To fund their retirement and move to a cheaper neighborhood, a couple in their 60s had to liquidate their 1912 colonial. Acting on a professional stager's instructions, the couple cleared away every piece of their furniture and also removed all their art and window coverings. Then the stager arrived with a U-Haul full of her own upscale furnishings.

In this true story, the stager’s magic had a seemingly miraculous result. The first day the house went on the market, it attracted five offers at the list price or above.

Whether the couple buying the property -- a pair of lawyers in their early 30s -- got a fair deal on a solid place without serious flaws won’t be known until after they move in. That’s because when they wrote their all-cash offer, they waived their right to a home inspection.

Given the severe shortage of available housing in popular areas, many buyers are pulling out all the stops to outdo other prospects. But buyer advocates fear some overly accommodating purchasers could get stuck with lemons.

“Without due diligence up front, you could come down with a terrible case of buyers’ remorse later. Once the stager’s glitzy stuff is gone, you might discover that the roof is rotten, the foundation is cracked and the appliances don’t function,” says Tom Early, a real estate broker and past president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org).

Early says that as home staging becomes more prevalent, more buyers are overly influenced by the love-at-first-sight effect that can make a flawed home seem irresistible on the surface. But buyers should probe deeper to ensure that all the home’s fundamentals are in order, lest they are lured into an ill-advised purchase, says Sid Davis, author of “A Survival Guide for Buying a Home.”

Reid Guthrie, an inspector affiliated with the American Society of Home Inspectors (ashi.org), says first-time buyers are especially likely to fall for a property that “shows well.” But disenchantment can soon follow.

“Homebuyers are alternately excited, nervous, terrified and hopeful. Those who’ve become emotionally involved with a place must be especially wary,” Guthrie says.

Here are a few pointers for buyers:

-- Take full advantage of your first tour of a property.

Obviously, a buyer can learn much more from visiting a home than by simply seeing it on the internet. And a resourceful purchaser will take full advantage of a visit.

Guthrie, a veteran of the home inspection field, urges buyers to investigate when they see furniture or carpets positioned in unusual ways.

“Sometimes the seller will use throw rugs or pieces of furniture to try to conceal problems or defects,” Guthrie says.

In an older home, a peek under wall-to-wall carpeting will sometimes reveal the happy surprise that the carpet is masking hardwood floors in pristine condition. But in other instances, area rugs are used to conceal problems -- like wood flooring scarred by pets or the over-watering of houseplants.

-- Attempt to measure room sizes yourself.

To make homes look spacious, stagers sometimes clear away all but a few key pieces of furniture per room. And when creating a model home for a builder, they may even bring in scaled-down furniture to give the illusion of enhanced size. To guard against such practices, Davis urges buyers to bring along measuring devices when touring properties.

“For a fairly nominal price, you can now buy laser-distance measuring devices,” he says.

He also suggests you bring to your house tour the measurements of your largest pieces of furniture. This will provide you with a further sense of the scale of a home relative to your belongings.

-- Remember that flowering plants are ephemeral.

During the warmer seasons of the year, home sellers have an easy time showing off colorful flowers outside. All year long, they can position flowers artfully throughout a home’s interior.

Color is a natural magnet for buyer interest, and many are swayed by blooming plants. Even so, Davis says would-be buyers should recognize that many of the plants displayed by home sellers will be short-lived.

“Focus on the bones of the house, not its fleeting embellishments,” he says.

-- Find an inspector who is an eager detective.

Guthrie acknowledges that some in his field are more interested in packing multiple inspections into a day than doing in-depth checks.

“You’ve got to wonder about any inspector who doesn’t want his clients there when he’s going through the house because it will slow him down,” Guthrie says.

As Davis says, a quality inspector is enthusiastic about discovering the inner workings of a home and can prove invaluable to sharp buyers.

Granted, buyers in tight-inventory markets often need to act hurriedly to compete with other contenders. In such cases, it can be realistically important to submit a “clean” offer that’s free of a post-bid home inspection. Still, buyers may have time to arrange for a pre-bid inspection at your own expense.

