Tag Archives: Showhomes

Entrepreneur magazine ranked Showhomes 214th in its annual list of the top 500 franchise companies. The Nashville-based home staging company also ranked in the top 50 low-investment businesses, top 100 fastest growing franchise systems, and top 100 home-based businesses. Founded in 1986, Showhomes focuses on vacant properties. Franchisees recruit and train live-in home managers to stage and maintain the home while it is on the market.

According to Showhomes, a nationally franchised network of home stagers, staging a vacant home can keep squatters from moving in, a rising problem in the struggling housing market. A total of 19 million homes were vacant in the first quarter of 2010, reports the U.S. Census Bureau. Squatters are even occupying million-dollar homes in what has been called ""mansion squatting."" Actor Randy Quaid and his wife were recently caught squatting inside a $1 million property they previously owned in Southern California.