Hi Jon,

When the market gets tough, the tough get really, really creative!  WOW!  Let us know how this turns out.  It could be a really great story.

Bill - I already told my daughter she needs to write a story. She has two dogs rescued from being put to sleep, then they got a snake, and they have two beautiful mice.

But you are correct on creativity. First class. Would you be sirprised if this would be for some time the most talked about $1,250,000 home in the area?

That is very cool. Now I'm trying to think of some ideas on what to write, I have tons of great pet stories.  This reminds me of a buyer I had that wanted to ask 1 million people for just $1 and then she could buy the house of her dreams :)

Bryan -isn't it enticing? $200 and a heartfelt story about your pet, and you are the owner of $1,250,000. And it is all yours, you can live in it free of mortgage, and pay about $1,000 a months between utilities, taxes and insurance, or sell it and get a smaller home, and some money to retire early.

SO, get to the pen and paper (LOL)

WOW - maybe I should polish this blog I wrote about my dog Harley.....

http://activerain.com/blogsview/233030/Harley-In-Loving-Memory

She was a great friend and companion - born with everything stacked against her! 

Ruthmarie-  Hey, as long as you can do it in 100 to 300 words, and touch the hearts of the jury hte way she touched yours...

Jon, Somewhere there is a women living in a one bedroom condo with 47 cats. Her neighbors will give her the entry fee hoping she wins and moves. But then she won't be able to afford the taxes and utilities(Probably alot more than 1,000 a month) so 18 months later they will be trying to evict her but by that time she'll have over 400 cats and animal rights activists won't let her be evicted till they find homes for all the cats.

Jon:

Interesting idea.  Processing fee?  Hmmm........

Hugh - What a dim outlook. You are pessimistic today?

Bill - That's what I have in the back of my wicked mind. But hey, how many times people are aiming high just to get the crumbels?

So, it will be very interesting to watch this one, as I am sure I won't watch the copycats.

I got a feeling that she will pull it off.

Jon,

Whats the difference in this and buying lottery tickets?

Mike - I do not think there is any. What stunned is the way she tackled the sale of her home. It would have otherwise be a stale $1,250,000 property among other thousands and thousands of similar or better ones, but now there is a lot of people who know about it.

I do not exclude that one of the ideas behind this promotion is just to get somebody to look at it, and give her the offer, and she might cancel the whole thing and declare it sold.

It is the marketing angle that caught my eye. It is the creativity, that surprised me.

Hi everyone. I'm Miss Clementina Marie Giovannetti, the owner of the $1,250,000.00 Ocala Mansion - Best "Pet Lover Essay Contest". I had a blast reading all of your post! Especially the one from Hugh who wrote about the woman living in a one bedroom with 47 cats! You made my day. That my friend is funny. Anyway, my Essay Contest is the real thing. And I would like to invite you to tour my Ocala Mansion on Wednesday, 4.23.08 from 12noon to 3pm. All 5,200 sq ft, 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, not to mention over 2 acres right in the heart of downtown Ocala, Florida. We have already received several essays since our annnouncement last Monday. Someone is definately going to WIN my Ocala Mansion and like you said, the Winner can do absolutely anything they want with it after they win! They can live in it, free and clear with no mortgage and a whole lot of equity or they can sell it for whatever price they choose. Kids and not-for-profit organizations can also enter! It's a win-win for everyone. The contest runs officially from 4.23.08 to 7.23.08, however, if for some reason we do not receive the minimum entries 6250 by then, I will extend the contest, because my National Book Tour for my new book: Caesar - The Greatest Love Story Ever Told By A Dog is being released Nationwide at the end of July. So, after an appearance on Ellen or Oprah, I'm confident that I will have my minimum entries and be able to hand over the keys to my Ocala Mansion to the Winner. So let everyone you know. It's world-wide. And start writing!  www.ocalamansion.com

My best wishes to everyone!

Sounds like someone has a plan.  Hopefully it will work or Miss Giovannetti will have a lot of money.

Miss Clementina Marie Giovannetti - your comment was very unexpected and it is trully the sign of changing times. As far as I can understand, you are not an active member of this community, and the mere fact that you found it shows how the world has changed.

So, this is a welcoming sign. And I will see you on April 24. I will introduce myself.

Gene - I did not get this OR. She will have a lot of money if the plan works. To think that she is doing it for $20 is not serious. Imagine reading 6,250 entries, and then read the ones that passed the first step, and then again and again, this is not a small feat.

I spoke to a publisher, who had a Thanksgiving story contest and they said this is so much work, and they had just a few hundred entries to go through.

Guys, stop being cynical, look at the whole endeavor and get surprised by the creativity, and by the implementation. How many of us would wake up and say that they will get 6,250 do something that we want?

Let's give the lady the credit that she deserves.

Thank you Jon! AndI look forward to meeting you on Wednesday. 4.23.08. The official Press Conference and Open House kicks off at 12 noon. From our e-mails we are expecting a great crowd, so allow plenty of time to get a parking spot.  Following the press conference the public will have the opportunity to tour the Ocala Mansion until 3 p.m. I will be available to answer everyone's questions. We have already received several essays in the mail! Someone is definately going to WIN the Ocala Mansion. Fox 35 Orlando News has also invited the Winner, their pet, and I on the News following the Essay Contest. I'm sure there will be other media invitations the moment they find out that someone actually WON the Ocala Mansion just by writing the Best Pet Lover Story Essay and  a $200 entry fee. Thank's so much for starting this BLOG. I appreciate it. And I look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday 4.23.08 at the Ocala Mansion!

