Charles Offer

If you are interested in this particular home, you will have the advantages of a convenient urban location and a more "suburban" neighborhood feeling, with larger lot sizes than you typically find in the city. You may save a bit on taxes, but that's hard to figure because taxes are generally based on the value of the property and those values will vary from one neighborhood to another, whether you live in the city or not.

If you are not familiar with this particular neighborhood, take a good look at a map to see how close it is to the water, to bridge access to Siesta Key, to downtown Sarasota, etc. For fun, you should also look it up on Microsoft Virtual Earth, to get a better look. http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=44.023938~-99.71&st…

I have been in this home, and I like it a lot. It appears to be a reasonable value for this neighborhood. If you are seriously interested, it would not be a problem for me to preview it again and to take a few digital photos of the interior. I can also email information on other listings in the neighborhood and recent comparable sales. If you have questions, please contact me by phone or email.

Charles Offer
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
423 St. Armands Circle
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 321-9664 direct
(877) 351-0111 toll-free
charlesoffer@comcast.net http://www.CharlesOffer.com http://www.FloridaMoves.com/Charles.Offer - Sat Nov 1 2008, 14:10

There are very few relatively new "55 And Over" communities in the Sarasota area, perhaps because most developers did not want to limit their market in the boom years. They wanted to put up new communities and sell them as quickly as possible. Recently, some developers of "active adult communities" have relaxed their restrictions in this slower market to allow a certain percentage of residents to be below the age of 55, in an effort to increase sales. Two very nice communities that you might want to consider are actually located in Manatee county, just north of the Sarasota county line.

Lakeridge Falls was developed by Centex Homes beginning in about 2001, and consists of 399 homes of various styles. All of the home sites back up either to a lake or a preserve. Current asking prices range from $199,000 for an attached 2 bedroom villa to $399,000 for a 2000 sq. ft. single family home. Sales have actually been very strong recently in Lakeridge Falls, with 7 sales closed since April 1 including two larger waterfront pool homes at $460,000 and $465,000. There are just 11 homes available as we approach our winter season. This is a nice community, and several of my friends have lived here very happily. The web site for Lakeridge Falls is http://lakeridgefalls.org/index.htm .

Cascades at Sarasota is newer than Lakeridge Falls, with some brand new homes still available. Construction began in 2005, at the peak of our local market. The developer had financial difficulties, and many homeowners did as well. Despite these problems, this is a very nice community with excellent amenities, and they appear to have a good homeowners association. You might find a great home at an excellent price here, with potential to benefit financially as the market improves. Current prices for resale homes range from $239,000 to $419,000. The web site for Cascades At Sarasota is http://cascades-sarasota-hoa.org/default.php .

Please keep in mind that there are many other great communities in Sarasota that are not "active adult" or "Over 55" communities, yet where you will be quite comfortable. For example, you might consider Village Walk on Palmer Ranch on the south side of Sarasota. There are no age restrictions here, but one visit will give you a good idea whether the community works for you. This community was named "Sarasota's Best New Community" in a survey by the local newspaper two years in a row. Prices range from about $239,000 to $575,000 for paired villas, townhomes, and single family homes up to 2500 sq. ft. Village Walk was built between 2001 and 2005 or 2006, and the homes are of poured concrete construction, which is quite appealing to home buyers in our area. http://villagewalkofsarasota.org/outside_home.asp

I hope that this information has been helpful to you. If you have additional questions, I will be happy to answer them for you.

Charles Offer
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
423 St. Armands Circle
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 321-9664
(877) 351-0111toll-free
charlesoffer@comcast.net http://www.CharlesOffer.com http://www.FloridaMoves.com/Charles.Offer - Sun Oct 26 2008, 04:55

Cedar Creek is a nice neighborhood, and I like its location - easy access to everything in Sarasota, close but not too close to I-75. As has already been mentioned, prices have fallen in Cedar Creek just as they have elsewhere in Sarasota. From looking at listings on the internet, you might get the impression that some of the homes here look like a better value than homes in other neighborhoods. Please take note of the fact that some, but not all, of the homes in Cedar Creek are of wood frame construction rather than concrete block and stucco. In Florida, block homes are generally preferred over wood frame due to greater wind and termite resistance, and lower insurance costs. I wouldn't discourage you from buying a wood-frame home; I would just caution you to understand what you are buying. A lot of people are living very happily in Florida in wood frame homes.

Charles Offer
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
423 St. Armands Circle
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 966-7288
(941) 321-9664 mobile
(877) 351-0111 toll-free
charlesoffer@comcast.net http://www.FloridaMoves.com/Charles.Offer http://www.CharlesOffer.com - Mon Oct 13 2008, 07:58

I think that the other Realtors have already given very good answers to this question, and you can take a piece of advice from each of them to develop a reasonable strategy before presenting an offer. Just remember that each property and situation is unique, and it is important to learn as much as possible before writing your offer. Your Realtor should be able to prepare a detailed market analysis for you, showing how much buyers have paid for comparable homes recently. This should give you a good idea of what your target property is "worth", and how much it might appraise for if you need to get a mortgage. Please keep in mind, however, that there may be several reasons why you may have an opportunity to buy a home at a price that is significantly lower than other recent sales.

After you have identified a home that you would like to purchase, you need to do a little homework. Ask your Realtor if it is possible to find out the Seller's reason for selling the home. You might not get an answer to this question, if the seller has not authorized his Realtor to disclose this information. You may find out, however, that the seller is happy to tell buyers that he is desperate to sell to avoid foreclosure, or needs to move to a nursing home, or would like to settle an estate quickly, etc. In situations such as these, you'll be doing the seller a favor by presenting an offer, so don't be shy about bidding aggressively. If you do present a "low-ball" bid, be sure to present it along with a mortgage pre-qualification letter, and offer to close at a time that is convenient for the seller.

