David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

As I get older and wiser I find the old cliches about business do have a basis in fact and success.  When dealing with a customer, try to put yourself in their shoes. A great example of this happened to me this morning with a customer from Canada.  As much as I enjoy working with Canadian buyers, they are extremely risk averse.  This buyer in particular was sensitive to the potential for mold in a condo unit that was not a primary residence for the current owners.  His thoughts were that moisture build up in an unoccupied residence could cause hidden mold issues. Of course, it didn't help that the sellers left one of those timed Lysol fragrance spritzers on in the unit. To the buyer, it seemed like the fragrance was covering up a moldy or musty smell.  Putting myself in the buyer's shoes, and since I am from up north myself, it must seem "musty" to a visitor because of our high humidity, even compared to Canada's hottest, most humid days. Since the home...

I read an interesting article on real estate marketing and the basic business card. The premise of the article was "My Face is Not My Brand".  It went on to say there's a divide in the real estate community about putting faces of agents on everything from cards to yard signs to real estate websites.  I call this vanity marketing. I am of the school that believes no one is going to select me or not select me because of how I look.  I have always said I prefer to work with people that select me as their agent because of my knowledge and local experience.   Here's something to think about:  Do doctors or employees of major corporations put their head shot on their business cards? Vanity marketing might be great for politics, but it's not so great for real estate. Do we even need business cards at all in the digital age?  Now there's a topic for a future blog.

I just updated my Best Deals page on my website with the latest finds from the MLS. Although I've been writing about multiple offers and increased buyer activity in our local real estate market, I'm still seeing excellent values out there.   Some examples: A 3500 square foot home in a gated community, listed in the $390's that sold for almost double that in 2005; A townhome in Lakewood Ranch under $100K; An imcome producing 5-unit building on Manasota Key just steps to the beach for under $500K. You can view the property details, see the map locations, and even make an offer online.  These usually go under contract quickly, so please contact me if interested.

I've been making some additions to my real estate website, www.davidbarrhomes.com , that buyers interested in purchasing Sarasota real estate will find useful. It's frustrating enough finding homeowner's property insurance information on insurance websites, so I created a new page addressing the most common concerns in the Sarasota area, which you can read here:  www.davidbarrhomes.com/insurance .  I cover a lot of topics from wind mitigation to flood insurance. Sarasota FL home buyers will also find my content on the buying process very informative.  My exclusive Beach Meter , included for the 39 neighborhoods and major areas I profile on davidbarrhomes.com, have been enhanced with links to Bing Maps, showing not only the driving time and distance to the nearest beach, but the actual route as well. Many home buyers may not be aware of what CDD fees are or how they impact your purchase and ownership of a home or condo.  You can read more about them on the C...