showhomes: Which angle works best? - 04/21/08 10:39 AM
I have read a lot on Active Rain about the importance of using really strong photos of the front of a home. In our photography training we focus on getting the best image we can of the front of the home. I often find that Realtors who take their own photos spend very little time or effort thinking about this and seem to simply stand directly in front of the home when taking a photo. Some don't even get out of the car!
We teach our stagers and marketers to walk in a 180 degree half circle around the front of a … (20 comments)

showhomes: Toledo Success Story - 04/21/08 10:13 AM
Showhomes gets lots of attention for the really high end homes we stage all over the country. Have a 6 million dollar, 15,000 square foot home to stage? No problem! We've been tackling some of the most difficult to stage and sell homes for almost 3 decades.
We don't just do the high end, though. Some of our offices in smaller markets do wonders with really difficult to sell homes in more normal price ranges. Our Toledo franchise emailed me photos of these two homes Friday and I put together a couple of real estate shows:

Good job on selling these … (2 comments)

showhomes: Have Home Inspections Hurt Your Business? - 04/16/08 11:32 AM
We recently had a home sell and ran into what I thought was an unusual situation:
The owner of this home bought the home less than a year ago and had it inspected. He never moved in and decided to sell it instead for a price high enough that he could recover his investment and the real estate commission. 

The new buyers hired an inspector that spent almost 10 hours in the home and produced a report with over 60 items to repair. The owner and Realtor were shocked as the previous inspection had very few items to repair and the home … (9 comments)

showhomes: Passing the 10,000 point mark - 04/10/08 09:51 AM
Hey, we passed the 10,000 point mark on Active Rain!
I've enjoyed blogging about Showhomes and Home Staging and I really appreciate all the wonderful comments I've received on blog posts and via email from others in the Home Staging Industry!

Its been good to build awareness of our company and its pioneering role in the Home Staging business spanning almost 3 decades. As great as that has been, I've enjoyed networking with lots of other home stagers and really like where our industry is going.
 Happy Home Staging and Blogging!
Thomas 
… (0 comments)

showhomes: New Gallery Uses Real Estate Shows - 04/09/08 10:23 AM
… (7 comments)

showhomes: Great video on why you need a wide angle lens - 04/09/08 09:43 AM
Great video from You Tube on why you need a wide angle lens for shooting photos of homes I've posted a few times about how important using a camera with a wide angle lens is when shooting photos of real estate and homes for use in your home staging business. I really like the Panasonic Lumix line of pocket cameras which have wither a 25mm or 28mm zoom lens and these are built in to the camera. This video is a great primer on the difference in wide angle lenses and gives you some good info on 'sensor' size that many … (2 comments)

showhomes: Ever wonder what a Short Sale was? - 04/08/08 12:18 PM
What is a 'Short Sale' and why is this important to my Home Staging business?

We have been running into more and more short sales lately when marketing to homes that need staging. I don't know if you've ever wondered what a short sale was but here is a good primer:
A short sale is when a home owner gets behind on mortgage payments and negotiates with the lender to sell the home for less money than the home is worth. The lender and buyer avoid a forclosure.

Why is this important? These owners are cash strapped and unlikely to pay for … (2 comments)

showhomes: Showhomes to Exhibit at the International Franchise Expo in Washington DC - 04/08/08 12:10 PM
Showhomes to Exhibit at the International Franchise Expo in Washington DC Nashville, TN <April 8th> Showhomes, a Nashville based home staging franchise company, will be exhibiting at the 17th Annual International Franchise Expo. The expo will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington DC, April 11-13, 2008.
Showhomes, America’s largest home staging company, is currently offering franchises throughout the U.S. Thomas Scott, vice president of operations, along with Matt Kelton, chief operating officer, may be visited at expo booth # 832.
“The International Franchise Expo is a great way for thousands of people from all over the … (0 comments)

showhomes: Near DC? Meet us in Person! - 04/03/08 11:56 AM
I've enjoyed blogging on the rain and have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts in the staging groups.
I'm looking forward to one day meeting some of you in person!
If you are going to be anywhere near Washington DC, April 11-13th, come by and visit us at the annual International Frachise Expo:
 
Showhomes has a franchise development booth set up and we'll be staffed by four Showhomes people: Myself, Matt Kelton, our COO, Beth George, our Orange County and LA franchise owner and Natasha Little, our Greenville, SC franchise owner. If you are interested in Home Staging and want to drop by the … (0 comments)

showhomes: New Panasonic Camera Great for Home Stagers - 04/03/08 09:19 AM
If you read my recent posts on camera recommendations for Home Stagers, you know I am a fan of the Panasonic Lumix FX series cameras. I have been using the Lumix FX07 for about a year and recently learned about a new Lumix that I think offers some signifigant improvments on an already great camera: the Panasonic FX35.

