Serrano selling Assist 2 Sell franchise rights after move to CJR

Realtor Antonio Serrano is soon closing on the sale of the Springfield franchise rights to Assist 2 Sell after he and his team made the move to Carol Jones Realtors about a month ago.

Serrano said the preliminary closing date of the sale is set for Sept. 14. Rick McGee, the former owner of Assist 2 Sell in Springfield, is buying the rights to the Queen City market for an undisclosed amount.

"I think he'll do a good job with it. I'm sure there's still a market for what we were doing," Serrano said, noting he wanted to move to a larger firm after 10 years owning the Assist 2 Sell rights. "Our industry has changed a lot. There were some things that I was landlocked and not able to do."

According to Assist2Sell.com, the Reno, Nev.-based franchisor founded in 1987 provides home sellers services at a flat rate, and has saved customers $900 million in real estate commissions.

The sale comes about four months after Serrano filed Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy with his wife, joint debtor Christy Serrano, in May. At the time, the couple's bankruptcy attorney, David Schroeder of David Schroeder Law Offices PC, said the filing is personal in nature and would not likely affect their business operations. This morning, Serrano said the bankruptcy proceedings were not a factor in selling the franchise rights to Assist 2 Sell or his team's decision to move over to CJR.

"It has nothing to do with it," he said.

The bankruptcy petition listed the couple's assets at $56,740 against liabilities of $5.1 million, with the majority of the liabilities, $4.9 million, marked by creditors holding unsecured, nonpriority claims. The most recent action in the case, according to an Aug. 6 court filing, called on an extended timeline to Oct. 13 for the U.S. Trustee Program to decide whether to dismiss the case.

McGee originally purchased the Assist 2 Sell franchise in Springfield in 1996, two years after it opened, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

Serrano, the 2014 president of the Springfield Multilist Service board of directors, also owns Assist 2 Sell's Branson franchise rights. He said he would seek a buyer for that market after completing the deal with McGee.

At CJR, Serrano moved into a broker/sales manager role on July 30. His eight employees at Assist 2 Sell also moved over on that date, said CJR spokesman Ethan Ives.[[In-content Ad]]