Jean Joh - SF Peninsula Real Estate

My thinking is, if I'm going to invest a weekend afternoon away from my family, I want my open houses to be productive. I'm sure we all have something else we could be doing with our time. So, here are a few ideas of things that I've found to make my open houses even more worth my time:

1) Do something special for the neighbors. Have a special "sneak preview" open house for neighbors on a Saturday. Whenever I can, I also like to print out invitation postcards and go around the neighborhood to personally invite neighbors to the open house. A fellow agent takes her remaining cookies/snacks around to the neighbors after her open houses and has made some good contacts there.

2) Advertise on the internet. Many of you are probably already doing this, but if you're not, you're really missing out on some good advertising. Craigslist.com is a great source of free advertising. I also use postlets.com to generate a nicely formatted webpage to use in craigslist and my other internet advertising.

3) Be creative with your open house times. As mentioned earlier, consider doing a special open house on Saturday just for the neighbors. If the home is near a school, host an open house right after school gets out. Try having an open house during the week at lunch hour or twilight.

4) Think of creative snacks for people to take with them. This is especially useful if children come along. One idea: microwave popcorn with your business card attached and a "Thanks for popping by!" label on the front.

5) Provide detailed feedback to your sellers. Ask visitors for their thoughts about the home and write these down to pass on to your sellers. They will appreciate knowing what potential buyers think as well as any suggestions on how to improve the marketing of their home. Even if I'm not the listing agent, I like to send a report (w/o names) to the listing agent after each open house. We all have to help each other when we can, right?

6) Prepare a binder with other active listings in the area. This has several benefits: 1) Shows buyers how your home compares with others in the area, 2) Gives potential buyers a reason to stay a little longer and talk with you, and 3) Shows that you are an agent interested in going the "extra mile" to provide service.

7) Provide a "Recently Sold" sheet for visitors to take with them. This is a list of comparable homes in the area that have sold in the last three or six months, depending on activity. I put my contact information on the bottom of these sheets and have been surprised at how popular they are, especially with those who live in the area.

If you have any other creative suggestions, please share!

Heard the other day that Hyundai has a new Assurance Program. Apparently, if you buy a new car but lose your job within 12 months due to circumstances beyond your control, you can give the car back instead of worrying about the payments or ruining your credit.

Hmmm...was just wondering how it would be if we could do the same for selling homes? I have some clients who are hesitant about buying a home, because they are afraid they may lose their jobs in the near future, even if there is no indication that they will. Such a program, although obviously impossible because each home is individually owned, might help these people overcome their fears of the unknown. Now, THAT's a stimulus plan that might work.

Many first time home buyers know about the $7500 tax credit/loan that came out as part of the Economic Stimulus Package, and there have been some great articles here on AR that explain this Credit in detail. One of them is:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/661773/75-First-Time-Home

I thought it might be helpful to add that this credit can STILL be applied toward 2008 taxes if purchased within this year. So, for example, if someone purchases a home on March 31, 2009, they could use this when they file their taxes in April. OR, if they purchase a home before July 1st, when this credit expires, they may want to request an extension for the filing of their 2008 taxes, so that this can be included.

Of course, for specific details, it's always best for each person to speak with their tax advisor or accountant, but this is yet another incentive for first time buyers to buy soon. Interest rates are fantastic and home prices are more affordable than they've been in a long time, especially here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I hope many people will take advantage of the opportunities that are out there right now.

First time buyers - don't miss this chance!

Fellow agents - it might be a good idea to contact all your first time buyer leads and make sure they are informed about this.