The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 15 No. 6 - December 3, 2014

REAL ESTATE

Is your home exactly like you?

 

We’re a nation of individuals, and like individuals,we want our possessions to reflect our individual style. But if your individual style is a little too individual, it could spell disaster when selling a home.

Once upon a time in the early days of my real estate career, I listed a multi-million property with 400 feet of waterfront on a lovely harbor off of the Long Island Sound. Naturally, I was excited to land this level property and convinced myself that the little quirky things about the home would not be noticed because of its spectacular location.

Boy was I wrong. The temperature in the oversize indoor pool was suffocating, even in January, and the chlorine fumes were hard to ignore. The two-story squash court didn’t do much for most buyers, and who didn’t love the plastic flowers in the window boxes?

One of the cornerstones of the real estate selling philosophy is that giving a home too many unusual features damages its resale value. Just like the homeowners I cited above, too many people, especially those with deep pockets, are adding designs or features to their homes that may not help it sell down the road.

The less is more principal is never more true than in home design. If you want a castle, go to Ireland; if you want an adobe home, go to New Mexico; and if you want a log cabin, I hear Denver is nice because if you put it on the beach in Anna Maria, you will probably be very sorry.

This, of course, doesn’t meant that your house has to look like the inside of a business envelope. Go ahead and use vibrant colors on the walls and buy that purple Victorian sofa. Just don’t replace the kitchen cabinets with an animal skin design or buy hot pink appliances (anther one of my listings).

The key is to find a way to make your home comfortable for you and your family while still considering how a potential buyer will view your home in the future. Whatever individual touches you put in your home should have the ability to be removed or changed with a minimum of money and work.

In addition, if you’re building a new home, you should consider the resale benefits of building a smaller rather than a larger home. The recent trend is for smaller homes becoming more popular and reflecting the reality of smaller families and the desire for maintenance free living, which appeals to buyers with busy work and travel commitments.

As far as my early individual style home experience, I did finally manage to build up the courage to ask for a large price reduction, which I did get, but by then it was too late, the house came off the market and did finally sell a few years later with another broker.

The whole experience taught me a great lesson. Most buyers will not pay for improvements to a home that too much reflect the owner’s individual taste. All they’re going to see is what it will cost to remove.

Better find a way to express your individuality outside of your home if you ever want to sell it. Most buyers are looking for a blank canvas, not a Picasso abstract.

Real Estate Transactions
September 2014

Sponsored by Alan Galletto Island Real Estate

Sold Date | List Price | Sold Price | Address | Provision | Property Style

Anna Maria

9/05/2014 399,000 330,000 608 Rose St 50 X 100 Vac
9/26/2014 524,900 505,000 512 Kumquat Dr 88.0x145.0 Vac
9/16/2014 649,000 625,000 106 Beach Ave 90.0x106.0 Vac
9/09/2014 525,000 475,000 9206 Gulf Dr 1492 50.0x110.0 3 br/2 ba SFR

Bradenton Beach

9/22/2014 324,900 331,000 2413 Avenue C # A B 1680 250 X 250 Income Property, REO/Bank Owned
9/24/2014 634,100 630,000 308 Gulf S Dr # 1 2620 Income Property, REO/Bank Owned
9/26/2014 219,900 200,000 1325 Gulf N Dr 230 675 2 br/1 ba Condo
9/04/2014 243,000 220,000 501 Gulf N Dr 112 1128 2 br/ 2 Ba Condo
9/05/2014 599,900 599,000 105 10th N St 2020 3 br/ 2.5 Ba Condo
9/10/2014 589,000 560,000 2312 Gulf N Dr 204 1180 2 br/ 2 Ba Condo

Holmes Beach

9/19/2014 575,000 540,000 7005 Gulf Dr # A 2303 7013 Income property
9/02/2014 375,000 340,000 208 Peacock Ln A & B 1738 92x88 Income property
9/05/2014 425,000 500,000 313 58th St A & B 1500 Irregular Income property
9/05/2014 539,000 300,000 311 58th A&B St A&B 2412 Irregular, Income property
9/05/2014 1,099,000 950,000 3302 6th Ave 1 3000 100.0x100.0 8 br/8 ba Income property
9/9/2014 269,000 255,000 3801 E Bay Dr 202 1146 2 br/2 Ba Condo
9/15/2014 280,000 257,500 403 39th St C 750 2 br/2 Ba Condo
9/04/2014 349,000 325,000 6500 Flotilla Dr 205 985 2 br/2 Ba Condo
9/15/2014 359,000 325,000 3801 E Bay Dr 209 1146 2 br/2 Ba Condo
9/02/2014 384,900 380,000 3404 Gulf Dr 5 1359 2 br/2 Ba Condo
9/15/2014 525,000 478,000 5200 Gulf Dr # 605 1169 2 br/2 Ba Condo
9/12/2014 510,000 510,000 508 70th St 1996 3br/2 Ba SFR
9/04/2014 539,900 551,000 503 75th St 1602 90.0x113.0 3br/3 Ba SFR, REO/ ank Owned
9/30/2014 649,000 600,000 662 Key Royale Dr 2766 4br/4 Ba SFR
9/29/2014 1,600,000 1,600,000 2810 Avenue E A 1680 4 br/2 ba SFR

Source: Mid Florida Multiple Listing Service


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