David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

I've added a very useful, exclusive tool for Venice FL home sellers on my website, www.davidbarrhomes.com .  It will also be extremely useful for home buyers as well. Home buyers today are highly educated and ask a lot of questions before deciding to make a real estate purchase.  I now provide an on-line questionnaire for home sellers, based on the most common questions buyers ask.  In case you want to go old-school, I also provide a link for you to download the form. The more information a buyer has, the faster they can make a decision and the faster your Venice, FL property will sell. Visit  http://goo.gl/oZSMzO  and see the new, exclusive tools for sellers.

I've been writing a lot about increasing the value of your Venice FL home or condo for sale by simple improvements inside the property and outside, like adding a pergola. Curb appeal is the first emotional connection a buyer will make with your home and it happens within seconds.  Don't neglect landscaping that improves your home's curb appeal. Here's some plants I have personal experience with that grow easily in Florida's climate and will add visual impact: Bougainvillea Bougainvillea grows quickly and produces a lot of color, especially in the winter months here in FL.  Bougainvillea can be trained to grow on a trellis or a privacy fence, or trimmed into bushes or privacy hedges.  Once they "start", they really take off.  I've transplanted what I thought was a dead bougainvillea and it came back to life with little effort.  Make sure to get the purple variety with the smaller leaves.  The larger varieties with heart shaped leaves seem to...

I have worked with a lot of Venice FL home buyers over the years.  Buyers take their time to make a decision on which property to purchase and are looking for a WOW factor to help make that decision. If you are thinking of sprucing up your Venice FL real estate to sell, consider something different for kitchen countertops: stainless steel. Photo courtesy remodelista.com Stainless steel counter tops are not for the budget minded investor or seller, but it can give that WOW factor to a property and help it stand out in the mind of a potential buyer.  Consider installing a stainless counter top in just one part of the kitchen. Stainless counter tops mix well with a butcher block island If you have a section of counter top in a standard cabinet width, check out restaurant supply websites that sell prefabricated counter tops:  http://www.webstaurantstore.com/advance-tabco-vctc-243-25-x-36-flat-top-stainless-steel-countertop/109VCTC243.html?

I've been blogging lately about staging Venice FL homes for sale and how color affects buyer's emotions about a home. Here's some really good examples of how light colors, and spare use of color, can make any home feel larger and also help a potential buyer imagine their furnishings in a space. Photos courtesy www.dwell.com.  See more of their slideshow here : Light colors soften the transition between the floor and walls A coat of white paint makes a huge difference: Before versus after, below. Light colors and minimal decor will help buyers imagine their furnishings in a room, even in an older home.