Staging a house for sale with furniture is nothing new. Putting real people in the picture is another story.

Spacious four-bedroom executive home in upscale Nashville neighborhood. Monthly rate: Too good to be true.

The catch? You have to keep the house spotless and be ready to disappear with 30 minutes notice.

It’s home staging taken to a whole new level. Instead of simply decorating a vacant house or condo with nice furniture, a couple of rugs and some art, this staging includes actual people.

It’s a win-win, as an otherwise-vacant house seem more like home to a prospective buyer, and tidy, disciplined caretakers get a great place to live at a fraction of going rate.

“They told me the whole process, and it just seemed like a good deal,” says one such “Home Manager’, a Centennial Medical Center physician who, following a divorce, relocated from Oak Hill to a property in Green Hills. For him, the monthly rate for a 4-bedroom home was well worth the offset of a potential sale.

“They ask you to do as much as you can to furnish it, and they will help you if you’re missing a few pieces. They gave me a few weeks to get situated, and it has worked out fine,” he adds.

He moved into the property in January and says it’s shown on average one to three times per week. Realtors give him a day’s notice, but even if a call comes for a same-day viewing, he’s ready.

“I have to keep it presentable, so I have a maid come in one and a-half days a week,” he adds. “If my kids have been here, I make sure they pick up after themselves, and I keep the place pretty neat.

“I’m not decorating it a lot, because it could sell at any time, but it’s given me a good place to be while I’m transitioning between selling my home and looking for something else.”

It’s a formula that seems to work for Nashville-based Showhomes, which proclaims itself “America’s largest home staging company” with 75 franchises in 24 states.

“There is an increased acceptance that staging is hugely critical in order to get the best sale price for your house, and so people are more receptive for it than they might have been in the past,” says Bert Lyles, Showhomes’ CEO and a former adjunct faculty member at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management.

“It was just a growing trend for a long time, but it’s much more the norm now. And a service like ours can really add to – and change – that landscape.”

Staging has become big business, complete with certifications (Accredited Staging Professional) and organizations such as the Real Estate Staging Association. Placing actual people in homes is is not new but is catching on.

Showhomes works with banks, Realtors and owners to find Home Managers for empty properties. These “home managers” are tasked with keeping the property spotless at all times and must have high-quality furnishings. They also have to clear out within a half hour if a potential buyer is en route to view the property.

In other words, they have to be willing to live open to scrutiny.

“There is an increased acceptance that staging is a hugely critical in order to get the best sale price for your house, and so people are more receptive for it than they might have been in the past,” Lyles says. “It was just a growing trend for a long time, but it’s much more the norm now. And a service like ours can really add to, and change, that landscape.”

For Lyles, the time is right. He sees the thousands of vacant properties in the Middle Tennessee area, many of them foreclosures, as blank canvases. And he’s got the paint box.

“If you walk into a house and see furniture in one room, or maybe two, you know it’s vacant,” he says. “If you walk into a home that looks well cared for, with food in the fridge and clothes in the closets, then you can see how effectively you could utilize that space. Buying a house is a big financial decision, no matter what the economy’s like. Even if it’s a good deal, you’re still going to be uncertain if you’re not sure what a sofa would look like over by the fireplace.”

The concept isn’t yet a solid hit with every Realtor, but its success does show that many are willing to color outside the lines in a tough environment, says Kenneth Bargers, a Realtor with Pilkerton Realtors’ Brentwood office.

“Listing agents want homes off the market as quickly as possible, and if the owner is willing to cooperate with something like this, and everyone’s working as a team, there’s nothing wrong with trying something different to stage a home,” Bargers says.

“I think with a service like this you’re talking about larger-square-foot homes, but this would be something to do just like working with clients to look at the lighting, the windows, all the features that might need some attention to help make the sale happen more quickly.”

Lyles says his business model allows him to price Showhomes’ staging services lower than more traditional, furniture-only competitors.

Like his screening of “home managers,” Lyles is also careful about potential franchisees. It’s more important to find a good fit than just a willing business person, he says.

“It’s really important that you find that good local business owner who’s plugged in, but that the market also has the right type of homes for us,” he says.

“Put those two things together and we have seen a franchisee ramp up some very high volume in a short time. Nobody’s going to confuse Los Angeles and Orange County with Little Rock, but the principles for our business work the same on each market, and our franchisees in each location have done quite well.”

Next up is more growth, but across the country and in Showhomes’ own backyard.

“We’d like to be in more than 100 markets within a year; that’s kind of a magic milestone for us,” Lyles says. “But we’re also paying attention to things here at home. We’ve built our business very effectively in Davidson County, particularly in the Green Hills area, but we’re looking to expand southwards and increase our presence in Williamson County and some of the neighboring counties as well.”