Thomas's Showhomes Blog

Vacant and Fully Staged Homes: which sells?

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:19:26 -0600

Showhomes is a national franchise and we train new Home Stagers often. One of my favorite parts of training is a field exercize that clearly demonstrates the difference in a vacant home for sale and a home that is both occupied and fully staged. Our company's success is based on the premise that vacant homes are much harder to sell, take much longer to sell and sell for far less money.

For this exercise, we used two homes for sale in a suburb north of Nashville. Both homes are in the same neighborhood, are priced the same and have been on the market for the same amount of time. We carried a group of people through both houses and recorded their feedback from both homes:

House #1: vacant house:

Here is the positive and negative feedback from 5 people who visited this home:

Negative Feedback	Positive Feedback
weeds in planter	Lot of space
dark – lighting	Master bath big
temp cold, uncomfortable	Well maintained
No color	Tray ceilings nice
Inconsistent shine of wood floor	Bonus room nice and private
Sink dirty	Like high finish in garage
no fridge	like recessed stair lights
portable chairs	Good windows and lighting fixtures
empty mantle	Solid house
Tub dirty	Good looking house
shower missing enclosure	high ceilings nice
house seemed not finished	wood floor nice
Misc parts on counters
Carpet dirty. Dusty
windows have dead bugs
dirty windows
Toilets not clean
Large empty loft room
No place to sit
No window coverings – no privacy
Too close to neighbors
Front yard not kept
Lot of leaves
no curtains – feels colder
To big – get lost
Unfinished room at top of stairs
Hard to visualize space
smells like paint
Paint peeling on back door jamb
spiderwebs creepy
scrap of carpet for welcome mat
Storage by fridge left over
Cold and dark
Echo on floor
Echo on marble made subfloor seem hollow or poorly built
Granite didn’t match house – colors don’t match
dead leaves in front
dust bunnies on floor
low outlets framed awkward – looked like substandard building
dead grass
wood floor to marble floor uneven
House empty
Master tub too small
shower odd
scratched wood floor in study
lights out
living room and kitchen eating area small
Pink tint odd

Here is the home staged by Showhomes with a live-in Home Stager:

Here is the positive and negative feedback from the same people:

Negative Feedback	Positive Feedback
too many personal photos	wel lit
	clean
	homey feel – warm
	comfortable
	very nice colors – eye catchy
	great furniture
	felt luxirous
	upstairs bedroom nice as master
	big house – good space
	felt more usable, easier to live in
	music and fans
	full of life
	really liked it – cozy
	very welcoming
	music makes great impression
	sitting area in master great
	very funstional house
	great floorplan
	keeping room – great space
	extra family room – bonuns room huge
	nice playroom
	smells nice
	closets really nice
	garage not cluttered
	food in fridge
	nice and clean home
	curb appeal great
	wreath on door
	seems like a model
	felt like a perfect model home
	linens like a spa
	patio nice
	staging really great
	master bedroom awesome
	music really helpful
	clean garage
	warm and very clean
	woman’s touch
	holiday decorations tasteful
	feels like a great family house
	live plants look great

Look at them side by side and it’s obvious which home is going to sell faster!

In a pricing survey, all 5 said they preferred the staged home and if they were to put in an offer would start at 5-10% below list price and would all go up to list price to get the home. Several stated they would ‘be embarrassed to low-ball the owner since the home was so well cared for.”

The vacant home, on the other hand, did poorly on the pricing survey. Even though the homes were comparable in most ways, the viewers said they would submit a low-ball offer starting at 70% of the list price and would only go up to 75%.

What do you think?

Thomas Scott

www.showhomes.com

Live in Home Stagers Help Sell Homes

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 09:42:22 -0600

Live in Home Stagers Help Sell Homes

December 5, 2009 – 7:38 am

Live-in home stagers maintain properties for absentee owners
Stagers maintain homes for lower rent, help sales

By Paul Owers, Ft Lauderdale Sun Sentinel

December 4, 2009

The three-bedroom waterfront estate in Fort Lauderdale normally would rent for about $5,000 a month. But Angela Genereux gets to live there for roughly a third of the cost.

The tradeoff is she has to keep the place in show condition – no dirty dishes or wild color schemes, please — and move out when the place sells.

That’s the deal she struck with Showhomes, a home management and staging company that opened a Fort Lauderdale franchise this summer. The Nashville, Tenn.-based company works with owners of vacant residential properties and their real estate agents, providing live-in managers who make the homes more appealing to potential buyers.

