David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

The Berkshire Hathaway Venice sales team had a meeting at the new home community Grand Oaks in Venice, FL a couple of days ago.  I was inspired by their design team to blog about how important color choices can be for today's home buyers. New home community Grand Oaks in Venice, FL Grand Oaks is a small gated and walled community of 55 homes, located on Venice Avenue near the intersection with Jacaranda.  A brand new Publix is within walking distance, and it's just 3 miles to downtown Venice.  Grand Oaks has no CDD fee, with monthly association and maintenance fees of only $199.  A rare combination for a new home community! I was especially impressed with one of their model homes, in particular, the color palette and decor. The Sabal model home at Grand Oaks in Venice White cabinets never go out of style. Light, bright, and tone on tone colors increase the visual appeal Color is used sparingly on an accent wall in the master be...

On today's June 20th edition of Fox and Friends, Michael Corbett again appeared for his regular Friday "report" on affordable homes from Trulia. The problem, as I have documented in the past, is that few if any of the homes Corbett profiles on Fox and Friends are actually available for sale.  Fox News may finally be getting it; the segment seemed noticeably shorter today. Here are the homes Corbett profiled on Fox and Friends: 1) Charlotte, NC: $199,000, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2000 sq ft colonial style brick front.  Realtor.com shows zero homes for sale in Charlotte with these exact parameters. 2) Huntsville, AL: $200,000, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2000 sq ft brick front ranch.  Once again, zero homes found for sale in Huntsville on Realtor.com 3) Tyler, TX: $187,500, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1600 sq ft, cottage style home.  Zero homes in Tyler are for sale fitting this description on Realtor.com As I have previously outlined on this blog, a study by Inman fou...

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) issued a warning on "coming soon" marketing, since the issue was raised by Zillow's new "coming soon" feature.  NAR says brokers who do not act in the best interest of their clients by informing them of the limited nature of coming soon marketing could face liability. "Coming soon" marketing is another form of pocket listings, where a Realtor has either a verbal agreement with a homeowner to sell their property, or has a written agreement.  The MLS I belong to, MFRMLS, is the 2nd largest in the country.  MFRMLS rules require a listing to be input in the MLS within 48 hours of completing a written listing agreement.  A "coming soon" listing could only be in effect with a true written  agreement for 48 hours, using Zillow's "coming soon" feature. In my previous blog post, I outlined how "coming soon" listings have the potential for abuse.  A Realtor could technically have a...

Readers of this blog will know that I am a fervent advocate for accuracy in real estate, especially when it comes to Zillow and Trulia. I had yet another customer ask me about a property they found on Zillow that was not available for sale. The customer says she found 141 Spanish Point Drive, Osprey, FL for sale in Zillow.  Google Maps does not show a home at that address, and there is no Sarasota County tax record for this address. Zillow does show a property at 121 Spanish Point Drive for sale on their site:   http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Osprey-FL/47533789_zpid/56139_rid/27.203443,-82.487342,27.198166,-82.495335_rect/16_zm/1_fr/   That property is not for sale in the MLS. For more about how Zillow and Trulia do business please visit my wesite:   http://www.davidbarrhomes.com/#!debunking-zillow-sarasota/cftb

Zillow is starting a new "feature" that allows agents to post what we in the industry call pocket listings:  Properties that are supposedly for sale before they are listed in the MLS. Pocket listings are prevalent in some markets, and no doubt a lot of buyers see agents negotiating pocket listings on popular real estate TV shows on Bravo or HGTV. Unfortunately for consumers, pocket listings are full of potential legal and accuracy issues that will add more headaches than necessary to the home buying process. The MLS I belong to, Mid Florida MLS, the 2nd largest in the country, requires that a property must be listed in the MLS within 48 hours of receipt of a signed listing agreement by the seller.  Zillow's "Coming Soon" will not be much of a benefit. Zillow's "Coming Soon" feature opens up a lot of opportunity for agents to abuse it.  In the absence of a signed listing agreement, agents could post a property for sale without a signed list...

