Brandon Florida Real Estate

I can not stress this enough to seller's.  When you are selling a home in Florida, by law you must disclose any known facts that materially affect the value of a property.  This includes leaks, plumbing problems, electrical problems, structural problems, mold, foundation issues, roof problems, problems with flooding, A/C or heating issues, malfunctioning appliances (if you are leaving them) and anything else that affects the value of the property.

By choosing not to disclose something you know is wrong or was wrong that you fixed (such as, if you had a roof leak or issues with mold), or things that currently need to be fixed, you open yourself up to the possibility of a potential lawsuit later on down the road if something happens after you sell and the buyer can prove that you were aware of the problem when you owned the property and you didn't disclose it.

It's better to be safe than sorry and disclose any issues you're currently aware of, or that have been fixed since you have owned the property.

This doesn't mean that you need to disclose any cosmetic defects.  But you must disclose any issues that are not cosmetic!

The 2007 Tax Free Days for Sales Tax is coming up soon.  It will begin at 12:01am August 4, 2007 and go through midnight August 13, 2007.

The Tax free items are things such as the following:

• Clothing and related items with a sales price of $50 or less
• Books with a sales price of $50 or less
• School supplies with a sales price of $10 or less

For a complete list of what is tax exempt and what is taxable, click here.

Click here for questions and answers about the Tax free holiday.

This is the perfect time to get your school shopping done for your kids while saving some money!  To be better prepared for your shopping days, create a detailed list of every item your kids will need for school.  This way you won't forget anything, and you can cross things off the list as you find them.  It can be easy to forget a few things they will need once you're in the stores and the isles are full of other parents trying to stock up on school supplies.

If your home is listed with an agent, you need to be asking yourself this question.  Am I SELLING my home, or is my home just "For Sale"?

Let me first explain to you the difference between the two so that you can better answer that question.

Someone that is SELLING their home, has a home that is always clean & has been depersonalized and de-cluttered, the lawn is always maintained, the home can be shown at a moment's notice, you leave during all showings and there is a lock box on the door for agent access.

A person that has a home For Sale has a tendency to leave the house in not so tip-top condition, hasn't bothered to mow the lawn in about 2 weeks and it's now knee high, refuses showings because it's "bad timing", likes to hang around during the showings or refuses to let the listing agent put a lock box on the door.

If you're still having a hard time answering this question, let me ask you some other questions to help you out: 

1. Have you ever refused a showing because you forgot to pick up your dirty underwear or wash last nights dishes which are still sitting in the sink or on the counters, and the agent wants to show your home before you are able to get home & pick things up and clean the house, so you tell them no? 
2. Does your lawn still look like it hasn't been mowed in about a month and the garbage cans are still sitting at the curb, and garbage day was 2 days ago? 
3. Do you require 24 hours notice? 
4. Do you only allow your home to be shown during your "off hours" from work because you want to be there for all showings to let the agent in? 
5. Do you require your agent to attend all the showings, so thus refusing to allow a lock box to be placed on your home?

If you're answered YES to any of those questions, then you my friend are not SELLING your home.  Your home is just "For Sale."  Having your home "For Sale" in today's market versus SELLING your home could mean you won't be selling or moving at all, so you don't need to worry about cleaning it or mowing the lawn!

