A Realtor friend of mine sent this to me and I just had to post it along with some additional comments at the end:

When you show your home’s best features by staging it effectively, you help increase your final selling price without breaking the bank. In fact, on average, sellers receive $2 in increased sale price for every $1 they put into staging a home. As the infographic below shows, the following five golden rules of home staging will help you show off its best assets:

Owner occupied listings are tough. When you live in your home while it is listed, it is extremely hard to declutter, depersonalize and minimize. It is much harder for potential buyers to get past the look and feel of the people living there which makes it hard for them to envision that house as their home. Even the smell of a home that is occupied is different from a vacant or staged home. I recommend, when possible, to move out and have a professional stager bring in the necessary furniture and accessories that should appeal to more buyers. It allows buyers to see the home looking its absolute best. The reality is that it is virtually impossible to create the clean staged feel while people live there.

But for those who don't have the luxury of moving out prior to listing, the recommendations on the infographic will go a long way to expediting the sale of your home, and hopefully get you full price - or more! Whenever in doubt, hire a stager to help you know what to do to make your home looks its best. Many stagers offer several types of "staging" such as a Consultation for owner occupied homes where the stager walks through the home and gives suggestions, Occupied Home Staging where a few things are brought in, and Vacant Home Staging where stagers furnish and decorate entire rooms.

The thing I hear most often from clients getting their home ready for listing is how much money it costs! Most people don't realize that they may need to put on a new roof, get the gutters cleaned or replaced, freshen up the landscaping and paint as well as all of the other things we tend to put off while we are living there. But along with location and list price, home staging is the most important things to do to get the most value from your home. You don't want to take chances with the most valuable thing you will ever buy and sell. Getting your home ready to list might cost more than you thought - or hoped - but the return on the investment will be noticeable.

The Five Golden Rules of Home Staging on a Budget - Nick Caruso