SHOWHOMES OF ATLANTA

Our first surprise was that we were asked to take the home off of the market for 10 days?TEN days?while the manager moved in. Although Showhomes later denied that this had been requested or would ever be requested, I have the email from the owner of the company requesting it. This, I believe, had a deleterious effect on how quickly the home sold, because early interest by potential buyers couldn?t be followed up on. The manager family chosen had a history, as confided to one of our neighbors, that would not have been acceptable to me, had I known. In all fairness, I don't think that Showhomes knew of this history, either. But if you think about it, why would a family have ?fabulous? furniture but no place to put it? Not many reasons that are good ones. Then we learned that Showhomes get their ?managers? by advertising on sites where people go looking for homes to rent. Showhomes charges these families rent that the manager told us was high, despite the fact that these people are performing a service that inconveniences them considerably. Having to have the home available for showing between 9 AM and 9 PM, can?t be easy. So in a sense, Showhomes rents out my house?which it doesn?t own or pay taxes on?to someone else and collects the rent. What they do provide is reassurance that someone is living in the home, and that is a big plus if you are no longer living nearby. It was very good to hear that the furniture looked great and that the home showed well. However, it was not a reassurance when we learned that, after the extended moving-in period, the family would be moving out after about 5 weeks! Despite the considerable effort put forth to make sure that the managers would like our home?several other potentials passed it up?there was no guarantee to us that they would stay for a specific period. You aren?t allowed to communicate directly with the manager at all and our agent was told by one of the owners: ?Do not contact or communicate with the home manager directly. This is outlined in their agreement and if managers are caught talking to the home owner or to the agent that is grounds for termination from our program. Showhomes needs to stay the primary contact for all parties involved?As we discussed, it is not advisable to show the home until after the 10 day move in period as the home will be in move mode until the 10th day when we send pictures to you. It can still be shown, though I would not advise it for the best showing.? Needless to say, as partners in a business deal, we would never again do business with a company that discusses our ?being caught? talking to another partner. This is not the ?win-win-win? situation that was described to us. Another negative aspect was that Showhomes refused to return phone calls and only communicated via email, which is very time-demanding if you need an answer quickly (as in this query from a neighbor: ?What about all of your mail that is stuffed into the box??) And, they were not consistently timely in responding to emails. Immediately after we signed up with Showhomes, the owner and wife (co-owner) sent a short email telling us that they would no longer be available as they were moving to Florida to expand the business. We were subsequently helped by another employee who was very nice, but not always quickly responsive. We did receive and accept an offer on the home that was made during the time the manager lived there, so the ultimate goal was achieved. But the process was pretty much agony. There aren?t good alternatives, though: having the home ?staged? usually covers only a few rooms and is astronomically expensive. Better perhaps to get minimal furniture at Ikea and then donate it afterwards.