Homes offering owner financing are becoming a more popular niche.  I have been concentrating in  specializing in owner financing negotiation. You don't have to have bad credit to benefit from owner financing.  Many home buyers and sellers are refusing to deal with the hurdles involved in getting a bank mortgage.  But, a conversation I had today with another agent brings up the issue of Fair Housing law. No one offering mortgage financing can legally ask about the status or demographics of a buyer.  There are protected classes of buyers which include familial status, race, gender and sexual preference.  As Realtors, we should be counseling our sellers and buyers about the law and basing sales and purchase decisions based on buyer qualification for the mortgage only. Visit my website for owner financing homes for sale:  http://www.davidbarrhomes.com/#!owner-financing-sarasota/chfb

I've been following this "Trulia real estate expert" on Fox and Friends for a few weeks.  Today he showed up again today with his best deals segment. I noticed a couple of changes in his segment since I have started monitoring him on this program.  Today, the prices of the properties he profiled were displayed on screen for milliseconds, presumably to make the listings harder to trace back on Realtor.com.   Despite my previous challenge to him and to Trulia, they display no MLS numbers for potential buyers to find the homes Corbett profiles online. I also noticed he threw in a home in Sarasota (my primary market area) with no price displayed except for the anchor saying it verbally.  Below is what he profiled: 1) Atlanta   $300,000  3/3 red   2 story   2700 sq ft colonial  corner lot pre-wired for electronics: According to Realtor.com, this home is currently for sale. 2) Sarasota FL  3/2  1900 sq ft  stone...

People are still talking about using drones in real estate for photography of properties.  I'm all for high tech, but not for tools or time wasters that may not help sell homes. DJII Phantom from Hobby Wow Proponents of drones say they are particularly useful when photographing large estates, or giving a unique perspective of a large luxury home from above.  In real use, drones present issues with permission to overfly neighbors and license questions from the FAA. I'm not rushing out to buy a drone any time soon.  The amount of time necessary to learn to fly one, much less take a clear picture from one, is time diverted from other activities.  The value they bring to home sellers is still questionable, since most internet savvy buyers can use Google Earth to get a bird's eye on homes for sale.

More and more people are learning that #AccuracyMatters when it comes to searching online for real estate. Uninstall your inaccurate Zillow or Trulia mobile app and install my free, feature-packed Sarasota MLS app today:   http://www.davidbarrhomes.com/#!mls-app-sarasota/c1l2 One of the best features is the ability to draw a custom shape on a map to search a particular area.  You can save your favorites and even ask me a question right from a property listing page. My MLS app is completely accurate and has up to date MLS information, unlike Trulia or Zillow's apps.  Don't drive to a home you found on Zillow's mobile app expecting an open house and find it's not even for sale:

Today I got an email from a customer using Zillow's mobile app. As readers of this blog know well, I'm a avid crusader against the business practices of Zillow that negatively impact the public and the real estate industry. This home that was listed for sale on Zillow is actually under contract in our MLS: MLS M5845701, available on Zillow's mobile app but under contract in the MLS If you install the Zillow mobile app on your device and use it to search for homes, you'll be looking at out of date information.  Remember, #AccuracyMatters. Fortunately for my clients, I have my own mobile app that provides up to date information from the MLS.  Download it here: http://t.ikenex.com/?k=LGz Follow me on Twitter @sarasota_homes and #AccuracyMatters.

An informative article Florida Realtors economist Brad O'Connor about new housing permits shows what parts of Florida are experiencing a construction boom. The orange shaded areas show Hillsborough County in Tampa, and Orange County in the Orlando, with the state's highest number of building permits. What I found interesting is that Manatee and Sarasota Counties combined had basically the same number of new building permits as Miami-Dade and Broward Counties on the east coast of FL. You can read the entire article here, and use the interactive map:   http://www.floridarealtors.org/ResearchAndStatistics/John-Tuccillo-Market-Report_Summit-Blog.cfm Buying a new home is not something to do on your own without the assistance of an experienced buyer's agent.   Competing new home construction can negatively impact the resale of your 2 or 3 year old property down the road.  Quality of life issues such as traffic congestion can also have a negative influence on the fut...

I just updated my website with Sarasota are best real estate deals:   http://www.davidbarrhomes.com/#!best-deals-sarasota/c142p Sarasota best deal on Hillview St. for sale The updated best deals list includes waterfront homes in Bradenton and Englewood, a large newer 2 story home in Venice under $200K, and a couple of affordable homes in Sarasota just east of the Trail, a hot area for both investors and full time residents. Please contact me if you're interested in touring any of these homes.

