5 Ways to Research the History of Your Lakeland Sandpiper Home

5 Ways to Research the History of Your Lakeland Sandpiper Home

5 Ways to research your Lakeland Sandpiper home’s history

If you are selling or buying a Lakeland Sandpiper home, it is important to know the history of how your property had developed over the years. The history of your property can give you information that will help you in updating or fixing your Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale.

 

If you plan to remodel your home, you will need to know how the home was built and what was possibly added on to it and what lies behind the walls or under the floors.

Here are 5 ways you can find out about the history of your Lakeland Sandpiper home:

1. Ask the home inspector. If you are buying or selling an older home, check with the home inspector you hired and ask about all the nooks and crannies he inspected. You can also ask about the home’s foundation.

2. Talk to your neighbors. You can also talk to the people living in the area or the previous owner. You can get information about a home’s original owners once you have access to the land records.

3. Check with the register of deeds. Deed transactions are recorded in the register of deeds.. These records may be on computerized records, microfilm, or other physical publications. You just need to give the staff the address and they can help you find what you are looking for. When you begin your search, start with the most recent deed transactions and work back to the earlier records.

The legal description in the deed includes the official address, subdivision lot number, section number, township, and range of the property.

4. Visit the library.  Check out old newspapers or archives of local publications that may offer any information about events that happened in your Lakeland Sandpiper home or neighborhood. This may give you a sense of the neighborhood during the time the home was built.

5. Check the patent records of the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land office. This will show you the date when the federal government first sold the land parcel to a private owner and who the owner was.

You can also check other resources like insurance maps, census data records, even marriage and death records, to see how the Lakeland Sandpiper home changed over time.

Online databases, commercial sites, and genealogical research databases can also help you discover valuable information about your property’s history.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 or send me an email at petra@petranorris.com if you’re looking for aLakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buy Lakeland Sandpiper homes for sale.

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!

How to Attract Active Adult Buyers to Your Sandpiper Lakeland Home For Sale

How to Attract Active Adult Buyers to Your Sandpiper Lakeland Home For Sale

Here’s a secret on how to attract active adult buyers to your Sandpiper Lakeland home for sale. It’s not what your home has, but what it doesn’t have that matters to these buyers.

Baby boomers are attracted to low-maintenance homes with one-story floor plans.

 

Here are other features that active adults look for in a Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale:

1. No steps

First floor master suites and one-story type homes with ramps are very popular among this demographic. Hallways wide enough for a wheelchair to pass through and open floor plans are also perfect for retirees.

1. Low maintenance

Retirees want homes and neighborhoods that don’t require yard work or too much home repairs. Active adults want to travel as much as they can without worrying too much about their homes.

1. Flexible space

Rooms and spaces that can be converted into any other type of room like a home office, den, or sunroom is also a must for active adults.

1. Sense of Community

Active adults like to bring back the times when people knew their neighbors and enjoyed a sense of community. Neighborhoods like Sandpiper Lakeland Fl with walking trails, clubhouses, community centers, function rooms and clubs are great in fostering this sense of community among active adults. Clubhouses and fitness centers also appeal to retirees who want to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.

Does your Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale have these features that active adults seek for in a home? Ask your real estate agent how you can make your home more attractive to retirees.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 or send me an email at petra@petranorris.com if you’re looking for a Lakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buy Sandpiper Lakeland Fl homes for sale.

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!

Lakeland Sandpiper Fl Home for Sale Can Compete With Newly Built Homes

How Your Lakeland Sandpiper Fl Home for Sale Can Compete With Newly Built Homes

How Your Lakeland Sandpiper Fl Home for Sale Can Compete With Newly Built Homes

If you are selling your Lakeland Sandpiper Fl home, it is important to learn more about your competition, which is not limited to other similar existing homes in the market. Your competition also includes new homes being constructed nearby or other newly built properties that are similar to your home’s price and style.

You can’t do anything about the fact that your home is 5, 10, or 25 years old, but you can do something to make your Lakeland Sandpiper home for sale more appealing to buyers by researching and analyzing the trends in new homes. This will give you an idea on how to improve your home and price it properly.

