David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

I toured a Venice FL home for sale this week with a buyer looking for a retirement residence.  One of the homes in the buyer's list was a renovated home in the Venice East neighborhood. This home was exceptionally well renovated.  Every major system appeared to be touched by an update: roof, windows, kitchen, flooring, HVAC, and electric.  You could have eaten off the garage floor. As the title of this post suggests, a successful renovation has to have more to attract a buyer and maximize the sales price.  This home had 2 fatal flaws: Lack of a master suite; A very narrow back yard, with no exterior entertaining space provided, not even a patio or a deck for a grill. If you are looking for investment property in the Venice, FL area, it takes more than just getting a "good deal".   Please contact me to schedule a tour of available homes for sale.

Today I took a tour of a renovated home for sale in the Venice East area of Venice FL.  The home is owned and listed for sale by a real estate team from our Berkshire Hathaway office. Tone on tone floors and walls visually open the space This home is a very well executed flip, with many of the features and trends buyers are looking for.  I've written about using light, neutral tones on floors and walls, and this home has taken good advantage of this technique.  The light, neutral colors create a backdrop for any type of style or decor. The kitchen has most features buyers are looking for I've also been writing about using white cabinets for your Venice FL kitchen renovation.  They are timeless, and continue the open and airy feel created by the light floor and wall colors. Simple materials can make a big statement Many people are intimidated by renovating a bath.  This home proves that simple white subway tiles and a classic dual vanit...

Our MLS has a great tool that most agents don't seem to be aware of.  It's called RatePlug. RatePlug takes the current list price of the property and factors in mortgage payments, HOA/condo fees, taxes, PMI, and property tax and insurance, to give buyers a complete picture of the property's monthly ownership expenses. This tool is particularly helpful for investors to calculate potential cash flow. I have enabled the RatePlug feature for all my customers.  When you see this logo in the property reports: you can access the information. Click here for a live demonstration of how RatePlug works:   http://mfr.mlsmatrix.com/Matrix/Public/DisplayITQPopup.aspx?iid=1&did=191&params=52%20MTYwMzMyNTA4&exk=d15e416ecc590ea5b6bef34f1007fd2e

If you're an investor looking for Venice FL real estate, here are three currently available properties for sale you may want to consider. 1) 2/2 villa in popular neighborhood near beaches and shopping.  List price $75,000.  Renovated comps in same community are selling starting at $125,000. 2) 2/2 single family home, bank owned, in South Venice.  Terrazzo floors throughout, needs cosmetic work but tons of curb appeal and open plan with 1300 sq ft under air.  List price mid $80's.  Fix and flip with a potential list price in the $140's, or polish it up for cash flow. 3) The best currently available single family home on Venice Island is a 2/1 with volume ceilings and open plan, just blocks from deeded Golden Beach access.  One look and you'll see this could be a great potential seasonal rental, sold turn-key furnished.  Listed just under $300K. Contact me for more details and to schedule a showing .

There's been some news about real estate investors tapering off their purchase activity as housing prices increase.  That doesn't mean that the smart investors are giving up, because there's still good deals out there and a lot of rental demand in both Sarasota and Venice. For years after the real estate market downturn in 2008, it was easy to pick the low-hanging fruit of a $100K foreclosure, fix and flip it, or clean it up to rent for cash flow property.  In today's market, smart investors are factoring price appreciation in their formula for picking properties. Sarasota and Venice real estate is appreciating at healthy rates, but the higher overall price point of Sarasota versus Venice makes Sarasota a more difficult area for a newer investor to dip their toe in the market. Let's look at a side by side comparison of the two areas: Sarasota Target price range $150-$200K Highest rental demand:  Bahia Vista south to Clark Rd, west of Beneva and east of ...

Are you getting ready to sell your Venice, FL home or condo? You may not have to spend a lot of money on a kitchen makeover to attract a buyer and get top dollar for your property. A fresh coat of paint on walls and wood cabinets makes a huge difference.  Note the colors in this kitchen, and how the white and gray colors are punctuated with wood tones.  The space also appears bigger because the flooring color softens the transition to the walls. Photo courtesy of modernize.com Read the entire set of 20 easy ways to modernize your Venice FL kitchen in this link  from modernize.com When you're ready to sell, please contact me for pricing, staging, and marketing solutions that will help sell your home.