Managers, or stagers, typically bring their own furniture and agree to have the homes ready for showing on 30 minutes’ notice. In exchange, they get reduced housing costs.

Don Vanderhoef

“A big part of it is psychology,” said Don Vanderhoef, owner of Showhomes’ Fort Lauderdale office. “Buyers see food in the refrigerator, clothes in the closet. They see all the signs of life of a regular home.”

The housing bust has left millions of vacant homes in its wake nationwide during the past four years. Some homes become unmaintained eyesores, with overgrown lawns and swimming pools full of green water. They also can attract squatters and crime, hurting nearby property values.

“Vacant homes are a prime target for vandals,” said Gerry Schilian, a Boca Raton lawyer who handles foreclosure cases. “Any way you can keep these homes intact preserves a community.”

Vanderhoef insists it works. Managers sign contracts and undergo thorough background checks. Only once in the 24-year history of the company has there been a problem with a manager, he said.

Before Showhomes

The company prefers upscale homes – those that are priced at $500,000 or above – but will consider lower-priced proeprties. Vanderhoef said properties in the program tend to sell faster and for more money than other vacant listings.

Showhomes’ eight Florida offices have more than 100 staged homes for sale. The start-up Fort Lauderdale office has two so far. Small firms tend to offer similar services in individual markets, Vanderhoef said, but he isn’t aware of a competitor with a national presence.
Showhomes says it has staged about 60 homes statewide this year that sold for an average of $816,000. The homes were on the market for an average of 135 days after staging. High-end homes can take more than a year to sell.

Homeowners – including individuals, builders and lenders — pay Showhomes an upfront fee that ranges from $750 to $1,500 for a 3,000-square-foot property, Vanderhoef said. They continue to pay the mortgage, insurance and taxes while the property is listed for sale. The company covers normal operating expenses, such as utilities, and minor maintenance costs.

Once the home sells, the owner pays a “success” fee, up to 1 percent of the home’s list price. If the property doesn’t sell, Showhomes pockets only the upfront money.

After Showhomes

The Fort Lauderdale home Genereux is staging went to contract Nov. 12, less than two weeks after she moved in. Vanderhoef said the home is selling for close to the $599,000 list price.

Genereux will have to find a new place later this month, but she said she doesn’t mind such a transient lifestyle.

“You get to live in luxury on a smaller budget,” she said.

Dividing the spaces in a small place

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:53:46 -0600

Dividing the spaces in a small place

It's an age-old problem with small houses: how do you make the spaces look larger and more functional so the spaces don't seem so SMALL??

This problem is even tougher in a condo where all the spaces are small. Cindy Montgomery in our Showhomes Minneapolis office emailed me these photos to explain how she divides up small spaces and uses small-footprint furniture to enlarge a room:

I believe that the more activites a buyer can see themselves doing in a space, large or small, the more attracive the home becomes. Great job, Cindy!

Thomas Scott

www.showhomes.com

NAR 2009 Expo Report

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:41:28 -0600

Boy, have times changed!

The NAR Expo in San Diego this year was a far cry from the boom years in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Both the number of attendees and the number of exhibitors are down from previous years and the harsh market conidtions have shocked most Realtors into a far more realistic view of our industry.

There was lots of hope for those still standing this year:

Sales of lower end homes are inching upward
The extension of the tax credit is fueling some growth
Home Staging is having a really positive impact on sales

We surveyed over 400 top producing Realtors at the show this year to get some insight into Realtor attitudes towards home staging. We'll be releasing our survey results in the upcoming weeks and here are some early insights:

Over 95% of Realtors prefer to show homes that are staged
The majority of Realtors say whole-house home staging (when every room is staged) knocks the time to sell in HALF
The Majority of Realtors say that homes staged sell for 15-20% higher than when vacant

The NAR Expo is an international show and there were lots of Canadian Realtors present. Canadian Realtors use home staging at a much higher frequency than American stagers. The feedback from Canadian visitors is that homes either don't sell without staging or if they do they sell for far less and take much longer. Interestingly enough, they see it as their professional duty to make sure they push owners to use Home Staging because if they don't the owner will have to steeply reduce the price and selling homes for higher prices is better business.

Thomas Scott

www.showhomes.com

Sold in 10 Days after Home Staging

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:48:38 -0600

Sold in 10 Days!
2612 Robbins St. | Minneapolis, MN 55410

Showhomes Minneapolis has another success story!

