You clean up real good!

It is a great home, let the Buyers know! ... and always be ready to show it off!

Many times we have to live in our homes while we market them. No excuses, make the beds and wash the dishes. With grandkids over all the time my kitchen is usuallly a mess. But I'm not trying to sell my house today. People like homes that are lived in, and tolerate a little imperfection but they don't like stepping over laundry. To you perfectionists, however, it is better to show the home with a few thing out of place than to delay an oportunity to have Buyers inside. I know it is a balancing act, and for most of us it requires a  little change in lifestyle to keep out homes ready to show.

I have been through so many homes that just "Scream Personality". The problem is that Buyers focus on the decor and miss the home. Pack and store most of your life mementos. Keep only a few of the accents out  and the Buyers will see "all this space!" not, "what a museum". I once took Clients through a beautiful home which was decorated with facinating historical artifacts. My home Buyers couldn't remember the house, but they loved the old birdcage collection.... They ended up buying a different home.

Staging will improve client impressions. Overstaging will not.
Good staging is not decorating. It should draw an eye to possibilites, not be a focal point itself. If it adds much personality, its probably too much. Staging takes skill. Also, remember, "less stuff" becomes "more space".

Selling your home is lot of work. Your Realtor will produce great marketing pieces and send your beautiful home to every internet site in cyberspace, but 99.9% of the time it is the visit that gives the Buyer the "feel" they need to commit to your home. Let them see how great your home really is. And you know what, most of them clean up pretty good!