Are you in the market to sell your home? If so, you’re likely already daydreaming about your next place and visualizing your life there. Yet, before you can get the keys to your new front door, you’ll need to find someone else who loves your current home as much as you did. To that end, most sellers will work with a real estate agent to market and advertise their property. Along the way, there are many challenges you may encounter, chief among them separating your emotional ties to the house from your intention to move on from it.

Often, we become so attached to our home that we can’t see its downfalls or repair issues. We also become blind to the fact that someone else might not love our decorating decisions or remodel updates as much as we first thought. To that end, here are five mistakes that homeowners typically make during this part of the selling process and how you can avoid them moving forward.

1. Making it too personal.

You may love those 10 collages of your family members that decorate the hallway. Or, maybe you worked for months on that paper-mache dolphin adorning the living room built-in. While it is perfectly fine to keep some custom touches out during a home tour, keep in mind that the people looking at your home aren’t only passing judgment on it. They’re also trying to picture their life there. Could they see themselves cooking dinner at your stove or sleeping in your master bedroom?

The more personal items you have on display, the more difficult it will be to encourage this visualization. While you don’t need to necessarily hire a professional stager to come in and transform your rooms with neutral furniture, you can take down the oversized wedding portrait in the dining room and put your stacks of clothes away in the laundry room. The more personal mementos you can tuck out of sight, the more you can help prospective buyers see the potential in your home.

2. Holding firm to your price.

Especially if you have a deep emotional attachment, you might think that your home is the best on the block. Why, then, would you accept even a penny under your asking price? While you may be tempted to hold tight to that certain figure, keep in mind that you could be significantly drawing out the selling process by doing so.

Your real estate agent will be able to give you a reasonable number to list at by evaluating what properties similar to yours are currently going for in your neighborhood. Other factors that will be considered will include your home’s school district, location, condition and any upgrades or renovations you have performed since you purchased it. If your home is priced to sell within your specific market, people will take notice and you’ll be that much closer to securing the new home of your dreams.

3. Neglecting easy fixes.

As soon as you begin thinking about selling your home, you might already adopt a future-focused perspective, wherein you eschew the idea of making any sort of repairs or renovations on your current place. Why would you shell out the money on any sort of maintenance when you’re going to be leaving soon? You can just factor those issues into your asking price, right?

Well, yes and no. If your home requires a major investment, such as a new roof, you can lower your asking price by the quoted amount and make sure all prospective buyers are aware that it will require an upgrade. On the other hand, if you have minor repair work needed throughout your home, it is often in your best interest to go ahead and have it done. From simple landscaping fixes such as cutting back overgrown shrubbery or mowing over an old garden to routine HVAC services or repairs, letting interested visitors know that you’ve already taken care of these issues can be an excellent selling point, and adds to your reputation as a reliable and diligent homeowner, to boot.

4. Spending too little on great pictures.

Think about it. Any time you buy anything, you rely on your visual sense to make sure it’s what you want. You wouldn’t buy a new pair of shoes, sight unseen, would you? Well, you may but odds are high you’ll end up returning them. Along the same lines, homebuyers want to see clear, detailed pictures of your home. Gone are the days when a printed flyer with three or four grainy photographs is enough to pique the interest of passersby.

Today’s modern buyer expects sleek imagery and even 360-degree virtual reality tours. He or she is also most likely to first access your listing via an online platform, which affords you even more options for engagement. Take the time on this step and invest the money required to hire a professional photographer. Your real estate agent can often steer you in the direction of local experts who can do this job with ease. In the end, your home’s physical features may sell it, but your pictures will get sellers in the door.

5. Leaving clutter strewn about.

No one can keep a perfectly clean home all of the time. While we can all agree this is true, it still doesn’t give you a free pass to leave your piles of messes all over the place when you’re showing your home. Even if you have to neatly conceal everything in a closet before you open your doors, it’s important to make sure your space looks cozy, inviting and as clean as possible. Though if you do decide to go the closet route, remember that buyers will want to check inside those spaces as well, so use a box with a lid to keep clutter out of sight.

Not only does clutter make your home look smaller, it also, like your personal items, gives the sense that your home is living in the past, acting as a roadblock for anyone trying to see him or herself there in the future. As soon as you begin thinking about selling your home, take small steps to rid it of any unnecessary clutter, taking it away from the house if possible.

This may require you to rent a storage unit to keep everything together and out of place, or you may be able to recruit the help of a friend or family member who can let you use a spare bedroom or basement as storage until moving day comes.

Selling Your Home Quicker and Smarter

Selling your home can be an emotional, time-consuming and frustrating process. To make sure it goes as smoothly as possible, it’s important to plan ahead to create a space that you would want to tour as an interested buyer yourself. By taking the time to put away most personal items, tidy up, repair small fixes and take great photographs, you put yourself one step closer to closing. Your real estate agent can help you navigate all of these steps, and can provide professional insight into how to navigate this exciting journey with ease.