Take a look at this charming cottage that had been on the market for a length time, vacant. Like many small spaces, the rooms looked too small to live in. Once the room is staged to look the way it needs to, the home sells. Take a look for yourslef:

2009 NAR Expo Off to a Good Start

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:16:07 -0600

This year's NAR Expo in San Diego is off to a great start and appears to be a much different show than previous years. The slow market and a heavy dose of reality has really humbled a lot of Realtors and Brokers we've talked to and although the show is much smaller than previous years, the isles are packed and people are looking for help in their markets.

This year, Showhomes is the only home staging company with a booth. Odd to us since home staging is proving out to be one of the most important tools a Realtor can use to help sell a home. This year, as in years past, our group is doing a home staging survey. After day 1, we can already see some startling data points from our survey results:

100% of the Realtors we've surveyed prefer to show staged homes and think they sell much faster. Even more interesting is that 100% believe buyers prefer to view staged homes. This is a far cry from the 2004 and 2005 boom years at NAR when many Realtors were skeptical of home staging.

The overwhelming majority of Realtors we've surveyed said that staged homes sell in less than HALF the time of vacant homes and that a fully staged home sells for a whopping 20% higher price than a vacant home.

The stories we hear - and almost every Realtor we've talked to has vacant listings - are that vacant home listings are just sitting and are truly difficult to sell. Unlike previous years where we've had to work hard to educate Realtors about the value of home staging and how much equity home owners stand to lose by keeping the home vacant, this year Realtors are all ears. Those that have vacant listings are unable to sell them and know they need help.

Good thing that we're posting some amazing sales results these days!

Showhomes Sees Spike in Sales of Luxury Homes

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:35:33 -0600

Innovative Home Staging is Key to Home Sales in Down Market

With a $569,000 Tampa home sitting on the market for a year and a half and no signs of a sale, Tracy Truitt was a disheartened Realtor looking for a new approach that would help her sell her listing.

Truitt, a Realtor with Century 21 Elite in Tampa, discovered Showhomes, a pioneer in the home staging industry, and its unique spin on traditional home staging: the nationally franchised company finds people to live in and help stage vacant homes so that they show better and sell faster. Given the declining real estate market, mansions and just about every other type of home are difficult to sell.

Showhomes staged Truitt’s home and it sold in eight days.

“I had an almost full price offer within a week of Showhomes’ staging, and a 25 percent higher offer than the two offers that had come in previously to the home being staged,” Truitt says.

Showhomes Tampa owner Linda Saavedra says Truitt’s experience isn’t a fluke.

Saavedra’s magnificently staged homes are selling in a fraction of the time most homes are taking to sell. So are homes all over the country staged with Showhomes’ one-of-a-kind system. A typical $850,000 home in Florida is taking well over a year to sell in today’s market and the average time it has taken Showhomes to sell these homes is a staggering 132 days.

“Recently we’ve had six major success stories with homes that have lingered on the market for over a year,” she says. “Three homes sold within 35 days and two others were contracted within seven days of staging. The home that sold in 8 days has been on the market for over two years and the sale price was 20 percent more than the offers they received when the home was vacant.”

“Our approach is working when nothing else is,” says Thomas Scott, VP of operations at the Nashville-based corporate headquarters of Showhomes. “We are experiencing similar home sales results in southern California, the Midwest and Northeast. Despite the glut of inventory, there are buyers in the market and they are choosing to purchase homes we have staged.”

Tracy Truitt, the frustrated Realtor, can’t believe it took her so long to use Showhomes, “Showhomes’ results speak for themselves.”

For franchise opportunities and more information, please visit www.showhomes.com .

Newly Staged in Jacksonville's Marsh Landing

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:08:15 -0600

Jared Biby of Showhomes Jacksonville emailed me these photos of a stunning home they just staged with a live in home manager in Marsh Landing, the exclusive golf community in Ponte Vedra:

Wow - what a difference! Builder Biege is tough in today's market. Every home has similar, monochromatic colors and if buyers look at several homes, the rooms quickly run together. I love the pattern on the area rug - it really changes the feel of the room. Great job by Kaye Biby on staging this home!

Nice work!

