Welcome, Sean Becker!

What a pleasure it is to announce the association of Sean Becker with The Jackson Group effective the first of the year.  Here’s why it is such good news . . .

Sean is a gentleman, sincere and genuine – the kind of self you want to be around, with the ethics, talent and character that anyone would admire.

My professional relationship with Sean began in 2004 when, as Director of Sales for urban condo projects at Realty Trust, I hired him to be the closing broker for the Henry Condominium.  Sean’s skill as an engaged listener and problem solver was revealed immediately. From that position Sean moved to broker at the South Waterfront Discovery Center where we did marketing and sales for The Meriwether, John Ross and Atwater Place Condominium towers.  Sean performed so well in his role that he was given the position of Lead Broker for the Civic Condominium in Downtown Portland and he moved to the B Street Gallery to lead the team for that project.

From the Civic Sean moved back to South Waterfront, this time as General Manager of the Discovery Center. Sean demonstrated leadership in sales and proved to be an effective builder of teams in every situation. In 5 fast years Sean gained a career’s worth of experience and credibility in real estate. Each one of these promotions came about because Sean produces results through excellent communication skills, a high standard of service and a thorough knowledge of properties and the real estate process.

At all times during Sean’s ascent in real estate, we stayed connected.  We’d meet for coffee and talk – deconstructing the high points of our project work together and speculating about the new realities in real estate and what it might mean for our careers and futures.  We helped each other navigate the bubble, and then the bust, staying engaged and active and positively focused. There was always an aspect to how we would stay connected as we planned for the recovery.

At The Jackson Group we have always been organized around the concept of bringing together a team of talented and accomplished brokers with individual specialties and shared values.  Our purpose is to serve our clients with superior care in the many different real estate transactions they pursue.  Our style is to offer “Ritz Carlton” talent and service from specialization of effort and collective commitment to care for the unique requests of each individual client.

Sean is a perfect fit for this model! Kelly, Sarah and I are thrilled to have him on the team.  We welcome him and know that you will as well.

January 24, 2010 · Filed Under Condominium Buildings, Sean Becker, What to expect from the Jackson Group

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Sometimes it takes a village to close a transaction

Our team closed a transaction yesterday that proves that even in a tough market, difficult transactions close– it just “takes a village!” We faced and overcame the many surprises outlined here, and if you’d like to read the whole saga – the narrative is below.

Sequence of surprises for Grant Park Duplex transaction:

  1. Buyer chose a duplex after seeing mostly single family homes
  2. Seller accepts offer as written – no counter offers – signed on the spot
  3. Home inspector finds that significant repairs are needed throughout the entire house. There were issues with a cracked sewer line, defective LP siding, cracking foundation, rotted sill plate and posts in the crawl space and basement, old roof, bad plumbing and electrical throughout the home, and the list went on and on
  4. Seller accepts the buyer’s repair addendum as written requiring over $40,000 in total repair costs
  5. Lender requires clean pest and dry rot report and the work turns up even more dry rot behind the siding, under the porch and in the crawl space. Seller says they’ll fix it.
  6. After 3 oil tank scans, soil under the foundation is found to be contaminated by underground oil tank – over $6500 in DEQ required repairs. Seller says they’ll fix it.
  7. Appraiser requires all peeling paint to be removed and repainted on the inside and outside. Seller says they’ll fix it.
  8. Siding company gets behind on siding installation due to the extent of dry rot repair and weather. Closing has to be extended.
  9. Price has to be changed because the exterior paint will not be done by closing so the buyer has to pay for painting after closing
  10. The transaction actually closes with no last minute mistakes to manage

The Jackson Group relationship began with these clients about 2 years ago when they started searching for homes with classic charm and character in NE and SE Portland. We focused our search on homes that were in great neighborhoods like Clinton, Abernathy, Hawthorne, Ladd’s Addition, Grant Park, Alameda, etc. and most of what we were finding was older homes that needed some work. We even had an escrow on an REO property that ended up being a little uneven on its foundation. When that one failed we took a break for a while.

