PLEASE VIEW ON WIDER SCREEN
Prepared for
Craig Ackerman, Realtor®, MBA
Certified Residential Specialist
Certified Probate Expert
Author, Selling Grandma’s House
Trust administration/int’l. marketing expert
Contents
Summary
1
How We Work With You
Based on your goals and your home’s unique strengths, here’s how we anticipate the sale will look*:
Cosmetic Resurfacing
Simple updates recommended but not required
Sale Timing
10 business days to prepare home
2 weeks on market till we accept bids
Marketing
Syndicate listing online and reach out to my extensive professional and personal network
Estimated Sale Price
$0,000.00 to $0,000.00
Commission
5%
*See details later in this sales guide.
Your Stated Goals
(we’re listening)
2
Your Goals and Considerations
Seller’s assumptions
√ We’d like a strictly as-is sale
05/12/2019 is when we’d like to go on the market
$1,495,000 is the minimum we believe the home is worth
Timing
√ We’re on hold for the personal property/estate sale completion
00/00/0000 is when we plan to sign a listing agreement
00/00/0000 is when we’d like the house cleared out, with the help of your personal property allocator
00/00/0000 is our deadline for relocating the home occupant(s)
√ The sale is pending a court date, which is expected on 00/00/0000
Vital Considerations
√ A family member or neighbor has right of first refusal on property
√ We’re talking with an attorney about how to proceed with current tenant(s)
$0,000 is owed on utilities, taxes, HOA dues, etc.
00/00/0000 is when sale proceeds must be paid to avoid foreclosure
Home preparation goals
√ Our own contractors can prepare the property for market
√ Between $5,000 and $10,000 is a comfortable budget for optional resurfacing/cosmetic upgrades
√ We understand resurfacing of the home is in our best interest and we’re seeking funding
Before we move forward, we’re waiting for…
00/00/0000 ,the date of a family gathering at the property
√ Probate court documents
√ Direction from decision makers
√ Family members to tour the home and claim personal property
√ Animals/pets on the property to be relocated
Seller’s Estimated Net Proceeds
3
Prepared for
by Craig Ackerman, MBA, CRS, Realtor – Ackerman Realty Group
01/23/2019
| Estimated Sales Price (final price achieved is market-driven) 125 Main Street, San Francisco | Credits $1.406M | Credits $1.539M |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Arranged by Ackerman Realty Group's Operations Manager | Debits | Debits | |
| a | Sales Commissions (5% Total: 2.5% to Buyer's agent as incentive to sell property) | $70,300 | $76,950 |
| b | City & County Transfer Tax, SF ($7.50 Per $1,000 of sales $) | $10,545 | $11,542.50 |
| c c | Est'd SF Energy Inspection and Compliance ($1,300 max.) Est'd SF Water Conservation Inspection and Compliance (no max.) | $200 $200 | $200 $200 |
| d d d | City of SF Building Permit History (3R Report) Natural Hazard Disclosure Report City of SF Underground Storage Tank Inspection | $152 $124 $95 | $152 $124 $95 |
| e e e | Staging (preliminary only) Property cleaning (power washing, appliances, fixtures, lights, windows, etc.) Professional inspections (such as: Home, Pest, Roof, Sewer, Elevator, etc.) | $7,000 $1,200 $2,000 | $7,000 $1,200 $2,000 |
| Arranged by Escrow Officer | |||
| f f f f f | Estimated escrow fees Estimated recording fees Estimated doc prep - grant deed Estimated courier/wire/overnight Estimated notary fees | $500 $65 $50 $40 $30 | $500 $65 $50 $40 $30 |
| Subtotal | {total} | {total} | |
| Estimated Net to Seller(s) Before Loan Payoff | $1,313, 099 | $1,438,452 |
Legend
| a | per listing agreement. |
| b | per tax rate chart (below). |
| c | Ordered by ARG. Does require on-site inspection. 7 day delivery. Includes county recording of compliance. |
| d | Ordered by ARG. Does not require on-site inspection. 7 to 10 day delivery. |
| e | Ordered by ARG. Final quotes available upon on-site vendor assessments. |
| f | Ordered by escrow officer and billed at closing. |
SF Transfer Tax Rates
| Sales Price | < $1M | $1M-$5M | >$5M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax Rate | 0.68% | 0.75% | 1.50% |
Sales Plan of Action
4
Custom Sales Plan for
for 123 Main Street, San Francisco
What You Experience Matters Most
We provide you with an organized plan for selling your home. Each step is customized to your goals, timeline and preferred level of participation.
