Sarasota Real Estate News

Before I became a Realtor, I was clueless about what it took to buy and sell a home.  When it came to selling property, I’ll admit thinking about paying a 6% commission to a Realtor was just money thrown away.  It would be easy enough, I thought, to just put an ad in the newspaper and my beautiful little gulf condo in Seaside, Florida, would sell quickly.   Even worse, our homeowners association had an experienced, on-site agent with local connections, who was available to show the property 7 days a week, and I lived in Atlanta, Georgia!   What was wrong with this scenario?  Everything!

I was a career analyst with U.S. Department of Defense, knew a lot about Defense, but nothing about real estate.  I would drive from Atlanta to Seaside on the weekends, thinking that I would meet potential Buyers who had called during the week.  I was my own best enemy, handled the property management/rentals, so I had a cell phone with a local area code (like that would make a difference).   Of course, I knew what these condos were selling for, but that’s about all I knew about real estate.  Not sure what I had on hand for a contract, probably something I got online, and I did not know about getting a local real estate law firm to review the terms of a contract—if I were to get one--and give me advice.  Sure, I had some calls, but no one came to see my beautiful little condo; there were a few “no-shows. ” This would have been a perfect opportunity for a Realtor to contact me and explain the value of the services they provide.

First, I did not know that as a second home, I would need to re-invest the profit within 180 days, or pay capital gains taxes.  I had no idea about accepting and protecting the Buyers’ deposits or if they had been prequalified by a lender or if they had the cash if they were a cash buyer.   Did I understand home inspections and my responsibilities as a Seller?  No!   What would have happened if either the Buyer or I were in default of the contract?   Big legal troubles, and I certainly had no money for legal fees. 

My beach condo did not sell, so the next year, I contacted a Realtor who had it repainted blue and added some decorative staging items, such as new pictures and mirrors.  It was cute and well done, but I took it off the market during the season to generate rental income, and that was another mistake.   Several months later, when I was ready to sell, the market began to tank and by then we had a $20,000 assessment to shore up the sagging balconies and take care of mold issues.  The property was stigmatized in the local real estate community, and nothing was selling.  The homeowners association voted not to sue the developer, and when I obtained a copy of all of the minutes of the prior homeowners association meetings—even before my time as a homeowner there--I learned that the sagging balcony issues had been brought up in the past, but guess what?  The board members had all sold their units and were gone, leaving the rest of us behind to find and fix the problems they knew about.   That’s another law suit waiting to happen!

I visited a good construction litigator law firm in Pensacola, Florida, and explained the issues and he agreed to take on a class action suit against the developer and contractors, but he needed 2/3 of the owners to agree.  I could not get more than 5 out of 120 to agree to go forward with this class action suit.  That was my first experience with out-of-state owners who don’t have the time to worry about their second homes. 

So we all paid the $20,000 assessments, fixed the problems, and had good income tax write-offs.  But nothing sold at market price in that development for years.

In 2000, I decided to sell my townhome in Atlanta, and used a Realtor whom I did not know.  I called a national brokerage firm in the area and she answered the phone.  I was her worst nightmare, and that was 7 years before I got my real estate license.  Selling my pride and joy was not my idea, my boyfriend wanted me to move to Athens, Georgia.  If you have not been to Athens, it’s 90 minutes from Atlanta, a great place to party during University of Georgia football season, but not much else going on the rest of the year.  My Atlanta townhome was under contract within days with a full-price offer, but I had surgery scheduled.  The home inspector nickeled and dimed me to death, it made me mad, I could not meet the timelines of repairs prior to closing, and became furious and tried to terminate the contract.  The broker was on my doorstep explaining that if I terminated the contract, I would owe them $10,000 in real estate fees since they had brought me a ready, willing, and able Buyer and I was under contract.   He suggested that I give $2,500 to the Buyer at closing for the repairs, and apologized for his Realtor’s incompetence handling this matter.  I did not understand until I became a Realtor  what he meant: credits at closing for disputed items are standard practice in this business.

So I think about these things when I see signs, For Sale by Owner (FSBO).  Sellers don’t realize that when a Buyer sees a FSBO, they automatically take six percent off the top of their offer because they know the Seller has saved that on the real estate commission.  Another reason to not listing your home FSBO is safety.  I often think about the scientist with Center for Disease Control in Atlanta who had just retired, about to be married, and had her property for sale as a FSBO.  Her fiancée found her strangled in the kitchen pantry.  This was a safe building, she thought, they even had security, but she let the wrong person in.   In Atlanta, Realtors don’t take Buyers out unless they are prequalified by a lender or we have proof of funds for the purchase.   I was very fortunate to have been trained by Harry Norman, Realtors in Atlanta, the premiere real estate brokerage, and the firm where Michael Saunders was mentored in her early real estate career. 

A good Realtor will contact a FSBO Seller and ask to see their home because it’s our job to know the inventory.  We will ask if the Seller will protect us with a 3% commission if we bring them a Buyer, and no Seller has ever told me no.  I sold a beautiful condo Botanica, Palmer Ranch to a delightful couple whom I had met at an Open House two years prior.  They told me what they wanted, and I consistently wrote to the homeowners in Botanica with that floor plan.  One Seller was ready to list, but she called me first because she had saved my mailing; fortunately, the Buyers were in town and they put it under contract immediately.  This was the smoothest transaction, no games, Buyers and Seller agreed on everything.   We did negotiate a good price, but the Seller paid for no repairs, so it was “As-Is.”

Thinking about selling your home?  Updates are important if you want to sell quickly for a good price.  Some Sellers believe updating is a waste of money because the Buyers may have different taste.  If in doubt, just go to a new home community, snap some pictures, and copy what they have done with the granite, backsplashes, and paint colors.  Two shades of gray paint with white trim is clean and lovely.   The Botanica home I discussed above was updated, fresh, and that’s why it sold so quickly. 

This week, I’ll present a market analysis to Sellers and was delighted with a list of 20 updates they sent me.  It’s a little comical but when I have Buyers in the car and they find a home they like that needs updating, the lady frequently says, “But honey, you can do this, you are retired and need a PROJECT!”  And he always says, “But honey, I don’t WANT to because I am retired…” and he always wins.

Linda’s List!

Walk to the beach!  5302 Cape Leyte Drive, Siesta Isles, Siesta Key Beach single family home, garage, large lot, newer AC, fabulous neighborhood, reduced to $619,000.

8239 Midnight Pass Road, Siesta Key Beach, single family, 2+ bedroom, 2 baths, waterfront with dock, kayak launch, and guest cottage, $1,200,000, listed by Michael Saunders & Company.

8319 Midnight Pass Road, Siesta Key, single family home, 4 BR, 2.5 BA, designer showcase, everything still intact from “Jewels on the Bay” home tour.  $3,495,000, listed by Michael Saunders & Company.

Coming soon!  Three bedroom three bath single family pool home in Marbella subdivision in Palmer Ranch, 2,685 square feet, built in 1990 low $500’s. 

Thank you for reading my blog, please do not text and drive, and please call me if I can help you with your Sarasota and Siesta Key real estate needs.

Most sincerely yours,

 Linda Holley, Realtor, GRI

941-914-4914

Email: LindaHolley@MichaelSaunders.com