Thanks to a special request made by Max the HomeGain Gorilla, we are having our first-ever Halloween photo competition for our real estate agent members!

What to do: Simply email a photo of how you spent your Halloween — whether it’s dressing up yourself, your kids or dog in a costume, decorating your home or realty, tactfully placing a pumpkin on a client’s home for sale, or your own idea.

(See photo below… who is that chicken?)

What/how you win: We are giving away 4 prizes to 4 lucky agents (see prizes below). All entries will be judged by the HomeGain Blog Team, based on creativity, originality and/or relevance.

Do it by: All entries must be received by Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 10am PST. (Halloween falls on a Sunday — October 31st — so we are giving you a few extra days to submit your photos.)

Spooky Halloween Photo Sweepstakes Prizes

1st prize: $100 HomeGain credit*

2nd prize: $50 HomeGain credit*

3rd prize: $25 HomeGain credit*

PLUS, a special prize will be awarded to one agent who submits the most fun photo of Max in a costume (choice of a plush Max, a Max bobblehead or a Max mug).

Email your photo (One photo at a time and don’t forget to include your contact info.)

Rules: Continue reading this post

Over the weekend, Max, the HomeGain Gorilla, visited a local pumpkin patch in Petaluma, CA. His favorite thing (besides eating funnel cake) was picking out a special pumpkin to take home. He got a little too bounced around in the Haunted Jumpy House (photo below, I’m stuck in the rope).

The whole experience inspired Max to insist that we throw a Halloween contest amongst agent members!

Halloween is less than 3 weeks away, so, if you are carving a pumpkin this year, decorating your office or have clients who are decorating their homes, get your camera ready.

We will have prizes for several categories. There will even be a special prize awarded for Best Costume for Max!

Who’s excited??

Stay tuned for official details… Continue reading this post

The weather forecast looks good for this weekend in many states, and Max the HomeGain Gorilla loves to attend barbecues! He’s searching for homes to visit as part of the HomeGain “Share The Smiles” campaign, so…

If you are a real estate agent or broker who has a Max Gorilla already, take a photo of him with you at your Memorial Weekend BBQ and email it to us so we can post to the Max Photo Gallery.

Don’t forget to include your contact info so we can credit your account with 25 Max Points!

Or upload the photo to the HomeGain Fan Page on Facebook.

If you are someone who has found a Realtor through HomeGain who helped you buy or sell a home, send us a photo of you at your home this weekend and we’ll send you a Max Gorilla!

Remember to tell us who your Realtor is, your name and city/state (maybe even a short story, too) so we can post your photo on the Share The Smiles page.

Sue Kwon of CBS News recently interviewed Matt Everett of GoAutoAds.com about automobile advertising in the Bay Area. Since HomeGain is a client of GoAutoAds, Max, the HomeGain gorilla (as shown on the side of a truck below on one of several “Max Mobiles” that have driven around the country) received a feature shot during the interview that aired on television in multiple cities and states across the U.S. including Wisconsin, Florida, Los Angeles, San Diego (just aired today) and more cities to come!

Watch the TV interview on CBS.com

More Max Citings on the HomeGain Real Estate Blog

Max Mobile Wins Best Decal Award

See Max Photo Gallery

Max the HomeGain gorilla was recently asked to star in a photo shoot in San Diego, CA by GoAutoAds. Max could be seen driving around San Diego in recent months in the truck photographed below — even custom Max shirts were sported by one happy family (photos 2 and 3 below).

Stay tuned for more Max sitings at HomeGain Nation 2010 in San Francisco!

Continue reading this post

Although HomeGain was not an exhibitor this year at the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Annual Conference & Expo in San Diego, California, we sent our best representative, Max The HomeGain Gorilla, to greet hundreds of Realtors as they entered the real estate trade show over the weekend.

Did you spot the Max-mobile truck? (See photos below) Let us know if you did!

Max-mobile at the NAR Annual Expo in New Orleans