Would you rather be hands off? After our more than 400 customized plans and successful closings, we’re ready to take it from here.
Home Prep That Rocks
Need a hand getting your property market- ready? Ask about our network of all-stars, from painters to locksmiths, that provide Ackerman clients with affordable, reliable services.
Speed Your Close, Boost The Price
Enjoy the Ackerman difference – expert guidance for every step of your as-is sale or full-on cosmetic transformation. Your plan will include:
- a timeline adapted to you
- estimated cost/profit report on optional repairs and resurfacing
- marketing strategy to attract competitive bidding for your property
- regular updates to keep you informed
- a spirited negotiator to secure the highest property price and a clean close
Choose from our comprehensive services:
Clearing Out
Change locks
Hauling
Waste removal
Carpet removal
Personal Property
Packing, labeling, shipping to individuals
Household property auction
Fine property auction
Box/deliver donations
Temporary storage
Final Prep
Certifications/compliance
Repairs
Specialized appraisal
Painting and upgrades
Professional cleaners
Staging
Landscaping
Window and power washing
How We Increase Your Sale Price
Here’s how and why our home preparation process works.
Optional Resurfacing, Not Remodeling
We ask you to consider strategic resurfacing, quick projects that don’t require permits. The actions we recommend make a big difference in buyer interest and sale price.
Turnkey Services
You may want to skip the research and call on our team of repair, resurfacing and inspection vendors. We can vouch for their quality and integrity, as well as the wholesale rates they offer our clients.
Let us arrange access to the property and gather vendor quotes. We do the legwork— just hand us the keys, then approve and sign the contracts*.
Choose A Property Sale Package
Select the best option for you:
- As-is sale – do nothing to the property, knowing it may not qualify for financing and must be a cash sale
- Minimum repairs – correct only deficiencies that would prevent buyer loan approval
- Not-to-exceed budget – tell me what you can spend, I’ll handpick priority projects with the highest return (trustees and fiduciaries love this)
- Comprehensive resurfacing – my proposal will list cosmetic upgrades that maximize your sale price
*Contractors’ terms vary. Property owner is expected to make on-time payments directly to suppliers.
Before & After Resurfacing
Resurfacing To Attract Buyers
See the following page for preliminary resurfacing recommendations. Completing these will create excitement, competition and urgency among buyers, as well as provide the highest expected return relative to your investment.
Color and finish decisions
Our stagers create a cohesive design, from paint colors and textures to related finishes. They guide us in producing the light, bright and uplifted look we know will attract today’s buyers.
Solid profits
In my 400+ transactions, my resurfacing project recommendations consistently produce a 300% to 500% return on investment. I’m so confident you’ll profit from these upgrades that if you don’t have cash readily available, Ackerman Realty may arrange for financing.
Next steps
The resurfacing phase starts once your property is vacant. We arrange for everything from vendor quotes to completion.
| Recommended projects | Approx. cost |
|---|---|
| Exterior painting | $ |
| Interior painting | $ |
| Floor refinishing | $ |
| Carpet replacement | $ |
| Fixtures and faucets | $ |
| Replace light fixtures | $ |
| Hardware (hinges, handles, pulls, etc.) | $ |
| Replace appliances | $ |
| Replace kitchen counter | $ |
| Resurface bathroom tile | $ |
| Install bathroom mirror | $ |
| Landscaping | $ |
(initial estimates only, final quotes obtained upon signed listing agreement)
Marketing Advantages – Our Online Savvy And Huge Network
The largest sources of buyers are, by far, the internet and the Realtor’s contacts.
