I was watching Oprah the other day and she had her designer Nate Berkus on. And although the show focused on makeovers for people drowning in cutesy country things and stuck in a time warp, I’ve seen enough homes and heard enough potential buyer responses to know that what Nate suggested was right.

Often I hear home sellers say, well, it’s a work in progress. Really, in this market your house cannot be a work in progress.

Here are some notes I took while watching the show so I could share them with you out there having trouble selling your homes. There’s not that many people out there looking for a house, so you must make the ones that are looking want to make an offer.

How? Price is important. But here are some other tips you might want to follow to not drive buyers away:

1. The emphasis seems to be on simplicity. Throw away things you don’t use any more and put other things in storage. Remember, we don’t show our homes the way we live in them. I wouldn’t dream of letting a buyer through my home right now – I’m absolutely not the neatest person in the world!

2. Overaccessorizing is always a problem. So stick with simple accessories. Get rid of anything more than three things on any surface. If possible, try to stick with one thing on each surface. Think an orchid.

3. Finish all projects that are not complete. Do not hide things by covering them up with rugs. That makes buyers wonder what else in the home has not been fixed.

Sometimes, it’s a good idea to let your neighbors walk through the home before you think you’re ready to call an agent. Are you wondering why? Do you have to?

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