A Recent Rave... Seller Says: Gary - Thank you for making this all happen for us! Lenny & Jennifer Truett
Buyer Says: complete testimonial "...Gary took the time to fully understand our situation, aspirations, and practical parameters. He was always mindful of his commitment to the Sellers and made that clear from the very beginning, but was also very sensitive and attentive to us. There was never a question or concern that he did not address promptly and in detail. Exceeding his obligations as a Realtor, he extended thoughtful advice, objective information, and guidance that helped us greatly in our decisions. Gary is the ultimate professional and the most caring person anyone could deal with. He has a vast knowledge of historic homes and of the regions in which he specializes. He knows his trade inside out and brings to it honesty, integrity, and a strong sense of fairness - qualities not often associated with financial negotiations and transactions. I feel grateful and privileged to have had him as our Realtor. Gary truly is a class act." Helen Margiou Foreign Service Officer Cultural Counselor American Embassy, Paris France
As a historic home owner contemplating your future security and the sale of perhaps your biggest asset - you are about to make the most important business decision of your life. Which Realtor is best qualified to successfully sell your unique home, and who are you going to trust with this huge responsibility?
Would the owner of a rare and valuable 19th century American painting, entrust its sale on consignment to the poster gallery at the local mall? Of course not. The rational owner of such a masterpiece would place his trust in an expert, an art professional with a reputation for successfully marketing 19th century American Art.
Following is a summary of our marketing plan, scores of testimonials and a selection of SOLD homes (map them) for your review. Please compare this focused and highly effective approach to marketing your unique property with others that you are considering, and then call Gary Gestson for a personal, no obligation presentation.
There are 4 factors that influence a historic home buyer's decision to purchase - location, condition, price & historic significance. If these factors are not properly aligned, especially in the current market, a historic home will, likely, not sell. We are experts at evaluating and aligning these critical elements.
We understand historic sellers & buyers and have created a very successful business exceeding their expectations.
We sell the majority of our own listings, because both buyers & sellers come to us as experts in the field and Gary's extraordinary negotiating skills create a win for the seller.
Long & Foster is the largest privately held real estate company in the USA, dominates the region with over $65B in sales in 2006, and Gary Gestson is historic property specialist with Long & Foster.
Perhaps, only 6 out of 1,000 qualified buyers will be interested in a historic home, we cast a big marketing net in order to find those future stewards.
Certified Historic Properties Specialist- Gary Gestson is one of a select few in the DC area who has had extensive training in historic restoration and related programs, tax credits, historic property appraisals, historic home marketing and architectural history, and certified with the CHMP professional designation.
Top Producing Agent - Gary Gestson was the 2006 top producing agent in one of the top 10 Long & Foster offices (out of 243 & 16,000 agents) & he is also in the top producing 5% of Realtors in North America: Top 5% Sales Award Top Producer Award
Communications between Seller and Agent - Our Sellers communicate with Gary Gestson directly and he is always available for his clients (re: testimonials). His cell phone is 301-646-0046 and his email address is gary@LNF.com (he carries a Blackberry)
Accountability - Our exclusive web-based "Listing Manager" allows our clients access to daily events, scheduling, advertising, marketing, showings and feedback, and other listing related activities "24/7". This is a private web-based calendar accessible to only the Historic Home Team Staff & the listing client. Listing Manager Screenshot Listing Manager Screenshot #2
Sphere Marketing - We notify everyone who has expressed an interest to in purchasing a historic home to us, all of our past buyers & sellers, other real estate brokers & the 100 top producing Long and Foster agents that we have a new historic listing for sale. We have a extensive referral network that is a powerful tool in the promotion of our listings.
Professional Brochure - Our listings benefit from a professional, full color brochure that is liberally distributed to interested parties. It includes images, property features & details, significant history, map, and web address for additional
Up to 85% of all home buyers go to the internet to seach for homes. We are experts at marketing the internet.
www.HistoricHomeTeam.com - We have an award winning website that offers real time property searches, "jump" searches exclusively for area historic homes, national & international property searches, property searches in 13 languages, virtual tours, video tours, a popular web log (BLOG), photos, links to historic details and registrations, maps & directions, and more...
