What was the idea behind the formation of Countdown2SOLD?
Mark DiJohn, the founder of Countdown2SOLD  (C2B) and a seasoned Real Estate agent in the Metro Atlanta area.  Mark was tired of agents that arbitrary picked a sales price for a Short-Sale prior to communicating with the bank on record.  The Short Sale process requires trust between not only the agent and the seller, but the agent and the lender.  Mark's goal was to get everyone involved early and ensure that everyone understood the complexities of Short Selling a home.  More importantly, ensuring everyone did their due diligence to get the home sold for the highest purchase price.  The disconnect between Agents, Sellers and Lenders was tremendous.  Agents assuming banks will take whatever they can, sellers worried about getting stuck with a deficiency judgment and banks feeling agents were just out for a commission check.  Countdown2Sold solves all these problems and puts trust back in the Short Selling and foreclosure process.

What is the Countdown2SOLD process?

What makes Countdown2SOLD different?

C2S allows sellers to achieve the highest possible price the market will demand for their home, while at the same time ensuring the agent is making the home available to display and attract that same market buyer.  Lenders are assured, using our price arriving system,  the home passes all current and post market values, usually receiving offers at multiple market positions.

We give sellers the best opportunity to show the banks every price point was tested under current market buyers.  When a contract is achieved, price arriving, banks know we've done our best to get the highest price in the shortest timeframe.

In the end, the market determines what the final sale price of a property will be, not emotion or undue pressure. C2S is able to facilitate a home buying experience with less anxiety, more certainty, and more confidence than ever before.

What are Countdown2SOLD competitive advantages?

C2S’s key competitive advantage is its transaction process.  Built around the value of the home, we brings to the buyer in a real estate transaction where deals can be achieved and we help the buyer get the highest price the market will demand.  The traditional real estate transaction process does not always give potential home buyers and sellers, even lenders, a fair and level playing field. 

C2S delivers on its competitive advantage through its information platform, pricing model and efficient end-to-end process using the price arriving model.

• Information Platform: The C2S information portal provides an objective and holistic view of a property. The platform provides multiple independent valuations, property condition reports, and tools for buyers to assess the financial viability of the property. It also provides an abundance of unfiltered peripheral information about a property – from local school ratings to community demographics – all designed to empower the buyer in the decision making process.

• Pricing Arriving Model: C2S implements a transparent price arriving system (versus the traditional list price model). The benefit to this approach is that the price of a property is clearly displayed and the path of the price arriving is scheduled and disclosed.  No surprised!!  Buyers can inject offers at any time for any price point.  If the home price arrives on an injected buyers offer, the contract is sealed and considered binding.  Easy!!

Is Countdown2SOLD just another auction site?

C2S is not an auction site!  Our price arriving system simply gives a buyer the option to inject a price and wait for the price to arrive.  C2S never accepts auction style offers nor do we every begin an auction type sale.  As the price arrives, other buyers can inject new or updated offers, but an auction is never initiated. 

What are the benefits for home buyers?
The C2S process offers 100% transparency, trust and equality. Home buyers can make low offers, sit back and wait!  Our price arriving system simply gives every buyer a chance to get their hands on an excellent deal, while at the same time showing the seller/lender that we have done everything we can to get the highest offer for these market conditions.  

In the end, the market determines what the final sale price of a property will be, not emotion or undue pressure. C2S is able to facilitate a home buying experience with less anxiety, more certainty, and more confidence than ever before.  Everyone wins!!  Short sales have a much higher success rate than ever before!

How does Countdown2SOLD help sellers?

C2S was designed with the sellers needs in mind, particularly homeowners that need to short sale their property!  Never has there been a better way to maximize the buyer pool in a buyers market.  Buyers and their agents are invited to make offers where ever they feel comfortable.  

As we all know, Short Sales have become too common.  The reality is, a process needed to be created that gave both the seller and lenders the ability to achieve the highest possible price.  Our knowledge of the Real Estate market told us we need a system to simply show the lender we've done everything we could to get market value.  Plus, we needed a transparent system to help buyers get more involved in the buying process.  

How does Countdown2SOLD impact agents?

C2S only allows trained and C2S certified agents to market our homes.  Any agent can make an offer on one of our properties.   

Our certified listing agents are agents with expert knowledge of the local markets, coupled with their expertise in real estate transactions.  We only allow the most trusted agents to market the C2S program.  

Through our price arriving system, listing agentsagents will gain access to pre-qualified home buyers and focus on what they do best – servicing clients and selling homes. Because of the simplified workflow and the generation of meaningful commissions, brokers will be more productive with their time and their investment in client relationships.

Why are banks and servicers engaging Countdown2SOLD to help liquidate their REO properties?

The C2S price arriving model is a completely new and cost effective solution for institutions to manage REO inventory in the most efficient manner. Through the C2S process, banks and servicers benefit from a state of the art system that ensures all price points are tested.  As a home processed through the price arriving model, buyers are presented with endless possibilities to make offers, while sellers are ensured the home will sell for the highest market price.  These innovative, unique features result in significant benefits for the institution such as greatly reduced costs, few buyer fall-outs, enhanced work flows and shorter sales cycles.  The price arriving system works.

What is the market opportunity for Countdown2SOLD?

The real estate market continues to undergo disruptive change and the foreclosure market has become the “new normal” marketplace. Sellers continue to utilize the traditional processes and tools to market, negotiate and close the sale of a foreclosed or short sale property

There is a significant market opportunity for C2S to apply a new level of technology and marketing sophistication to the growing market for foreclosure properties and short sales. In addition, many industry leaders believe a new transaction model is needed to rebuild trust in the overall real estate market, not just for foreclosed properties but also the traditional marketplace. C2S can fill that void as today’s buyers of foreclosed properties will become tomorrow’s seller of a home.  While in today's market C2S is the perfect model for foreclosed and short sale properties, the future model for general resales is wide open.