So while I take many steps to expose your property to a large audience, I concentrate most of my efforts in two places. A huge online launch and a massive campaign to interact with my far-reaching network. These steps give us the greatest likelihood of receiving the highest sales price.
Leverage the online launch
We showcase your property on the San Francisco/San Mateo/Marin County Multiple Listing Service (MLS) with all disclosures, professional photography, aerial drone, electronic floor plans and showing instructions linked electronically. Your home will be featured on Google Real Estate, Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, Redfin.com, OpenHomesPhotography.com, Trulia.com, Craigslist.com, Openlistings.com, CleanOffer.com, Houses.com, Real Estate.com, Xohme.com, and dozens of other local and regional real estate sites.
Call in my secret weapon
Here’s how I activate my diverse and extensive personal and professional network:
- communicate with my posse, the top agents who produce over 80% of closed SF transactions
- tap my Certified Residential Specialists network, 1,200 prestigious Northern California CRS agents
- send an email blast to 8,000 Bay Area agents and brokers
- place 100 to 150 targeted phone calls a week seeking buyers
- reach out to my 5,000+ database of past clients, friends, influential professionals and buyer prospects
In my 15 years and 400+ transactions in Bay Area real estate, my network has been an invaluable asset to me and my clients.
Where Buyers Come From
A common misconception by sellers is that someone they know—a neighbor or relative—is most likely to buy their home.
But statistics show that’s true only 1% of the time.
By far, more buyers find their homes via internet search or personal outreach by a real estate agent. That’s why my top priorities are syndicating your property listing online and connecting with my well-developed network of top agents. These colleagues represent qualified buyers and have worked with me many times.
54% Internet
34% Real estate agent
6% Sign/open house sign
2% Friend, relative, neighbor
2% Home builder or their agent
1% Directly from seller or know seller
1% Print newspaper advertisement
Combined sources: National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, Local SF Research
Proposed Timeline – Faster Than You Think
We can typically polish your home to a high shine and launch it on the market in two weeks. Then, witness our wave of urgency-building outreach and open houses, followed by competitive bidding two weeks later.
How We Support You
And The Estate
5
Trust and Probate Properties
Most of our real estate transactions are for properties in trust administration or probate. So we’re experts at guiding sellers like you, who act as trustee or the estate’s personal representative for probate.
Supporting you, maximizing your performance
We know you’re under pressure to perform. Sell it faster. Get a higher price. You may feel vulnerable and nervous because you:
- must make decisions that affect the beneficiaries’ proceeds
- have little experience in real estate, especially trust or probate
- are acting as peacekeeper and managing family dynamics
Our team is here to support you and help you deliver the best possible results. We’ve developed best practices that make the process easier and more effective for you.
As trustee or Personal Representative, you likely have a long history with the homeowner and extensive knowledge of the property. We help you disclose that knowledge, on the right forms, to buyers.
Acknowledging liability risks
The leading litigators in San Francisco tell me that many real estate agents are unfamiliar with trust administration transactions. This leaves the trustee or estate’s personal rep exposed to risk (especially when it comes to property disclosures).
Our trust property best practices
We’ve developed a unique approach to guiding you through a trust property sale. Our program minimizes risks while providing direction, implementation and support. It includes the best practices we’ve discovered over hundreds of transactions:
- Memory triggering
Buyers don’t like surprises. So we walk you through a triggering exercise to help you recall details about the property. This process uncovers forgotten or hidden information, improving disclosures and dramatically reducing lawsuit threats. - A photo archive
To thoroughly analyze the property, we take 70 to 80 photos of the site, often the only record of the home’s condition available to decision makers. This saves all of us time and money, including the contractors and stager. - Personal effects removal (this is a big one)
No need to use your property as an expensive warehouse, a common problem in a trust or probate sale.Through our proprietary system, personal items are quickly and securely removed, and you are released from this overwhelming duty. Once the home is empty, we can resurface, stage and market the property. - The personal property team categorizes, labels and distributes everything in the home:
- items for beneficiaries
- storage (for distribution, appraisal, auction etc.)