This week I was contacted by home buyers to show a property they had found online. It turned out the buyers had put an put in an offer on the house they wanted me to show them, with another agent. The buyers did not have a representation agreement with the other agent, and an offer is only an offer if it is not accepted by both the seller and buyer.  They felt their first agent did not represent their interests, and they were correct. Key West style home for sale in Englewood $254,900 The buyers and the seller came within $900 of making a deal.  Then, according to the buyers, nothing happened, which is why they contacted me. I went over the comparable sales and told the buyers that the price the seller counter-offered was actually a pretty good deal.  $900 represents a difference of about $5 per month in mortgage payment.  The buyers agreed it would not be worth losing the home over $5 per month. Unfortunately, their previous agent did not provide c...

I have a visible Sarasota FL real estate website and I get a lot of calls from Canadian media asking me to advertise to Canadian investors. Sarasota is arguably one of the best places, if not the best place, to invest in Florida real estate.  Best doesn't mean the least expensive. Downtown Sarasota and Sarasota Bay Unfortunately, a lot of Canadian real estate investors focus on the less expensive properties and gravitate toward less expensive markets like Orlando, Tampa, or Ft. Myers.  In my opinion, that's not the best approach to investing in Florida real estate. Sarasota County is one of the top three affluent counties in Florida, with the top school district in the state.  Sarasota benefits from a world class reputation for arts, amenities such as fine dining, and lifestyle, including the consistently #1 rated Siesta Key Beach.  The affluent visitors to Sarasota could go to Ft Myers or Tampa, but they don't.  They come to Sarasota year after year...

There's a lot of new home communities under construction in the Sarasota area.  It seems many home buyers haven't considered looking in Venice, compared to the better known areas such as Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County, or Palmer Ranch in Sarasota. New home for sale in Grand Palm in Venice FL Why buy a new home in Venice?  Consider these facts: New home communities such as Grand Palm, Island Walk, and Gran Paradiso, are approximately 7 miles to the nearest hospital, Venice Regional Bayfront.  New home communities in Palmer Ranch, such as Arbor Lakes and Sandhill Preserve, are approximately 10 miles to Sarasota Memorial. Distance to the nearest beach from Venice new home communities equals the distance to Siesta Key beaches from Palmer Ranch, and is about half the distance compared to Lakewood Ranch. Downtown Venice activities and amenities are closer to new home communities than Sarasota downtown is to Palmer Ranch new home communities. Comparable Venice...

Have you been searching Zillow or Trulia for Sarasota real estate? I've been saying for a long time that these services have a lot of inaccurate information and outdated properties for sale on their sites.  Many of the homes and condos they list for sale were never available for sale in the first place. You can check the true status of a property you've found on either of these sites with a MLS # search:   http://www.davidbarrhomes.com/#!sarasota-mls-number-search/cvrw

I may be one of only a few Sarasota area Realtors who actively markets services to home buyers looking for homes offering owner financing. To serve your needs, I have a page on my website that lists all homes and condos offering owner financing from the MLS :   http://www.davidbarrhomes.com/#!owner-financing-sarasota/chfb Owner financing available for this beachfront condo $349,000 Owner financed homes are at fairly low levels due to our strong real estate market.  Here's some tips when looking for owner financing: Don't ask what terms the seller is offering before seeing the home in person.  It's like asking the seller what is final best sales price will be.  Most of the time, the response back from the seller will ask what terms you are offering.  Financing terms are part of your overall offer and will be as negotiable as the price; Have at least 20% of the anticipated final purchase price as a down payment; Have your down payment source of fund...

My Sarasota real estate website listing 55 and over communities has been updated with live MLS data. If you're looking for Sarasota 55 and over communities for sale, you can see available properties for sale in just one click:   http://www.davidbarrhomes.com/#!55-and-over-communities/cus

My Sarasota real estate website www.davidbarrhomes.com  has undergone a complete upgrade. Now using HTML5, I've added interactive map search and live MLS listings for over 50 popular Sarasota area neighborhoods. Website navigation is much more streamlined, with access to all major pages available in the main menu. Check it out and let me know what you think.

A goal I set last year for my real estate website, www.davidbarrhomes.com , is finally coming to fruition. As with my old website, I designed the new style and layout.  I'd love to get some feedback on the new design and layout. The redesigned site works on all computing platforms (desktop, laptop, and mobile) using the latest HTML5 features. One of the benefits of the upgrade is that I can organize all my website links in a drop-down menu.  Another benefit coming next week will give buyers and sellers the latest real estate search tools and features. Unfortunately, if you've been visiting my website through links on this blog, most of them are no longer valid.  When you get redirected to davidbarrhomes.com from an older link, please use the main menu on the home page to access the content you are looking for.