A broker in central California has been holding first-time
home buyer seminars since 2003. The seminars are designed to relieve the
apprehension renters may feel as they get ready to jump into the marketplace
for the first time. She uses a pressure-free setting to educate attendees on
every step of the buying process, start to finish.
The result: She generates 25 to 30 percent of her business
directly from the seminars, which on average draw 15 to 20 people. Some clients
are recommended to her from friends and relatives who attended the seminars,
she says.
“If you’re looking to build a business relationship with
the community, holding a seminar is worth it,” she says.
Hosting a home buying seminar is about providing sound and
truthful information and developing trust. Many times, potential home buyers
haven’t taken the first step and have no idea what is in store. The job of your
seminar is to put them at ease by giving them the best information about what
the process is and answering their questions.
So, how do you prepare and plan for your home buying
seminar? Here are ten tips that may help get you started.
1. Strategize! Decide what type of seminar you want
to host: First Home Buyers, Refinance, General Home Buyers, Retirement
Pay-down; and choose a partner like real estate professionals or other
specialists.
First decide the goal that will
determine what a successful Home Buying Seminar looks like, besides just
getting bodies through the door to snatch up your snacks and free pens. This
will help you target an audience and increase the chances of attracting
qualified leads. Potential customers usually needing the most help
are first time home buyers. However, those who haven’t bought for a while,
those who want to refinance and those who want to pay their houses down before
retirement offer other opportunities for more niche seminars. Decide how much
to cover and be succinct, since you don’t want the seminar to last longer than
the attention span of your attendees.
2. Send out invitations, gather materials and start
promoting your seminar.
Work
with your marketing team or agency to put together smart online and printed
materials to send out to potential seminar attendees, both within your
membership and outside of it. Then promote your seminar in branch with posters
and handouts, online with your website and on social media with your Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and other platforms. Use your email list for
invitations and promos.
3. Incentivize!
Offer
gift cards or a drawing for a prize for those attending. Offer breakfast, lunch
or snacks, depending on what time and day you choose for your seminar. Little
things that don’t cost a lot can draw in more curious people, who may turn into
customers.
4. Give them honest information.
Not
everyone will qualify, but helping everyone understand what’s in store will let
potential buyers know what they’re in for. Let people know that a lot goes into
how much house they can afford and what they have to do to qualify. Let them
know the advantages and disadvantages of home ownership, what their credit
score has to do with their potential loan amount, and what a home truly costs
over the length of the mortgage. Transparency throughout the process will
create trust.
5. Help them find a realtor.
While
this is not a must, having a short list of reliable and trustworthy realtors to
recommend is a good idea. Having a realtor at your seminar to answer questions
can also help inform your audience.
6. Guide them
to buy based on reality rather than emotion.
In
other words, inform them not to buy a house based on how much they love it. The
seminar is there to help them sort through the particulars of the home buying
process and separate emotion from fact. Most homeowners make decisions based on
their love of a particular house. Your seminar should help them look at the
property with a more critical eye so they don’t end up with a money pit.
7. Make sure they know that getting pre-approved is
hugely important.
This
isn’t the same as being prequalified, although some people use the terms
interchangeably. Being pre-approved gives them a realistic number to use while
house shopping and can also give an edge if multiple people are placing offers
on the same property. However, make sure they are realistic about what they can
actually afford versus what their bank-approved limit is, which could stretch their
finances.
8. Describe all the benefits of buying a home.
There
are many benefits of home ownership, aside from just having a place to call
home and raise a family. Have materials ready that accent things like equity,
property values, independence and tax benefits.
9. Make sure they know their financing choices and
acquaint them with all the requisite home buying documents.
First-time
home buyer breaks, refinancing, rate vs. term and other financing options
should be covered. Also, have all the forms they will need to apply for
financing and what they will need to fill out when they decide to get
pre-approved and buy.
10. Have
a loan specialist there to start the pre-approval process on the spot.
Don’t
pressure anyone, but let them know that there are loan specialists they can
talk with right there for more information and to get pre-approved. Catch them
when they are informed and excited to begin the home buying process. Often,
buyers are preoccupied with finding the home of their dreams and may not have
given any thought to a decision about working with a mortgage specialist. They’re
busy thinking about houses, so it’s partly the job of the seminar to get them
on track financially, so they know how much house they can afford so they can
shop smarter.
There are many things to consider when hosting a home buying
seminar, but this should give any credit union, financial institution or other
potential hosts a head start on making it all work.
To find out more about setting up successful home buying seminars, contact MPI.