- donations and trash
Pre-market inspections & disclosures
Lack of disclosure is the primary cause of real estate litigation. That’s why we make it our business to provide comprehensive documentation.
Our disclosure package for the home includes:
- a handwritten disclosure from your memory trigger exercise
- all receipts, work orders, bids and documentation
- inspection results
Removing obstacles to buyer financing
Sellers and buyers are surprised to learn that certain deficiencies in the property will prevent the approval of financing. We address those particular flaws, including:
- nonfunctional furnace
- bars on windows
- active water leaks
- lack of hot water
- missing fixtures
- obvious noncompliant additions or repairs
If you’re selling a condominium, we’ll also assist you in handling any special requirements, such as resale inspections and HOA documents requested by the lender.
The resurfacing goldmine
As we review disclosures and inspections, we pinpoint top priorities for repair or resurfacing. The action list in Section 4 is a preview that’s personalized to you and your property. It gives you the best choices, based on your budget and what we know now, for generating the highest return. Our network of contractors and stagers make this step easy for you.
Keeping you in the loop
See our reviews to appreciate why we’ve been honored with repeated customer service awards, including Five Star Real Estate Agent, for five years running. It’s because we communicate regularly, foresee roadblocks and guide clients through every step of preparation. For instance, you get traffic details about how many buyers and brokers toured your property following each on-site hosted event.
Ackerman Track Record
and Background
6
Transactions
Million sold in real estate
Years in business
5-Star Yelp reviews
Years of int'l sales & marketing experience
5-Star Zillow reviews
CLIENT COMMENTS
Excerpts from Yelp
Estate Planning Attorney
“Craig is the most dedicated professional with whom I have ever worked. He has referred a number of his clients to me and every single one has raved about his excellent service.
Ackerman Realty Group also specializes in real estate transactions that occur during a probate or trust administration. Craig will provide immediate complimentary services including an estimate of home value and a copy of the deed. If you are a probate or estate planning attorney, I would strongly recommend Craig to handle your probate or trust sale.”
James O.
Estate Planning Attorney, San Francisco
“What Craig brings to the table that distinguishes him from other agents is a comprehensive plan and team that work with the singular purpose of getting his clients the best return on investment in a timely fashion.
His negotiation skills are top notch and his responsiveness is out of this world. More than once he provided me with key information to settle a contentious case in less than an hour. Because the stakes are high buying or selling real estate in the San Francisco area, I highly recommend Craig.”
Jan C.
Trustee to San Francisco Estate
“Craig and his team assisted us in the sale of my grandfather’s house, to settle the estate. We are from Florida and had no idea the complexity of the San Francisco market or the necessary paperwork. Craig successfully sold the house, using a very specific plan he recommended we follow. Without his guidance and input, we wouldn’t have had a successful sale. Words cannot express our gratitude for Craig’s hard work, concern and care for our satisfaction.”
Erica O.
Trustee to Family Trust Sale in San Francisco
“Craig has a true understanding of what buyers are looking for. We decided to pursue all of his recommendations to get the house resurfaced and move-in ready, and we got our money’s worth.
There were a few hiccups during the resurfacing process, but the Ackerman team has great response time, made things right and followed through with all of our requests.
The home sale involved parties in various states, but Craig maintained great communication. I am happy to recommend Craig Ackerman and his team because they delivered as promised.”
About Craig Ackerman, CRS, MBA
Serving property owners, trustees, legal and financial professionals
Established Ackerman Realty Group in 2003, with an entrepreneurial approach to real estate sales possible for each property.
