda has recalled more than 17,000 model number HHT35SUKAT gas trimmers after receiving consumer complaints of broken or cracked shafts. Once the shaft is broken, the CPSC says, all bets are off as to whether garden plants or human flesh gets trimmed. New license plate: Guns don’t kill people; garden tools kill people.

You’re fired

Photo by CPSC

The roofing industry has recognized the green building trends across the country and some products are truly welcome with consumers. Not so, however, with Suntech America’s SolarBlend roof tiles. The CPSC reports that connectors between the heat-gathering tiles and the wiring to the systems can come loose, creating fire hazards. The systems cost between 15,000 and $100,000, depending on the size of your home. Check with Suntech to see if your tiles are involved in the recall.

STIHL crazy after all these years

Photo by CPSC

Talk about garden tools on the warpath, Stihl’s MS 391 chain saws have been recalled after it was discovered the unit’s flywheels have a tendency to crack and go airborne. At that point it’s not necessary that they strike anyone, since their freedom was not part of the mechanical considerations in designing the saw. Check for your model’s serial number at the CPSC report page.

Whew. Home chores and improvements are hard enough without the tools turning on you!