For a variety of reasons - buyer's market, unrealistic seller, or undesirability - homes may languish on the market. But many agents feel that if a home is staged correctly from the beginning, a troubled listing can be avoided.

Some agents use staging lists to guide the seller to make the home more attractive to buyers. Typical lists include such advice as:

• Improve drive-up by removing clutter, plant fresh flowers, trim trees, etc.

• Sweep front entry. Paint door if peeling. Put out new welcome mat.

• Remove all clutter indoors

• Make closets look larger by packing away out-of-season clothes

• Paint interior, exterior, neutral tone

• Keep countertops, tabletops clean and clear

• Depersonalize the home by removing photos, mementos, dated articles

• Set a party dinner table - mats, cloth, napkins, candles, flowers, china, crystal.

• Remove valuables, prescription medicine, collectibles, breakables

• Make cosmetic repairs - replace peeling wallpaper, caulk tubs, polish doorknobs

• Make functional repairs - fix drippy faucets and sticking doors, mend fences

• Pack anything you are not using and store it out of the house

• Clean up daily after pets - scoop after dogs, sift cat litter trays, fresh paper in bird cages

Is there more that can be done? Staging lists need to be customized for each home. A generic list may make a seller feel you haven't really looked at the home if they have already done some of the things on your list. Also, many times sellers don't understand the importance of staging. That's when you need to drive the point home.

Dallas Realtor Linda Claycomb, says, "I stage just about every one of my listings. Sellers live in their homes and they may not be aware what buyers are looking for today. Bringing in some plants or moving some furniture around can make a big difference."

She doesn't hesitate to tell sellers exactly what they need to do to get the home sold. "A fine listing won't sell with orange shag carpet, period," says Claycomb. "One house had pretty hardwoods, and I sold it in two days by asking the owners to take up the carpet in the bedrooms."

Romantic surprises also help put buyers in the mood to buy. "I bought a house, and the market went south, and even though I recarpeted and repainted, it didn't sell until it was staged," explains Claycomb. "When the renters moved out, I filled a garden room with plants. The kitchen had a ledge around the top so I put baskets and flowers. I took off the cabinet doors and put on glass fronts. I put blooming plants in the tubs. It sold the first day after it had been staged for full price."

Best tips? "Keep minimal furniture in the home," says Claycomb. "Everything has to be spotlessly clean. Bookcases can be turned into major miracles if you redo them with nice groupings of books. Group decorative items in threes, if possible."

The main point to staging? "People today have busy lives," says Claycomb. "They want to walk in and look at a home and say, 'This is mine. I can move into it without doing anything.' Most buyers want a move-in-ready home."