David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

Today I toured a home for sale in Venice Gardens in Venice FL.  It was one of the best examples of house flipping I have seen in Venice in quite a while, and it's an excellent value for anyone looking for Venice FL real estate. With the owner's and listing agent's permission, I'll share some photos of this property. Venice Gardens  is known for 2 bedroom/2 bath homes, with one car garages and concrete block construction.  This one had three good sized bedrooms and has nice curb appeal. The kitchen is the first thing you see when you enter the home, and it makes quite the impression. The combination of the timeless white cabinets, contemporary cabinet pulls, subway tile back splash, and solid wood counter tops will appeal to today's home buyers and lends a touch of sophistication that won't go out of style. Like the kitchen, both baths have contemporary sinks and faucets that look far better than a standard out of the box vanity from th...

There has been a paradigm shift in how you should approach your choice of Realtor in Sarasota and Venice, or any market for that matter. The fact is that with more and more real estate information readily available online, buyers and sellers should no longer solely rely on selecting a Realtor with more "years of experience" to help set a listing price or help find the right neighborhoods. Your choice of a Realtor should come down to one major thing:  computer literacy. Comedy always contains a kernel of truth. Besides price, think about what your Realtor is going to be doing for you.  If you're selling, your Realtor will be marketing your home to potential buyers.  Where do the buyers come from? 94 % of them start looking online.  That means marketing to them on the dreaded computer.  Even worse for the computer-challenged Realtor, the choice of matketing is more complicated than ever due to increased mobile device usage. If you're buying, what wil...

A lot of new home buyers (and most Realtors) are in the habit of  looking for new homes in subdivisions.  They are easy to spot as the land is being cleared, and it's easier for the builders to promote subdivisions as a group of homes with similar amenities. DR Horton is taking a bit different approach and is offering what I think is one of the best kept secrets in new homes in Sarasota or Charlotte Counties. During the real estate downturn, South Gulf Cove in Charlotte County was hard hit with foreclosures. Many vacant single family lots dropped drastically in value. DR Horton is now building brand new single family homes on 10,000 sq. ft. and larger lots on saltwater canals (lock access to the Myakka River/Charlotte Harbor) starting at $185,000, without private pool. South Gulf Cove has a voluntary HOA.  A similar home in one of DR Horton's subdivisions would start at $250,000 with HOA fee, without boating access. Please contact me for a list of ...