5 Reasons a Vacant House is Hard to Sell From Showhomes Home Staging

May 25, 2011 – 8:33 am

Five reasons vacant houses are hard to sell

Musty smelling, bare-walled, vandal-prone properties just don’t sell, said Bob Kohlruss, franchise owner for Showhomes — Folsom Lake.
Last year’s U.S. Census figures show that, of the estimated 130 million housing units in the United States, 11.3 percent, about 14 million stood vacant, according to Kohlruss. A large portion of these houses are vacant and for sale, leading to a glut of vacant houses crowding the market. Given the vast oversupply of homes currently on the market, only the jewels will sell. If a house is vacant, it must be updated, remodeled or staged if it is to have a chance of selling,” said Nancy Osborne, chief operating officer of Erate.com, a Santa Clara based financial information publisher and interest rate tracker. Showhomes Home Staging confirms that trying to sell a vacant house adds obstacles to the sale and depresses the sales price.
Showhomes -Folsom Lake is a franchised business with a twist: the company uses live-in home stagers to manage vacant houses while they are on the market for sale and offset a homeowner’ s expense to stage the home. Its unique model has proven effective for 25 years.
Kohlruss offers five reasons a vacant house is hard to sell:
1. People don’’ t buy houses; they buy the next chapter of their lives. This is an emotional experience and emotion influences what people buy and how much they will pay. Vacant houses are devoid of life, and buyers lose the chance to make an emotional connection.
2. Vacancy distracts buyers from looking at the house itself. They wonder: “ Is this a divorce? Why did they move out? Are they selling because they have money problems? Is this home hard to sell?” They’’ ll make a low-ball offer, thinking the owner is desperate.
3. When a house is vacant buyers focus on flaws. They look at nail holes, carpet wear and gaps in the molding rather than how the space works. In a vacant house floors, walls and ceilings are all buyers see. This drives the price down.
4. People can’’ t visualize how furniture fits. An empty bedroom might appear awkward or a living room might seem cavernous. Some spaces might confuse buyers because a use is not obvious. Buyers are derailed and move on to the next house.
5. Vacant houses don’’ t show as well as staged and occupied homes. Without people, even the best house quickly looks and smells vacant. Dust settles, leaves scatter and stale odors spread. These cues often shorten the showing time, leading to fewer sales.
“ Homeowners don’ t realize how much harder a vacant house is to sell,” said Kohlruss. “ In today’’ s market you have to win the beauty contest to sell your home.”
“ Staging your home is no longer an option,” said Barbara Corcoran, real estate expert for the “Today Show” and star of “Shark Tank.”
About Showhomes home staging
Showhomes home staging has 73 franchises in 23 states. Since its founding in 1986, Showhomes Home Staging has helped Realtors and homeowners sell more than 26,000 homes worth more than $8.5 billion across the United States by transforming high-end vacant houses into valuable homes. In both 2008 and 2009 the company posted record revenues and helped many homeowners sell in a tough market. For information visit showhomes.com.

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Philadelphia Inquirer Spotlights Showhomes Home Staging

May 24, 2011 – 10:39 am

May 22, 2011 | By Al Heavens, Philadelphia Inquirer Real Estate Columnist

American Public Media’s Marketplace radio program appears to be fascinated by unusual trends in real estate.
(I hate to pick on the program, which I listen to frequently, but I didn’t start this.)

Two years ago, it reported on real estate agents in Los Angeles hiring professional actors to populate a neighborhood during a weekend tour by buyers. Consumer advocates cried foul, and the buyers were ticked off, too. It seems the development of 90 houses was empty, a victim of hard times, and they believed they had been sold, well, neighbors.

Caveat emptor, especially in the land of make-believe.
But, to clarify, this was not the first such example I could remember. In 2006, Centex Homes, now part of Pulte Homes, came up with “HomeLife” – staging homes with “real people” – at a development near, as it happened, Los Angeles.

In one performance, the “model” family spent about three hours pretending it was Mom’s birthday. They baked a cake and sang “Happy Birthday,” and the children drew and framed a picture of a Centex house, CNN reported.
Yet Barb Schwarz, author of Home Staging: The Winning Way To Sell Your House For More Money, observes that “staging a home is about depersonalizing it,” since you are selling the house, not the furnishings and certainly not the people in it.

