The Jackson Group

Why List Your House with The Jackson Group?
Why Hire The Jackson Group?
Home Purchase Process for Portland, Oregon

The way to get the highest price and best terms in selling you home is to generate a concentrated amount of activity at the introduction of your home to the market. Just as a merchant introduces a new product with a splash of advertising, promotion and exposure, a new listing on the market also benefits most by the combined influence of ads, opens, and exposure to the greatest number of prospective buyers all at once. This level of exposure is best achieved by listing with a strong real estate team and brokerage company like The Jackson Group at Realty Trust, a member of the Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

The idea is to generate competition for a new listing from among the ready and qualified buyers who are actively looking. By hiring The Jackson Group to market your property, you can rely on not just one person, but a team of talented people to combine all the available resources for an initial "introduction" of your property and a continued marketing plan until the home is sold and you are moved.

With the current changes we are experiencing in the level of market activity, it is especially important now to bring your property to market with energy and experienced marketing know-how. Uncertainty on the buyers' part means it is even more important that you be represented by a confident and experienced broker who has the internal resources to market your property and manage your transaction, the resources to attract good buyers and the ability to overcome any hesitation they may have.

Most buyers today take advantage of the services of a broker when they get serious about finding a home. When it's time to actually buy (and not just look!) people understand that working closely with a real estate broker will bring them quickly and directly to the kind of properties they want to see. A good broker will save them time in their home search and help them through all the complicated steps of making an offer and getting financing. As a seller, this is the kind of service you'll be looking for from The Jackson Group and the broader pool of brokers with whom we work in the Portland area.

Finally, in today's more sophisticated business climate it is ever more important to be represented by a knowledgeable and conscientious professional. Today's buyer, especially in this price range, knows how to use the services of a good "buyer's broker." These agents offer the buyer the research and experience of a seasoned professional in the evaluation of a property and the negotiation of a contract. As the seller, you will want to be equally represented by someone who is looking out for your interests in a transaction.

A strong listing broker is your strength in consummating a fair and balanced agreement with a buyer. You will be relying on The Jackson Group to represent your interests in this negotiation and in closing the sale of your home. You need a competent sales person AND a trustworthy and experienced real estate consultant. As your listing brokers we are your transaction facilitators and your contract counselors. Choose to be represented! And choose carefully!

Becky Jackson moved to Portland in 1986 and "restarted" a real estate career here with The Realty Group. In 1990 she had the opportunity to associate with The Hasson Company as an Associate Broker, and in combination with other good agents she opened a Portland Office for Hasson representing quality Eastside and Westside properties. Being a member of the "core" group to establish this office with Mike Hasson was an important milestone in her career in real estate in Portland. Becky's success at The Realty Group (now Windermere) made her #12 of 185 agents there. Then, at The Hasson Company she was among top producers and had sales activities which placed her in The Hasson Company's top producer category for 13 years and in the top 3% of Realtors in the city. Also, while at The Hasson Company, Becky served as the managing broker for the Uptown office during a high growth period in the mid-nineties.

Since 2004 Becky has been associated with Realty Trust Group, Inc. where she joined some of her colleagues from the original Realty Group. Here Becky has expanded her practice and built a team in order to better serve her clientele. Realty Trust Group, Inc. is organized around a philosophy of excellence in service. Becky is excited to be a part of the Realty Trust vision and mission. She has learned that the way you do business is as important as how much business you do. Our mission is to provide superior expertise, service and professionalism in every real estate transaction.

Becky and her group have a spotless record regarding any legal actions, or even complaints, which is, unfortunately, becoming a rare claim these days.

Clients and friends regularly refer their services to friends, to the people they're hiring, and to their colleagues who are making moves. These personal recommendations are the best testament to The Jackson Group's level of service. In fact, almost all our business is from referral from other clients and we specifically manage the business to develop listings and buyers from this referral base. We have a pre-sorted and qualified database of all the clients and contacts we have worked with over the years. We keep in touch with them on a monthly basis and the high level of ongoing after-sale service that we provide leads to an equally high number of referred new business clients. This assures you that The Jackson Group has the time to work on marketing your property rather than spending precious hours cold prospecting for new business.

