About Sarasota County, FL

Kweeh Speechless Sunday – One for the Money Two for the Show

When showing a condo to a buyer, I found this bird of paradise flower (strelitzia) next to the two story building, and took the picture for sharing with others.

After closing I invited the buyer out for dinner, and I was surprised to see this double headed bird of paradise flower in front of the restaurant. Can you tell the difference? A blessing or a coincident?

Recent posts:

Sarasota FL Real Estate Market Reports – January 2012

Venice FL Real Estate Market Reports – January 2012

Kweeh Wordless Wednesday 2/8/2012 – You Cannot See the Forest through the Trees

Venice FL Events of the week 2/7/2012

Humor of the day

Free Brown Bag Concert in Sarasota FL

Kweeh Speechless Sunday 2/5/2012 - OK "Jerry" You Go Long & I will Throw It to You

Venetian Falls Venice Florida

Southwood Venice FL Real Estate Market Reports - 2011

Venice Orchid Show & Sale 2012 in Venice Florida

Kweeh Wordless Wednesday 2/1/2012 – This is Scary!

Kweeh Speechless Sunday – One for the Money Two for the Show

Buying or selling your home in Venice and the surrounding area,contact Venice REALTOR®. Kwee can assist you every step of the way, while keeping your best interests at heart.

Crescent Arms is one of Siesta Key's popular beach front condos, especially with investors. These Siesta Key condos are right on Crescent Beach and offer a liberal rental policy for one week rentals. There is on-site management to handle owner's rentals as well condominium maintenance. Prices currently range from $595,000 to $1,250,000.

Amenities at Crescent Arms Siesta Key include: heated swimming pool, club house, security gate and security doors. View our Crescent Arms video below to experience this Siesta Key lifestyle.

Sales Activity at Crescent Arms in Last 6 Months

Currently there are 6 active Siesta Key condos for sale at Crescent Arms in the Sarasota MLS. In the last six months, there has been one condo marked sold. The selling price was $430,000.

If you are searching for a Siesta Key condo, contact the John Allen Team at 941-544-6467 for a Sarasota real estate agent who specializes in Siesta Key properties.

Presenting a strong offer to a seller could make or break any Sarasota Real Estate purchase.

It takes a great deal of time and effort to find that dream home or perfect investment property in Sarasota, but simply finding the property is only the first stage in a longer process. Now you'll need to present a strong offer to the seller. Superior properties that are priced right will usually interest a handful of prospective buyers, so you'll need to make your offer stand out. Here are some tips on how to make your offer stronger:

1. Have the earliest possible closing date. Usually, sellers will favor an earlier date. This demonstrates to the seller that you mean business and that you're ready to do business.

2. Ask for a minimal-length option period. When a buyer backs out during the option period, the buyer has lost nothing, but the seller loses other potential buyers.

3. Offer a larger amount as earnest money. A seller often measures your seriousness by the amount you put in an earnest money check.

4. Write the seller a personal letter about why you like the property and how much you appreciate the work he or she has put into it. Most sellers appreciate this personal touch and will be grateful that you've noticed their efforts.

5. If you want a seller to complete any repairs, list those repairs after the inspection rather than on the first offer. This will help both sides to avoid any disputes about the validity of the repair requests.

6. Don't forget that it's vital to send your offer with a pre-approval letter rather than sending it with a pre-qualification letter. The pre-approval letter is key because the lender only issues it after a careful assessment of your financial situation. The pre-approval letter indicates the amount you have been pre-approved for, so it enhances your offer by assuring the seller that you are capable of purchasing the property.

For more information on buying real estate in Sarasota, contact your Exclusive Buyer Agents at True Sarasota Real Estate.

Venice FL Real Estate Market Reports – January 2012

Venice FL Real Estate Market Reports will provide you a good over view of how Single Family Homes for sale performed during the month of January 2012.

Single Family Homes for sale in Venice FL that were newly listed between 1/2/2012 and 1/31/2012

Active- 156

8 listings are bank owned, 13 listings are short sale and 135 are regular sales

The average listing price is $304,649.00 = $146.71 per square foot.

Single Family Homes for sale in Venice FL that went under contract or pending in January 2012.

Pending- 40

6 listings were bank owned, 13 listings were short sale and 21 listings were regular sales

Single Family Homes for sale that sold during the month of January 2012.

Sold – 93

13 listings were bank owned, 23 listing were short sale and 57 listings were regular sales.

The average sold price is $171,608 = $93.56 per square foot

The lowest sold price is $41,500.00 = $39.80 per square foot

The highest sold price is $635,000.00 = $306.47 per square foot

Compared to January 2011 the single family home average sold price was 4.28% down in January 2012.

Due to the low prices, the number of units sold in January 2012 was up by 14.81% as well as the average day in the market was down.

Now is a Great Time to Buy. Interest rates are at record lows. Buying any real estate for a primary home, vacation home, or vacant land is an investment. Before you invest, or even plan on selling a home in Venice FL, it is important to have the right information and an experienced, honest agent.

MFRMLS, Inc Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Parties are advised to verify.

Venice FL Real Estate Market Reports – January 2012

Need someone on your side for your real estate transaction either buying or selling in Venice, and the surrounding area? Just contact Kwee your local REALTOR® so your best interest is protected.

Sarasota's New College Ranked Third Nationally . . . Sarasota Is A College Town, Too! For the fourth time, Sarasota's New College has been named as one of the top three liberal arts colleges on the "Best Value Public College in America" list.

The list was released this week by The Princeton Review and USA Today. New College was also praised on this past Tuesday's "Today Show" on NBC and in a front page story in the USA Today.

"It is a wonderful school, a small school," The Princeton Review's Robert Franek said on "The Today Show". "It's an enormous academic value and a great financial aid as well."

The average class size is only ten students! This student/teacher ratio puts New College in the same league as many other elite institutions. In-state students pay an average of $15,000 per year, making it a very affordable college.

"We offer something that is special that way - students are working closer with faculty," said Lynn Reichmann, New College spokeswoman. "A lot of schools that are similar to us around the country are private."

New College, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary last year, has also been ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes.com, Kiplinger's Personal Finance and other media outlets.

Other colleges in Sarasota include Argosy University, Eckerd College, FSU Film School, Keiser University, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota County Technical Institute, State College of Florida and University of South Florida at Sarasota-Manatee.

So, Sarasota is a college town, too! Just one more reason to live in Florida's best "little city"!