Things to Love About Peabody, Massachusetts

1. The Northshore Mall is one of the many reasons Peabody is a favorite destination for shoppers.


2. Great location. Peabody is conveniently and centrally located near major highways route 128, route 95, route 1, and route 93. This convenient location leaves many residents feeling like they live in “the center of the world.” Want to get to Boston? Only 30 minutes or less during normal traffic. How about ski country? Just up the road a couple of hours and you are on the slopes in no time. Peabody is just a short distance from Logan International Airport and close to Beverly Municipal airport.


3. Brooksby Farm is an orchard and working farm that’s owned and managed by the City of Peabody. Brooksby Farm offers over 275 acres for cross country skiing, high school track races, and trails for walking.
   
   Truly, Brooksby Farm is a local favorite all year round. In the fall residents and visitors pick their own apples and enjoy hayrides. Children visit the outside stables and watch the animals roam. There is also a petting zoo. During the summer a camp program is offered on site. During the winter the retail store is open.
   
   Brooksby Farm is conveniently located near the North Shore Mall, so it’s easy to stop at the farm for fresh vegetables and fruit on your way home after a shopping trip. Brooksby Farm is available for weddings and other functions as well.


4. Low property taxes. Peabody has one of the lowest tax rates on the North Shore. The property taxes are currently only $7.76 per thousand. Peabody is partly able to create these low property tax rates due to the mix of industry and businesses that gives the city a strong commercial tax base. Some important areas for jobs and businesses are the North Shore Mall, Centennial Park, and Lahey Clinic.


5. Peabody has its own Municipal Light Plant that has the lowest rates on the North Shore. In addition to great rates, a 20% discount is granted if you pay your bill early. That’s quite a savings.


6. Peabody has its own water treatment plant and several pumping stations making Peabody self sufficient for its water supply.


7. Peabody is known for its annual International Festival, held every September. The International Festival is sponsored by the city and attracts people from all over New England to experience ethnic foods, music, dance, and art. The event usually attracts over 50,000 people each year. The International Festival is a showcase for and celebration of the deeply multi-cultural community of Peabody and its various ethnicities. This year's festival will take place Sunday, September 9, 2007 from 11:30AM to 5:30PM in downtown Peabody.


8. Excellent restaurants. Specific recommendations include:
   
   
   • Petrillo's. Great Italian food. They also have a take-out that's great
     when you're in a hurry. You need reservations on weekends.
   
   
   • Wardhurst. This family-owned restaurant specializes in Greek cuisine and has been a long time favorite for many Peabody residents.
   
   
   • Land 'n Sea. Famous throughout the North Shore. Their fried clams are some of the best you can find anywhere and their famous roast beef sandwiches are great too.
   
   
   • Su Chang's. "The best" Chinese food with great atmosphere and service to go along with it.
   
   
   • Other recommended restaurants are: Legal Seafoods, Brothers Cuisine, Joe's American Bar and Grill, Carraba's, Bertucci's, Family Fare, and Century House.
   
   
9. Golf. The Meadow at Peabody is a public golf course owned and operated by the city. The course is challenging and the views are spectacular, especially in the fall. In 2005 and 2006, the Boston Business Journal rated The Meadow at Peabody the 8th Public Best Golf Course in the state. Peabody also hosts a private golf course owned by Salem Country Club.
   


10. A new Peabody / Lynnfield YMCA just opened its doors last fall. This state of the art facility offers swimming (inground pool), exercise programs, activities, and summer camp programs. A great addition to the city and a great place for families.


11. Peabody has a transfer station where residents can bring up to 1500 pounds a year at no charge and the Department of Public Works has a recycling center at its base on Farm Avenue. Peabody also hosts a Household Hazardous Waste Day every June for disposal of hazardous materials. There are also two composting sites owned by private companies where residents can bring their organic recycling materials.
    


12. Peabody is a city of 50,000 people but has a small town feeling to it. Peabody is a melting pot of various ethnic groups coming together.


13. Public transportation convenience. Options include commuter shuttle bus, MBTA bus (with a direct route to Boston), Coach co. service, Logan Express service, and commuter rail service.


14. The city of Peabody boasts one of the most popular elderly programs around. The Torrigian Center sponsors everything from knitting to exercise programs. A wonderful way for our elderly community members to be social and productive.


15. Within the last 3 years, Peabody has built 2 new elementary schools and boasts at least one registered nurse in every school.


16. The Christmas concert held each year at the Peabody City Hall is a very enjoyable evening which features a symphony orchestra. Last year the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave a free concert there.


17. Peabody provides terrific recreational programs for adults, children, and teens of all ages. Sports programs such as basketball, soccer and baseball are among favorites not to mention football as well. The sports programs for the children are excellent in quality and have produced several professional baseball players and an Olympic Medal swimmer. If you want to move to the grove there are programs as well. Art progams also are a big hit. The local libraries also have programs that they sponsor as well for all ages.