Fast-forward to 2011: On May 2, Marketplace reported on a Tennessee franchisee of a national staging company, Showhomes, that outfitted foreclosed houses with temporary residents to make the properties more attractive to potential buyers. As if cut-rate prices weren’t attractive enough.

It’s true that, because of the large number of bank-owned properties, many houses go to seed while the legalities are sorted out. But rather than waste a lot of effort creating such fantasy, why not develop procedures to process foreclosures and short sales more quickly?

Just a suggestion . . . . Whenever I hear of a “trend” like this, I always have to ask: “Is it happening here?”

Gloriann M. Ellis, an associate broker at Weichert Realtors in Media, had a new home for sale for which she considered finding short-term tenants. She said she contacted a company that places people and furniture in vacant homes, for corporations and individuals as well as small banks.

Prospective “Home Managers” are scrutinized as well as the furniture is, she said – you want someone who will cooperate when you tell them it’s time to move.

The “Home Managers” pay the staging company less to live in the house in question than they normally would, but they are required to keep the property in order and be available for showings from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The home is not for lease or rent and the Home Manager is not a tenant.

As soon as the house goes to agreement of sale, its occupants are given 30 to 45 days to move out and transfer to the next home to stage.

Perhaps to another bank-owned house in another town, just in time for another enterprising reporter to “discover” this trend.

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New To a City? Consider Test-Driving Homes as a Showhomes Home Manager

May 23, 2011 – 5:00 am

An interview with Showhomes Home Manager Ann Talbot

Ann Talbot moved to Nashville from New Mexico to start over.

Ann Talbot

Looking for a fresh start, Talbot was ready to make Nashville her home, but worried about finding an affordable place to live. In her search for a temporary home, an ad for a Showhome with no long term commitment and a very affordable monthly rate caught her attention.

“I didn’t really know how things were going to work out,” Talbot says. “So not having a long term commitment was a big part of Showhomes working for me. It ended up being a win-win situation, I was able to live in and test drive two very nice homes and see how things worked out in Nashville.”

Showhomes Home Staging contracts with owners of vacant houses to stage the homes using live-in Home Managers. Having a home occupied and fully staged helps the home sell much faster and for a higher price and offers Home Managers the opportunity to live in an expensive home for 30 – 50 percent less than a normal monthly rate.

Talbot started as a Home Manager in September 2010 and lived in two staged homes during her time with Showhomes. Her first home took five months to sell and as soon as she moved into the second home, it started showing right from the start, followed by some potential offers.

“When people started making offers I realized that it was the perfect fit for me and right in my budget,” Talbot says. “I decided I loved this home enough to buy it and the seller accepted my offer.”

Talbot's Nashville Home

Talbot is excited to be a homeowner in a new city and appreciates the incredible experience she had as a Home Manager.

“Showhomes Home Staging really did something special for me,” Talbot says. Starting out on her journey alone yet optimistic, she soon realized that Showhomes would help her in more ways than one. “Being a single woman, I couldn’t have done it without Showhomes. They are such a great resource when you are starting over and need help. I always felt like part of their team.”

A forensic scientist, Talbot loved the fact that she could travel for long periods of time and have a team of people to help take care of her home. “If you travel a lot and don’t have the resource of a spouse to help you, you know you have a team of people at Showhomes to help.”

Showhomes Home Staging helped Talbot get back on her feet and offered her a hand along the way. A win-win situation for everyone, Showhomes is thrilled to have helped Talbot transition into her new life and thankful for her dedication to being a Showhomes’ Home Manager.

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Showhomes Home Staging in Tampa Wins ‘Franchise of the Year’ National Award

May 18, 2011 – 10:54 am

Showhomes Home Staging, a national home staging franchise, has awarded its Tampa location its coveted Franchise of the Year award.

The home staging franchise has a twist that is producing results in today’s real estate market: it uses live-in Home Managers to help sell vacant houses. The company helps homeowners and their Realtors in the Tampa market sell homes substantially faster than comparable vacant houses and often for a much higher price.

“Showhomes Tampa is a high-performing franchise that produces stellar sales, yet it’s the overall way the Tampa team works together that sets it apart,” says Bert Lyles, Showhomes’ CEO. “Every aspect of this franchise combines to create winning results for everyone involved. They care about every single detail – from impeccable home staging to relationships with Realtors and homeowners and Home Managers.”

