Jim Hirschman

Sarasota Florida has been part of Major League Baseball spring training's tradition since 1924 when John Ringling recuited the New York Giants. Other teams that have called Sarasota home have been the White Soxs, the Reds, and now it's the new home for Baltimore Orioles spring training.

For the past year our City Commissioners were courting the Boston Red Sox and promising a new stadium that would cost the tax payers about $80million plus, the city wasn't going to get much of the profits from concessions so, city officials decided to pass on the Soxs and negotiate a reasonable deal (about 1/2 the cost) for the Orioles. I feel it was the right decision for the city of Sarasota especially when your in a state wide housing depression and their are other pending needs the city is struggling with such as, what to do to keep Downtown Sarasota a pedrestrian centric city.

The economic impact for Sarasota is tremendous. A recent study by the Bonn Marketing Research group- For the Florida Sprots foundation - estimates that the impact of the 39 days of spring training is about $45 million. Of course, what this means for the Sarasota real estate market is, many new comers will see the tremendous opportunities that Sarasota has to offer. From our beautiful beaches and downtown, along with our active arts and cultural venues like the Van Wezel preforming arts center.

We are very pleased to be host to the Baltimore Orioles and we welcome their community support like the Cal Ripkin Youth Academy that will take up residence in Sarasota's Twin Lakes Park, a training facility for underprivileged kids.

If your are interested in find more about the Sarasota Florida real estate market , please contact me direct , 941 320 6687.

If you're a real estate agent then you know nuetral colors can make or break a sale... Think about it, most customers look online first when search for a home and if they are seeing pictures of reds and blues in a family room or kitchen then the chance is good they'll pass on setting up a showing.. I know from experience that most of my customers looking in the Sarasota real estate market are second home buyers and they don't want to do the work any more, And, secondly they don't want to think about extra costs. Most of my clients like 80% are baby boomers and they have been painting remodeling homes for 30 years and they're tired and would rather find something that they can just move in to.

Try to convince your sellers to repaint the main quarters with colors like biege, light browns , and earth tones. However, they are a few exceptions like powder rooms and children rooms... Best to leave them alone to avoid upseting a child who maybe sad about leaving his home.

Here are some recommended colors and the best places for them.

• Ground Ginger from Behr.
• Kilm Beig from Sherwin Williams . This kahaki color makes the house more usefull looking. It covers up flaws nicely, and has a very crisp look.
• Pale Smoke from Benjamin Moore. the master bedroom is perfect room to paint, this paint is a soothing pale blue gray that reflects well in photos.
• Rain from Sherwin Williams. The bathroom is a good place where I recommend this color because most homes have white bathroom fixtures.
• Wickham Gray from Benjamin Moore. Works well for a dinning room.
• Woodmont Cream brom Benjamin Moore. This is pale and very nuetral for any room.

Whether you are renovating your own home's kitchen or working with a client here are some important points to remember and current trends to consider when remodeling a kitchen.

Everything in a home center around the kitchen. "All the best parties end up in the kitchen, and when it comes time to sell a home, it's the kitchen that generally makes or loses the sale". Homeowners are usually renovating for two reasons. " They aren't selling their homes because the market is bad, so they've decided to imporve their immediate environment". Or, again because of the economy, consumers realize they can get more for their renovation right now, because manufactures and tetailers have lowered their prices and labor cost are down thus, making it a good time to do so.

• Experts at the National Kitchen and Bath Association say the average cost of a kitchen renovation is about $45,000.
• One Rule on spending is to set your kitchen reovation budget at 15% of the overall home's value. For example, if your home is worth $250,000, then ideally spend no more that $37,000 on kitchen upgrades. However, most home exceed their original budgets by 10 to 20 %.
• To keep cost down, don't move the location of the sink it can cost as much as $2000 to move one.

Current Trends

• Going Green. Using appliances and materials that are eco friendly.
• Opening the kitchen up to adjoining rooms.
• Adding a prep, beverage or cooking island
• Adding freestanding furniture, such as antique armoire.
• Flooring made from extra wide plank heritage hardwood reclaimed from old buildings.
• Believe it or not, Linoleum is back. It has a 'green' appeal because, it's made of linseed oil and natural fibers.
• Beadboard for walls and ceilings when you want a 'cottage' look.

One final note is, when spending less than $15,000 on a renocation you can expect a 99% return on your envestment.

Good luck and happy remodeling!!

Jim Hirschman specializes in the luxury home and waterfront communites in the Sarasota Real estate market.

Now that spring break is over and, the daffodils are starting to bloom it's time to get rid of the clutter. Ok, some of you would rather have open heart surgery others like my mom for instance live for this kind of thing. Me, I'll call the heart surgeon!

Here are some Key Selling Points for organizing a sale.

Get the word out! A garage sale proprietor's best friend is a newspaper ad. A simple classified ad in the garage sale section can open your garage sale up to hundreds of people . The ads are inexpensive, and should include a quick rundown of potential items, the date and time of the sale, and an address to reel the customers in.

Involve Friends. If you don't think you have enough quality items to sell, talk to some friends and see if they might want to clear their clutter and sell a few items at your garge sale . This can be good for buiness and there will be more people around to relax with during the lulls between customer visits.

Should you choose to involve others and the division of earnings prove an issue , simply sort the different participants' items by colored tags or set up separate tables with each seller's things.

Sort Items. it may be tempting, especially if most of your items are coming from the depths of the garage, to just put all the items out on a table and let the visitors seek out waht they must.However, organizing items can be a great way to make the most money. Oftentimes, garage sale customers might have a specific item in mind, such as a reading lamp or a night table, or even some vintage clothing. Separate furniture from knickknacks and place similar items together to make it easier for potential customers to find what they're looking for.

Be open. Keep in mind that items which aren't purchased by the end of the sale are likely going one of two places: the garbage or back in the garage. Therefore, it's just as important to remember the point of a garage sale is to free up some space, so don't get stuck on firm pricing. Be ready to negotiate with potential customers and accept less than you might have expected. If you remember the goal is rid yourself of these items, fewer dollars here and there shouldn't make much of a difference.

Organize. Take clothing out of the box. People are less inclined to look through a box of clothes than a rack of clothing. Plus, clothes on a rack are more appealing than clothes in a box. Set up a clothesline or a makeshift rack for all clothing you'll want to sell.

Happy selling! I'll be in recovery! Ha ha.

Jim Hirschman is a realtor for the greater Sarasota Real Estate market , if you have questions about homes for sale in Sarasota please call , 941 320 6687 for more info.

Well this is why you came to Siesta Key. The sunshine, the beaches, and much more. This is Easter weekend on the key and it should be a good one. I think I'll take in the Beach Club for some late night revelling. If you haven't been, it can be an experience.

This poor guy is red as a lobster. I actually went up to him and said, "you might want to get out of the sun" and he said, "I don't care I just returned from Iraq. I told him that, he's earned the right to burn himself up if he wants to....

Check out this StarFish somebody sclupted.

Siesta Key has about 775 homes and condos for sale and about 150 are between the price of $300k-500k.

If you have any questions about the Sarasota Real estate market please contact me, 941 320 6687