Author – Selling Grandma’s House
Published in 2016, project stories and before/after photos of how to sell SF trust homes
Available on Amazon.com or ask me for a copy
Trust administration and probate specialty
Closed hundreds of trust, estate and probate sales
Teach continuing education trust and probate property courses to Bay Area attorneys
Attorneys regularly refer probate and trust administration cases to me
Developed a program for safely, promptly handling personal possessions
Was profoundly affected by helping empty both grandmother’s homes as a child
Developed a proprietary process, Trust Administration and Probate Sales System (TAPSS®), to streamline the tedious, emotional and time-consuming allocation of personal property
Education and credentials
- Certified Probate Specialist
- Certified Residential Specialist, equivalent of a graduate degree for agents
- Licensed California Real Estate Broker (#01358899)
- Led resurfacing of 100+ Bay Area homes, dramatically adding to their value
- MBA, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
Licensed contractor (CA State License #902071)
Extensive experience remodeling Bay Area homes
See your property’s full potential and can refer professional contacts to transform it
Grew up flipping homes
Flipped residential and rental/tenant projects in family business in New Jersey
Developed an eye and aptitude for simple upgrades that enhance a home’s sales price
Why Choose Our Independent Brokerage
Go local! We’re the San Francisco-grown choice, specializing in this very unique market.
You’ll experience a respectful, straightforward, honest interaction when you work with us. We don’t sell you. Or hound you. Or push you. My staff and I treat you like family.
We don’t waste time advertising Ackerman Realty. Instead, we promote your home.
My loyalty is to you and not a series of different brokerages. The number of times I’ve switched brokerages? Never.
I grew up flipping investment properties with my father. Then I took on my own projects, becoming a licensed contractor and Realtor, and sharpened my ability to identify and perform high-return property upgrades.
An honest property assessment and action plan
I create a personalized plan based on the level of cosmetic upgrades you’re comfortable with, time- and budget-wise. Two weeks and $7,000? No problem. No permits required—this is resurfacing only.
At our transaction volume, we can bring you top service providers at reduced prices:
- Home repair, painting, floor refinishing
- Moving, hauling, clean-up
- Power washing, landscaping
You don’t give up control, just allow us to advise you. We move ahead only with your approval and help you reach consensus when you have multiple decision makers.
See videos of our home transformations and sales results.
Comparative Market Analysis
7
| Date of Sale | Status | List Price | Sell Price $ | Sell to List Price % | Price per Sq. Ft. | DOM | Address | # of BD | # of BA | Sq. Ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/08/2019 | Sold | $1,449,000 | $1,515,000 | 105% | $1,044 | 18 | 51 Camellia Cir | 2 | 2 | 1,415 |
| 02/10/2020 | Sold | $1,450,000 | $1,499,000 | 97% | $980 | 18 | 265 Camellia Cir | 2 | 2 | 1,451 |
| 04/13/2020 | Sold | $1,410,000 | $1,495,000 | 94% | $972 | 3 | 30 Camellia Cir | 3 | 2 | 1,451 |
| Comp Average | $1,481,000 | $1,458,333 | 99% | $999 | 13 | |||||
| Your Home | 287 Camellia Cir | 2 | 2 | 1,423 |
Sample Marketing Materials
8
Multiple unit buildings
Luxury Properties
Next Steps
9
Here’s how to keep the ball rolling:
- Let’s schedule time to go over this proposal together, by phone or in person. I’ll answer your questions and offer insights about your home. Call (415) 730-3030 or email me at [email protected] and give me a couple of options for when you’re free.
- Review the Ackerman Realty Group listing agreement
- See our website for case studies, newsletters and client reviews
- Ask me for a copy of my book, Selling Grandma’s House, a guide for selling trust properties in the San Francisco area
- Take a look at San Francisco housing trends
Thank you for your interest in working with a flexible, creative and proven local company.