Here are some tips on how your Lakeland Sandpiper Fl home for sale can compete with newer homes:

1. Check the condition of your home.

A newly built home will be almost perfect - with fresh paint, no defects, and expertly designed by an interior designer. You can get ideas on the latest home decorating trends by looking at model homes in magazines or walking through a newly built home for sale to see it yourself. Minimize your home’s least appealing features, apply fresh paint in neutral tones, remove all the clutter, and make necessary repairs. Just make sure you don’t overspend or go over your budget when improving your Lakeland Fl Sandpiper home for sale.

2. Improve your home’s curb appeal.

Newer homes have fresh landscaping and freshly painted fences and trim. Do the same for your home so you could attract more buyers. Repainting your front door and replacing hardware like door knobs and lighting fixtures will do wonders in making your old look new and modern.

3. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes.

Buyers like to visualize how they will live in a home, not how you are currently living in it. To help buyers have an easier time visualizing themselves living in your home, make sure you remove all personal items, photos, clutter, and dirty or used items. Make sure the beds are made, fresh towels are hung up in the towel rack, and replace personal knickknacks with neutral decorative items.

4. Check out your finances.

Builders of new homes sometimes offer buyer incentives like closing cost assistance. You can do the same and offer similar concessions or lower your price. If you have an older home that looks dated, you can even offer a lump sum of money that the buyer can use for upgrades or home decorating so they can redecorate your home the way they like it.

If you are in a seller’s market where there are few homes for sale, you may not need to be too concerned with newer homes since there will be plenty of buyers available, but in a buyer’s market where there is plenty of inventory competing with each other, you may need to be more creative with incentives or lowering your price to attract buyers, especially if there are a number of newly built-homes in the competition.

Your Lakeland Fl agent can help you with more suggestions and ideas on inexpensive home improvements you can make with your Lakeland Fl Sandpiper home for sale and guide you with the latest trends in the local market.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 or send me an email at petra@petranorris.com if you’re looking for a Lakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buy Lakeland Fl short sale homes.

Why Your Carillon Lakes Home Isn’t Selling

Why Your Carillon Lakes Home Isn’t Selling

If your Carillon Lakes home for saleisn’t attracting buyers for a few weeks, or even months, then you have a good reason to be worried.

There are several reasons why a home doesn’t sell. Some of these reasons are beyond your control, but the good news is, you can control most of them.

Here are some of the most important elements (which you can control) that determine if a home will sell.

1. Pricing the home right.

A good Lakeland Fl agent will help you determine the right price for your Carillon Lakes home for sale based on a comparative market analysis (CMA). A home that is priced too high will not attract buyers and stay longer on the market. On the other hand, pricing your home too low will make you lose potential profit.

Make sure your home is priced based on current local market conditions and not on your estimate of what your home is worth or the amount you need to pay off your mortgage. Your Lakeland Fl agent will help you determine the best price for your Carillon Lakes home for sale based on the recent home sales in your area as well as current listings.

1. Make sure your home is in good condition.

Buyers have high expectations of your home, and the exterior will give them either a good or bad first impression of your home. Their first impression can be their last, so make sure your home’s exterior in impressive. Add bright colored flowers and plants, paint your front door, pull out the weeds, add some lights to the driveway, and remove all the clutter and toys from the lawn.

Your home also needs to be clean, organized, and de-cluttered inside. Make sure to remove any personal items, photos, trophies, etc. to depersonalize your home and make it easier for buyers to visualize living there.

1. Marketing your home.

When you choose a Lakeland Fl agent to market your home, ask them about their marketing plan and the photos they will post online. Most buyers initially look online for properties for sale, so it is important that your home has professional photos that will highlight its best features and make it look attractive. A listing without a photo or a badly lit photo will not attract any offers.

1. The open house.

You must make sure that your home is always available for showing. Buyers prefer to view a home without the owner there, so make sure your Lakeland Fl agent has access to a lockbox at your home.

If your Carillon Lakes home for sale is not getting any offers, ask the help of an experienced Lakeland Fl agent. Your agent will help you evaluate the market and suggest home improvements or the need to offer incentives like closing cost assistance. Your agent will also help you emphasize the positive features of your home while de-emphasizing any negative aspects.

Call me, Petra Norris, at (863) 619-6918 or send me an email at petra@petranorris.com if you’re looking for a Lakeland Florida real estate agent with superior local knowledge, experience, professionalism, integrity, and personal service to help you sell or buy Lakeland Fl short sale homes.