Donne Muelver, owner of Showhomes Southeast Wisconson, emailed me this excellent testimonial from a listing Realtor on a home we just staged and sold:
Hi Donna,
I was very impressed with Showhomes! After six months on the market, our sellers were relocating and needed to have their home staged and decided to go with Showhomes. We were thrilled to receive two offers within three weeks of the staging! Donna's professionalism and expertise made the entire process seamless. I would highly recommend Showhomes, and encourage Realtors to contact Donna for details on this very innovative and unique way to help sellers with a vacant home.
Sincerely,
Sue Nikolic ABR
Take a look at Donna's work:
Great work and yet another reason you should stage a home in today's market. You DO have to win the beauty contest in today's market to sell a home!
Thomas Scott, www.showhomes.com
At Showhomes, we stage all types of homes. Some are amazing, beautiful homes that look stunning when staged and some are, ummm - more challenging?
We strive to make every home we stage look amazing. Some just take more work. At our training class last week in Nashville we deconstructed an already staged home and spent a day putting it back together:
This $800k hilltop tudor home was built about 20 years ago. The home has amazing views and state of the art fixtures for its age. Here's the main room our class had to work with and as you can see, it's a bit of sage overload:
The carpet and walls are green. The light fixtures are green. When this room is empty, it is just plain green! How do you tone down the mono-chromatic colors? With the 2-story wall of windows, how do you use the fireplace? making it worse, the traffic pattern runs right through the middle of the room.
After moving couches and chairs all over the room, our class settled on what I think is the right way to stage this room:
They used the fireplace as the focal point, pulled the furniture off the walls, made it so everyone could reach the coffee table (a must for good conversation groups) and used the hearth as additional seating. The traffic pattern goes around the grouping, not through it and there are large accesories to make the room pop.
When you add in lamps and soften the lighting, the room isn't nearly as green. After staging the room, we noticed that everyone wanted to plop down on the couch or in a chair - the room went from cold and green to warm and comfortable.
Thomas Scott, Showhomes
Linda Saavedra of Showhomes Tampa emailed me these photos she was really proud of today. This room, as is typical in Florida, had all white, even the white tile floor. Vacant, this is a harsh room and feels like an operating room. These rooms, very contemporary in nature, can be really difficult to stage. Take a look at what she did:
Here's the after and this home sold in 7 DAYS:
I love the cozy conversation grouping near the fireplace - this gives buyers the ability to visualize some real activities. The sea-grass rugs work really well in FL (and just about anywhere else, too) and she added some color which takes the edge off this room.
What would you have done here? Have any feedback?
Thomas Scott
This Minneapolis home sold in 39 days after staging by Showhomes. This beautiful home had been on the market for 1.5 years before it was staged. The owner and Realtor beleive the staging is what made the difference and we agree! like many homes, the interior of this home was wide open space and when vacant buyers spent very little time in the home. With nothing to help them undersatnd how the space could become the next chapter in their lives, they just blitzed the home. See for yourself:
Wow! I know I would spend more time in the staged version of this home. I particulary like that it is neutral. Although this home is in Minneapolis, it could be anywhere. This same decor would work in many cities.
Linda Saavedra, owner of Showhomes Tampa, emailed me with some pics and an amazing story about her home staging business in Tampa:
Hi Linda,
I just want to thank you for doing a fantastic job with my listing in Tampa which had been on the market for a year and 1/2 before learning about your services. My listing was a vacant custom built pool home which lacked the warmth and connectability. I had an almost full price offer within a week of your staging with the home managers' furnishings, and 25% higher offer than the 2 offers that had come in a week prior to the home being staged. Your professionalism, responsiveness, attention to detail, and marketing skills are First Class! I have already referred you to many fellow realtors. Thank you Linda and Showhomes Tampa & I look forward to partnering together in the future. Your results since you're Grand Opening speak for themselves. It really works!!
Tracy Truitt
Realtor
Century 21 Elite Locations, Inc.
Since this email, Linda had two other homes sell only days apart. One had been on the market for well over a year and sold in an amazing 8 days. Two days later, a 3rd home sold in 7 days! All three of these homes are staged with Home Managers (live in home stagers.) Adding life back to the home really does make a difference!
Here are some of her pics:
Great work - good staging taylored to the target buyer in that market and it produces results. If you've got a vacant listing in or around Tampa, give us a call and see if we can help you move homes that sit.
Thomas Scott
Showhomes is America's Largest Home Staging Company and the only nationally franchised brand in Home Staging and staging with Home Managers. As seen on HGTV, Oprah and the Wall St Journal
Showhomes: America’s Largest Home Staging Business - No Industry Experience is Necessary
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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, are 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. Since 1986, Showhomes has helped over 25,000 homeowners sell vacant homes valued at well over $8 Billion.
Amazing Press….
Showhomes has been so successful in its 23 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!
A winning business…
Showhomes franchisees in business for the past four years increased their revenues to over 250% of 2004 levels. Showhomes franchisees in continuous operations over the last 3 years have average revenues of over $220,000 per year! Showhomes is a real, scalable and potentially profitable franchise offering. Best of all, we grow by helping the most important people, our customers! By providing real value to them, we thrive. Don’t take our word for it, though – our franchise owners are our best sales people.
Staging: A fractured Industry
Ever watch HGTV? If you have, you know that home staging has become the norm for selling homes and required to sell a vacant home. HGTV is filled with shows about home staging and ask any Realtor and they know the value of staging. Showhomes is the only nationally franchised Home Staging business and in addition to being the first, we are by far the largest. Our franchisees easily compete against unorganized mom and pop staging companies because they have the backing and resources of a true national company behind them.
Have fun, provide a valuable service—and own your own business!
Showhomes does well in any real estate market condition and now that the housing market is slowing, there is more demand for staging services than ever before. <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:169.5pt;height:109.5pt'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\THOMSC~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image004.jpg" o:title="for02zz"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->
If you love real estate, like sales, want to be your own boss and want to own a business that can help you meet your goals, fill out the contact form below. No design or real estate experience is necessary!
"Showhomes Home Managers bring life to a home that otherwise isn’t there. And it’s much easier to get buyers into a Showhome for showings, because the homes are always in great shape and ready to show, inside and out- whenever we call."
"When a house is vacant, buyers make lowball offers, hoping to take advantage of an owner they think is desperate to sell. Furnished, decorated homes strike an emotional chord, and buyers make premium offers. "
"The feedback I got on this house from other Realtors—before and after Showhomes—was like night and day. After Showhomes transformed the home, no one could believe it had been on the market for three years. It sold quickly for 96% of list price, in a cash deal."
"Showhomes doesn't just bring furniture—they bring an environment….When a property is staged by Showhomes, buyers spend three times as long looking at it—and imagining it as their own home."
"Our showings have doubled since Showhomes took over our vacant listings."
"Within a week after the home manager moved in, we had three offers on an $835,000 home that had previously been shown more than 250 times."
"We had a listing that sat and sat. Once we got a home manager in there, it sold in three weeks-at a premium price."
"I've seen Showhomes magically turn cold, empty rooms into a warm, inviting home-in a single weekend!"
"Vacant homes convey a sterile feeling that gives potential buyers the impression the house needs work."
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