Upscale Nomads Help Sell Homes

Great article on Showhomes that appeared in the Tampa Tribune this past weekend. Showhomes opened two new locations recently in the Tampa area:

By Shannon Behnken, Tampa Tribune, Fla.

Jan. 25

TAMPA -- Some of Tampa's finest houses need more than impeccable maintenance or discounting to sell in this economic environment.

They may need you.

That is, if you're compulsively neat, have a home's worth of upscale furniture and don't mind moving every few months.

Though most people are familiar with staging a house using fine furnishings and decorations, a new Tampa business thinks the abundance of vacant homes on the market needs a human touch.

"There's a huge difference in the energy in a home that's staged not with just furnishings but with people," said Linda Saavedra, who's opening the Tampa franchise of Nashville-based Showhomes. "It brings a warmth to the home and helps buyers make an emotional connection to the home."

Showhomes is looking for what it calls "home managers" to move into some of Tampa's houses until they sell.

The positions don't pay a salary but offer the opportunity to live the high life for a fraction of what it would normally cost to rent the home. Home managers are responsible for maintaining the lawn, paying the utilities and keeping the home in "show-ready" condition at all times.

When the house sells, the home manager can opt to be moved to another vacant house. Some of the homes could be worth as much as $5 million or as little as $250,000. The monthly fee to live there could range from one-half to one-third of the market rental rate for the neighborhood.

"It's a great situation for everyone involved," Saavedra said. "It offers a lot of benefits for the homeowner and the home manager."

Moving people into the homes, Saavedra said, offers an option for many homeowners who can't afford traditional staging or have left town and can't maintain the home.

The Bay area has a backlog of more than 30,000 homes for sale, so Saavedra hopes the concept will take off. Real estate agents, hungry for anything to help their clients' homes stand out among the competition, are eager to learn more.

In the Bay area, 53,630 properties received a foreclosure filing in 2008, according to California-based RealtyTrac. Thousands of those homes are empty. Vacant homes are harder to sell, real estate agents say, because buyers can't see themselves living in the home and tend to make low offers.

Homes that are occupied and staged get 10 percent to 20 percent higher prices and sell 60 to 90 days faster than vacant homes, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Saavedra opened her business in December and is holding her grand opening this month. For those uncomfortable with a home manager moving in, Saavedra will offer traditional staging.

She hasn't staged a local home yet, but said she has a growing list of interested home managers and hopes to start placing them by the end of the month.

She said she hopes the good deals will persuade more people to try being a home manager. For example, a South Tampa home she looked at recently is listed for $670,000. The monthly fee for a home manager would be $1,000.

Most Showhomes franchises work only with higher-end homes, usually ones that start around $500,000, but Saavedra said she will consider homes in the $250,000 range because there are so many vacant in that range in the Bay area.

Even with the potential benefits of home staging, it can still be a tough sell.

Home managers can be single or bring the family, but they can't smoke or have pets. And their furniture has to pass muster. If they don't have enough furniture, they can rent it from Showhomes. The company also does criminal and credit checks on home manager applicants.

The average time a home manager stays in a home is about five months, although some have had to move in as little as 60 days. Others have stayed for about a year.

Homeowners pay a set-up fee of about $1,500 to $3,500, depending on the square footage, to place a home manager into the house. (The company is waiving the fee in January for the grand opening.) Homeowners don't collect rent, though. The monthly fee home managers pay goes to Showhomes. When the home sells, Showhomes gets 1 percent or less of the list price of the home.

Showhomes has a nice concept, said Chris Lafakis, an economist with Moody's Economy.com, but nothing is a sure thing in these economic times. Staging a home with people and decent furniture may generate more buyer interest, he said, but nothing will sell the home faster than lowering the price.

"When it comes down to it, the consumer's choice is about whether they can afford the home," he said.

The nationwide company doesn't seem to have much trouble getting customers, though.

Showhomes started in 1986 and doubled in size last year as the real estate market persuaded more homeowners to give the service a try. The company has 44 franchises nationwide, said Thomas Scott, vice president of operations.

As untraditional as the arrangement may be, some home managers say the lifestyle fits them perfectly.

Paul Huber has been living in a Minnesota Showhome for three months. With a pending divorce, Huber needed to find temporary housing but didn't want to trade in his 6,000-square-foot home for a tiny apartment. He called his local Showhomes franchise and was immediately placed into a 3,000-square-foot home in a gated community on a golf course.

Huber rents the home furnished.

"All I needed to bring was sheets, towels dishes and silverware," he said. "The place looks like it came out of Better Homes and Gardens. It's great."

The home is on the market for more than $800,000, and Huber pays $2,500 a month, plus utilities.

But there is a downside: He never knows when he will get the call to pack up and leave. Huber said the home he's managing has had 10 showings.

"Most home managers start thinking, 'Gee, I hope it doesn't sell.'" he said.