How low should you go? I see offers 40 percent below the list price almost every week, and they never go anywhere. In almost every case, the seller concludes that the buyer is not serious, and they counter with a price that is close to their asking price. Then the buyer figures that the seller is unrealistic, and the negotiations fall apart. Keep in mind that some homes probably are still over-priced by 40 percent, but you don't need to deal with that kind of seller. There are plenty of very good homes that are reasonably-priced, and I hope that you will choose one of these.

Let's get back to the market analysis. If you have found a home that you really want to own, you should be able to get a pretty good idea of what it is worth in today's market. You can do an analysis on paper, but I hope that you have done a bit of research by visiting numerous properties in the neighborhood over the preceding months. If you have actually been inside some of the homes that recently sold, you'll have a better understanding of what your target should sell for. OK, so now how much do you offer? I'd suggest that starting 20 percent below what you think the house is worth is a reasonable idea. I can tell you that when I am working with sellers, they are almost always "insulted" by an offer that is this low. I counsel them to forget any negative feelings toward the buyer, and to understand that buyers are just being cautious in this crazy market. I remind them that if they were buying instead of selling, they would probably take exactly the same approach. This usually sets them straight, and they are willing to negotiate.

I can't tell you what kind of counter-offer to expect, because every seller is different. You just need to figure out how much you are willing to pay, and how much you want this particular home. If you are a tough negotiator you might get a great bargain, but I would advise you not to lose a great house by refusing to pay what you really believe that it is worth.

Back to the point about doing homework before presenting an offer - there are a lot of places where you can go to find information on a specific property. You can go to the Sarasota county web site to find out how much a seller paid for their property, the amount of their mortgage, and whether a foreclosure action has been filed. There are other online services that will also provide this information. You can do it yourself, or ask a good Realtor to assist you.

If you have already selected a Realtor to work with you, I wish you success in your search. If you haven't committed to a Realtor, I would be happy to assist you. I live on Palmer Ranch and do much of my business in south Sarasota, so I think that I may be able to provide you with some good information. Whatever you do, I'm sure that you'll be able to find a great home at a good price, and you'll look back in a few years and be very happy that you bought it.

Charles Offer
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
423 St. Armands Circle
Sarasota 34236
(941) 966-7288
(941) 321-9664 mobile
(877) 351-0111 toll-free
charlesoffer@comcast.net http://www.CharlesOffer.com http://www.FloridaMoves.com/Charles.Offer - Wed Sep 24 2008, 08:47

Woodrow, I can tell you that there generally is not a clear relationship between the assessed value of a property and its list price. There are many variables that come into play when determining the list price of a property, and unfortunately for the seller, some of those variables are not really important. The only thing that matters is what comparable properties are selling for today. You will see homes that are still selling for well above their assessed values (very common in my neighborhood), and you'll also find properties that are selling at large discounts.

Getting back to the point of what is fairly priced vs. what is over-priced, you'll have a difficult time trying to figure this out by simply looking at a listing on the internet. There are just too many variables. Location, condition, amenities and neighborhood inventory are all important considerations. I can show you examples of relatively new homes built by the same high-end builder, located in gated communities on opposite ends of Sarasota. The identical model, similarly equipped, might sell for $100,000 to $150,000 more on one end of town. Are those homes over-priced? No, they aren't. Buyers are purchasing the more expensive ones, which means that they apparently have determined that the homes are "worth it."

When searching in a particular neighborhood, you'll often see a very wide price range for very similar homes. Often, that is simply because one seller bought at the bottom of the market, and another bought at the top. As a buyer, you're not likely to reward the guy who bought at the top, you're going to probably going to negotiate with the guy who paid the least, assuming that all other things are equal about the homes.

Another thing that often affects the list price is the length of time that a home has been on the market. The homes that have been listed the longest don't usually have the best list price. If they did, they'd probably be sold. It's very hard for some sellers to face the decline in prices. If they do agree to reduce their price, they're often a month or two behind the decline and are never really competitive. They'll watch other competing homes come on the market that are priced correctly, and wonder why those homes sell and theirs doesn't. In general, I'll tell you that if a home has been on the market for a very long time, IT IS OVER-PRICED, unless it has very recently had a very significant price reduction.

In general, it is said that Sarasota home prices have retreated to 2004 levels. OK, but can anyone tell me exactly which MONTH in 2004 they are referring to? Prices were rising so rapidly in 2004 and 2005 that this information is almost relevant (LOL). I must tell you, though, that you can't use 2004 pricing as a guide for every neighborhood. I can show you areas where prices have held up much better than that, and I'm sure that we can find other areas where prices are even lower than 2004 levels.

The thing that you really need to do is to establish a working relationship with one good Realtor, and ask them to educate you concerning the market in general, and also concerning specific neighborhoods. They should be able to show you recent comparable sales, so that you know that you are comparing "apples to apples." Then, you really must get in a car and actually visit a large number of properties with that Realtor. You'll learn a lot more than you could ever get from spending hundreds of hours looking at listings online.

I would be happy to assist you with your search.

Charles Offer
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
423 St. Armands Circle
Sarasota 34236
(941) 321-9664 http://www.CharlesOffer.com http://www.FloridaMoves.com/Charles.Offer
charlesoffer@comcast.net - Mon Sep 15 2008, 10:34