Tampa Real Estate

• Spring and Summer are typically the best times of the year to sell a home. Since we are in February, now is the time to start preparing your home to put it on the market.
  Start by removing all clutter.
  
• Your home will appeal to the most buyers if it has neutral colors, so seriously consider painting those interior rooms that aren’t neutral.
  
• Curb appeal is essential. Consider giving your front door a fresh coat of paint and make sure that the landscaping is neat and attractive. If there ever was a time to have the greenest lawn in the neighborhood, this is it! Additionally, your house, driveway, and patios may need to be pressure washed.
  
• Assess your interior flooring. Getting carpets and grout cleaned can significantly freshen up your home for those buyers.
  
• Clean your home thoroughly. I have never had a buyer complain that a home was too clean!
  
• Your kitchen and bathrooms need to sparkle! Some recommend limiting your kitchen counter tops to only one small appliance to present a clutter free impression.
  
• Plant some red annuals outside. The color red pops in pictures and with buyers who drive by.

With over 680 single family homes currently listed for sale in MLS for zip code area 33647, and over 775 single family homes listed for sale in zip code areas 33543 & 33544, it is essential that you make your home “the star it can be” before you put it on the market.

Additional information on preparing your home for sale can be found on this website:  Staging Your Home, & Staging Tips.

Click on the following link for a VIDEO about preparing the exterior of your home for sale: 

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2008/03/19/spring.spruce.cnn

Considering that a home purchase is most likely the most expensive transaction that you will have in your lifetime, the value of a home inspection should be obvious to most.

With a cost of around $300.00 (price varies with inspector, if there is a pool, etc.), it is a small cost to pay to have a professional look at the home.  I recall one time when I had a first time buyer inform me that he wasn't going to get a professional home inspection.  I convinced him of its importance. 

The inspection revealed a number of issues that the seller was responsible for correcting (before closing) per our purchase contract and he more than saved the amount of the cost of inspection.  More importantly, the inspection revealed an electrical problem with the spa which if not corrected could have caused serious injury or death!!

My advice:  PAY FOR THE HOME INSPECTION!! 

The Greater Tampa Association of Realtors® released the statistics for home sales for the month of March 2008.

• Total unit Sales for March were up significantly over February sales (43%).
• Average sales price for units sold in March 08 was $230,204.
• Reported months of inventory of homes on the market based on March sales and inventory has dropped from 25.20 to 17.33.