At the end of this month, I will be launching and hosting a “Spring Clean Fling” for two of my favorite San Jose neighborhoods.  It entails a day of a community garage sale as neighbors gather for a block party with fun in mind for all.

As amarketing guru and representative for the Allen Heights and Los Paseos tract neighborhood, I thought I’d take the chance and create a way for folks in these neighborhoods to clear and clean out their homes, environmentally savvy at no cost to them.

Participation from these folks is minimal - they first need to find stuff around their homes that they are willing to sell and second, they just need to host their own garage sale on their driveway the day of the event. 

I’ll be taking on the rest by providing:

All advertising, including signs, paper, and Internet presence for the big event

A website to advertise and promote larger items folks may have to sell to help allure in customers

A merchandiser to postion their items for sale to make it more attractive to potential bargain hunters

A estate sales representative to help in pricing items

A jumpy house and coloring contest for the kids

Booklets with detailed information about the neighborhood for any potential buyer who likes what they see in these pocket neighborhoods.

A consultation service for folks considering making a move or that perhaps would like some help in re-designing their current home’s interior.

Lastly, and best of all,

A clean up pick up service the day after the event for the left over items that did not sell and the homeowner no longer wants.  I have hired a handy helper to haul away large garbage items, hazardous paint and oil items, E-Waste and possibly other  items in order to help the folks of these two neighborhoods get past this daunting task. 

I’m doing this for two reasons,

1.) I hope to prove my savvy marketing ability to folks who may have been on the fence about listing or buying through me.

and

2.) I hope to earn immediate and future business from them as well as their referrals.   

I also love the fact that i will be providing something different that is helping bring the neighborhood together like the ol’ days - I hope the event turns out to be a fun block party and a chance for all of us to meet and greet each other as we mingle together to welcome the warm months ahead of us.

I was traveling from Santa Clara, through Central San Jose, past Campbell, and into Los Gatos when something unusual caught my eye.  Among the sea of open house directional signs stood Marilyn Monroe holding her very own directional sign!  The gal was smaller in size than the real diva (but still super cute!) - or perhaps it was the giant glittery, sparkly sign she was holding made her look so petite.   Now I couldn’t stop by the home for sale that Marilyn was dancing and alluring the folks who were driving by to go to, for it was not on my buyers list of scheduled toured homes.  But the idea and the start of the open house wars was apparent.  Very clever (and a bit cheesy) marketing indeed.  Hey, if it sells the house, who cares, right!

Another fabulous new idea that has caught T.V. media attention on the network channel TLC - Date My House, a new show that premiered yesterday.  The concept is easy, this savvy, handsome agent stages and redesigns his clients homes and courts prospective buyers in as if it was a date all with yummy drinks and roses.  Goes to show, gimmicks are working - if anything the man did land a TV show from his efforts.

The idea is that when a seller gets exhausted from the process of selling (or their agent), he will accept any kind of low ball offer, even one that is far below the true value of property.  You want buyers to realize you are a motivated seller, that you are anxious to dispose of your property.  However, you don’t want them to realize you are highly motivated.  It’s a fine line, but the difference is important.  When things look its darkest, when you just want to wash your hands of the property, when you feel you can’t stand attempting to sell it for another instant, that’s the time to stand back and ask yourself this question: “Am I experiencing real estate sales exhaustion?”  just knowing it’s not necessarily your circumstances, but a psychological effect, can be quite helpful.

If you are experiencing this effect, then it’s time to do positive things, relative to real estate.  Besides sprucing up and improving the property, giving it more “curb appeal”, or even doing some neighborhood clean-up, which I recommend, you should summon your agent and ask what other options are out there for additional advertising.  “Niche marketing” is on the forefront and tip of the tongue of most savvy Realtor agents.  Know who and where your next buyer is coming from.  For example, does your neighborhood support a type of lifestyle with its surrounding amenities?  Cater to advertising to such people at these places (with permission).  

Another great and successful option is to be a different kind of seller by catering to the agents rather than the buyers, in short, before you sell to a buyer, you first have to sell to the agents.  A home offering more commission or a bonus to the agents does get the opportunity of more showings, especially when the market has down-turned.  If you are  opposed, try considering other options like promotional giveaway ideas, the more creative the idea, the better, and the more attention you’ll  receive.  Suggestions are but not limited to, offering to pay for gardening, pool, handyman services for a specific amount of time, offer to pay for Home Owner fees or pool/gym/spa membership fees if your neighborhood has these amenities available, offer to pay for a home warranty up to 10 years as a piece of mind to the new owners, or offer a gas card with six months worth of gasoline to the buyer or you could offer such a prize to the agent who brings in and successfully closes the sale, or offer to pay for utilities, taxes, or even mortgage payments for 6 months or more for the buyers.   Since buyers are concerned with the lifestyle change that owning and financing a home will bring on, hit them where it’s felt the most - in the wallet.  Offering these perks will surely get attention your way and shows buyers that you are not like every other typical seller.   

Another option if your feeling exhausted is to rent out a room or even the whole house to gain some profit to cover the mortgage.  Talk with property managers for they may have ways to convert tenants to buyers and, over a period of time, may actually be able to sell your home for you!