My best regards,

Miss Clementina Marie Giovannetti

wwww.ocalamansion.com

Just wanted to remind everyone, that on Wednesday, 4.23.08 at 12 noon we are holding an Official Press Conference and an Open House for the the general public to visit the Ocala Mansion. This will be the only time the public will be able to tour the Ocala Mansion at 1315 SE 22nd. Ave, Ocala, Fl. 34471 prior to selecting the Winner! For more info http://www.ocalamansion.com/      

 For more information visit http://www.ocalamansion.com/ 

Clementina Marie - Thanks for the invitation. I plan to be there, and I am sure there will be plenty of others.

Clementina Marie - beautiful pictures

I'm skeptical about this. I just don't buy it. If I write the best entry and she doesn't get 6200+ entries, I've wasted my time? Even if I'm THAT good? I guess Jason and I need to unpack our monkeys kittens and break the bad news to them :(

*The word is "Lemon"*

hmmm..... 

Jon...you'll have to post about your experience. 

Jennifer -  I play Florida Lotto with way less chances to win and I forget it the next day. However, I have to say I was impressed by the way it is all structured. Even by the fact that if she does not get 6,250 entries, she can quit. THis is a weird business of selling a home for $1,250,000. So, it does not matter if you wrote the best essay, if the money is not there (she does not get the right price, the deal is off.

We may not like the arrangement, but who said life is fair?

Let me ask you that: Clementina Marie will most probably sell her home for $1,250,000. I also think she would sell a lot of her books, as many would try to familiarize themselves with her style. Did you here this name before? I didn't and I think a lot of people on AR didn't before.

So, no matter how this thing ends, she is the winner (and financially as well).

How many agents and brokers on the 23rd of July will close on a home appraised at $1,250,000 in a declining market and still close it for $1,250,000? I bet there are some that would tell their Sellers to reduce the price to $790,000 as there are not calls and not showings?

A darn good lemon this is.

Lola - I told my daughter that I pay $200 and she rights the story. For me it is fun, more than a Florida lotto, for her, whith 4 pets and a calling for writing is fun.

I was, however, very unpleasantly surprised by Clementina Marie's marketing machine, that turned into a spam machine. I ran into the same message and photo, as somewhere above on nearly all blogs I visited the other day.

So, Clementina Marie. Please, do not break the AR rules. We love to play the game fair. Even the best idea is only a good idea as long as it has been promoted the fair way. So, why not play it nice and fair?

This is one clever seller.  They know how to market.  We as real estate professionals can learn a lesson form this one to be creative.  Don't follow the crowd because the crowd doesn't know where to go.

Bronson - We can either applaud the clever way to market (even though we may not be doing it, as licensees, working for others, not as Principals) or get angry that some owner takes the matter in her own hands and is darn creative about how she is selling it.

Two things here: interesting idea and creative angle, and the power of marketing, where she is pulling quite a machine running it to success. Being able to combine these two would make the Seller a terrific Director of Marketing for any real estate company.

I saw the home and Miss Giovannetti and they are both lovelyand light filled.  Her idea is creative and wholesome . KUDOS! Good on you!

Well, there is no question about creativity and resourcefulness. Quite a challenge for everyone, so let's see how it unfolds

I'm enterring as are a few of my friends.  I think it's more wholesome than the Lottery and way more fun.  I'm almost as excited for whoever wins as i will be if I win it myself.  I did say ALMOST!.  I say, God Bless and God Speed!~

Wisteria Lane - hey, we spend more in Casinos and we know that we have little chance to win. We spend more on lottery with practically no chance to win.

So, if you feel that this is more fun, it is. Good luck!

Year ago I was searching a site where I could sell my house. I found really great site. It was called Fizber. There were great services. You can find them here http://www.fizber.com/sale-by-owner-home-services/index.htm.

You're right, if this catches on it could change a lot of things.  But, is a cool idea.

Kate - I looked at your profile, and I think you are new to AR. So I welcome you to AR.

I would also suggest that you familiarize yourself with the guidelines and netiquette, so that you can avoid some newbies mistakes, that most of us have made.

Susan - Very cool. I would love to see her succeed, but she didn't. I wrote a blog recently about it. If you want, here's the link: http://www.activerain.com/blogsview/548708/Pet-Lovers-Did-Not

You can borrow my puppy!

Christina Asad Edwards, REALTOR
2006 & 2007 Sales Masters Top Agent
Christina.AsadEdwards@RealLiving.com
www.teamedwards.info
mobile or text 937-205-4741 office 937-573-0082  fax 937-433-3561
Real Living Realty - #1 in OHIO!
Realty, Mortgage, Title, Relocation

Chirstina,

That's what my grown up children tell me, but with me out in the morning an back at 9-10, and nobody at home during the day, this is not an option.

I guess I will end up with a cat. But then I will retire.

Thanks for the offer

Guess I am too late. I just found your post. The mansion looks great. I clicked through to the site and the sites says the home is now listed. ah well.

Ken Jansen REALTOR Overland Park KS

Ken -  It was actually not that much about this mansion, but the creative way to market. We were curious whether creativity could overcome the market. As expected, the answer is no, even in the situation where the price did not matter, as nobody was going actually to pay the price, and it only the question how much she could clear.

As I said, I do not believe it wis worth more than half of that in today's market.

If you are thinking about a vacation property, I can get you an absolutely gorgeous place on the river, a true gem with a dock on a high bank, and for practically half of that price.