Clearwater Homes For Sale

Clearwater Referral Real Estate Agent – Deb Ward, the Irish Realtor

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Any good Realtor will tell you that a lot of their business comes not from people who drop in the office or call on a whim, but through referrals. Referrals come from a lot of sources, past clients, current clients, and also from other Realtors and agents. In fact, referrals should be the biggest part of your new listings. If you’re looking in Clearwater for a good example of how to get those referrals, Deb Ward the Irish Realtor, is a great example.

So how do you go about getting other Realtors and agents to refer you to others for listings? Be the best! Deb is a great example of how to be the best and get those Realtor and agent referrals.

Deb has a thriving business in sunny Clearwater, Florida

She is the lead listing Realtor at Deb Ward & Associates, a Keller Williams Realty affiliate. That’s one way to start getting Realtor or agent referrals, be affiliated with a nationally recognized firm. It gives you an automatic referral source from affiliated agents from other areas who may have clients moving to Clearwater.

Deb is also a great example because she specializes in the great water front homes and communities in the Clearwater area. Being specialized and knowing your area well will give other agents or Realtors the confidence they need to refer people to you. Deb’s years of experience helping people to buy and sell is well known. She is well known for helping buyers find their dream waterfront home or sellers help in selling for the best price quickly.

Deb is also a relocation specialist

When it comes to helping out of town buyers or sellers, no one is better than Deb. There are a lot of ins and outs to helping out of town buyers and sellers, from what specialized documents could be necessary to helping them move. Again, being a specialized Realtor will help you get the referrals you need.

Find out more The Deb Ward Team 727-410-0336!

A History of Clearwater Florida

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Clearwater, Florida is in Pinellas County, Florida, on Tampa Bay. It has a long and interesting history. Its history goes back thousands of years to its original inhabitants and has always been an area that draws people to live and play.

The original inhabitants of the area were the Tocobaga Indians. These Indians lived in villages around Tampa Bay. Evidence of their existence is now found in the communal and ceremonial mounds that have been excavated in the area. While the biggest are found in neighboring Safety Harbor, they have been seen in the entire area.

Spanish explorers were next. They were attracted to the area by the natural mineral springs. In 1528 Panfilo de Narvaez, a Spanish explorer, landed in the area. Hernando de Soto followed in 1539, though de Soto is often credited with the “discovery” of the area. De Soto’s and his men were fascinated by the unspoiled beauty of the area and the mineral springs that the Tocobaga Indians used.

Around 1835 the US Army built Fort Harrison to be used as an outpost during the Seminole Wars. It was located on a bluff overlooking Clearwater Harbor. It later became part of a development called Harbor Oaks (just the most BEAUTIFUL area to live!). Archeologists excavated the site after Mark Wyllie discovered an ammunition bunker while digging to plant a tree in his yard. Early settlers in the area included the Stevens, Stevenson and McMullen families, who farmed large tracts of land. The area has always been known in some manner as Clearwater, at one point it was Clear Water Harbor. This was probably because of the fresh water spring that flowed near where the present day City Hall building is located.

During the American Civil War, Union gunboats repeatedly raided the city’s supplies. Most here fought for the Confederate Army. Clearwater was incorporated in 1891, and its popularity as a vacation destination grew after railroad magnate Henry B. Plant built a sprawling Victorian resort hotel named Belleview Biltmore just south of Clearwater in 1897. During World War II, Clearwater became a major training base for US troops destined for Europe and the Pacific. Virtually every hotel in the area, including the Belleview Biltmore and the Fort Harrison Hotel, was used as a barracks for new recruits.

Today it is a great area to live, work and vacation!

Clearwater Relocation – How To Make Your Move To Florida Easier

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Moving to Clearwater, Florida? Relocating is never an easy thing, but there are easier and less stressful ways to move. Relocating across town can be a pain, so relocating from a long distance is certainly not something people look forward to doing. There are things you should be doing at each step to make moving easier: before your move, and during it.

Research

Before relocating be sure to do some research about your new community. Research things like school systems, crime statistics, health care and cost of living. Use sites like GreatSchools, FBI crime statistics, your health insurance company and other web resources for answers.

Check websites for LOCAL realtors

Then you need to find your new home. Research prices, types available, taxes, homeowners insurance rates and so forth. All of those things will affect your choices and budget. A great place to start is online. Be sure to check websites for LOCAL realtors. National websites have been shown to be inaccurate and unreliable. Your best bet is to immediately go to a local site, then contact a local Realtor. They know their communities much better than a national site ever could.

Stressful things

When moving, there is so much to think about! From the stress on your family from leaving what they know (even your pets!), to hiring a moving company, there is a lot to consider. That moving company? You’ve heard the horror stories. Companies charging fees, then holding property hostage demanding more, or breaking belongings and refusing to take responsibility. Packing yourself? Have you ever done that before? So much to do! There are plenty of places to look for good tips on packing, and renting a one way truck to move yourself is also an option. All of it can make your head spin.

Relocation specialist

So what can you do to make those decisions? Hire a Realtor like Deb Ward. Deb is a relocation specialist and along with helping you find your dream home, she can help you move to it! Give her a call today… 727-410-0336

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.

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?