I am curious if anyone has ever held a first time homebuyer seminar in their office before and if they have had any luck. I was thinking about putting an ad online and in print with limited seating so a must for registering. I have never held one though and was looking for any suggestions.

you can do the same thing with a free no obligation phone call to get information on owning a home in the next 30-90 days! it is logistically easier for you as an agent. remember, the seminar is basically just a way to get in front of a buyer. if you can get em on hte phone and set up an appt in teh office, you will weed out all of the time vampires! i would get them qualified by a lender first, then head to the office to start the process. if you get those 2 things accomplished then i would put them in the "pretty darn serious" buyer catagory!

you could argue that you wont get as many leads that way, but i would argue that

more is not better; better is better (<Dirk Zellar said that)

often times an agent will be happy to work 10-20 soft leads instead of getting 2-3 hard leads taht will close fast.

it is your call, but i would focus on listings as those same buyers will end up calling you off of the internet and sign in front of the properties. if you have listings you will get buyer calls.

the roi in soliciting listings is higher tahn the roi in regards to the solicitation of buyers.

Thanks for the advice. I completely agree that listings are what attract buyer leads. I just feel that there are probably a ton of renters our there that would buy a home if they were educated on the topic and that a lot of "potential" first time home buyers just dont know where or how to get started. I think that if I put myself in their shoes and saw an ad for a local seminar to educate me on how to go about buying, I would probably go.

Although you are right. Better is Better! I like your suggestion on the telephone call idea. I might just have to try something like that first!

My office is doing them on a bi-monthly basis and it's working for us. The thing is, I enjoy educating people on the process. If your heart is in it, it will show and people will want to work with you. If it's just a marketing gimmick, I wouldn't bother because you will turn them off right away and they will tell people to stay away from you.

It seems to work better if no one else is doing them in your area. Plan on doing them consistently if you want better results. Don't be discouraged by a low turnout and don't get too excited by a big turnout. Keep at it and you'll see good results (and enjoy the process).

I love to help people (which is why I am in the business!) :) I work with so many first time home buyers and I can connect with them which is why I thought about holding one in the first place. I havent seen any offices in my area holding them so that is definitely a plus! Holding them on a consistent basis sounds like a great idea! In your office, do they call to register as there is probably limited seating?

I'm planning to do a lot of them in 2009. I've already registered to be HUD certified as a housing counselor, done the research on the community center expense and done some preliminary research on signage. It should be a great forum to get the message out that down payment assistance programs are still available despite what buyers hear in the news and from uninformed agents.

Ask a lender to attend with you as well. Helps take all the pressure off you. Home inspectors are generally willing to attend and speak as well.

You will run the risk of the borrower bypassing you and going directly to the lender.

I have never done that, but have heard that works. It would be good to hold together with a lender, and lender will not bypass you. It is a mutual interest, but it depends what is your relationship with the lender.

If you are looking to do an education to prepare renters to buy and own their first home think in terms of three sessions short if you want to do it a single visit longer if you want them to come back for more.
first explain loan process (qualifying, loan products, grant programs in your area, credit repair) tax benefits and costs of owning your homes (insurance, repairs, property taxes) have a lender, credit repair person, grant person if possible, insurance agent with you.
second explain why to use a REALTOR/agent, selecting home criteria, sources for school information, sex offenders, crime rates etc. this one you do on your own.
third explain buying process - offer & acceptance, home inspection, closing process. have inspector, home warranty person, escrow officer with you on this one.
presentaitons can be 10 to 30 minute glimpses of each subject or as detailed as line by line explanation of the HUD1 depending on time commitment.
Try to have it at a neutral site - people will go to a community center, church, school, etc. quicker than an office because in the office they "know" you are going to pressure them to sign something on the spot.
We didn't have much luck with preregistration - people would call for info but didn't want to commit their name to guarantee they;d be there. Hold them consistently and maybe expand and contract each "session" so they have a reason to come back but also don't waste their time if they can only come once.

You've "never done that..." My lender just wrote last week and advised that my client had contacted her directly asking for her preapproval letter. I wrote to that client and advised that I had her preapproval letter and inquired about what was going on. She hadn't been returning my calls or emails. She wrote back and let me go. This all happened by email. Again, I recommend that you develop the relationship with the prospect first before playing all of your cards up front.

I wouldn't plan on one, I would try to hold them regularly, once a month or so. I have an email relationship with another Realtor out east who has a lender that is a certified credit counselor, an insurance agent and himself. They offer snacks, everyone has handouts of their information, and he has closed several transactions from contacts he made at these seminars.

Attendance was spotty at first, but has been steady (I think they limit attendance to 12 to keep it personal and manageable).

Your seminar is only going to be as good as the content, so I would plan on a ton of research about what FTHB want to know and tailor your content accordingly.