Property Page with printable professional brochure, virtual tour with 50 photos & panaramas, 10 minute video "Walking Tour", property history, registrations & awards, professional photos, descriptions, maps & directions.
Virtual Tours with 50 professional photos and panoramas - in addition, reports detailing the number of viewings and on what website the tour was viewed. (5 minute Tutorial)
Video Walking Tours - A 10-15 minute video tour of the property. This allows a prospective buyer a richer visual experience of walking through the entire property. Each property listing has its own high-tech video viewer.
Multi-Lingual Property Searches - The Internet has made the world a much smaller place and has expanded our opportunities to make our listings available to people with multi-cultural backgrounds. This feature allows our website to be more easily found by international search engines and accessed by prospective buyers who have English as a second language, offering them a more familiar and reassuring search experience. Washington, DC is an international city.
Realtor.com Enhanced Membership - This allows us to showcase our property listings with 25 photos, virtual tours, video tours, additional information, website links, and premium placement on the most popular real estate search engine on the internet. We can also produce reports showing how many people have viewed a listing, which is crucial in evaluating our marketing of a listing.
Other Internet venues include LongandFoster.com, Craigslist, Trulia, Oodle, Backpage, Local.com, Lycos, Propsmart, Edgio, Vast.
Preservation Magazine (circulation 500,000) - Our Expert Ad
Old House Journal (circulation 600,000) - Our Expert Ad
Christie's Great Estatesis the largest international network of independent real estate brokers dedicated to the marketing and sale of important properties ($1M+). Because Long & Foster is an exclusive affiliate in its marketing area, our Historic Home Team can provide enormous and far-reaching exposure to a qualified audience of homebuyers that no other real estate company in our area can offer.
Branded National Magazine - Our Historic Home Team distributes our extraordinary 84 page "American Lifestyle Magazine" bi-monthly to a large number of subscribers (and growing) who appreciate the quality of the printing and excellent articles on subjects of interest to historic home owners. This magazine has brought significant value to our Historic Home Team brand and continues to bring buyers to our listings.
Monthy Newsletter - We publish an informative monthly newsletter that keeps our clients and prospective clients aware of historic market trends, historic home related topics, Historic Home Team enhancements and new listings. We distribute it via email and postal.
Historic Property Signage - Along with our regionally recognized red Long and Foster placard, we install a bright blue "Historic Property For Sale" sign rider with our HistoricHomeTeam.com web address in bright red font, along the words "Virtual Tours, Video Tours, Photos, Historic Details" and in a bold large white font, our toll-free number 866-437-8766. Within seconds, a prospective buyer can access important information about the property by cell phone, PDA or laptop computer. From a distance, the readily visible and striking images of the Long & Foster and Historic Home Team branded signs, set the house apart from the neighboring properties, identifying it as a Historic Home and an extraordinary buying opportunity.
Team of Experts - We have a team of professionals who are experts in their fields and understand the unique nature of historic homes:
Historic Home Inspectors
Loan Officers
Settlement Companies
Staging - Natalie Gestson, our professional staging director, evaluates a property for improvements that can enhance its appeal to a buyer.
Appraisers - Because of the unique and difficult nature of a historic home appraisal, appraisers often contact Gary Gestson, as an expert in the field, for assistance with an appraisal.
Trained Historic Craftsmen
Multiple Listing Service Membership - Most Realtors are members of only one MLS, locally. Gary Gestson is an active member of 2 area Multiple Listing Services:
MRIS (Greater DC area - 60,000 Realtor members)
RAYAC (Adams & York Counties in PA - 900 Realtor members)
This is a significant advantage to our listing clients, because rarely is a historic home sold to someone in the same community, buyers will normally be moving into the community from some distance. We can notify almost 100,000 Realtors that there is a great historic home buying opportunity for their clients.
National Database - We maintain a database of 600+ historic home buyers who are looking for properties in the Washington/Philadelphia areas.
Historic Estates - A customized marketing plan for properties priced at $1M+
Listing Schedule - This is a general schedule of events for the first 30 days of a new listing Select SOLD Properties - We sell historic homes through out Maryland, Pennsylvania & Virginia.
Testimonials - This is the reason why we are so successful
Please contact Gary Gestson at 866-437-8766 or by email gary@LNF.com for a free, no obligation historic home marketing consultation.
