Houses may be vacant for any number of reasons: Some owners have moved to a new home that better suits their needs. Others have gotten married, gone through a divorce or relocated to take a new job. Sadly, some homes are vacant because the owner has died.

Regardless of the reason, a vacant house can be a real turnoff for buyers and, consequently, more difficult to sell than a house that’s occupied.

“The perception is one of distress, and that may solicit a lower offer,” warns Alan Wagner, a Realtor with RE/MAX Gold in Elk Grove, a community near Sacramento, Calif.

One way to prep a vacant home for sale is to hire a professional stager, says Cindy Duffy, a Realtor with Prudential California Realty in Pleasanton, Calif. Staging is “very effective,” Duffy says, because it overcomes many buyers’ inability to visualize how a home might look with furniture and accessories in place.

Yet professional staging can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars and may be unaffordable or overkill in lower-cost markets, Wagner says. In such cases, a spending spree at a local dollar store might be an acceptable alternative. With a few inexpensive props, such as a vase of flowers or a place setting on a dining bar, sellers can stage their home for a modest cost, even if only long enough to take the pictures, he says.

Duffy encourages sellers to upgrade or at least thoroughly clean the fixtures that are left in the house, so nothing grimy or ugly will distract prospective buyers. “Cleanliness is really important,” she says.

Fixtures that should sparkle include:

  • kitchen sink
  • appliances
  • ceiling fans
  • bathroom faucets
  • windows
  • light switches
  • light fixtures
  • thermostat and vent covers

Good pictures of the home are also crucial since most buyers begin their search for a home online.

“Find out how many pictures your Realtor’s MLS allows,” Wagner suggests. “And make sure that your property is depicted with as much photo coverage as possible.”

Photos can be taken before and after or only after you move out, depending on whether your home “shows well” with your furniture, Duffy says. Using pictures of the house both with and without the furniture can help ensure that buyers won’t become confused when they see the home is vacant.

Experts disagree on whether utilities need to be turned on at a vacant home, though lighting can be a good security precaution and some buyers do like to test the plumbing. A green lawn may be desirable in some areas, but irrelevant in others, just as a heated or cooled interior may or may not be necessary, depending on the local climate and custom. If utilities are turned off, a home inspector will have to note for the buyer that those systems could not be inspected.

Of course, the best way to make sure a vacant home doesn’t look vacant may be to ask a tidy friend or relative to move in temporarily. A resident can supply some furnishings, water the lawn and keep an eye on the property until it’s sold.