“Hiring a top-notch home inspector isn’t a waste of money. It’s a very prudent expenditure,” Davis says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

With the onset of summer, housing inventories are tight as a drum in many popular neighborhoods. Indeed, it now takes a typical home seller less than a month to capture a deal, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (www.realtor.org).

"Houses continue to fly off the market," says George Ratiu, a top economist and the association's director of housing and commercial research.

But he says current home sellers should "absolutely avoid complacency" because there are a few darkening clouds starting to form over the market. The new report shows that due in large part to rising mortgage rates, home sales fell back for the second straight month in May. What's more, some properties in poor condition are languishing unsold for a lengthy period.

As real estate agents can attest, a home that first goes on the market at a list price substantially over its legitimate value can take an unusually long time to sell. But even well-priced homes can linger unsold for a lengthy period if presented to the public in poor condition.

"Some people just don't have the money to spend for necessary remodeling, or they have to make a quick move for a job transfer and don't have time to make improvements," Ratiu says.

Ashley Richardson, a veteran real estate agent, says a minority of sellers are stubbornly indifferent to the advice of their agents on necessary fix-ups, and these sellers must ultimately accept a sacrificial price.

"In the end, a house in poor condition will probably sell to an investor, who will insist on a discount of between 25 and 50 percent off its potential market value. Investors usually do the necessary improvements themselves and then quickly flip the property," says Richardson, who's affiliated with the Residential Real Estate Council (www.crs.com).

Here are a few pointers for sellers:

-- Seek an agent willing to offer some oversight of your issues.

Homeowners facing financial hardship -- such as a potential foreclosure -- often lack the time and money for needed property fixes. But those with the resources to make the needed changes should do so and often benefit from the help of a listing agent willing to captain their project team.

"The agent can screen contractors, secure proposals and help ensure the work is done right. They can also make sure that the house is kept locked up and secure in your absence," says Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert and co-author of "House Selling for Dummies."

Of course, not every listing agent is willing to coordinate pre-sale improvements. But others will enthusiastically assist, realizing that they, too, would benefit from a successful sale.

However, Tyson cautions that some agents -- including very accomplished ones -- lack the know-how to provide expert guidance on infrastructure repairs, such as major plumbing or electrical work.

"Don't assume every agent is up to the task. Good bets are house aficionados, or people in the business who fix up houses and then sell them for a profit," Tyson says.

-- Recruit energetic assistance for your decluttering campaign.

It's no secret that prospective buyers are turned off at the sight of a cluttered home. Most can't envision the size and scope of a property with overflowing bookshelves, bathroom vanities crammed with toiletries, or kitchen countertops ridden with gadgets.

Still, Mark Nash, author of "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home," says most sellers find the pre-sale process of culling through their belongings both taxing and emotionally overwhelming.

"Well over half the people who've lived in a house for 10 years or longer have accumulated way too much junk. And they have a terrible time going through all those belongings in a methodical way," Nash says.

Nash encourages sellers to post an ad offering to pay for help culling through their possessions -- keeping those they value and casting off or giving away those they don't want.

Chances are your ad will attract neighbors, including students, who are seeking part-time work for extra spending money. The person you hire should help you plow quickly through your accumulations and also help with the physically demanding side of the work.

-- Realize that looking back is a waste of your time.

Some homeowners have for years allowed their properties to deteriorate while they've focused on other issues, such as career challenges, child-rearing or health problems. Others have no explanation for neglecting their homes, except inertia and procrastination.

Also, Nash says, many sellers resist the idea of putting money into a property they'll soon be leaving. This is especially true of cosmetic improvements, such as the sanding and polishing hardwood floors, or kitchen upgrades.

"People ... kick themselves that they didn't make the changes sooner so they could enjoy them, too," Nash says.

