The Kelly Garland Group – Keller Williams Realty Is In Your Corner!

Realtor in Cartersville & Bartow County, GA

Your Guide Through the Buying & Selling Process

When finding your dream home, you need a realty company you know is looking out for your best interests. Choose The Kelly Garland Group – Keller Williams Realty for all of your residential real estate needs. We serve clients throughout Cartersville and Bartow County, GA, finding their dream homes in Northern GA. For more information about the buying and selling process, read below!

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Buyer Resources

The Selling Process

The process of listing and selling your home can be challenging. Explore our resources below to learn more about the process and how The Kelly Garland Group – Keller Williams Realty can help!

1. Define Your Needs

Write down all the reasons for selling your home. Why do you want to sell, and what do you expect to accomplish with the sale? Establish if you’d like to sell your home in a specific time frame or make a particular profit margin. Kelly Garland helps you identify these needs, map out the best path moving forward, set a realistic time frame for sale, and help achieve your home selling goals.

2. Name Your Price

The next objective is to determine the best possible selling price for your home. Setting a fair asking price from the outset will generate the most activity from other real estate agents and buyers. Kelly Garland’s expertise will help you determine this price. It is essential to set a fair market value price rather than pricing too high.

3. Prepare Your Home

Most of us don’t keep our homes in “showroom” condition. It’s time to break out of that owner’s mindset and get your house in tip-top shape. Kelly Garland will help you stage your home to sell quickly!

4. Get the Word Out

You’re ready to sell, now what? Kelly Garland will set up a personalized marketing plan for your home. Her plan includes a variety of tactics ranging from internet marketing to open houses to agent-to-agent referrals.

5. Receive An Offer

Once you receive an offer from a potential buyer, Kelly Garland will first determine whether or not they are prequalified to buy your home. If so, you and Kelly will review the proposed contract, ensuring both parties’ required to execute the transaction.

Once reviewed, you have a choice to make. Do you want to accept the contract as is? Accept it with changes (a counteroffer)? Or reject it? Once both parties have signed a written offer, the document becomes legally binding.

6. Negotiate to Sell

Most offers to purchase your home will require negotiations. Kelly Garland protects your best interests throughout the bargaining. She knows what each contract clause means, what you will net from the sale, and what areas are easiest to negotiate. Once both parties have agreed on the terms of the deal, the real estate agent will prepare a contract.

7. Prepare to Close

Once the offer is accepted, you will need to make a list of what you and your buyer must do before closing. The property may need to be formally appraised, surveyed, inspected, or repaired. Depending on the contract, you may pay for all or none of these items. Kelly Garland will act as your advocate when dealing with these aspects. If each procedure returns acceptable results, the sale continues. If there are problems, we may have to return to step six and reopen negotiations.

8. Close the Deal

“Closing” refers to the meeting where property ownership is legally transferred to the buyer. Kelly will guide you through the closing process to ensure everything goes according to plan. She can mediate any last-minute issues that may arise. After closing, you should make a “to-do” list for turning the property over to new owners.

Meet Kelly Garland!

The Buying Process

1. Decide to Buy

While there are many reasons to purchase a home, wealth building ranks relatively high. Here at The Kelly Garland Group – Keller Williams Realty, we call home ownership the best “accidental investment” you can make. When done right, home ownership becomes an “intentional investment” that aids in financial security.

2. Hire Your Agent

The typical real estate transaction involves at least two dozen separate individuals: insurance assessors, mortgage brokers and underwriters, inspectors, appraisers, escrow officers, buyer’s agents, seller’s agents, bankers, title researchers, and several other individuals whose actions and decisions act in closing a home sale.

You need to determine the best real estate agent to help navigate this process; choose Kelly Garland. She will educate you about your market, guide you to the perfect home, negotiate on your behalf, solve any problems that may arise, and much more.

3. Secure Financing

While the concept of owning a home is exciting, the thought of taking on a mortgage is daunting. Many first-time homebuyers may start confused about the process or nervous about making such a significant financial decision. Kelly will be by your side throughout this entire process. From choosing a mortgage specialist to making a loan application to getting an appraisal, she will help educate and advocate for you.

4. Find Your Home

So you’re pre-approved, the house search begins! While hopping in your car and driving around town is exciting, the search becomes exhausting if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Kelly helps establish and assess your values, wants, and real estate needs for both the short and long term.

5. Make An Offer

When you were searching for your dream home, you were a dreamer. Now that you’re writing an offer, it’s time to become a business person. Alongside Kelly Garland, you need to approach the process with a cool head and realistic perspective. The three major components of an offer are price, terms, and contingencies.

6. Perform Due Diligence

Unlike most major purchases, once you buy a home, you can’t return it if something goes wrong. This is why homeowner’s insurance and property inspections are a must. A homeowners insurance policy protects you against loss or damage to the property itself, as well as liability in case someone sustains an injury while on your property. The property inspection should expose any hidden issues that a home may have. The primary concern is structural damage, don’t sweat the little details. If the worst-case scenario turns out to be true, it may be time to walk away from the purchase.

7. Close

The final stage of the home buying process is the lender’s confirmation of the home’s worth and legal statute. This entails a survey, appraisal, title search, and a final check of your credit and finance. Kelly will keep you updated on how everything is progressing. Ensure you stay in control of your finances, return all phone calls and paperwork promptly, and communicate with your agent once a week.

8. Protect Your Investment

You and Kelly Garland have built a relationship and gotten to know one another throughout the home-buying process. We encourage you to keep in touch with us! Kelly can still help with many aspects after you close on your home. She’ll provide her knowledge on handling your first tax return as a homeowner, finding reputable contractors for home remodeling, or even helping your friends and family find homes.

Make sure to maintain your home by keeping it clean and watching for signs of leaks, damage, and wear. Fixing minor problems early on can save you big money later!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the benefit of a real estate agent?

The Kelly Garland Group – Keller Williams Realty helps you with the entirety of both the home selling and buying processes. Kelly will educate you about the market, analyze your needs and wants, guide you to homes that fit your specific needs, negotiate on your behalf, and solve any problems that may arise.

How do I price to sell & make a profit?

The asking price you set for your home drastically determines the rest of the sale. It will affect if you profit in the deal, how much you will profit, and how long your home will sit on the market. Kelly Garland’s expertise is invaluable in helping you set a price. The goal is to find a price that the market will bear but won’t leave money on the table.

Time is not on your side when it comes to real estate. Time may be the most significant determinant in whether or not you profit and how much you profit. Typically, the longer a house stays on the market, the less likely it will sell for the original asking price. Because time is of the essence, make it easy on buyers. Be flexible in house showings and avoid putting contingencies on the sale.

Pricing your home to sell promptly requires objectivity. It is important not to confuse how much you value your home versus what buyers are willing to pay. Don’t confuse value with cost; avoid placing too much emphasis on home improvements when calculating your price.

How can I increase my home’s appeal?

You have one minute to create a winning first impression. Here are some simple ways Kelly recommends maximizing your home’s appeal.

Remove family photos, souvenirs, and personalized decor. It helps the buyer visualize the home as their own.
Make minor repairs and replacements. The goal is to make a phenomenal first impression, and leaky faucets or broken screens don’t do that!
Remove any clutter or knick-knacks. We want to make sure your home looks as spacious as possible; clearing that clutter helps a ton!

Have questions we didn’t answer?

Speak with our team today!

The Kelly Garland Group -
Keller Williams Realty

22 Felton Pl

Cartersville, GA 30120

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Business Hours

Monday - Friday:
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Contact

Phone: 706-264-7363
Fax: 770-607-7401
Email: kelly@thekellygarlandgroup.com

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