1. You should never be refusing showings unless it's a family emergency, you have company over, you're in the middle of dinner or your kids are sick.  You're trying to SELL your home, which means that your home needs to be shown on the buyer's schedule.....NOT YOUR'S!  Your home should always be spotless (or as clean as possible if you have kids), and if that means you have to stay up an hour later each night cleaning and picking up the house, then that's what you have to do.  You should never leave for work with dirty dishes left out, dirty clothes on the floor or a dirty house in any other sort of way.  If someone calls at 11am and wants to see it at 11:15am, then you need to be prepared for this!  If you want your home SOLD, then live in a home that is in tip-top condition at ALL times or as much as possible if you have kids. 
2. If your lawn doesn't look AS GOOD OR BETTER than the day it was listed and all the photos were taken, then you have some work to do!  If the lawn is not well maintained and garbage cans are laying at the curb with 3 days of newspapers at the end of the driveway that you haven't bothered to pick up, then it usually means the inside of the home is dirty, which also means you probably haven't maintained your home in any sort of way, which in turn screams to the buyer to RUN!!!
3. Why do you require 24 hours notice?  Unless it's a tenant occupied house, there is no reason why you need to have 24 hours notice!!  Selling a home in an inconvenience that you will have to deal with for a few months if you want your home sold.  By requiring agents to provide 24 hours notice for showings, probably will result in less showings.  Many buyers call last minute and want to see a home right away or within a couple of hours.  You need to be willing to work with them.  Some agents see that requiring 24 hours notice and you refusing showings with anything less than 24 hours notice as difficult people to work with and they may advise their buyer that you are probably not serious about selling and may be difficult to work with.  NEXT!!
4. Ok, so if you're one of these people that insists on being there for all showings and you have to be there to let them in, GOOD LUCK!  You're gonna need it.  Chances are you probably aren't going to sell your home either.  Many people like to look at homes during the day...while you're at work...and if they can't get in, then that's another buyer you've potentially lost.  Most times, they will NOT call back to reschedule.  There are too many other homes that are available to get into much easier.  And as much as you think you may be helping the situation by being there to let us in and you're there to answer any questions.....buyer's HATE when homeowners are home!  They feel like they are intruding in your home and they don't feel comfortable looking in closets or cabinets.  In fact, most times they will rush through the home to get out quickly because it is so uncomfortable having a seller there.
5. If you don't allow an agent to put a lock box on the home or you require your agent to be there for all showings....once again, GOOD LUCK, you're gonna need it!  I know I certainly don't have time to hunt your agent down and drive somewhere else to go pick up a key or to try and work around your agents schedule to show my buyer your property!  There are too many other homes on the market to waste time driving some place to pick up a key that I will then have to drive back to return it, or to re-schedule my entire showing schedule because your agent has to be there to let me in and it's bad timing for them.  NEXT!!

Having a "For Sale" sign in your yard and your home listed in the MLS isn't going to do you one bit of good if you're refusing showings, allowing showings while your home is dirty, requiring to be there for all showings, not allowing a lock box to be placed on the home, not maintaining the home or the yard or requiring your listing agent to be there for all showings!

As I said before selling a home can be a big inconvenience.  BUT, if your home is in tip-top shape and ready to show at a moment's notice without any hassle or anyone hovering over the agent that is there showing the home, chances are higher that you will sell it faster and move on.  If not, then you will probably end up dealing with the inconvenience of selling your home much longer than you really needed to if you'd of just been a little bit more flexible.

You need to be impressing a buyer.  Not turning a buyer off!  There are way too many other homes for sale that you are competing with and it's too easy for a buyer to say, "You know what, never mind.  We don't really need to see that one."

So let me ask you this question one last time.  Are you SELLING your home, or is your home just "For Sale"?

Don't forget to read my article on pricing a home in today's market!!

They don't want to hear what you have to say because it isn't what they want to hear.  It's as if they have their fingers stuck in their ears while yelling "La La La La La La La La La" while you are talking to them.

My favorite is when someone that has lived in the place for like 5 years and the home is now worth double what they paid for it, yet they "can't afford" to sell their home at the price I am suggesting.  Umm....can't afford?  You're making 100k on this place, so what exactly is it that you can't afford? 

But here's the kicker.  They want to sell their home, buy another home and pay cash for it, pay off all their debts and put a kid through college.  Well hell yeah, don't we all?  But...hello....that's not reality!  Reality is selling your home at the amount the current market will allow you to sell it for.  Meaning, it's only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it and nothing more! 

