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Steps to Buying | Selling a Home
Are you buying or selling?
Choose your Realtor/Broker
As a potential home buyer, you want someone you can trust to get the job done. With over 75 years of proven results, Gardner is the most successful local (non-franchised) real estate company in the Metro New Orleans, Greater Baton Rouge and Mississippi Gulf Coast Region. You can trust one of our skilled Realtors to guide you through the home buying process to ensure a successful ending - the right home at the right price with the best terms.
STEP
1
Know how much to spend
Your Gardner Real Estate Professional will arrange for you to meet with a Loan Officer to assess your financing/mortgage options. By going through the pre-approval process with a reputable lender, this can give you an advantage when negotiating with a seller since you were proactive regarding your financing.
STEP
2
Identify your wants
At an initial face-to-face meeting, we will carefully listen to your specific wants and needs and help you make a priority list to identify any and all property options that meet your requirements. Are you seeking a specific neighborhood and lifestyle? Are there specific amenities you can’t live without? Your Gardner Realtor will open the door to a bigger and better real estate market, and create a plan that will help you find your dream home.
STEP
3
Focus your home search
Let our innovative & user-friendly technology aid your home search. Our award-winning website raises the bar for a user-friendly experience and attracts buyers and sellers from all over by presenting ALL real estate brokerages’ listings in one easy to navigate site. You’ll also love our mobile app that empowers consumers to search for any home, wherever and whenever they choose as well as our local market tools that give you up-to-date statistics and data on the market of your choice.
STEP
4
Understand the offer process
Now that you know your level of purchasing power and have your priority list made, you are prepared to make a timely and informed decision once you find your ideal property. Next, we’ll work with you to write and present a Purchase Agreement We’ll be with you through negotiations and counter-offers with a strong commitment to a successful ending - the right home at the right price with the best terms.
STEP
5
Transition from contract to close
Once you have an accepted Purchase Agreement, you can use our family of services to finish the deal! Ensure a successful ending by processing your loan, getting homeowners insurance, having a professionally licensed and reputable expert conducting a property inspection, and gaining peace of mind through a trusted home warranty. Once you have a title and an appraisal has placed a value on the home, you can move into the closing process and walk away with the keys to your new home.
STEP
6
Love your new home
As an owner of a new home, the fun begins now. Do you need to hire a painter, moving company or any other professional? If so, your Gardner Realtor is a local expert and can recommend one in your area. We are here to make sure this next chapter of life in your dream home is off to an amazing start!
STEP
7
CHOOSE YOUR REALTOR/BROKER
You have made a decision to sell your property and need advice on how to go about finding the right Realtor. Here is your chance to determine who has the expertise to get your property to a satisfying closing. With over 75 years of proven results, GARDNER is the most successful local (non franchised) real estate company in the Metro New Orleans, Greater Baton Rouge and Mississippi Gulf Coast Region. You can trust our seven decades of experience to guide you through the property selling process to ensure a successful ending.
STEP
1
KNOW WHAT YOUR PROPERTY IS WORTH
Pricing your property is one of the most crucial steps in the selling process. When it’s a house full of memories, it’s easy to convince yourself of the wrong price – aim too high, your property can stay on the market for months, but if you set the price too low, you could miss out on value. That’s why it’s so important to have a local market expert, your GARDNER Realtor, walk you through each step of the process as we factor in upgrades, create a comparative market analysis (CMA) and utilize market resources in order to end with a successful closing.
STEP
2
OFFER A HOME WARRANTY
Offering a Home Warranty can make your home more attractive to buyers and even help sell a property for 2.2% more than properties for sale without a warranty. Since you can reduce your average selling time by 15% and increase your selling odds by 29%, marketing your property with a reputable home warranty to buyers is a wise investment. The home warranty plan is a value-added tool since it makes your property more attractive to buyers, knowing they can be protected from unexpected costly repairs.
STEP
3
MARKET YOUR PROPERTY
In this day of digital everything, it’s important to ensure your listing is presented everywhere possible in a sleek, efficient manner. That’s why when you list with Gardner, you have access to our award winning in-house marketing strategy, named "The Best Digital Marketing Strategy" by out of 550 top real estate companies around the world! Our full-time Marketing and Technology Departments are dedicated to supporting Realtors and Clients with an effective marketing plan for each of our listings. Our marketing plan is based on proven results, coupled with market research on the latest trends in the industry. From our proprietary TV show and professional photography partners to our Exclusive Real Estate Partnerships and 30,000+ social media followers, our program is designed to get results!
STEP
4
USE TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
The selling process can be a bit stressful, so it’s our goal to reduce that stress and make your experience as seamless as possible. Our innovative & user-friendly technology will assist in selling your property. We invest in the leading transaction management systems to create digital forms of all the paperwork must be exchanged, delivered, reviews and saved. We also employ our award-winning website to market your property knowing that over 95% of real estate buyers use the web during their search. From this site, you’ll receive weekly seller reports that includes your property’s web activity and a weekly market snapshot that includes New Listings, Pending Sales and Sold Properties in your area. We go one step further with our user-friendly GARDNER REALTORS mobile app that allows potential buyers to find your property any day, any time.
STEP
5
PREPARE TO SHOW YOUR PROPERTY
A showing or open house is the buyer’s first impression of the property. We’ll through a list of what you need to do make sure your yard, exterior and interior look the best they possibly clean. We believe that clean & spacious areas attract buyers, with the fewer distractions, the better. Making the investment of time and resources to prepare your property for showing can pay off...literally!
STEP
6
MAKE THE DEAL
This step is all about ensuring you get the offer you deserve. Once you receive your first offer, you’ll probably go straight to the price. While this is the natural process, we believe every offer has five important components: price, closing assistance, closing date, buyer financing and contingencies. We’ll then move on to the counter offer stage if the price is less than you were hoping for. Your GARDNER Realtor is always there to help expedite the process with the seller’s agent as well. Just keep in mind your acceptable terms such as bottom-line-price, closing date, etc., and ask yourself if going back and forth with counter offers is moving us closer to a deal. Once you agree to the final terms, we’re ready for closing!
STEP
7
PREPARE FOR CLOSING
Now, we’ll seamlessly transition from offer to sold! We’ll ensure that you take care of any repairs, create a moving timeline, leave the required items behind, sufficiently clean, prepare for the final walkthrough, and finally, sign the papers, transfer the funds and complete a successful sale!
STEP
8
CELEBRATE MOVING DAY
Selling a property can be a daunting task, and you’re sure to be relieved at the end of the process. Buy a bottle of champagne and celebrate this grand life accomplishment! It’ time to enjoy this exciting new chapter in your life!
STEP
9