Blog – Page 35

How To Pick A Clearwater Real Estate Agent

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Choosing the right Clearwater real estate agent is so important. It’s the difference between selling for asking price or close to it, and not selling or discounting. It’s the difference between finding your dream home and settling for what might work. So how should you go about choosing a real estate agent?

Start with their internet presence

Check for their social media presence. Find their website. Today being tech savvy is incredibly important. Any agent who refuses to use social media to market not only their properties but themselves as well should be looked at with some skepticism. Most buyers look for properties online before they ever contact an agent.

Any agent who isn’t using technology is missing the boat. How can they possibly find the buyer for your home if buyers can’t find them? Their website should provide you with more than just a few listings. Their website should be a treasure trove of information for buyers and sellers.

Information about the agent

Things like their years of experience, average sale, average time on the market and so forth. Information sellers need to make good decisions to sell. Information about what buyers need to make good decisions about what and how to buy.

Look for testimonials

Not just on their social media and website, but on other sites as well. Keep in mind that they will only put the good feedback on the places they control: their social media and website. Other places like Yelp or Better Business Bureau will have both good and bad reviews. Read them all and see how it all shakes out.

Check your Clearwater Realtor out with the state and the Better Business Bureau

Speaking on the Better Business Bureau, be sure to check them out there and with the state. Make sure things like licenses are up to date. Look for things like lawsuits and complaints. Too many may mean you’re asking for trouble!

Be smart about choosing your Clearwater Realtor. After all, your home is the biggest purchase of your life. Make sure it’s a smart one!

Looking for a great Clearwater Real Estate Agent who is great at technology? Give The Deb Ward Team a call today! 727-410-0336

A History of Spanish Style Homes – Clearwater and St. Pete Real Estate

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Spanish style homes are popular in the Clearwater and St. Pete area. The style refers to particular types of architecture that was brought here by the early inhabitants of the area, the Spanish, and continued influence in the area later through the immigration of people from other areas like Cuba. The styles are similar, but have some differences. Here’s a run down of each.

Spanish Baroque: These Spanish style homes came from the architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries and are very ornamental. Subsets of this style, the Plateresque and Churrigueresque styles, are especially intricate and feature curved shapes and a lot of visual movement.

Mission Revival Style: The style began in the 1890’s is more regularly found in California, since it is based on the missions of the Spanish Catholic colonists built in the mid- to late-18th century. These Spanish style homes borrow from the missions’ architectural elements such as bell towers and roof parapets, and regularly feature recessed front porches.

Spanish Eclectic: Also called Spanish Revival, this style blends the mission elements together with elements of Moorish, Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance styles. For instance, a simple mission bell tower and stucco walls might share space with more ornate details, such as turrets, ornamental tiles on floors and walls, stained-glass windows, and intricate wrought-iron bars over windows and balconies, a blend of the simple with the imagination.

Monterey Style: This Spanish style home is a variation of Spanish revival architecture, but its biggest difference is second story homes. These second stories almost always have a balcony that runs the entire length of the house and is shaded by the home’s main roof. It also commonly features things borrowed from the colonial revival style like front porch columns and triangular structures called pediments.

Whichever style you prefer, any of these Spanish style homes will fit well in Clearwater real estate as well as St. Pete real estate.

House Hunting In Ireland- The Irish Realtor

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Have you ever watched the show “House Hunters International” on HGTV and thought about what it would be like to buy a house someplace overseas? The world is a huge place and why not? What fun would it be to call a realtor and say I want to look at homes in Ireland, and go find your own little piece of the Emerald Isle? You wouldn’t be alone! The Irish Realtor, Deb Ward could give you some great insights.

Please note…Deb is a Realtor in Florida USA! She specializes in working with house hunters coming across the pond to check out Florida Property for sale!

The real estate market in Ireland took a hit in the worldwide recession that we all seem to be arduously climbing out of. Prices there have dropped 60% from their 2006 peak, a painful price correction that a lot of the world felt as well. While some places really don’t have a lot of inventory available, the market is starting to pick up. Why? In part because of foreign buyers and Irish expatriates returning home.

Homes in County Cork that used to go for over 5 million euros (approximately $6,651,500 USD). Now they’re worth about 1.5 to 2.5 million (approximately $3,325,750 to $1,995,450 USD). Nothing to sneeze at, but a rather large price drop for those who can afford it.

So who is it that can buy in Ireland? According to real estate agents in Ireland, about 25% of their buyers are from somewhere outside of Ireland, often the US and Britain, as well as Russia. Many are Irish expatriates who left when the economy made it impossible for them to afford to live there. Now, they can come home. So why is this percentage of overseas buyers so high? There are a few reasons. One is the tax incentives that the Irish government put in place to encourage home ownership. That, along with the huge drop in prices, is encouraging buyers to buy again.

So, let’s say you have the money to do it, what would stop you from buying in Ireland? Not much. There are some immigration laws that restrict the amount of time you could spend in Ireland, and it would be worth looking into how to become a permanent resident. Some Americans of Irish descent are finding that they can qualify for Irish citizenship. So why not make a dream come true and live in the land of faeries and Celts, timeless beauty and wild Irish seas. For more information check out House Hunting in Ireland by the New York Times!