Linda Saavedra Accepting Her Award

The Showhomes Tampa franchise is owned by Linda Saavedra, a veteran corporate executive and former owner of a profitable property management company. Saavedra helped sell $35 million in properties in 2010. At any given time she has about $15 million inventory of staged homes, with values that range from $150,000 to $3 million each.

She opened the business in 2009; this is the first time in Showhomes’ 25-year history that a two-year-old franchise has won the system’s top award.
One of Saavedra’s many successes was the quick sale of a mid-tier $450,000 home that had been on and off the market for ten years. Her team of five sold it in less than a week.
“We work our magic on a wide range of homes,” Saavedra says. “Not only is Showhomes Home Staging a huge boost for those who own vacation homes, second homes and condos, it is also invaluable to the homeowner who deserves to get top dollar for a primary residence in a flat housing market.”

Showhomes Home Staging is a rapidly expanding franchise system with 73 franchises in 23 states. For the past six years the company posted record revenues and helped many homeowners sell in a tough market.  The franchisor has been featured in major media outlets including Oprah, HGTV, Travel Channel’s “CNN, ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today.

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Milwaukee Home Staging Franchise Posts Top Revenue in Country

May 18, 2011 – 5:00 am

Local home staging company kicks off 2011 with award for January

Showhomes-Southeast Wisconsin posted the highest revenue in January among more than 75 franchises in the national home staging system, turning tough times into a win for local homeowners.

This was the first top sales award for the local company, which provides home staging services and live-in home managers in seven Wisconsin counties. Showhomes Home Staging, based in Nashville, TN, has gained national media attention for its “home staging with a twist” business model. Focusing on vacant houses, franchisees recruit and train live-in Home Managers to stage and maintain the home while it is on the market and for sale.

Before and After

Donna Muelver and her family have owned the Milwaukee-area Showhomes franchise for eight years, through the housing boom, the bursting bubble and now the slow recovery. “Showhomes will transition through whatever situation is out there,” she says. “It is a sought-after and much-needed service.”

January’s successes included a range of homes. An $800,000 home in the Mount Pleasant/Racine area closed less than five months after Showhomes staged it and installed home managers. It had been on the market for two years. Another home in Brookfield languished on the market for at least one and a half years but sold in three months after Showhomes stepped in, Muelver said.

Homes that are not put on the market until they are staged and have home managers are selling even faster, she says. In January, one property in that category sold in a week, another in two weeks.

“That seems to be the quickest pop,” Muelver said.

Showhomes Home Staging overall started 2011 with a bang. The franchsior made Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 500 franchise list for the first time and Franchise Business Review put Showhomes in its Top 50 Franchises for the third year in a row.

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Showhomes Home Staging Scores Across the Board in Entrepreneur’s 2011 Rankings

May 17, 2011 – 5:00 am

Magazine highlights Showhomes Home Staging in fast-growing, low-cost and home-based business categories

In addition to ranking in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2011 list of the top 500 franchise companies, Showhomes Home Staging scored highly in three important categories: low-cost, fastest-growing and home-based businesses.

Nashville-based Showhomes Home Staging franchise has gained national media attention for its “home staging with a twist” business model. Focusing on vacant houses, franchisees recruit and train live-in Home Managers to stage and maintain the home while it is on the market and for sale.

“These rankings plus our six years of double-digit growth demonstrate that our approach to home staging not only works to move homes, but also is a solid business model for the right entrepreneur,” says Matt Kelton, Showhomes’ COO.

Example of Showhomes Home Staging

Specifically, Showhomes Home Staging ranked 45th in low-investment businesses; 62nd in top home-based businesses; and 100th in fastest-growing franchise systems. Overall, Showhomes Home Staging ranked 214th on the annual list, which is highly competitive and dominated by large, well-known franchise brands.

This is the first year the Entrepreneur Magazine ranked the home staging franchisor in its Top 500.

“We are well-positioned to be a top player in real estate-related franchising, and for good reason,” Kelton says. “We are in a hot category of small business and we have a very high potential return on investment.”

In a recovering economy, Showhomes Home Staging’s standing as a top franchisor with low entry costs is particularly notable. More people are looking to switch careers or start their own businesses now than at any time in more than a generation. Showhomes Home Staging services are popular with homeowners and Realtors because they lower insurance costs, create a model-home atmosphere and make a vacant house easier to sell.

