What I do is go out and do an in-home consultation, really assess the house, the needs, what kind of plan they need to put into action. Staging is the new thing for the market -- people really taking a look at their house and wanting to put a good product on the market. The staging is from the outside in.

The curb appeal, absolutely -- working on the outside; decluttering inside. Depersonalizing, making sure there's neutral colors. … Clean: They can't clean enough. Today's buyers are looking for a well managed, clean home.

What I've seen a lot is people actually get a storage unit and put excess furniture in the storage units so they can open up the space in the house. … They want to get those floors clean in the closet. The more floors someone can see, the more depth perception they have. It looks larger.

[A lot of furniture] might be great for living, but it's just not great for selling. We're not selling our stuff, we're selling the space. … We want the buyers to visualize their things. We want them to say, … "This is where I can put my furniture, and this is what we can do with this room."

Q: Should owners just empty out their house completely?

No. I think it's always nice to have some furniture. Even if a house is empty, we try to go in and stage it with some greenery, anything we can use. … Less is more, so it really doesn't take a lot.

Q: What do you see when you look at homes for consultations?

A lot of colors or wallpaper from the past. So what I recommend and do is neutralize their colors. Removing wallpaper. … Today's buyer does not like wallpaper. They're looking for clean surfaces.

Q: What do you mean by neutral colors? White?

It doesn't necessarily have to be white. Taupe colors are good. What we want to do is bring colors using accessories and not the walls. If they have a beige color or an off-white color wall, then you can always dress up that room with colors in something else. Like pillows or shades.

Q: How problematic is a home that's not clean or not updated?

I think that's a huge problem. And I think that if you're priced right, there are little things that you can do that will make a huge difference. And cleaning is one. What I recommend to our potential residents here is, have a cleaning company come in. Have professionals come in and do it. You want your product to be the best product [it] can be, just like if you were going to sell your car.

Fresh paint can make all the difference, in your house or the house down the street. …

Today, it's the best time to start doing all of this for the spring market. You need to get a head jump on starting to prepare for the spring cleaning and doing that painting that needs to be done. I think sometimes sellers jump in and get overwhelmed and think, "I can't replace this carpet, I can't paint, I can't do all this cleaning." … Just do it one at a time.

Q: What do you mean by curb appeal?

Just simple things, like making sure the lawn is cut, making sure the walkways are clear, the shrubs are cut back. … Just making sure that your outside is as clean as the inside. And removing personalized things like doorknockers or garden gnomes.

You definitely want to start on the outside, because a buyer -- they create an opinion about the house within the first 15 seconds of seeing the house. We want it to be inviting. We want them to pull up and say, "I must go in to see this house."

Sellers will know if the things they have done have paid off, because they'll immediately begin to get showings.

Q: What about price? Does it trump all else, including the condition of the home?

I think if you can put this equation together, with the price, with the staging, getting your house ready, that's going to be your success. Pricing to sell: You need to get a good real estate agent in there who knows the market, who can do the comparables for you. …

But if you are priced to sell and you go through and do these little things of staging and getting your house ready for the market, you can be very successful in a short amount of time. You only have one chance to make a good first impression, so that's why I encourage our future residents to act now, get this done before you put it on the market. Because you want every buyer to be your potential buyer. You don't want to eliminate anyone.

Q: How long does it take homeowners to sell after you advise them?

It's definitely less than those who don't do anything. … It's ranged from five days to two months.

Q: What do potential Charlestown residents say about the idea of trying to sell in this market?

Everybody has anxiety right now about the housing market, about the economy. … Word on the street is no one's selling their house right now, and that's just not true. I go to their homes and show them -- people are selling their homes, but these are the things you have to do to make it happen.