18. George Peabody House.


19. Peabody City Tanner Common Summer Concert Series.


20. Peabody Historical Society.


21. City of Peabody 4th of July Events.


22. North Shore Computer Society.


23. Three Peabody Library branches: Main Street, South Branch, West Peabody Branch.


24. Perfecto’s Coffee Shop.


25. Woodbridge Assisted Living


26. Brooksby Village

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The following RE/MAX Advantage Real Estate agents contributed to this list:

Donna Baigelman
Web Site: www.NorthShoreHomeInfo.com
Email: donna@NorthShoreHomeInfo.com

Kate Fabrizio
Web Site: www.northshorehomes4u.com
Email: kate@katefabrizio.com

Todd Finn
Web Site: www.toddfinn.com
Email: todd@toddfinn.com

Bernie and Anita Horowitz
Web Site: www.NorthShoreHomeInfo.com
Email: bernie@NorthShoreHomeInfo.com
Email: anita@NorthShoreHomeInfo.com

Judy Lima
Web Site: www.hometeamnewengland.com
Email:judithlima@comcast.net

Karyn Reardon
Web Site: www.megsteam.com
Email: karynreardon@comcast.net

Also contributing:

Colleen Bertolino, assistant to Kate Fabrizio

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RE/MAX Advantage Real Estate's Peabody, Massachusetts office:
515 Lowell Street
Peabody, MA 01960
Phone: 978-535-3122
Fax: 978-535-6087

All About Open Houses: Their Role and How Our Agents Market and Conduct Them Successfully

"Open Houses are especially important for properties that are 'not a drive by.' They are another tool for getting potential customers in the door. I recently had an Open House and almost every potential buyer said 'wow, this house is really nice and was deceiving from the outside.' For my Open House advertising, I use my web site’s Open House page, boston.com, and the Boston Herald. All of these have been very effective. Obviously signage is also important. If the property is large or unique, I have two agents present to control the flow of customers.

I give my sellers as much feedback as possible from the comments of potential buyers. I also provide my sellers with a list entitled 'how to prepare for an Open House'; these are tips and suggestions to make the exterior and interior of the home appealing to the buyers."

Judy Lima
Email: judithlima@comcast.net
Web Site: www.judylima.com
Phone: 978-535-6666

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"There are three types of Open Houses a Realtor can have and I have a different marketing strategy for each of them. The first type of Open House would be for the listing office, which in my case is the RE/MAX Advantage office. This Open House occurs within a few days of first listing the home. The RE/MAX office would take a tour through the home which is commonly known as a “caravan tour.” This allows the office agents to get familiar with the home and preview it for their buyer clients. Normally, I would send out a voicemail broadcast to the office announcing the new listing.

The second type of Open House would be what’s commonly called a “broker luncheon.” This Open House allows me to invite Realtors from across Cape Ann and multiple offices to enjoy a delicious lunch and to preview the home for their buyer clients. I have a database of real estate agent e-mail addresses and present a nice invitation and always cook my now famous Pasta al Forno. Because I’ve been consistent with this delicious meal, I can count on seeing a great turnout (simple strategy)!

The third type of Open House is the most common: a Sunday Open House where the public is invited to take a tour of the home. I use many different avenues of advertising including but not limited to: Realtor.com, Boston.com, the Multiple Listing Service, and of course my own web site GloucesterandRockporthomes.com. I also use print ads and target different newspapers depending on type of home and location as well as target audience. I also send out a broadcast e-mail to most Cape Ann Realtors making them aware of my Sunday Open House so they can send the info along to their buyer clients who may want to attend. Open Houses are a great way to expose a home to the market place!"

Lillian LoGrasso
Web Site: www.LillianLoGrasso.com
Email: lillianlograsso@remax.net
Phone: 978-479-2250

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"We believe Open Houses work very well for the seller and it also helps
prospective buyers make educated decisions. We still think that Sundays
between 12PM and 3:30PM works best. The Open House lasts for approximately 2 hours. We usually perform an Open House when the listing is new and then
perform an Open House on a price change or sometimes when we need to
jumpstart the listing if activity has been weak.

A couple of strategies we use for marketing an Open House are to 1) Promote the listing on Monday for the Open House on the following Sunday. 2) Promote the time of the Open House on your listing via different web sites such as: the MLS (multiple listings service), Realtor.com, Boston.com, your personal web site, and any other site you subscribe to. For instance, we think a great way to drive traffic to Open Houses is to place the time of the Open House on the comment section on MLS. We also place the time of the event as the headline on Realtor.com.

The promotions start on Monday and this helps create some buyer anxiety by the time Sunday comes along. If a potential buyer is interested in the property and sees the property on Tuesday and the property is viewed by 4 other prospective buyers during the week and then the same people come back to Sunday's Open House and also see 20 more prospective buyers in the home then there is a better chance of achieving a higher offer on the home by the time Sunday's Open House is completed because the prospective buyers are not sure who else might place a bid on the home. This process helps create a sense of urgency with the prospective buyer.

We do not make any buyer feel uncomfortable when viewing a home. We ask informal questions and let the prospective buyer dictate the conversation. By having a casual conversation, you can then make clear decisions on what type of buyer they are or are not. If the buyer is serious then we proceed with specific questions and provide market statistics which are derived from our web site. This is a great tool when educating prospective buyers. A couple of soft drinks and snacks never hurt when performing an Open House. Open Houses can be fun and can be very productive for both the seller and the buyer."

Mike and Mary Cotraro (Team Cotraro)
Web Site: www.teamcotraro.com
Email: cotraro@teamcotraro.com
Phone: 978-882-4425