Entrepreneur Magazine has been evaluating the top 500 franchise companies for 31 years and examines important criteria such as financial strength and stability, growth rate and system size to determine rankings. Amy Cosper, VP and editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur, called the 2011 Franchise 500 “a must-see list for anyone searching for the right business.”

If you think Showhomes could be the right fit for you, check out our franchising website.

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Five minutes with Showhomes Home Staging’s ‘Franchise of the Year’ Linda Saavedra

May 12, 2011 – 1:51 pm

Linda Saavedra’s Showhomes Tampa franchise has soared since opening in 2009, despite its launch during tough economic times. Just two short years later, Saavedra, a former corporate executive and veteran small business owner, picked up Showhome’s most prestigious award – Franchise of the Year.

Linda Saavedra

When Saavedra first encountered the Showhomes Home Staging business model, she had a hunch that it would take off in Tampa’s hard-hit housing market.  “I loved it from the beginning,” she says. “It really helps everyone involved in the sale of a home – real estate agent, home owner and home manager. It’s a brilliant concept that really works.”

Nancy Ward, a Realtor with Keller Williams Tampa Properties, says she’s not surprised at Saavedra’s achievements. “Linda is a stellar person to work with on every level you can think of,” Ward says. “We have had great success with her Showhomes team. She monitors the whole home staging process beautifully and always makes sure to react immediately to any problems. You don’t see that from most companies. You get stronger offers with Linda and her Showhomes team.”

Q: How does it feel to be Franchise of the Year?
A: It was a huge surprise. I was totally caught off guard. Of course I’m totally honored. We work really hard and have achieved some great results. Still, I didn’t think an award would come so soon, since we’ve only been in business since 2009.

Q. Well, you are obviously doing something right. What are some of the best practices at Showhomes Tampa?
A. When we stage a home we go into it knowing we can make a difference for everyone involved. We really follow through on it. The successes even surprise us at times. One important thing:  we focus on what the buyer would want to see. We don’t design for the seller or for the house, we design for the buyer. It’s the kind of mentality that consistently creates successful sales. We know that it’s the presentation that sells a home.

We have a strong team with a lot of synergy; there’s no weak link. You can’t underestimate the importance of having a team with a shared vision. We’re not a one-dimensional sales company. Everyone gets involved with the homes and cares about them. It’s very personal for us. We love our work, so we are able to be really proud of everything we do.

Q. Can you give an example of a time when designing for the buyer really worked?
A. We had a property that had earned a reputation as a problem home — a ‘bad karma’ kind of home.  It was dated and had been on and off the market for 10 years. The interior had a 1980s feel to it and there was an old-fashioned, built-in bar in living room. No one could get the home sold, despite having multiple Realtors and marketing efforts. We minimized the 80s look and brought in new pieces and touches so that it wasn’t screaming its age. We dressed it up, made it look years and years younger and it sold in less than a week. We hadn’t even put the finishing touches on it.

Q. What’s your favorite thing about Showhomes Home Staging? What keeps you excited and motivated?
A.  I’ve always been driven to service-based businesses, and Showhomes Home Staging is a great one. When I saw its business model I thought it was truly amazing. It helps everyone involved with the home. I’m very pleased it’s brought value to the Tampa market; we needed it.  Selling a home is stressful. There’s nothing more satisfying than knowing you’ve helped someone finally make the successful transition in their life that selling a home represents.

Working with Realtors in this economy is also very gratifying. You can help them reach new heights, and help create a success story for them. That’s not easy in this economy, but Showhomes Home Staging can make the difference for them.

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Franklin, N.C., Gets New Showhomes Home Staging Franchise

May 10, 2011 – 3:09 pm

Showhomes Home Staging continues its growth in North Carolina as a new franchise opens in Franklin.

At a time that has seen the real estate market fall to a low point and struggle to rebound, Showhomes Home Staging continues to beat market conditions and increase revenues. In many markets, staged Showhomes are beating local market conditions by as much as 50 percent and this success is fueling the company’s growth, according to Matt Kelton, Chief Operating Officer for Showhomes.

Cindi Stringer

“Showhomes Home Staging is a great idea for today’s economy,” says Cindi Stringer, co-owner of the new franchise in Franklin.  “There are a lot of foreclosures in this area and sellers are competing with the prices. Showhomes Home Staging helps make homes stand out so they can compete in a buyer’s market, and allows buyers to make an emotional connection right away.”

