CRB, CRS, Realtor Pre Listing Book
Jack Cotton, CRS, CRB, Realtor Qualifications And Experience 851 Main Street, Osterville, MA 02655 508.428.9115
Thank you for calling me regarding the potential sale of your property. This book is designed to provide background on my experience and qualifications to market your property. It will also outline the process I will undertake to prepare for your appointment, what you can expect during the appointment and after.
Prior To Our Appointment Before meeting any potential seller client, I will do some basic research on your property, including but not limited to: Researching And Printing Any Available GIS Plans and Assessment Data From The Town Conduct An On-Line Search of The Registry of Deeds and Print: Deed and/or Certificate of Title Recorded Plan(s) Deed Restrictions Easements Rights of First Refusal Mortgage Information A General Search of Recent Sales and Competing Offerings Will Be Undertaken To Be Refined After The First Appointment and Inspection of the Property Begin Process of Drafting a Competitive Market Analysis For Your Property
Our First Appointment At our first meeting I will take as long as necessary to answer your questions and gather sufficient information to prepare a detailed, written Opinion of Value that will be presented at the second appointment. Without a thorough gathering of information at your property, it is impossible to prepare a meaningful price opinion. Aside from getting to know one another, the initial appointment will include: A consultation that will lead to a full understanding of your goals and expectations in the potential offering of your property. A discussion of the laws of agency. I will then ask that you sign a form confirming this discussion, a requirement of MA License Law.. A tour of your property where you point out details and items of interest that only you, as the owner, would be aware of. At the conclusion of our tour together, I will take a second walk through of the property on my own to carefully measure all rooms and dictate a detailed room by room description. At that time notations will be made on my ten-page Staging Checklist regarding steps that you might consider undertaking to enhance the market value of your home and shorten the time on market. This checklist will be completed and shared with you once the listing agreement is signed. Before leaving, I will take at least one exterior photo to include in the Marketing and Opinion of Value Report. Due to weather conditions and time of day, this may not be an optimal photo. Professional external and internal photos will be taken once the listing agreement is signed.
After First Meeting And Prior To Second Appointment The draft of the Competitive Market Analysis will be completed and the field of comparable sales and competing offerings will be narrowed to include those most similar to your property based on my inspection. Certain properties will require detailed percentage adjustments to account for differences between your property and the recent sales. In that case, I will prepare spreadsheet, designed to illustrate the percentage adjustments of the important elements of comparison between your property and those of recent sales. This will allow us to arrive at sales prices for the comparables that are more meaningful in the prediction of the selling price for your property.
Second Appointment The second appointment ideally also takes place at the property but can take place over the telephone if necessary. I will present the marketing plan and my price opinion. Keep in mind that the price suggested in the Competitive Market Analysis is only the first step in deciding on the initial offering price of your property. We will discuss the marketing process and any questions you have will be answered. Initial agreement on the offering price will be made and kept confidential between us. If we agree that additional input should be considered, we will leave the price out of our listing agreement temporarily. Lastly, we will review my Listing Evaluation Form. A score calculated from six factors that impact the sale of property will be calculated to predict the time required to find a buyer for your property. At that time I will provide a checklist that will help you prepare your home for photography.
The Pricing Process At the next available office meeting, I will describe your property to my fellow Sotheby's International Realty agents, without any discussion of our price discussion. After the meeting, the pricing committee of the Osterville office of Sotheby s International Realty will tour your property with me. Members will share their opinion of value with me individually. Later that day, you and I will discuss the final offering price based on these recommendations and the Market Analysis I presented earlier. Once we agree on an offering price, the listing will "go live" as soon after this meeting as practical. During the meeting, a professional photographer will shoot as many inside and outside photos as necessary to fully capture the essence of your property. I may take additional photos as necessary.
Jack Cotton, CRB, CRS Biography Jack Cotton has worked continually in the real estate company he started in his college dormitory room in 1974. He didn't need to work for another broker to learn the business because he knew so much at the age of 21. He knew so much in fact, that it took him 1 year, 2 months and 3 weeks to sell his first house. Things improved though, and over three decades, Cotton Real Estate became one of the most admired and professional real estate companies on Cape Cod. Agents at his former firm continue to post the highest per person production on the Cape. In 2005, Jack sold his company to Sotheby's International Realty. He transitioned away from sales to growing, running and managing the firm's Cape Cod offices while working with selected clients. In the three years after the acquisition, he did three new office start-ups for Sotheby's International Realty. Over the years, Jack has been involved in nearly every record breaking luxury residential sale on Cape Cod, either directly as the agent or as coach to the agent involved. In fall of 2008, he stepped down as manager and has returned to being a sales agent, working on various writing and speaking projects. Jack speaks to groups of Realtors both locally and around the country sharing his cutting-edge marketing techniques and principals. His first book, "A Dog's Guide to Life" is in its second printing. It applies to both the personal and business side of life. His second, third and fourth books, dealing with the business of Luxury Real Estate marketing are now also available. All are available at most bookstores and Amazon.com
Resume DESIGNATIONS: Certified Residential Specialist (CRS); Certified Residential Brokerage Manager (CRB) Graduate REALTORS Institute (GRI) Instructor's Training Institute, (ITI) Certified United States Coast Guard--OUPV 99 Ton (Licensed Captain) COMMITTEES: Finance Committee, Osterville Methodist Church Vice Chair, Steering Committee, Osterville Business & Professional Association EDUCATION: Babson College, Wellesley Hills, MA, BS Residential Appraisal Course sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS Appraisal Course VIII give by the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers, Indiana University Appraisal Course 1A given by the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers, University of Georgia Elements of Surveying, Cape Cod Community College RS-101, RS-102, RS-103, RS-204, given by the Residential Sales Council of the REALTORS National Marketing Institute The Art of Negotiation, Negotiation Institute, New York, New York Negotiation Skills for Real Estate Executives, MIT Center for Real Estate Cambridge, Massachusetts Negotiation Workshop, Harvard Program for Lawyers, Harvard Law School Introduction to Real Estate Development, MIT Center for Real Estate Cambridge, Massachusetts Real Estate Finance, MIT Center for Real Estate Cambridge, Massachusetts MEMBERSHIPS & TEACHING EXPERIENCE: Cape Cod & Islands Board, Massachusetts and National Associations of REALTORS ) Cape Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2009, 2010 NAR Annual Convention Speaker 2001 to 2005, Talk Show Host-The Jack Cotton Real Estate Show WXTK 95.1 FM RELATED EXPERIENCE: 1974 Founded Cotton Real Estate in May, grew to be the recognized leader in the listing and sale of village properties and waterfront estates. Continually had the highest sales per agent on Cape Cod. 2005 Sold Cotton Real Estate in July to Sotheby's International Realty. AUTHOR: Several books illustrated on the following pages.
Available at your local bookstore or Amazon.com
Thank you for the opportunity to be of service Jack Cotton
Sotheby s International Realty 851 Main Street, P.O. Box 68, Osterville, MA 02655 t 508.957.5500 m 508.776.0009 jack@jackcotton.com