Condo sales are up

Condo sales have been soaring since the beginning of the year. This lovely three bedroom townhouse in Lakewood Ranch went under contract in a matter of hours, enabling the seller to upgrade to a brand new construction 4 bedroom home.

Check out the website for this gorgeous new listing which has just gone under contract in the beautiful golf-course community of University Park. The house is available turnkey furnished (which means that all you’ll need to bring is a toothbrush and a set of irons), including a car and a golf cart.

Getting your house ready to list

Sellers always want to know how they much money/effort they should put into remodeling their house before they put it on the market. There are lots of small ways to spruce up a house (de-clutter, new plants, fresh paint, de-clutter, replace lightbulbs, did I mention de-clutter?!) but how far do you go before your investment becomes obsolete? Should you rip out that lurid 70s bathroom tile? Is it worth buying new appliances (oftentimes, yes, people do like to see shiny new dishwashers). Will you be wasting money updating a kitchen when the new buyer will likely come along and demolish it?

The Remodeling 2016 Cost vs. Value Report gives fairly in-depth information on the cost, resale value and percentage of investment recouped on remodeling ideas. There are some surprising findings in the report. Attic insulation is well worth the money, apparently, with 150% of investment recouped! Replacing the garage door and the entry door (both help to greatly improve curb appeal and first impressions) will get you your money back. Interestingly, it appears that it pays to remodel an existing bathroom rather than add an additional one (74% cost recouped vs. 56%). A major kitchen remodel will earn you approximately 65% of your money back whereas a minor kitchen model will recoup 96%. A good case of "less is more".