Showhomes Franklin is a family affair. Stringer and husband Mike, daughter Amanda Stringer and son-in-law Chris are all partners. A former nurse, Cindi Stringer is excited to change pace and introduce North Carolina and Northern Georgia to the possibilities that professional home staging offers. “Franklin is a vacation home community,” she says. “Locals need their homes to stand out against foreclosures and they can depend on Showhomes Home Staging to do just the trick.”

Kelton said he knows the new owners are ready to get to work. “This community is filled with many vacant homes, and all they need is a little staging by Showhomes.”

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Showhomes Home Staging Franchise Opens for Business in Cincinnati

May 10, 2011 – 2:57 pm

Recognized as one of the bright spots in a down real estate market, Showhomes Home Staging continues its growth in Ohio. The newest franchise is open for business in Cincinnati.

The new franchise provides home staging services as well as live-in Home Managers in the metro Cincinnati area, specifically Warren, Clermont, and eastern Hamilton counties.

At a time when the real estate market fell to a low point and struggles to rebound, Showhomes Home Staging continues to perform. In many markets, staged Showhomes are beating local market conditions by as much as 50 percent and this success is fueling the company’s growth, according to Matt Kelton, Chief Operating Officer for Showhomes Home Staging.

“Showhomes Home Staging is a service-based, results-oriented real estate business that has proven to be effective for 25 years.” says Ellen Prows, owner of the new franchise, which she is operating with daughter Lindsey Prows. “A staged home is always going to show better, sell faster and for more of the list price than an empty house, especially when the buyer is able to make a connection with the space. Home staging is the difference between a house that is sitting and a home that sells.”

Prows, whose background is in managing commercial real estate, is a great fit for Showhomes. She has teamed up with daughter Lindsey, who is operations manager, and will spearhead the franchise, working together in a mother-daughter partnership. Focusing on higher-end vacant properties, Prows’ objective is to be a great resource for real estate agents as well as a solution for homeowners.

“We are thrilled with the latest addition to the Showhomes family. I know that Ellen and Lindsey in Cincinnati East look forward to preparing staged homes in the local area,” Kelton says. “It’s time to create that vital ‘buzz’ and get vacant houses sold!”

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Live-in models beat a lick of paint when selling empty houses

May 5, 2011 – 4:33 pm

Showhomes home staging was featured in The Times of London, the UK’s largest newspaper today by US Business columnist Alexandra Frean:

By Alexandra Frean American Notebook
May 5 2011

It’s tough to sell an empty home. Buyers can be put off by the bare surroundings and a single nail hole in the wall can assume cavernous proportions.

So, as tens of thousands of vacant houses remain on the market, many of them foreclosed properties owned by banks, one real estate company has come up with a solution to the problem: “Live home-staging.”

Before Staging by Showhomes

Instead of bringing in some tasteful furniture, paintings and rugs, as most American home-staging companies do, Showhomes, based in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating in 25 states, moves in real people to give empty homes a “lived-in” feeling. It even charges a small monthly fee to its live-in models, whom it refers to as “home managers”.

Matt Kelton, COO of Showhomes, says that his company has created a rare thing in the property market — a winning solution for sellers, buyers and home managers: “We concentrate on homes selling for $500,000 to $1 million. Typically right now, a home like that takes around a year and a half to sell and it will go for 25 per cent less than the asking price. Results vary by market but we typically sell them in an average of five months and we get 95 to 96 per cent of the asking price.”

The  Home Managers, who might expect to pay $5,000 to $7,000 a month for a house in that bracket, actually pay Showhomes about $1,800. The downside is they have to move every five months or so, but Showhomes does all the moving for them and provides enough closets for their clutter. Buyers, meanwhile, get to fall in love with a home that looks, feels and smells inviting.

After staging by Showhomes

With foreclosed properties owned by banks now constituting at least a quarter of home sales, Showhomes is busier than ever.

“In 2007 we had few banks; now we have 22,” Mr Scott said. “We bear some of the holding costs, such as the utilities, and we keep the yard tidy. For a bank with 100 properties on their books, we can save them upwards of $500,000 in holding costs in the space of a few months.”

Finding the right type of home managers is crucial. Showhomes prefers families (“a home with children looks like a happy home,” it says), but divorced men are also in demand. “We take them out shopping to make sure they have the right furniture and things,” Mr Scott said. “They really are ideal because they are usually so beaten down that they will do everything we tell them to do.”

Showhomes is a national franchise company with locations in 76 markets.

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