minneapolis: Just Staged In Minneapolis - 03/06/09 03:25 AM
Cindy Montgomery, our top stager and one our Top-Performers each year, sent me these photos of soem homes she staged last week. Cindy is a dynamo with an average of almost 50 homes staged at any given time. Take a look:




We often talk about color and contrast and how contrast, even with the lack of color, can make rooms 'sticky' so potential buyers remember the home and the room. I think these rooms are very sophisticated and I'm sure I would easily remember these rooms if I was a buyer.
What do you think?
Thomas Scott
(6 comments)

minneapolis: Using Deer Heads in Your Staging? - 06/02/08 02:18 AM
I read a post recently about 'dead heads' - the use of stuffed animal heads. In most cases, this can be distasteful and look overly masculine. Beside being potentially offensive to vegitarians, they can be downright scary to little kids.
I have begin to see, however, more of these objects crop up in our homes as our stagers try creative ways to use them in rooms.
Here is an example from a home we staged in Minneapolis last week:

Notice the large antler Cindy Montgery used as a centerpiece on the dining table. I would have never thought to use … (19 comments)

minneapolis: Sold in Less than 1 Month - 05/20/08 01:51 AM
Cindy Montgomery, our top stager and owner of Showhomes - Minneapolis emailed me these photos of a home that closed in 45 days and went under contract in less than 1 month:

Here's the after:

Wow! What a difference - no wonder this $900k home sold quickly!
At Showhomes we love tight conversation groupings like this one - groupings that have at least 3 points and that use a coffee table the same height as the cushions. Its critical that every person can reach the coffee table from where they sit. This makes the room comfortable and people will … (8 comments)

minneapolis: Vacant homes for sale hit new record - 04/28/08 07:05 AM
Vacant homes for sale hit new record highVacancy rate climbs to 2.9 percent; western states hit 7 percent
WASHINGTON - The percentage of vacant homes for sale in the U.S. set a new record high in the first quarter of this year, the government said Monday.
The Census Bureau report shows that shows that 2.9 percent of U.S. homes — excluding rental properties — were vacant and up for sale, compared with 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. It was the highest quarterly number in records going back to 1956.
That works out to 2.28 million properties, up from 2.18 million … (3 comments)

minneapolis: Name this Flower! - 04/25/08 04:01 AM
Showhomes's home office in Nashville is located in a really cool restored home near Vanderbilt University in Hillsboro Village. We really love our office and earlier this week I was happy to see a beautiful live arrangement on the foyer table when I walked in. Phyllis Spencer, our business manager brought them in. She lives on a lovely farm out in the country and has a knack for making arrangements.
Here is a photo of this arrangement:

We held an internal contest in our weekly newsletter to see if anyone could guess what these were and so far no one has guessed … (14 comments)

minneapolis: Minneapolis Before and After photos - 04/23/08 06:36 AM
Cindy Montgomery, our Showhomes Minneapolis frnachise owner and the winner of our top design award two years in a row, emailed me these photos of a home her team staged last week. Cindy is on fire in Minneapolis these days, having sold 9 homes so far in April. Staging and staging with Home Manager works!

 

Wow - what a difference. The Realtor and Home Owner on this home are very excited and already this week showings have increased


 

Wow - that's some really unattractive carpet! That's a tough color to make work. Cindy used a carpet fragment to … (3 comments)

minneapolis: Great trade show booth pics - 04/22/08 07:35 AM
Showhomes attended two local real estate shows this week:
In Toledo, we attended the Sylvania Business Expo. We have discovered that small business trade shows, such as this one or a local chamber of commerce show. I really like the chair and rug - it looks like anything but a trade show booth. Here is a photo of their 10 foot booth:
 

Pub tables work great at trade shows - even if you get tired and want to sit down, you are still near eye level.
Our Little Rock office did a Little Rock Realtor's Association Table Top event last week and … (11 comments)

minneapolis: Have Home Inspections Hurt Your Business? - 04/16/08 04:32 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)

minneapolis: New Gallery Uses Real Estate Shows - 04/09/08 03:23 AM
(7 comments)

minneapolis: Great video on why you need a wide angle lens - 04/09/08 02:43 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)

minneapolis: Ever wonder what a Short Sale was? - 04/08/08 05:18 AM
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)

minneapolis: Near DC? Meet us in Person! - 04/03/08 04:56 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)

minneapolis: New Panasonic Camera Great for Home Stagers - 04/03/08 02:19 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)

minneapolis: Social Marketing Trends for Your Staging Business - 04/01/08 12:09 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)

minneapolis: Expensive Homes Drop in Value - Is Staging the Answer? - 04/01/08 12:02 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)

minneapolis: Destined to Design: A Realtor and Mother Takes Control of Her Life and Future - 03/28/08 03:47 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)

minneapolis: A great basic Staging from Minneapolis - 03/27/08 01:04 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)

minneapolis: Showhomes Staging Case Study - 03/25/08 05:59 AM
Showhomes produces market case study for staging
Showhomes North Shore, a Chicago area franchise owned by home stager Barbara Bliss recently completed a case study comparing homes in the North Shore area of Chicago that had used Showhomes against homes that didn't use Showhomes. The results are eye-opening!

Barbara tracked 18 homes she contracted and whole-house staged with a live in Home Manager, such as the photo above. These homes sold for an average of 93% of list price! and dramatically beat local market conditions, selling after Showhomes in 147 days on average. Since Showhomes targets larger, more expensive homes, the … (5 comments)

minneapolis: Showhomes releases new E-Book for Franchise Sales - 03/18/08 03:12 AM
Showhomes released a new e-book for franchise sales:
 
http://showhomes.dublinblue.com/CoverOne/ShowHomes_CoverOne.htm
 
 

Take a look and let us know what you think. The new e-book explains about Showhomes and  gives lots of detail on our rapidly growing business. Showhomes is a mix of pure staging and using live in Home Managers to stage and furnish a home so that it sells faster and for a higher price.
Showhomes is currently in 25 markets in 19 states and growing rapidly. 
 
Thanks,
Thomas 
 
(2 comments)

minneapolis: Showhomes Home Staging Featured on CBS in Minneapolis - 03/17/08 04:16 AM
Showhomes Home Staging Featured on CBS in Minneapolis
To View the Video Clip, click here:
http://wcco.com/video/?id=34255@wcco.dayport.com 
 
Home Managers Could Help Your Home Sell Faster http://www.showhomesminneapolis.com/
With the housing market in a slump, home sellers are looking for new ways to stand out and some are turning to house managers to transform their properties.
House managers basically take staging to a whole new level, by turning ordinary homes into model homes.
Realtor Mike Strand showed off a Minneapolis townhouse that has three bedrooms, four bathrooms and costs $600,000.

"This home went on the market in late August, around Labor Day, so it's been on … (0 comments)

 
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