Help for Vacant REO Homes!

Showhomes, America's largest home staging company, has begun a national partnership with NRI Relocation to stage and manage REO homes while they are vacant and on the market for sale. So far this partership is generating results: the first two homes staged with live-in Home Managers sold in less than 30 days.

Here is a photo of a $500k home in Scottsdale that had been on the market for over 9 months before selling in 30 days:

















We also sold a home in Portland that had been on the market for over 6 months in 15 days and are now staging a third home in Charlotte with several others in the pipeline.

NRI is a great Relo company, staffed with some very seasoned professionals. We are excited to get the opportunity to work with them nationwide and help their clients stage and sell homes using Home Managers in a really tough market.

Showhomes is in a unique position in the staging industry; with offices in 44 markets and growing, we are able to provide consistent, high quality staging services with a single point of contact. Add to that Showhome's state of the art insurance programs and we hope this is a recipe for sales success in 2009!

Why Stage?

We love these quotes by Juliet Johnson, author, speaker and leading authority on home staging luxury real estate in suburban New Jersey.

"Home staging - aka getting your home into the best possible show shape so as to trigger an emotional response in the prospective buyer - is the proven way to shore up the value of any property offered for sale. Studies have shown that a staged house sells for 20% more than non-staged homes on properties priced over $200,000 and for 10 - 15% more on homes less than $150,000 - according to Thom Scott of Showhomes. So, if you want to get rich with your investment property... or maybe just sell your house for the best possible price, stage it!

"To shore up the price of your property for sale (i.e. get rich... or at the very least get what's rightfully yours), take the time to present your property really well. (which is just another way of describing staging!)



"Show the buyer how to live in the home. We have an 'add water and stir' society; people prefer to have an expert tell them something rather than have to go down a learning curve, make expensive mistakes and not have an optimal experience. Give each room a function, some color and some style. Buyers respond to emotions, and the best way to engage the emotions is with color (hence the existence of painters for as long as there's been mankind!)

"If a house costs $255,000. Your first price reduction is going to be at least $5 or 6 thousand, no? For half of that, you could have staged the whole house, or at least the principle rooms, for 3 months! Yes, you would have out of pocket expense on the staging, but what would your carrying costs have been?

"Staged homes sell 20 - 30% faster. In your market, how long is the average days on market? Chances are it's at least 60 - 90 days (and getting longer as 2008 progresses) If you can sell you home for a higher price, and not have it sit on the market deteriorating thereby saving untold amounts of money, to say nothing of time and emotional expense, wouldn't you agree, it makes financial sense to stage the home?"

Sellers often say that they can't afford to stage. If you look at it this way, you can't afford not to stage in today's market.

20% more....that's the difference between getting the $360K your house is worth or $300K a buyer might offer if your home is vacant.

10% more on homes valued $150K or less. That's $15,000 dollars you may have left on the table.

Remember this if nothing else: Staging always costs less than a price reduction!

Quotes were excerpted from Juliet's blog post: "Home Staging is a Rich Man's Game - Yeah, If You Wanna Be Rich!" To read the full article click here.

The Secret is Out!

There's a reason the Travel Channel calls Showhomes 'The Best Kept Secret in Real Estate.' Showhomes is a niche business - unless you are a Realtor who lists high-end vacant homes, a homeowner struggling to sell a high-end vacant home in a market with a Showhomes office or you've looked for luxury single family home rentals, you've likely never encountered us. However, since 1986, Showhomes has helped over 25,000 homeowners sell vacant homes valued at well over $8 Billion.

We work with homeowners who have vacant homes for sale. As a rule, we focus on homes priced $400,000 and over. The average home staged is valued at just over one million. We have a lengthy track record of success dating back to the mid 1980's and Showhomes has gotten results for its customers in every type of market condition.

Amazing Press....

Showhomes has been so successful in its 25 year history that it has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, The Travel Channel, HGTV, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Houston Chronicle, Budget Living Magazine, ABC, FOX, CBS, CNN and many, many other publications. These media outlets have figured out why we are worth talking about!

That's the Showhomes story....

and here's mine in a nutshell: I have worked in sales, marketing, and promotional advertising for over a decade. I am an experienced photographer, copywriter, teacher/trainer, and public speaker. So, in addition to my design talents, I can help you and your realtor market your property for maximum exposure, so that it sells quickly and as close to list price as possible.

~Natasha Little

Lemons to Lemonade

This article appeared on the Reality on Realty blog a few weeks ago:

It's a great blog on our company, Showhomes. More than doing financially well in today's market, we are truly helping tons of homeowners and their Realtors close sales in a REALLY TOUGH market!

When the Economy Gives You Lemons…Find a Way to Make Lemonade

Published by jmiller
on January 23, 2009
in Home Selling

Amidst the bleak news about failing industries, businesses, and the economy as a whole, it was comforting to discover that some people are making a killing off of the housing crisis. Companies such as Showhomes are taking advantage of the unprecedented number of vacant homes that are currently on the market by selling the services of a “home manager” - a person or family who lives in the vacant home until it sells.

I think the business model is genius. According to a survey conducted in 2004, vacant homes (even if they’re staged) typically sit on the market for 30 to 60 days longer than occupied homes, and sell for at least 10 percent less. Owners of vacant homes pay for the upkeep and utilities of the house, in addition to the staging fees and insurance costs, only to find that the house doesn’t sell.

By hiring a company such as Showhomes, the homeowner pays an upfront staging fee of $1000-$3000 and, after the house sells, coughs up about 0.5% of the selling price. However, the homeowner no longer has to pay for utilities or maintenance as the home manager takes care of that, and the insurance costs get covered by the company. And most importantly - the house sells. One 2007 study conducted in Chicago showed that managed homes sold at 93% of the list price, while comparable unoccupied homes sold at -14%, if at all.

But why would anyone want to live in a house that they could get kicked out of at a moment’s notice? There are a couple of reasons.

1) Many of these houses are listed at $1 million or more, and Showhomes “rents” them for about half of what they’re worth. The lowest listing price for a Showhomes house? $500,000. Not too shabby!

2) The fact that there is no lease is ideal for some folks. For example, a professional who is starting a new job in another city but needs a place to live while looking for the perfect house, or a professor looking for a temporary home while on sabbatical.

3) Did I mention the extremely low cost of “rent”?

I am impressed - and am kicking myself for not doing it first. These house management companies profit from both the homeowner and the “renter,” have minimal costs, and are currently experiencing an enormous market. Why didn’t I think of that?

Rock 'N' Roll

Showhomes Greenville owner Natasha Little will participate in the 12th annual Rock 'N' Roll Marathon in San Diego, California. She is training for this endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All of the volunteers on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

"I lost my sister Michelle to a blood cancer in May of 2005, so this charity is close to my heart. I am completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!"

Natasha learned about Team in Training through Phil and Amy Parham of Biggest Loser fame. "Phil and Amy sent out a newsletter that mentioned TNT in the sidebar. I went to one of the local info meetings and felt compelled to register. Team In Training® (TNT) is designed to help women and men from all fitness levels achieve their athletic dreams by offering unparalleled coaching and access to some of the best events in the world. In return, we get the added satisfaction of raising funds to help the Society find a cure and offer much needed support to cancer patients in the meantime."

This year participants have roughly five months to train for several different endurance events, including a long distance bike ride, a triathlon, and their choice of marathons.