It is always our intent to list a property at the highest value imaginable, with the goal to sell it, at that price, in the shortest amount of time possible, and with the least amount of hassle to our sellers. We are fortunate to be able to say that we've reliably achieved that goal many, many times.

Becky's long career in real estate in Portland, combined with the equally valuable experience and talent of the others on the team, gives The Jackson Group a decided advantage. We've noticed that when other brokers are showing our listings, they and their buyers really pepper us with questions about the neighborhoods, schools and real estate values for our market. We know, from the detailed research that we do and the experience of our many transactions, how to advise other brokers and their clients on real estate investment decisions. We launch into explicit answers about the characteristics of the market including the community features and the general goings-on. We've watched these buyers emotionally move into the area as we explain what is happening. We love Portland, and it shows! And, we believe that your home will sell to the person for whom all these things are vitally important - likely the thing to put them over the edge and put their pen to paper in a committed way!

Not all Realtors® are created equal! The Jackson Group may very likely be the brokers who list and sell your property! Unlike many Realtors®, we focus on showing and promoting our own listings. When making regular calls to the people we know, we continually seek interest for our listings. In addition to our client database we maintain a list of Realtors® that we know are top brokers with good business skills. Your proposal may come from one of these "best" Realtors®. We network with these people on a regular basis, promoting our listings and helping them to find it easy to show and sell our properties. We work the "inside track" of real estate. These brokers are the broadest source of buyer prospects and we will be there to market your home to them - especially through our personal Realtor® database.

When you hire The Jackson Group you put our team on your team and we will be using all our talents looking out for your interests. We will represent you through the entire process, whether it is to write the offer, secure it through another broker, or to expedite the closing. We will get the information out fastest, and concentrate hardest on those Realtors® we know to be the most reliable. This will help you secure the best sale first. A sale that we all know will close!

The Jackson Group is prepared at this time to begin marketing your property. During the first ten days of this listing we will distribute a flyer about the property to brokers and to buyers in our database. We will hold a Brokers Open and network with other brokers that we know have buyers for listings in this category or who have listings that are comparable. We will begin an overall advertising program using internet marketing, direct mail, newspaper advertising in The Oregonian, The Business Journal and The Winged M. We will use marketing and networking tools in a multitude of ways to go above and beyond to get your home sold.

As part of our networking we will contact the most active brokers in the area. Since these are the people who will likely be working with the most serious buyers, these would be the source of our best first offers. This extra step is vitally important to receiving early and competing offers. Our philosophy is: "Let's start with the best and get the best results!"

Showings will be conducted by several of us on the team: Becky, Kelly Majure, and Sarah Norton, all licensed brokers in The Jackson Group, together with any other brokers in the community representing buyers. If the property is still available after one month, additional advertising and open houses will be scheduled until a sales agreement is secured.

In addition, all our listings are advertised on the Internet at our website, www.JacksonGroupPDX.com, www.beckyjackson.com, through the multiple listing service at www.rmls.com and the national multiple listing service at www.Realtor.com, and through the Realty Trust Group website - www.RealtyTrust.com. We believe very strongly in using all options for Internet marketing, so we may also include Craig's List, Trulia, Zillow or other aggregator sites if it seems appropriate. We like to use a lot of photos and put together good visual electronic brochures or "Visual Tours."

We believe a property of this quality and character should be "merchandised" - or, in other words, prepared for showings. The purpose of this is to evoke an atmosphere that will enable a buyer to visualize moving into your home and making it his. We also offer the services of a home staging specialist, if you choose to take advantage of this service.

We will happily walk through your home with you to recommend small repairs or touch-ups or enhancements that may help sell your home. These small details can make a significant impact on the prospective buyer's attitude and impression when viewing your home. And, we will follow up with all Realtors® showing the property to give you honest feedback. We will give you weekly updates of the activity and status of your property to keep you informed of all activities. These reports will continue after a sale agreement is negotiated and throughout the escrow period until the transaction closes.