Should You Worry About Flooding If You Buy A Tampa Bay Home?

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

If you are looking for homes in the Tampa area you know that their proximity to water is close. Not only that but hurricanes can be an issue with causing floods. So, should flooding be a worry while you are house shopping? Let’s just say that you should keep it as a checkbox on the list of items to consider.

Intercoastal or beachfront properties

For the most part it’s obvious that there are lots of coastal properties that need flood insurance. If you’re beachfront or a bay intercoastal front property then yes, you’ll most likely need flood insurance. There are also inland areas that have the potential for flooding problems in stormy weather due to tidal surges from the Gulf of Mexico or Tampa Bay. However, there are plenty of properties that are high enough that they don’t require flood insurance.

The best way to be sure depends on where the property or properties you are looking at happen to be located. If it’s in Hillsborough County they have a website that will allow you to enter the street address of a home to see where it falls on the flood zone map:

http://hillsboroughcounty.org/en/residents/property-owners-and-renters/homeowners-and-neighborhoods/find-my-flood-zone#/

The site also has an explanation of which zones require what

Pinellas County doesn’t have that, but you can get an idea from the FEMA website, which has flood zone lists for every state.

In Pasco County their county property appraiser has included flood zone/flood insurance requirement information with each property appraisal. The cool thing with this is that you can view a particular property and have the computer “paint” in any flood zones that might exist.

Go to http://pascopa.com and click on record search, enter the street address for the property in question and get the tax id number for the property. At the top of the page you will see a link that says Show Map. Click that and use the drop-down menus to select additional layers and add the layers for FEMA Flood zones.

Why worry when you can find out for sure?

Buying A Home – Make Sure To Visit More Than Once

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

FINALLY! You found the home of your dreams. You went and saw it on a sunny Saturday morning in November. It was perfect! The perfect neighborhood. Fantastic schools close by for your kids, parks and recreation fields just a stone’s throw away. The home has plenty of natural light pouring in the front windows. Before you sign that offer, you should go back and see it at different times of the day and week.

Remember that great natural light pouring in the front windows? Well in the late afternoon it’s on the other side of the home where there aren’t as many windows. Now the front is dark and in need of a lot more light.

Those fantastic schools?

Did you know that the bus stop for your neighborhood for all of them, elementary, middle and high school, is right in front of your house? Besides the fact that the bus will block your driveway six separate times (pick up and drop off), all the neighborhood kids will be wandering around and probably across your property to get to the bus stop.

Not to mention that most of the elementary kids will probably be sitting in mom or dad’s car before the bus gets there and guess where they are parked? Right in front of your home. If you have to be somewhere during that timeframe, good luck navigating the trip out of your driveway!

Now onto the park and rec fields

Not too much going on there on a cold November Saturday, but you should probably think about a much warmer Saturday (and Sunday too). Think baseball/soccer/football then all of those vehicles parked to get the kids to practice and games. Practice is probably in the evenings on weekdays.

Traffic in the area

Looking at a home at different times of the day will also give you a feel for traffic in the area. Is it problematic for your commute to work? Seeing the home at different times of the day also gives you the chance to talk to neighbors about some of the issues that may be there at different times of the year as well. So be smart and go back more than once. That perfect home might just be perfect, but it also may just have a few well concealed blemishes.

Multiple Real Estate Offers : How to Decide Which Offer to Choose

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You’ve had your home on the market and now have the delightful situation of multiple offers. So how do you decide which offer to choose? Well, there are a few things that come into play, such as the financing situation of the buyers, length of closing period, other agents reputation, price, weird conditions the buyers place in the offer, like keeping your decorations or taking out the in ground pool.

Here’s some good advice.

The Other Realtors

Most importantly, know that your Realtor will not be sharing the offers with all the other agents. Doing this might give one an unfair advantage and doing so would violate their ethics (and license).

Not Always the Highest Bid

The reasonable choice when fielding multiple offers is to take the one that has the highest bid, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes buyers who come in with a lower price, but can fill other needs of the seller may just get the house. What if your seller needs a quick settlement, but the highest bid needs more than 30 days to get their financing in place?

What Trumps Price?

What are other items that can trump price?

Inspection requirements. Yes, inspections are important, but as a seller if you have already done one, wouldn’t the buyer who doesn’t require a second of their own trump one who does? This can also shorten timing requirements.

Shortening the mortgage contingency. As a seller, a buyer who is preapproved and has all of their financing approved and in place is much more attractive than one who doesn’t. It can mean accepting a lower offer. Higher deposit amount. This also feeds back into financing. Putting up a higher deposit shows a buyer who is serious.

Who is making the offer. In some cases, knowing something about the people making the offer can make a difference as well. Are they a family who fell in love with your family home? That can make them more attractive to you than a single or couple.

As a seller, price usually trumps, but other items that can gum up a sale being removed from the process can help you decide which offer to take. Know what is important to you and decide accordingly.

If you would like to work with a professional Clearwater Realtor, give The Deb Ward Team a call today! 727-410-0336