Pleasanton, CA — December 28th, 2019 — NextHome is proud to announce the expansion of NextHome Experience into Greenville, Maine. The brokerage represents the 3rd office location opened in Maine for the NextHome franchise.
The new office will serve clients in the stunning Moosehead region, a 75,000-acre lake paradise where homeowners can experience a truly four-season region.
The flagship NextHome Experience office is located in Bangor, Maine and is owned by Jon Cota. Since its opening in 2016, NextHome Experience has grown to become one of the state’s most successful brokerages. Today, NextHome Experience is currently 16th in the state of nearly 700 agencies.
As a third-generation broker/REALTOR®, Jon is using NextHome’s unparalleled tools and support to attract the area’s best and brightest talent. The brokerage began with 12 agents, and in three years has expanded to more than 60 agents serving clients across the Bangor Metropolitan area.
The new office in Greenville is already staffed with four top-tier agents who will focus on residential sales, investment properties, vacation homes, and commercial real estate. The Greenville office will be led by Scott Harding – the region’s top-selling agent. In a few short months, the new Greenville office has already become No. 1 in sales in that region.
A Maine native, Jon has had a special connection to Moosehead Lake since he was young. As a child, he would spend time there at the condominium complex his grandfather built. Winters were filled with ski trips and summers were spent on the lake.
“It’s so picturesque,” Jon said about the area. “When you crest the hill and see the lake it’s incredible. It’s a known destination to many and becomes a world-over destination each fall as international visitors fly-in. It’s also a popular area for people to retire.”
Jon’s childhood vacations at Moosehead Lake with his grandfather were just the beginning of his real estate journey.
As a third-generation REALTOR®, Cota grew up in the business. His grandfather, Al Smaha, owned a Bangor-based Century 21 franchise is the seventies and changed to ERA Real Estate in the eighties before Cota took the reins in the early 1990s in Bangor. An icon in the local real estate community, Smaha was influential in helping create an industrial broker network for the commercial real estate industry.
In continuing the family lineage of exceptional real estate professionals, Cota started his career off with a bang. Combining hard work with smart business planning, he was able to close 18 transactions in his very first year.
Over the next few years Cota, along with family member Gregory Smaha, was instrumental in creating a regional franchise, Free To See Homes. This concept took off and the company saw incredible growth. In addition to huge regional franchise growth, Cota and Smaha’s own brokerage had sales numbers that rivaled most in the state, at one time ranking sixth in Maine for listings and sales closed.
As Cota’s business needs changed, so did the need for systems his agents could use to help clients.
“I’ve always tried to think outside the box and do whatever I could to provide our agents with the tools needed to deliver exceptional service,” said Cota. “I didn’t want to start from scratch, so the NextHome franchise was a perfect match for us. With the high-level technology mixed in with fresh and clean branding, we are ready to show our community how NextHome Experience can help them with their real estate needs.”
Out of the top 25 agencies in Maine, there are five in Bangor, so it’s undoubtedly the most competitive market. Scott Harding is also breaking barriers in sales. In 2019, he put over 100 properties under contract, selling over $15 million in real estate.
We are incredibly proud to have Jon and the team at NextHome Experience as part of the NextHome family and congratulate them on their continued success and expansion!
Featured photo provided by Chris Morin.
Interested in being a part of the NextHome Real Estate Franchise? Contact VP of Sales Charis Moreno at Charis@NextHome.com.
Each office is an independently owned and operated business.