Selling a home is not your answer to financial freedom and living debt free the rest of your life!  Well, unless you've owned a home for 30 years and paid 35k for it and it's now worth 500k.  There are always exceptions to the rule.  However, that rule doesn't apply to very many people.

Just because you own a home and you want to do certain things after selling it, doesn't mean you're going to be able to do those things!  And just because Fred & Wilma down the road, who's house happens to be identical to yours have theirs listed at the price you want to list yours at, which is about 50k too high, doesn't mean you should do the same!

It's important that you have your home priced according to what is UNDER CONTRACT or what has RECENTLY SOLD!!  Not based on Fred & Wilma's house which is way over priced!

Here's a perfect example for you!

• My broker listed a villa on 3/10/06 for $324,900.  It probably should have at the time been listed at $299,900. 
• She lowered the price on 4/26/06 to $299,900.
• Again lowered the price on 5/31/06 to $289,900
• She refused to lower the price on it for quite a while.  During this time, the listing expired and she re-listed it again with us.
• On 3/21/07 nearly a year later, she agreed to lower the price to $259,900 only after an identical unit as her's that I sold to one of my buyers, sold for $250,000.
• Finally on 4/1/07 her listing expired again and she didn't want to re-list with us, because we were asking her for another price reduction and she was again refusing.
• On 5/1/07 she re-listed it with another agent at $259,900.
• It's now 84 days later and a unit that is 500 square feet bigger than her's and many more upgrades just sold last month for $225,000!

She should probably be priced somewhere under $200,000 right now, yet she is 60k over priced!

Now mind you, she bought this place 5 years ago and paid $139,900 for it.  Yet, she couldn't afford to lower the price!  Well that's fine, then sit on it!  Who's going to even look at your home when it's priced 35k higher than a much larger unit that recently sold?  NO ONE!!!

Did she think we were telling her to lower the price just for the heck of it?  I will never understand why some people are so adamant about refusing to listen to their agent!!

We have since decided that if we have a listing and the price needs to be lowered and the seller refuses to lower the price to what we suggest based upon comps in the area, then we will terminate the listing agreement we have with them.  They can go find someone else to blame and wonder why their house hasn't sold.

Hey, look at it this way if you're one of these people that refuses to listen......

While your neighbors that priced their homes correctly to sell, sell them and move out.  You will still be there to meet and greet the new people that move in to your neighbors home!  You along with Fred & Wilma can become the welcoming committee for your neighborhood!

Being a greedy seller in today's market will literally get you no where!  You either need to get serious about selling your home, or brush up on your cake baking skills!

I noticed it right away on the home page of ActiveRain this morning when I signed on.

What I also found interesting once clicking on it, was to read the "fine print" sort-to-speak.  "The referral exchange is provided to ActiveRain members as a free service at this time.  At a later date the service will include a flat monthly subscription fee."  So this must be the first of the "paying type" of services ActiveRain will be offering.  People wanted to know how they were making money, looks like this is the first step.

I am curious what are everyones thoughts on this?  Will you be signing up to pay for this service?  Or will you continue to do things as you have in the past, and search the ActiveRain profiles for free?

*NOTE:  Here's a post of a press release on the ActiveRain blog that was just posted this morning about this.

Manatee County school hours were voted and unanimously approved to change and will take effect starting August 20, 2007. 

Make sure you have proper arrangements made for your children ahead of time before school starts next month.

New school hours are as follows:

Elementary
School starts every day at 8:30am
School ends on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 3:05pm
School ends on Wednesday at 1:15pm

Middle School
School starts every day at 9:15am
School ends on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 3:55pm
School ends on Wednesday at 2:10pm

High School
School starts every day at 7:45am
School ends on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 2:20pm
School ends on Wednesday at 12:30pm

If you would like more information, feel free to visit the Manatee County School District's website.

