Sellers are told by the realtor to do that, since it invokes home. There was a recent article in the New York Times about people in San Francisco who hire redecorators to make the house look great for sale. I love that idea. I turned down a lot of houses just because I didn't like the taste of the decorations. If you need to sell fast in a slow market, it really helps.
Consultants remove furniture, make the house neutral.
It helps people envision themselves there. Don't wait till its falling apart. Have a little roof fund, and throw money in there. A house is a box in the middle of the elements, termites and water will cause decay and it's affected by everything. As homeowners, we live in a fools paradise, and I'm a fool, too.