Thomas Scott www.showhomes.com

On the market 503 Days before Staging, Sold in 32 Days in Elmhurst, IL

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:10:33 -0600

Laura Johnson of Showhomes Naperville in the Western Suburbs of Chicago emailed me today about a great success story from a home in Elmhurst they recently staged:

'We have great news to share about one of our new construction homes! After

503 days on the market, the home sold within 32 days of Showhomes staging it!"

Here's some before and after of this really nice home:

Great job! This is one of two homes we staged for a builder who started the process before the market dropped. I love that we really get to help people in dire straits using home staging to help sell a home. This home, like most that we stage, is staged with a live-in Home Manager. Another beautiful home that avoided the short-sale and foreclosure option and sold for a great price!

Great work!

Thomas Scott, www.showhomes.com

We're recuiting!

Newly Staged in South Tampa

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:06:51 -0600

On a field visit to Tampa where Showhomes has three locations, I was able to view this $1 million dollar in-fill new contruction home in South Tampa. This 3-story home has a lot to offer and looks amazing now that it is staged:

We've had a really successful run of home sales this year, far outstripping the local market conditions. In Florida and especially in Jacksonville and Tampa, we've sold over 40 homes with an average list price of $816,000. These homes have been on the market for an average of more than a year before we stage them (they are all vacant) and we've been able to turn them around in an average of 132 days.

Those are great numbers for the luxury market theses days - there are few buyers and far too many homes for sale. This segment of the market is not seeing the short-lived spikes the lower end segments are seeing becuase the FHA mortgages and first-time buyer credits don't apply.

Great work!

Thomas Scott, www.showhomes.com

We're recuiting!

Scam Artists Prey on Owners of Vacant Homes For Sale in Down Market

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:28:25 -0600

Home Staging Company Employs Live In Caretakers to Protect Homeowners and Sell
Homes



As foreclosures continue to spike and the number of vacant homes on the market
for sale spirals higher, homeowners are increasingly vulnerable to companies
that peddle questionable services or outright scams. 

Thomas Scott, vice president of operations for Showhomes, the country`s largest
home staging company, says conditions are ripe in the foreclosure and high-end
housing market for exploitation, where such a high percentage of vacant homes
are lingering on the market for a year, two years or more. He encourages
consumers to be on the alert. 

"These are really scary times for owners of vacant homes," Scott says. "Almost
daily, we read in the paper about vandalism, theft, parties in vacant homes,
expensive repairs and plummeting property values that come from leaving homes
vacant and for sale. In some cases we`re seeing fly-by-night companies moving
home squatters into vacant properties in the hopes of wrestling possession of
the home from the owner. It`s unbelievable." 


Vacant home damaged by vandals in Phoenix

"Letting a home sit empty is a recipe for disaster," Scott says. "Home sellers
need reputable managed staging and live-in stagers more than ever these days." 

"The prospect of selling a home for 20-30 percent below its real value, and in
many cases waiting years for it to sell, is hard enough," Scott adds. "Now you
have to worry about sneaky scam artists trying to take advantage of distressed
homeowners." 

Showhomes, which currently has 56 franchises in 23 states, is having dramatic
success in today's tough real estate market with its innovative blend of
impeccable home staging and method of employing qualified people as live-in
caretakers to keep homes in show condition. It`s all above board - no squatting,
taking possession or scamming involved. 

And, it`s and remarkably effective. 


Home staged by Showhomes with Live In Home Managers

In a recent case study, homes in Chicago staged by Showhomes with live-in home
managers sold for 93 percent of the original list price when using home managers
to stage. Comparable homes left vacant for sale sold for 75-85 percent of the
original list price. Homes staged with home managers sold in 4-5 months and
vacant homes took well over a year to sell, if they sold at all. 


Showhomes - www.showhomes.com
Thomas Scott, 615-483-4923
VP Operations
tscott@showhomes.com

A Challenging Space to Stage and Sell!

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:56:47 -0500

Every now and then we get asked at Showhomes to stage a home outside our comfort level. Anyone with expereince and enough inventory can make a pretty room and an amazing home look great. However, it takes someone with real skill to stage and sell a home with small spaces. Cindy Montgomery emailed me photos of this very challenging small cottage she staged and that sold in 10 days last week:

I can see why this home sold so fast! This home, although totally updated and in a great area of Minneapolis, has some really small spaces. Vacant, these spaces look really difficult to live in and staged they look very comfortable and usable. This is a great home for a single professional or starter home for a couple.

Great work!