Closing a transaction efficiently is the mark of a highly qualified broker and at The Jackson Group we take pride in a record of top performance in this area. After the search for a buyer and the successful "Earnest Money Agreement" is obtained, it is often too easy for many brokers to relax and think the job is done. Experience has taught us that the difference in top salesmanship is often a matter of continued attention to a transaction after the agreement has been reached. With our client care efforts we shine in offering specific attention to all the details of closing a transaction and assuring customer satisfaction.

The real estate industry averages 20% sale-fails!! Realty Trust comes in at 1/3 of that, or just 7%. All of us in The Jackson Group are not the kind of Realtors® who make a sale, shut the file and just hope it closes. We make sure it closes! Our team sale-fail ratio is 1 in 30! We work all sales to closing, which is the bottom line for you, and gives you the protection you need and deserve. Crucial today!

During the escrow period inspections must take place and possible buyer remorse must be addressed. If buyers have second thoughts, which they all do, we are ready to address their concerns and find solutions so that they stay engaged and pleased with their decision to buy. We believe in our listings, we believe in Portland and its neighborhoods. And, because we have been here successfully serving this community for many years, we are believable!

The loan application process can sometimes be complicated. We have close relationships with lenders; we know the best ones and we know how to work successfully with the rest. Our team has the depth of knowledge and experience in the marketplace to know the homes in the area intimately, and appraisers know that. They respect and appreciate our expertise and assistance, and consider our input when needed in the appraisal process.

Working in The Jackson Group on a full time basis are brokers Becky Jackson, Kelly Majure, and Sarah Norton. With this group of three brokers we provide expertise in multiple areas and property types in order to tailor our services for our clients. Becky leads the group, represents the clients first hand and provides the managerial and technical expertise of the real estate business. Becky also brings years of involvement with developer projects as an asset to our builder and developer clients. Kelly's role is to manage our day to day activities and work closely with buyers and sellers on their negotiations. Sarah is our buyer specialist and she works closely with buyers touring property, making good assessments about value, handling home inspections and repair issues. She also assists Becky and Kelly with certain listing assignments and helps keep the office running smoothly by coordinating all the communications, paperwork and transaction activities. The whole team is friendly and efficient. Our clients enjoy working with all of us and they appreciate the specialized support our team structure offers.

Managing your transaction through each of these steps is as critical as obtaining a buyer and often requires the experience of a veteran real estate team. Becky's background includes owning and managing her own business as well as managing The Uptown Branch of the Hasson Company from 1995-1996 while the office was in a high growth stage. She now manages The Jackson Group and several development projects, using skills in sales and management to train and develop The Jackson Group in real estate. Holding the role of principal broker for many years, her knowledge and experience negotiating legal and other issues is regularly in use and a valuable asset to the clients and the group alike. As your agent, she will bring these same skills and experience to work with your transaction. Her commitment to detail and awareness of this part of the process distinguishes her from many other brokers in the marketplace.

Finally - we love our work and we work hard to do it well! And we look forward to helping you get your move behind you with as much ease as possible.

Our business is built by giving our clients the utmost in service during the transaction, and then, by continuing to stay in touch with them and serve them after the sale. Because of this continued support our clients regularly refer us to their friends and family members who are moving. By developing business this way, we do not need to spend time doing prospecting activities as most Realtors do (calling on expired listings, FSBO's and "farming" activities). Instead, we stay in touch and send interesting items of value to our clients every month. We follow up with them on the phone to talk about real estate and to let them know about new listings and activities in the market. We call this our "Client Appreciation Program" and they do appreciate it. It's a service that helps to sell our listings and helps to develop new clients, while at the same time providing an ongoing real estate service to current clients. As a new client, you will begin to enjoy some of this attention.

Thank you for the opportunity to present the proposal to you. I speak for all of us when I say that we are excited about getting to work to sell your property. We're ready to go and look forward to the process.

Home Search- Are you looking for a home? We can make that process a breeze! Here’s how.

Development of criteria: price, location, size and features.

Property Tours. Buyer’s agent will plan various property tours to familiarize the client with neighborhoods and values. Specific house tours will be conducted to the best houses and areas that meet the client’s needs.

An automatic email update will be generated and sent to buyers who prefer to receive information by email to evaluate on their own. New listings that meet the buyers’ criteria will be forwarded by email on a schedule selected by the buyer.