We started our search months later and prices had come down. We expanded our search to duplexes with the possibility of renting out the second unit until the buyers could someday expand into the entire home. One hot summer Sunday evening, we looked at 3 properties and the last was a duplex in Grant Park right behind the high school. From the outside with the peeling paint, vines growing up the chimney, old roof, cracked foundation and original windows, it was an obvious fixer. But on the inside the original charm was still there. The rooms were large and stately but there was still a lot of work to be done. We were surprised when the clients wanted to write an offer.

The sellers had owned the home for many years and had never lived there but had a steady stream of loyal tenants in both units. The home had gone through quite a history since it was built in the 1910s- it was even converted into a boarding house in the 1950s. It had only been on the market for a few weeks and our offer was below the asking price, so we made the extra effort to present the offer to the listing agent and the sellers in person.

Our client was a very strong buyer with a solid loan approval through one of our favorite mortgage brokers, Mike Hall of Pacific Residential Mortgage. The presentation of the offer went well and on the way back to the office the call came that our offer had been accepted as written. I was so surprised that I almost hit the car in front of me! I called the client right away to deliver the good news. But we all knew that we had quite a ways to go to get through this transaction because of the extent of the needed repairs.

After the 5 hour inspection, Don Hatch of Assurance Home Inspections discovered that almost every element of this home needed some repairs. And, we’re not talking about “the kitchen sink leaks when the hot water is on”. No, we’re talkin’, this home needed a new roof, new siding, new foundation supports, new posts and beams in the basement, code violations in staircases, peeling paint, electrical and plumbing, and more. We could not even find the underground oil tank that we knew existed somewhere. So our work was cut out for us.

Over the next week, I went out to that house at least once a day to meet contractors to get proposals on the repairs. And after about 2 weeks we had most of our numbers in order. We were ready to draft the repair addendum. I presented the repair addendum in person again due to the extent of the request (over $40,000 in repairs). We continued to re-iterate our client’s wish to be as reasonable as possible and focus on repairs that the lender would require as a condition of closing such as structural and safety hazards. The buyer was even willing to raise the purchase price to help with the cost of some of the repairs.

The seller accepted our repair addendum as requested. We then had to mutually agree to choose the contractors for each job. Sorting through those numbers took another 2 weeks and 5 additional addendums but we finally set the dates and chose the contractors to do the work. Now there was only the work to be completed and to close.

WRONG! Another surprise hit us when we finally found the oil tank using a geo-tech specialist. The underground oil tank was leaking underneath the foundation of the home. DEQ requires that the soil not be contaminated by leaking oil and, if found to be unsafe, the tank and soil around the tank must be removed. The sellers took charge and found the right contractor for the job and cleaned the site – phew!

The siding company got behind schedule with the installation of the new hardy plank because of poor weather and more dry rot found behind the siding. The lender was requiring re-inspections by the appraiser, the pest and dry rot inspector and our home inspector so we scheduled them all for the same day. But because of the extent of the repairs, there were still some items that needed to be addressed during our final week of escrow. The seller went to task on the remaining list and finished 4 days later. I gave him my pink camera to document the additional repairs to send to the inspectors. Finally, all that was left to do was to get the okay on the paint from the appraiser and push a little paper.

The transaction officially recorded yesterday. Our clients were out to the house last night measuring rooms and creating their “to do” lists for moving in and making the home “theirs”.

I give the most credit in this transaction to the sellers. They were there at every step of the way to make sure that we had everything covered. I even had the seller’s phone number plugged into my phone because we were in such good communication. Our team has never done more paperwork or had a thicker file. This closed real estate transaction shows that even in a really difficult market, tough deals can come together if everyone works together to make it happen. The buyer never stopped wanting to buy, and the sellers never stopped wanting to sell, so everyone did their part and made it work.