Thomas Scott, www.showhomes.com

We're recruiting

Home Staging Testimonial in Milwaukee

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:36:34 -0500

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

We're recruiting

Home Staging Success Story in Fox Valley, Chicago

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:10:14 -0500

Mike Callahan, owner of Showhomes Fox Valley in the western suburbs of Chicago, emailed me his recent success story. A home he recently staged with a live-in home manager sold in less than 90 days after over a year on the market:

Great work and another happy homeowner and Realtor!

Thomas Scott, Showhomes

We're recruiting!

Banks turn to home staging to sell homes

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:47:57 -0500

The Jacksonville Business Journal ran an article on Showhomes today and how we are doing more and more bank business nationwide. For many banks, the type of staging we provide fits their needs. Showhomes got its start doing bank owned homes in the 1980s and we contiue today. Take a look:

Heritage Bank Senior Vice President Greg Totten was a skeptic when he decided to try using a home staging company to sell a bank-owned property that had been on the market in Queens Harbour for nearly a year at $2 million.

After a home manager moved in and staged the 6,000-square-foot home, the number of showings increased as well as the dollar amount of the offers before it went under contract in September to sell for $1.5 million. Totten’s now a believer in home staging.

Home stagers specialize in furnishing and decorating vacant homes to make them look lived-in for prospective buyers. Although the industry started as an indirect result of the savings and loan crisis in the mid-1980s when lenders needed help selling a glut of foreclosed homes, since then most homes have been staged for homeowners — until now.

“Banks are looking to try to get the most from the homes they now have,” said Totten, who is the branch manager at the Ponte Vedra Beach branch of Heritage Bank. “We came out, over all, I think pretty well.”

In the last three to four months Showhomes franchise owners Jim and Kaye Biby said they’ve seen an increasing interest from lenders looking for help to sell some of the homes they’ve had to foreclose on. The Queens Harbour home was the first foreclosed home the Bibys helped sell with a home manager who actually lived on site during the staging process. They’ve already signed a contract with a regional bank, which preferred not to be named, to help sell one, maybe two foreclosed homes and is negotiating a contract with a third.

Kaye Biby, Showhomes Jacksonville

The Bibys have also staged a short sale home in Palencia that sold in 21 days in March and have signed a contract to stage another short sale in the World Golf Village.

The Bibys say they think lenders are becoming more interested in their staged properties, which typically include live-in home managers, because it reduces the bank’s overhead.

Even though bank-owned home staging is growing, the Bibys expect it to remain a small portion of their overall portfolio. So far this year, the franchise has helped sell 17 homes for a total value of $16 million compared with 21 homes for a total value of $21 million in 2008. Only one of the homes sold so far this year was a foreclosure and one was a short sale. They had no foreclosures or short sales last year.

In the past most banks maintained minimal upkeep on foreclosed homes, often selling them as is. Lynn Vitel, broker at Vitel Realty Group of Keller Williams Realty, said now with competition stiff in the residential real estate market, banks too are looking for a competitive edge.

“Staging means everything. It lets people visualize what the rooms are,” Vitel said. “The banks are having to smarten up.”

Sandy Steiner, an agent with Re/Max Specialists who used Showhomes to stage a property that was not a owned by a lender, said she expects that as market values continue to decline more lenders will reach out to home stagers.

“Banks are taking on a larger responsibility,” Steiner said. “They don’t want to be blamed for that one foreclosed property bringing down the property value for the whole neighborhood.”

Christy McCarthy, owner of Jacksonville-based Interiors Revitalized, said that while she hasn’t actually staged any lender-owned properties yet, she too has noticed the interest, and she understands why.

“It’s crucial to get these homes back in top-dollar condition so they don’t lose any more money,” McCarthy said.

Thomas Scott, Showhomes

Franchise Information

This isn't what I meant by going green

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:39:14 -0500

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

www.showhomes.com

Franchise Information

Book Review: The No Complaining Rule

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:39:41 -0500

It's easy to get negative in today's real estate market. I come across all types of negative Realtors, home owners, home buyers and people who love to complain about the market.

Ever worked with a complainer? Have someone on your team who is always negative, finding an endless stream of critical things to say?

Have you noticed how these people suck the life out of a business and take the fun out of work?

I just read through Jon Gordon’s The No Complaining Rule. The short, 136 page book was easy to read and hit on some of my favorite points about working as a team.

