Barry Smith

If you happen to be selling your house, then you must put yourself in the buyer's shoes. If you were the buyer, then what would you be looking for? A good deal right? Of course and especially in this market where there are, as of the end of Feb. 08, 11,000 single family homes for sale in Pinellas County ( County of St Petersburg, FL ) and almost 10,000 condos in Pinellas for sale. In the whole Tampa Bay area there are about 36,000 single family homes for sale and about 17,000 condos for sale. So, do you think buyers have a lot to choose from? You bet. What do you think they will be looking for? Do you think they will find it? Yes. The house that they will buy will be the best priced and all fixed up in move in condition...and pretty. If your house lacks curb appeal, then you have your work cut out for you. If it needs renovation and you don't want to tackle it, then you must price the house as a fixer upper. Now, these tips are things that can help you sell your house, but also keep in mind this reality check. For about the past six month, there are only about 500 single family sales a month in Pinellas County and about 250 condo sales. So, you are competing with many sellers and competing for only a few buyers. These are not good odds. So, pricing your home correctly is of utmost importance. Again, put yourself in the buyer's shoes or better yet, get some unbiased people to come through your home and critique it as if they would be buying it. You may learn a few things that you did not know and it might help you sell your home. The big rule of thumb is to tidy up and declutter. Get rid of junk in the house in order to make it look bigger. It's easier for a buyer to visualize more stuff in the space than trying to subtract it. Consider renting a storage unit to store extra clutter. Also, paint is cheap and an easy solution for a tired house. If your house needs cleaning, then jump on it, buyers are immediately turned off by a dirty house. First impressions are lasting.

Selling a house in today's market is not easy, but there are things you can do to increase your chances. Remember the most important element is the price. Price it right and buyers will find their way to your door.

Barry Smith, Realtor, St Petersburg, FL 727-773-6677

Most people have heard of St Petersburg, but what most people don't realize is that there are many smaller towns that make up the greater St Pete area. There are 24 municipalities. St Petersburg is in Pinellas County. Pinellas is a large county and is 38 miles long and 15 miles wide at its broadest point. Its land area covers approximately 264 square miles. Pinellas county is a peninsula with nearly 587 miles of coastline and 35 miles of beaches. The word Pinellas is derived from the Spanish words Punta Pinal meaning "point of pines."

We call St Petersburg St Pete for short, but St Pete isn't a word on the map. There is St Pete Beach and that is the name on the map. It's not St Petersburg Beach either. It's just St Pete Beach. Most of the time Saint is not spelled out. It's just ST and no period...makes it easier.

Ok, so we have St Petersburg city proper which has about 250,000 population. Then you have other smaller incorporated towns nearby. I'll mention the interior towns first. There's Largo, Pinellas Park, Lealman and Kenneth City. City is a misnomer. Then, at the tip of Pinellas County you have Tierra Verde which is surrounded by water and has Ft Desoto County Park at the very tail end. It was voted one of the best beaches in America. You can read about Ft DeSoto at http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/Quartermaster_museum.htm

The next town you come to is St Pete Beach in lower left Pinellas with the world famous Don Cesar Hotel. South of St Pete Beach on a peninsula is the community of Pass-A-Grille, but it is not a town. Traveling North and passing through St Pete Beach on Gulf Blvd, let's jump over the bridge to the right before going further and you have South Pasadena which is a very small town with a population of about 6,000. Some people just say Pasadena, but on a map it says South Pasadena. South Pasadena is on Boca Ciega Bay which is the largest body of water within the intracoastal. ( I'll explain InTRAcoastal in another blog ) To the right of South Pasadena is Gulfport which is a quaint town. You really do believe it is a small town when you are there.

Ok, back to and up the beaches. Traveling north you come to Treasure Island where there is a fantastic sidewalk along the backside of a strand of hotels to take a stroll along the beach. After Treasure Island you have Madeira Beach. Then you have Redington Beach, North Redington Beach, Redington Shores, Indian Shores, Indian Rocks Beach, Belleair Shore, Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs ( inland) Belleair (inland ) then Clearwater Beach and inland Clearwater. Next is Dunedin, Ozona, Palm Harbor, Crystal Beach and Tarpon Springs with the famed Sponge Docks .

I hope you enjoyed your tour of Pinellas County. For loads of information on Pinellas County, just visit the www.pinellascounty.org website or www.StPete.org

Barry Smith, Realtor, St Petersburg, FL 727-773-6677