Recently an excellent article was written by Laurie A. Cerny for the Homelife section of the Kalamazoo Gazette.  I was interviewed for the article and contributed information as a real estate professional a well as a Home Stager.  "Home Staging - The Winning Way to Sell Your House For More Money" by Barb Schwarz and Mary Seehafer Sears was also credited as a source.  My staging accreditation comes from StagedHomes.com.

Here are a few key points from the article that may be helpful.  It was titled, "The Power of Presentation".  I was very pleased with the article; it was well written and made some great points.  Another headline was, Grooming a house for sale... one of top ways to beat slow market!  
 
Getting the most out your home:
 
1.  Price it Right
2.  Maximize Curb Appeal
3.  Minimize your Things
4.  Keep it Clean
5   Minimize the Presence of Pets
6.  Everything Needs to be in Good Repair
7.  Functionality:  Purpose of Each Room
8.  Make Minor Updates
9.  Use Staging Techniques
 
 
I was quoted:  Universal appeal... Sellers can go a step further and do what real estate professionals refer to as "staging" a home.  In staging, a home is presented in a neutral and possibly updated way in order to attract the greatest number of buyers.  When staged, a house evokes a feeling like that a traveler has when walking into a nice hotel room.
 
"It's best if the buyer walks into the home and knows nothering about the seller," said PJ Phillips, an agent for Jaqua Realtors, 221 S. Drake Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49009.
 
Phillips owns PJ's Staging, PJsStaging.com, a service through which she offers home staging to other real estate agents and directly to sellers.  She has also facilitated staging seminars for local agents through the Greater Kalamazoo Association of Relators.
 
One of the keys to staging is to remove family photos, collections and other personal items.  With those things revoved, sellers can add a few neutral accessories to update the home's look.
 
Please let me know if you have any questions about staging that I may answer.