The FX35 has higher resolution at 10 megapixels and importantly, a 25mm to 100mm lens. This is a bit wider than the earlier FX07 which has a 28mm - 90mm lens. The new lens lets you get a few more feet in the … (7 comments)

showhomes: How many sneakers a year do you buy? - 04/03/08 08:26 AM
I read this article today:
"Always buying sneakers? It's the sign of a leader: poll Tue Apr 1, 9:50 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Got a passion for buying sneakers? It could be a good sign, with a poll finding that people who buy three pairs of sneakers or more a year are far more likely to be a leadership type that other people.
Mindset Media, a media company that examines personality traits of different consumers, found that people who buy more than three pairs of sneakers a year are 61 percent more likely to have the qualities of … (33 comments)

showhomes: Showtime for Showhomes - 04/01/08 11:02 AM
April 1, 2008 - 2nd Post by Cindy Allen, real estate blogger from LA: Showtime for Showhomes During the last major southern California housing downturn in the nineties, I spent almost three years as a gypsy moving from one vacant home to another.  I would set up house with all my furnishings until the properties sold and I had to leave again.  No, I wasn't a squatter - it was entirely legal.  I even got paid for doing it, in the form of heavily discounted rents.  (Read about this adventure in my last post:  Housesitting on Top of the World.)
It was fun while it lasted, but when the … (2 comments)

showhomes: Housesitting on Top of the World - 04/01/08 07:45 AM
Cindy Allen, a prolific LA real estate blogger, posted this today on her Redfin real estate blog about Showhomes:Thanks, Cindy! 
March 28, 2008
Housesitting on Top of the World Almost fifteen years ago I was on the short end of a short sale on a bungalow I owned in North Hollywood following the 1994 Northridge earthquake that seemed to shake L.A.'s confidence even more than it shook the pavement.  The housing cycle was entering a long, long downturn that left me, along with thousands of other local homeowners, upside-down in a drydocked version of The Poseidon Adventure.  
My lender, GE Capital, eventually got the point that prices were not poised to head back … (2 comments)

showhomes: Social Marketing Trends for Your Staging Business - 04/01/08 07:09 AM
Get On Board with Latest Social Marketing Trends Written on March 25th, 2008 by Joseph in Franchising Developments.
(This is a good article on social networking and marketing your business that appeared on a franchising forum I subscribe to. Active Rain is a great example of a tool available to us stagers and you could easily use real estate shows and you tube to showcase your work) 
A recent survey has shown that more than 60% of top global companies opt for some types of social media marketing methods these days. Social media marketing, in a broader sense, means using social media websites … (0 comments)

showhomes: Expensive Homes Drop in Value - Is Staging the Answer? - 04/01/08 07:02 AM
Zillow report: Homes with higher values see steeper drops Negative equity is more likely for buyers of lowest-value homes(from Inman News) 
(We are seeing this in almost all of our markets and we believe the value of staging to these homes is higher than ever before. What's your impression?)
By Inman News, Monday, March 31, 2008.

High-value homes tend to decline in value at a steeper rate than lesser-value homes in a declining market, according to an analysis by real estate valuation and marketing company Zillow.
The analysis is based on a review of the company's estimates of home values over … (2 comments)

showhomes: Destined to Design: A Realtor and Mother Takes Control of Her Life and Future - 03/28/08 10:47 AM
Destined to Design: A Realtor and Mother Takes Control of Her Life and Future
Showhomes is a great example of an ideal business for women who want to enjoy both their family and the rewards of owning a thriving business. Showhomes enabled Barbara Bliss of Lake Forest, IL to find this balance by allowing her to start out small and with low overhead, and work up to her full potential. The opportunity allows her to thrive in a creative design business that played to her love of real estate and desire to help others.  She also enjoys the freedom of being … (5 comments)

showhomes: Now I have a Camera, What Software Do I Need? - 03/28/08 07:43 AM
Now I have a Camera, What Software Do I Need?
So, you've done it: you've gone out and purchased your new wide angle digital camera to take photos of your homes. You need high quality images of your work for your portfolio because just like in staging 'It's all about presentation."

Most people focus a lot on the camera, reading specs, comparing reviews and generally just staring confused at the rows of pocket sized cameras at Best Buy.
You can cut through that by reading my camera recomendation here:
Best Camera for Home Stagers
The camera is just half the process of getting great … (11 comments)

showhomes: A great basic Staging from Minneapolis - 03/27/08 08:04 AM
A great basic staging from Minneapolis
See also:
Minneapolis Home Stager Earns National Top Design Award – 2 Years in a Row
Cindy Montgomery, our 2007 Design Award Winner emailed me these photos of a home she staged last week. As usual, even with basic items, she works magic! I especially liked the wall art in the bedroom:



Great job, Cindy!www.showhomes.com … (4 comments)

showhomes: Chicago Success Story - 03/26/08 12:30 PM
Chicago Staging Success Story Chicago Showhomes franchise owner Barbara Bliss, the one who compiled the wonderful staging stats for her market, emailed this success story about a recent Lake Forest home she staged which sold for $1,120,000 - just a bit shy of its $1,199,000 list price.If that were not enough, this home had been on the market for 458 days before Showhomes. Barbara staged it on Jan 10th and it went under contract within 10 days! The great story on this staging success was that the owners were considering a price reduction on the advice of their Realtor (imagine that). … (3 comments)

showhomes: Offbeat Occupation : Staging company turns a house into a Showhome - 03/26/08 10:47 AM
Offbeat Occupation : Staging company turns a house into a ShowhomeSignal Tribune Newspaper, Long Beach, CA features Showhomes - Orange County
March 20th, 2008 By Heather Posey, Staff Writer
After several years of success, real estate markets all across the country have slowed to a trickle of what they had been in previous years. Homes have become much harder to sell, there are more homes on the market than at any time in history and home staging company Showhomes aims to be a “ray of light in the otherwise gloomy market.”
Showhomes—known as America’s largest home staging company—began its operations in … (1 comments)

 
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