A lot of sellers in today's market don't want to paint, clean or fix anything. The assumption is the house down the street sold last year for more money, and that home does not come close to comparing to theirs! Even when an experienced listing agent makes recommendations to the seller -- the sellers refuse to take them to heart. Why? They believe their home and situation is different from everybody else that is selling a home.

They feel they have the best home, or perhaps some aspect of their home that makes them totally unique. In the seller's mind they get an exemption from doing the required work.

But this can be the fatal mistake of real estate, failing to see that the home down the street is unique as well. Maybe it has been totally updated with new siding, or new roof.

Buyers will view your home with a critical eye -- all the while comparing current pricing and all other real estate in your area. They want to be certain the money they are spending to purchase a property is well spent! They do not want to overpay on a home that still needs work. So if the carpets are dirty and original, the carpet padding has lost its resiliency, if there are water stains on the kitchen ceiling, rusty water underneath the hot water heater, the paint trim has yellowed, the windows are fogged up, the furnace is gasping, and the home is on the market with none of the needed maintenance taken care of, the buyer will say, "Next!"

And then when the buyer does move on, the seller may be thinking that his agent is wasn't working for him -- not holding enough open houses or placing ads and classifieds in magazines. The truth is they were not listening.

Clean and staged homes are important. The buyer needs to be able to envision themselves living in the space. Spending weeks -- or months -- on the search for their next perfect home has tired the buyer out. They don't want to see the grimy floors and the minor repairs that they'll spend weeks fixing when they move in.

For some quick tips, have your homeowners:

• Mow the yard and weed the flower beds.

• Tone down the color. You love the red, but a neutral tone, such as beige, is more appealing. You are selling the room, not the color.

• Declutter, especially before an open house or a walk-through.

• If they don't want to clean, hire a maid service for a day. Have them mop and dust and scrub -- especially in the kitchen and bathrooms!

So sellers, listen to reasonable advice in the form of wisdom from the experienced agent you have hired to sell your home. Ask for the market statistics to be substantiated. Compare your homes to other homes in your own community: "apples to apples!" Then paint, clean, fix, update, and still price your home or real estate competitively!