Thanks to everyone that helped make this long shot become a success for all!

October 20, 2009 · Filed Under Business Philosophy, Coaching for Buyers, Coaching for Sellers, Home Purchase Process in Oregon, Preparing your home for sale, The Jackson Group, What to expect from the Jackson Group

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Atwater Place To Auction 40 Homes!

The owners of Atwater Place in South Waterfront announced recently that 40 homes in the building will be sold at auction on September 20th. Many of you have called or emailed with comments and questions, so I thought I would speak up about this to help others understand what is happening, what it means for the marketplace and what you need to know if you want to participate.

Many people are talking about this auction as if it were a sorry situation, but that is absolutely not the case. The best thing for the marketplace is to have these condo buildings with many unsold homes have an auction to sell condos at prices that buyers are willing and eager to pay, rather than continue to sit with unsold homes that are priced as if we are going to go back to $400/SF! Well, that ain’t happening any time soon, and when the owners of condos understand that, we will have a healthy and active market again. The best thing for the current owners of homes in these buildings is that the rest of the homes get sold and the buildings get fully occupied by new homeowners who move in, shop in the nearby retail, take walks in the neighborhood and help make the building and neighborhood a vibrant place to live.

Atwater Place Condominiums at South Waterfront

Atwater Place Condominiums at South Waterfront

The auction for Atwater Place is the first to happen in Portland’s downtown area so we will be learning on this one how the marketplace will respond. I believe it is a terrific opportunity for condo buyers to buy premium homes in a stellar building and a top quality neighborhood. These are all good features of A-grade property, the kind that every homeowner seeks, and the only reason these homes are not already sold is that they are priced too high on the builders’ price lists. The auction should give buyers the chance to set prices they are willing to pay, which may not be as low as the minimum bid, but which will be appropriate for the current economy and today’s market environment.

Here’s what you need to know if you are interested in attending the auction – and The Jackson Group is well prepared and available to assist you with any specific needs, from plain old information to full blown representation for a purchase. The seller will pay the fee for our services to represent you to buy at the auction, though there are some rules attached to that. Call us if you have questions, and plan to have one of us accompany you to visit the Auction Showroom to register you as our client.

Facts to know:

Auction Date and Location: 4:00PM Sunday, September 20, 2009

Marriott Portland Downtown

1401 SW Naito Parkway

Portland, OR 97201

40 Homes are offered for sale at the auction, with pre-set minimum bids which, if offered, will be accepted. The seller reserves the right to change the units offered at the auction and may do so based on buyer interest. The homes range in size from a 931SF 1-bedroom to a 2355SF premium home with minimum bid prices from $169,900 to $899,000. We have the complete list of homes plus floor plans, so call us if you want more details.

All potential buyers must be prequalified with one of the pre-approved lenders (Bank of America or MetLIfe Home Loans) prior to the auction – even if you intend to use your own lender. Cash buyers must provide proof of funds prior to the auction.

All buyers who wish to participate in the auction must be registered by submitting a completed written form by 7pm on September, 18th. On auction day, bidders must have a cash equivalent (cashier’s check payable to yourself) of $2500 for each home they may purchase. Upon successful purchase, buyers must endorse their cashier’s check to Ticor Title Company and agree as part of their purchase agreement to increase their deposit to 3% of the sales price, which must be paid with a personal check payable to Ticor Title that evening.

Closing of all successful purchases shall happen by October 19th, unless an extension is agreed to in writing with the seller.

There are at least a dozen other special conditions, so if you need more information, please call us and we can go through all the fine print with you. Again, we believe this is a positive event for the marketplace and we encourage people who may be interested in buying a downtown condo to get involved if only to learn and then determine if there is a positive possibility for them in this auction.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Becky

August 25, 2009 · Filed Under Coaching for Buyers, Condominium Buildings, Uncategorized, What to expect from the Jackson Group, What you need to know about PROJECTS

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