The real estate market is like the tides that roll in.  When a storm hits the rolling begins! keep your hands and feet int he boat and keep reminding yourself - this too shall pass.

I decided that it had been long enough since my husband and I moved into our Ponderosa pad, that it was time to connect heart to heart with my neighbors. 

I’ve been watching (and walking my neighborhood; PS: down 18 pounds! To those who are my past readers & RSS Feed fans), all year long.  Out on my adventures, I’ve contemplated the work it takes into maintaining a happy home.  I decided I wanted to show my appreciation this past Valentines day to my neighbors as I delivered handmade chocolate tools to those folks who have made the neighborhood a better place to live.   

As I see it, these neighbors all deserve a job well done for helping me out.  I’m thankful and appreciative by their efforts of upgrading their exterior and property.  Their upgrades helped me retain a better value for my property. Their purchases really do say a lot about a neighborhood.  Any great agent will illustrate many key factors to look for when shopping neighborhoods.  Looking at what the “Jones are doing” i.e. the neighbors, is one of them.  

I also now know from being a homeowner for 5 years, it’s not easy to be a homeowner and have to make some big and sometimes quick decisions.  That maintenance and  care are just one of the many elements that goes into being a property owner.  It’s a lot of work to pay for, choose, and go through such remodeling efforts.  So I wanted to let these folks who have taken a step to improve their properties a big sweet thank-you.

There was no strings attached, no call me note.  Just real thoughtful appreciation.  And to all those folks who did get my note, I appreciate the invite in and showing me around at your home’s interior upgrades too.  These days not everyone takes the time to get to know the neighbors.  I’m glad I did, that was the biggest reward I could ask for.

Pam’s research embarks that’s there is more to this day than just marriage proposals and babies.

 http://www.pamwinterbauer.net/blogs/pam_winterbauer/archive/2008/02/19/trivia-fun-facts-about-leap-year.aspx

Also, this author found a math calculation error and explains how to fix this connundrum about Leap Year on Microsoft’s Open cal program.  By determining the date in which leap year occurs, and no it’s not every four years - read on! Just another tid bit of knowledge I was unaware of that the Internet was so kind to share.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214019

Hey, but I never did find out about the post office collector’s piece - anybody know the answer.  O’well, I’m off to mail out my campaign to my sphere of influence anyway.

The idea was recently shot down at a City Council meeting on November 20th, the reason:  Liqueur.  Apparently, there seems to be too many liquor licenses in that zone, despite that the run down Rite-Aid (along with their current liquor license) is moving out.  The concern to those voting on the issue was that this may have a negative impact on the lower income apartment neighborhood that is adjacent to the proposed site. 

Now, I may be wrong here, but I’m sure Rite-Aid’s cheap generic vodka brand at $10. has more of an impact than a $12. bottle of organic wine.  I don’t know of any “hoods” where the beverage of choice is organic. 

There seems to be a larger political issue at hand here, for they have now pushed back the opportunity of Whole Foods coming to the Blossom Hill Road area.  This shopping center has been a sore spot for some time to the residents of Almaden Valley, I’m partial to them doing something to it that will help bring up the area despite the added congestion it will add to the intersection at Almaden Expressway.

Lastly, I’m a big time organic produce shopper and an everyday juicer kind of gal.  Intriqued, I asked the produce folks at the recently rennovated Lucky’s and Safeway markets that service this surrounding community about their plans to compete with the arrival of Whole Foods; shockingly they were unaware that they had some competition moving in.  I guess they would rather keep their heads in the lettuce section.

Joann Landers, Willow Glen’s local blog writer/taxi driver put it best; “This information will either make me feel empowered, or it will scare the bejesus out of me”.

For me, it empowers and supports my thirst for knowledge about specific neighborhhoods.  I believe having such information readily available to the general public can be a huge benefit of stopping crime in its tracks.  It makes the community more aware of the issues that occur for specific areas and gives the average resident the opportunity to keep their eyes and ears open to such events.  As I have learned first hand, it is never wise to get directly involved when trying to stop a crime in progress, but it is beneficial to have your cell phone programmed to call SJPD’s “other emergency number, 311″ just in case.   

Recently my car and my hubby’s car was broken into, we learned later after talking to neighbors that we were one of several cars in and around the same month that it had happened to.  we didn’t report it since most neighborhood crime happen in sprees, instead my neighbors pulled together and launched hidden cameras. (So don’t even think about it thiefs!) - Word of advice, do yourself and your neighbors a favor keep an eye out and a light on.  

Residents can visit www.sjpd.org to learn more. By the way, San Jose is the first City nationwide to release this software product.

And, as with everything this web site also comes with a disclaimer: “No warranty or guarantee is made nor implied regarding the content, geographic accuracy, timeliness, completeness, sequence, or accuracy of any of the information provided herein. The reader should not rely on the data provided herein for any reason. The information is provided strictly as a courtesy to the public”.

Now what does the future hold for us?

If MLS is going to allow to agents to show their successes, then I think they should give an opportunity to the buyer and the seller of any particular transaction to rate both agents on their performance.  MLS and frankly Realtor.com should think about turning it over to the people - and let’s see who does the job better really - and who earns the mark of showing that property and claiming its closing success on any of their marketing materials.