But there's no advantage to postponing needed improvements. Resistance to change can be an especially costly error if your place is already vacant and you'll have to carry two mortgage payments until it gets sold.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

This spring has been a traumatic season for many homebuyers trying to move to popular neighborhoods. And with inventories continuing to shrink and prices continuing to soar, the summer season looks no better.

“This is an especially hard period for millennials who came of age during the Great Recession of 2008. They want to live in prime city or suburban areas, but face huge hurdles in trying to do so,” says Sid Davis, a longtime real estate broker.

According to an extensive new poll conducted for Trulia, a real estate data company, 98 percent of aspiring homeowners age 20 to 36 say they’re encountering barriers.

“Unsurprisingly, financial concerns rank at the top of the list of barriers -- with rising home prices as the most common culprit, affecting 40 percent of this population, and saving enough for a down payment coming in second, at 31 percent,” says Cheryl Young, the chief economist of Trulia.

Many millennials surrender their dream of living in their favored area, instead substituting one they consider secondary. But real estate specialists say such a harsh trade-off isn’t always necessary.

“Don’t sacrifice your top neighborhood choice too easily. Keep hunting in your favored area for a place that other buyers have shunned. That might yield you a happier-than-expected outcome,” Davis says.

Even in communities that are rightly categorized as seller’s markets, he says there are occasionally unusual buying opportunities for eager entrants.

“Look for a property that’s been stigmatized by other buyers because it first hit the market way overpriced and then languished unsold for weeks. Alternatively, consider a place that shows badly because it’s very cluttered, cosmetically challenged or decorated in a highly personal style,” Davis says.

Here are a few pointers for buyers:

-- View someone else’s junk as your opportunity.

Listing agents often have a terrible time convincing their clients to clear through the clutter that packs their homes -- a definite turnoff to most potential buyers.

But Dorcas Helfant, a former president of the National Association of Realtors (realtor.org), says sharp home shoppers realize it’s possible to get a fair deal on a cluttered home -- assuming they’re capable of looking beyond the accumulations to the property’s inherent structure and floor plan.

“The idea is to picture the house as if it were vacant and then decide if it has the ‘good bones’ you’re looking for. This is hard, but it can be done,” Helfant says.

She estimates that at least 60 percent of the home-buying public can’t envision how different a cluttered home would look if all the sellers’ excess belongings were hauled away.

If you can’t picture how a property you’re considering would look without all the extra furniture and clutter, consider asking someone with clearer vision to stop by the place. This could be an interior designer, a professional home stager or an artistic friend.

“A crowded house can represent an excellent possibility for those who can see past all that junk. And remember, sellers are forced to take their stuff with them when they move,” Helfant says.

-- Open your mind to unusual decors.

The home improvement shows on cable TV are one reason more homeowners are now experimenting with eccentric wall colorings and unusual carpet hues. But the raspberry dining room or purple kitchen the owners fancy is likely to send many prospects away.

“Of course, people are free to paint their entire interior in Pepto-Bismol pink. But they shouldn’t expect buyers to want their house if they do something that eccentric,” Helfant says.

Listing agents tire of trying to convince clients to “neutralize” their homes before they go on the market -- repainting their walls in a light, neutral tone and replacing odd-colored carpet with something neutral.

Just like the cluttered house, the flamboyantly decorated house offers opportunity for people with vision to obtain a property for a very favorable price.

“People with the ability to see the potential in this type of a house can really find a diamond in the rough,” Helfant says.

-- Don’t necessarily reject a property on the basis of online photos.

Nowadays, most buyers sift through lots of online ads before deciding to visit a particular property. If they don’t like what they see in the pictures, they’ll decline to visit a house on that basis alone.

But like some people, some good-looking homes are simply not photogenic. Or possibly the photographers who take their pictures don’t know how to portray them well.

Either way, you could be the winner if you’re willing to visit a home that others won’t tour because of unfavorable photos.

“A wonderful and well-priced surprise could await you when you open the door of a house others have missed,” Helfant says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)