THE LATEST TREND IN HOME STAGING - A Hired Occupant/Stager!
NASHVILLE TN-BASED STAGING COMPANY CONTRACTS RESIDENT MANAGERS FOR HIGH-END HOMES TO INCREASE CHANCES FOR QUICK SALE!
Most selling or buying real estate these days have heard of the concept of "Staging" a property to sell. The process involves an ultra-detailed cleaning, coupled with proper furniture placement and decorating to create the highest level of potential "wow" from the moment a prospective buyer walks in the door.
Several of us on Dean's Team Chicago - myself, my wife, Sue Moss, and our Buyer's Specialist Kathleen Weaver-Zech are each designated Accredited Staging Professional Real Estate Agents.
One clever entrepreneur, Thom Scott, from Showhomes.com, takes the concept of staging one step further. Knowing the statistics that properties which are vacant typically fetch less money than those occupied, and vacant homes take longer to sell, his company contracts families to not only live in the high-end homes of sellers they represent, but to keep them in tip-top, highly-staged showing condition as well.
Of higher-bracket homes, Scott says, "The vacancy rate there is really staggering. We're used to seeing 10 or 20 percent of upscale homes [for sale] being vacant, but now it's about 40 percent."
What is "upscale?" Of course, that sales price varies from market to market - but the usual minimum price is $400,000. ShowHomes.com currently represents roughly two dozen homes in the Chicago Metro Area.
The "Resident Managers" the company hires move in and maintain the house for as long as it takes to sell it - perhaps as little as a few months. These managers pay ShowHomes.com a monthly fee of about $1,200 per month to stay in the home, keep it staged, and immediately available for showings. The rent - a virtual bargain, as many upscale home rentals exceed $3,000 per month.
Resident Managers must have appropriate, high-end furniture - or it will be supplemented by the staging company. They must pass criminal background checks. And they must keep the home immaculate at all times - just in case a short-notice showing is scheduled!
"We've never had trouble finding managers—everybody wants to live in a $2 million or $3 million home," Scott says.
Recent downturns in home sales, especially among some higher priced homes in and around Chicago, has added a new wrinkle to the potential Resident Manager profile - they are typically those who had difficulty selling their previous home, and are frightened to purchase a new upscale home in today's real estate market. They are used to keeping a home staged and clean to show, and would be ready to move quickly if needed.
The fee for sellers using Showhomes.com is typically one percent of the listing price up-front, plus an additional "Success Fee" between 0.75% and 1% of the eventual sales price.
See Mary Umberger's column in today's Chicago Tribune for more info.
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