I was just reading a few blog posts here this morning on ActiveRain about unethical agents and a similar situation that has happened to me a couple times came to mind.  It has to do with another agent passing out their business cards to someone else's buyers!

Can someone PLEASE explain to me why another agent would hand one of my buyers their business card in front of me?  Please tell me your reasoning behind this.  I sure would like to know!

You know....the listing agent that shows up to let you in for the showing and when leaving they hand your buyer one of their business cards "just in case they have any questions" or need anything.

I have thought about this from just about every angle to try and come up with a logical answer and the only logical answer I can come up with, is you are handing them your business card with the hopes that if for some reason they have a question, you are hoping that they will call you instead of me and you can then attempt to lure them in as your buyer.  Why else do you ever hand someone your business card?  The whole purpose of giving someone your business card is in hopes that they will call you!

Can someone please explain the logic behind doing this?  Inquiring minds would like to know!

Anyone else ever had this happen to them?  I know I am not alone here.  What did you do or what would you have done?  I didn't do or say anything to that agent, but what was running through my mind wasn't pleasant!

Wonder if they would mind too much if I showed up at their open houses to solicit their buyers?  Hey I could pass out my business cards to anyone that shows up!  What a novel idea!

SOLD!  No longer on the market

  Just listed!!!  Beautiful home with large loft area that could be used as office or family room. Solid surface counter tops, vaulted ceilings, large rooms, security system, hurricane shutters, huge backyard with room to add a pool, private setting at the end of a cul-de-sac with lake views from backyard. Gated entrance into community, community pool, playground area and less than 5 minutes from the new Elementary School being built.

• 3 Bedrooms
• 2.5 Bathrooms
• 2002 Square feet under air
• Built in 2005
• MLS #559647
• Priced at $219,000  Sold at $219,000

Directions:  HWY 301 to Old Tampa Rd. Go East on Old Tampa Rd. Turn right onto Ft. Hamer Rd. Just past the school on left is the Chelsea Oaks subdivision. Turn left into subdivision.  Follow to 122nd Pl E & turn Right onto 122nd Pl E. Home at the end of the cul-de-sac on right.

Click here to view a map.

I've been hearing more and more mention that Video Tours are better than Virtual Tours.  What do you think?  Do you agree or not?  With Video Tours, you don't have to spend the time stitching the photos together and they can also be uploaded to more places, like YouTube.

We are considering switching from Virtual Tours to Video Tours, but also don't own a Camcorder and the digital camera we have doesn't really take great video recordings.

So what kind of Camcorder are you using?  How good is the quality of videos it creates?  How much did it cost?

I know there are places that you can go out and compare the brands to one another, but I'd like to hear what other people in the real estate business are using.

Any other things you would suggest to look for if we do decide to buy one?

If you signed up for MyBlogLog, then you also know that anytime you visit someones blog that is also signed up on MyBlogLog, your picture will show up under the recent readers every single time you visit their blog.

Now, I didn't really care for this option.  Sometimes, I just wanted to pop in and see what new post someone wrote or maybe check back to see what other comments were made on a post that I commented on, and I don't want my face to show up every time I go to that blog!!

So I was getting irritated at this, because it was kind of like sneaking in and getting caught.  I didn't like it.  So I was trying to delete my account with them, when I came across this nifty little feature!  You can basically "hide" and your picture won't show up anymore when you go to their blogs!  HA HA HA!!!

How do you fix it?  Sign on to your MyBlogLog account, then click on edit profile at the top of the screen, now scroll all the way down to the bottom of the screen and the last question is "Opt-out of data collection".  Change this to yes.  Click update my profile and you are all set!  I did have to do this twice before it finally worked. 

Go test it out on someone that has a MyBlogLog on their site and if your picture shows up, go back and do it again.  Then go to someone else's blog to that has it and see if you show up!

So now I can browse all your blogs and not be "seen" if you have this on your blog.  Neener neener neener!!!