Valuation analysis. Once a home becomes the focus for the buyer, the buyer’s agent will prepare a comparative market analysis of the property and the area to educate the buyer as to value. This "appraisal" will be done with a market sales approach to help establish a range of value for making an offer.

Loan application. Prior to the development of an offer, most buyers will select a lender and initiate the loan application process. The buyer’s agent will assist in lender selection. There are several reasons that this step is usually done ahead of making an offer. First, the buyer can verify the costs and terms of a loan and be comfortable with the monthly payments and other expenses. Second, the buyer is then able to provide assurance to a seller at the time of the offer of the buyer’s capability of qualifying for the proposed loan. Third, the escrow process can be accelerated because the lender has initiated the underwriting process and the closing timeframe can be minimized.

Discussion of terms. Prior to making an offer the agent representing the buyer will review all the terms of the agreement with the buyer and answer all questions regarding the contract and the process for the purchase.

Contingencies. Standard contingencies for the buyer to require as a part of any offer include a complete home inspection, loan completion and approval, and any other special conditions. These contingencies are usually completed within the first two weeks after acceptance of an offer. After that the "due diligence" phase of the escrow period is complete, and the buyer has made the commitment to proceed to closing on the schedule agreed to at the time of acceptance of offer.

Write and present offer. The Buyer’s agent and buyer will discuss jointly the terms of purchase to offer for the specific property identified. Pricing strategy as well as client needs will be taken into consideration. Financial information should be resolved at this time and specifics will be communicated to the seller in the offer. All needed contingencies will be incorporated in the offer and all terms of the agreement will be reviewed to be sure the buyer understands all aspects of the contract should it be accepted. After the offer is written the buyer’s agent will present it to the seller in the presence of the seller’s agent.

Communicated counter proposals. Any counter-offer proposals made from the seller to the buyer, and again, from the buyer to the seller will be communicated in writing and delivered to the respective parties by the agents for the buyer and seller.

Complete all documents upon acceptance of terms by both parties. Upon acceptance of an agreement between the buyer and seller, the documents shall be copied and distributed for all parties by the agents for the buyer and seller, respectively.

Buyers’ duties. During the escrow period the buyer will conduct a home inspection using any and all preferred inspectors. The buyers agent will assist in finding appropriate inspectors and making appointments for the "due diligence" process. If any issues are found that need to be addressed with the seller, this will be done within the first two weeks after acceptance of offer. If the buyer and seller come to terms over these issues, the "contingency" period expires and the parties proceed to closing.

Sellers’ duties. The seller or the seller’s agent will open an escrow account with their choice of title and escrow companies. The title company will do a title search and prepare to issue title insurance to the buyer (at the seller’s expense). If any issues found as part of the inspection process require repairs by the seller, these will be completed during the escrow period.

Escrow company functions. The title and escrow company’s role is to serve as and prepare to issue title insurance. This firm will perform the title search the impartial third party to the transaction. It will collect and process all documents for the transfer of title and the recording of a new loan. It will collect funds from the buyer and the buyer’s lender and prepare for the seller a "warranty deed" for legally transferring title. When the funds are all collected, the buyer and seller have approved all conditions of the agreement by executing documents with the escrow officer and the deed is ready to record with the county, the title and escrow company will complete the transaction. The deed is recorded, the loan documents are recorded, the funds are transferred and the transaction is complete.

Execution of documents. When the buyer and seller have met with the escrow officer to sign all documents, the funds have been deposited with escrow and the deed is ready to record, the escrow company will complete the transaction. This is called "closing."

Final Walk-through of property. Prior to the signing of the closing documents, the buyer may choose to have a final "walk-through" of the property. This step is only necessary if the buyer chooses it, or if the seller has made repairs or modifications to the property during the escrow period.

Possession transfer. Possession is transferred to the buyer at an agreed upon time after the closing. Sometimes this happens immediately after closing, and sometimes the seller needs a few days or weeks after closing to arrange for and complete their move. If the period after closing in which the seller remains in possession is longer than a few days, then there may be a rental payment made to the buyer for this period. At the agreed upon time for transfer of possession, the buyers agent obtains the keys for the new buyer.