Rudy Bachraty’s Real Estate Blog

The news is everywhere. First time home buyers now have an extension to get their $8,000 tax credit. They will have to have a signed contract by April 30th and existing homeowners who have lived in their home for more than 5 years are eligible for a $6,500 tax credit. More details on the Tax Credit extension can be found on our corporate blog.

So I hope to see all of you sharing this very imporatant information with all your local readers on Trulia and beyond. If you have not done so already, please write a blog post highlighting the tax credit extion details as well as the new program for existing homeowners.

If and when you do, please leave us a link to your post either on this blog post or on my question here.

Thanks all!

We'd love to see what you guys are dressing up as on Halloween. Please add your photos to your Trulia blogs and leave the link in the comment section below or add them to our Trulia Facebook fan page. And if you're not a fan already, please join, we'd love to have ya!

Have a happy and safe time trick or treating all.

* Update - The new location of the event is located at 4490 Glidden Way, Fremont CA 94536

On Thursday November 5th, 2009, Trulia, along with Trulia Mayor Carl Medford and the home sellers, is hosting a free educational, social networking and wine tasting Open House event in Fremont, California. When it comes to social media, some people refer to it as an online cocktail party. Well, we’re bringing the online connections that have been made, offline for a little party of our own.

You see, the back story here is that the home seller of this fantastic Victorian home located in Fremont, California found his real estate agent, Carl Medford, on Trulia. As one of our first 5 Trulia Mayors, Carl’s idea was to host a Trulia Voices real estate networking event at the home of one of his Trulia clients. After a little brainstorming, we decided to incorporate some educational marketing material and Wine tasting into the open house as well. So if you are from Fremont or the surrounding areas and will be in Fremont on November 5th, please stop by, we’d love to meet you face to face.

Here are the details:

• Date: Thursday November 5th, 2009
• Time: 3-5 pm - Broker and Agent educational & networking session
• Time: 5-8 pm Networking event open to all - Home Buyers, Sellers, local businesses
• Address: *Updated - 4490 Glidden Way, Fremont CA 94536 i
• Meet some Trulians
• Meet Carl and the home sellers
• Learn some online marketing tips that can help you and your business
• Learn how being proactive on Trulia’s real estate social networking community can help you connect with home buyers and sellers
• Carl will share how blogging on Trulia has helped him create a significant online presence that has transformed his business.
• Meet other local Trulia Voices from Fremont and surrounding areas
• Network with Fremont area real estate agents, brokers and other professionals
  
• Enjoy the free Expresso Bar and hors devours
• Free Wente Wine tasting
  

If you plan on attending, please leave a comment here or register on our Facebook event page or on Eventbrite.

* The new location of the event is located at 4490 Glidden Way, Fremont CA 94536

In today’s economy and specifically at this time of the year, many companies are battening down the hatches, especially in terms of hiring. Today, we welcomed 6 new Trulians, a.k.a. newlians to the team. As a start-up, Trulia does it’s best to stay lean, nimble and innovative. So when the opportunity arises to add key pieces to our starting line up, we take advantage of it. Today is such a day.

At Trulia, we believe in BOFFI, so everybody’s voice counts. Each team member is encouraged to be  a DIY self-starter by sharing their thoughts and ideas for the betterment of the company. In the spirit of DIY, today’s newlians were presented with the challenge of putting together their own chairs. They did not disappoint. With passion and enthusiasm, they accomplished their first tasks at Trulia.

So a big welcome to everyone. Together, we can continue to bring our users the very best online real estate experience.

P.S. Trulia is still hiring so please visit our jobs page.

Jeanne Feenick shares a Trulia success story of how first time home buyers Alex and Olga found Jeanne on Trulia Voices. And ultimately, how she helped them find their home in New Jersey.

Thanks for sharing Jeanne!

Fast Company Magazine mentioned Trulia’s Layar augmented reality application as one of the Top 5 to watch.

According to Fast Company:

Trulia for Android

The real-estate search site uses Layar’s Reality Browser to overlay listings on top of a Google phone’s camera view. Scan a neighborhood’s available properties and even connect to the realtors.

For those of you with an iPhone 3GS, it’s available for you to download in the Apple Itunes store.