Inevitably when Staging existing homes I run into several that have been updated at least half-way. At least MOST of the wallpaper has been removed and replaced with paint, at least MOST of the flooring has been upgraded, at least MOST of the lighting has been replaced with more fashionable options. But the key word in that sentence is MOST - i.e. not all.
Often times the sellers neglected to update a few areas of the home, areas that can be very important when selling a home, such as the entry way. When I suggest to sellers that the wallpaper covering the giant entryway may not appeal to many buyers, they cringe and begin shaking their heads. "No, we are not going to take down the wallpaper. Can you imagine what a big job that would be? You should have seen the house BEFORE, when we bought it. This is already ten times better than it used to be."
That's when I delicately make my oh-so important point. Buyers do not care what your house USED to look like BEFORE you did the updating; they care about the state of the product that they are looking at TODAY. What it looks like TODAY is what matters to your potential customer.
This statement usually gets sellers into a more productive thought process. "Oh, yeah, I guess I can see your point." Although many sellers feel that they have paid their dues with the updating gods, when they realize that buyers only see what the house looks like now and don't have to appreciate the work they have already put into it, they can be more realistic about how their home stacks up against the competition and consider making additional updates or pricing accordingly when necessary.
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Tori, you hit this one right on the mark! Congratulations on hitting the 10,000 point mark.