Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Promotional literature: marketing stuff

[Magenta Raine (magenta]

Dear Friends,
I found out what the problem is;
please make sure you insert the coho list address when you reply or 
send something to list. Your mailer, like mine, probably has a thing 
for SEND REPLIES TO:  in addition to the TO or SEND TO line.  

> One idea which may be helpful is that in many places there is something
> called the Multiple Listing Service, which is how realtors get info
> about homes for sale.  In the Seattle area this is on a computer network
> and new listings are updated freqently (4 times a day). Spend some time
> talking with a Realtor and see if you can get a multiple listing. This
> will put your project at the same level as all the other housing
> projects around. 
> 
> The rules vary I guess about how different MLS systems works, and there
> is usually a FAQ for owner/ sellers.  In our area there is a pretty well
> organized owner seller business which charges a flat fee for services
> such as multiple listings. Are you listed each Sunday in the Real estate
> section of the local papers? This is hugely effective at reaching large
> audiences, and a well worded ad will do some screening as well.
> 
>  You may also find some advantages to listing with a realtor, especially
> if you are very clear about the community aspect of the place. You will
> have to pay a percentage, but if you want the sales it might be worth
> it.
> 
> I have seen a great reluctance amoung cohousing types to use
> "traditional" real estate venues for fear of attracting the "wrong" type
> of people.  I think this is kind of silly, especially if YOU write the
> ads to INCLUDE the important screening facts about your project. People
> will self select based on what they want and it is not likely a person
> who is anti-community is going to move in with you unless you don't tell
> people about it.   They may come for an orientation tour, but they won't
> buy in.
> 
> A foreclosed home at Sharingwood was sold by a Realtor who worked very
> closely with us, and when the community found a buyer (who responded to
> an ad in the paper) she split some of her commission with us since we
> essential did the house show (and a whole lot more).
> 
> Spend some money on advertising.  Large ads in the Sunday paper command
> a lot of attention. be willing to spend $2500 to sell your units. In my
> area, $250 buys a 1/4 page ad in the Sunday real estate section. That's
> a huge place to run your message to a large market.
> 
> Sharingwood's realtor ran a regular cheap column space ad that was
> buried in the Sunday paper realty section for an open house ($12) and
> got 40 people on a Sunday in Feb when it was snowing!. A 1/6th page ad
> full of the joys and goodness of cohousing community in spring would
> probably cause so many people to respond, we'd have a riot. 
> 
> However, I am not sure this strategy would work for projects in the
> "dream stage". I think you would need at least unit plans to sell before
> mass advertising would be successful. 
> 
> Rob Sandelin
> Sharingwood
> 
> 
Magenta is a writer, artist & e-mail junkie in Oakland, Ca. 
Magenta [at] captain.electron.org
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