As a rule, I avoid negative people and I work hard to be a solutions-oriented person at work and at home. I gravitate towards enthusiastic and positive people and like most people I avoid negative people like the plague. I believe this is critical in a down real estate market - people are looking for a message of hope and a solution to the crisis. Complaining simply helps no one.

Here are some points I learned from reading this book:

1. Complaining serves little purpose. It sucks the life out of company, is hurtful to those around you and kills both productivity and moral.

2. One negative person can create a miserable office environment for everyone else.

3. Complaining and negativie emotions are associated with:

decreased life span
fewer friends
increased risk of heart attack
more stress
less success

The book is worth a read for anyone who works with others or has a family. In other words, it should be manditory reading for anyone in your office or family!

The book focuses on positive thoughts and behavior as the key to eradicating negativity:

Start with yourself – you might be more of a complainer than you realize. Lead by example!
Try not to complain. At all.
If you can’t avoid a complaint or a negative statement, add a ‘but’ to the end and stack on two solutions.
Start your day with gratitude – be thankful for the things you have. If you are stuck in traffic, be thankful you have a nice car to drive.
Avoid saying ‘I have to…’ and replace it with “I get to….” Don’t say “I have to work late to finish this job.’ Say, ‘I GET TO finish this job!’

If you’ve read it, let me know by leaving a comment. I’m going to make my kids read it and buy some copies for my office. How about you?

Thomas Scott, Showhomes

www.showhomes.com

Franchise Information

Staging With Black and White

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:19:34 -0500

On field visits to many of the homes we've staged, I've seen some really creative use of Black and White to make rooms both memorable and contrasty. Even in builder-biege rooms, the black and white makes for a sharp and smart look and I find that buyers can easily remember these rooms after looking at homes all day.

They may not like the sharp look for themselves but it jumps out among all the other homes they see that look alike. It's a bold move to increase stickiness of a listing. See for yourself:

Have you experimented with using Black and White to stage rooms? If so, what's your expereince been?

Thomas Scott, Showhomes

www.showhomes.com

Franchise Information

Tough Room to Stage

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:18:00 -0500

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

www.showhomes.com

Franchise Information

Great Before and After - Sold in 39 Days

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:17:05 -0500

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.

$720k Minnepolis Home Sold in 7 Days

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:24:33 -0500

We're on a roll at Showhomes!

Showhomes' Cindy Montgomery, possibly one of the best home stagers in the country, emailed me with pics of a home that sold this week in 7 days. Edina Realty Realtor Paul Pudlitzke is surely happy with this result. This renovated infill home had been on the market for a long time before. Within 7 days of moving our Home Managers in and staging the home sold for very near asking price. Take a look:

Thomas Scott

www.showhomes.com

Franchise Information

Home Sales Success in Tampa

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:24:54 -0500

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

www.showhomes.com

Franchise Information

Newly Staged in Calabasas (LA)

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:42:22 -0500

Craig Brown of Showhomes LA emailed me these pics of a home they staged yesterday in Calabasas in LA County. This home has a live in Home Stager and after many months on the market, we expect it to sell:

Good job! This house is in the foothills and when vacant was really difficult to show. Even when professionally cleaned, dust settled over everything, sucking the life out of the listing. With a live-in home stager, the home kept in show-to-sell condition long after it is staged and prepped for every showing.

Thomas Scott

www.showhomes.com

Open a Showhomes Franchise

Newly Staged in Park City, UT

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:07:11 -0500

Just in time for Ski season!

Showhomes Park City just staged this $2million dollar new contruction home. This is a beautiful home that had been sitting vacant on the market for almost a year. The home is in a mountain community outside Park City and a year with few showings made the home hard to show. Showhomes' Katja Cain and crew moved in a live in home stager and staged the home to perfection. At an open house to reintroduce the home to Realtors and Brokers last week, over 60 professionals commented on how amazing the home now shows. Take a look:

Nice work! Bet this home sells quickly!

Thomas Scott

www.showhomes.com

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Newly Staged in Laguna Beach, CA

Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:46:36 -0500

Wow, what a view!

Showhomes Orange County's Jill Cosby staged this spectacular home this week and check out the amazing view:

Nice work! I'd expect this home to sell quickly, even in the southern CA real estate market.

You can follow Jill on twitter: @jillcosby and follow me as well: @showhomesthomas

Thomas Scott

www.showhomes.com

we're recruiting - join our team

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2612 Robbins St. | Minneapolis, MN 55410