Author: adeweerd

Are you worried about your home’s foundation wearing down? Unfortunately, a sinking or settling foundation is one of the biggest problems homeowners can experience — and it’s one that you DEFINITELY don’t want to ignore. Just check out what Peak Structural Inc. has to say about it… “One of the biggest dangers of neglecting a … Continued

Want to update your kitchen but don’t know where to start? Join the club. Home renovations can be pretty expensive… and so we don’t want to mess anything up or spend our money on the wrong thing. At Manatee, we’ve been working in real estate in Bradenton for quite some time now. And we’ve seen … Continued

What’s the best paint color for selling a home? 🤔 It might seem like a trivial question, but today’s buyers actually DO care about the color of the house they’re buying. As a rule of thumb, stick with neutral colors — according to HomeLight’s Top Agent Insights Report for Q1 2020, 98% of agents surveyed … Continued

Want some easy every-day tips for maintaining the quality of your home? Your home is like anything else in your life that you care about — to maintain it, you’ll need to give it a little bit of love every now and again…and stay committed… But that doesn’t need to feel overwhelming… At Manatee, we’ve … Continued

Planning to make some repairs to your home? Well, most people spend a lot of time talking about the repairs and updates you should make to modernize your home and get it to sell for top-dollar… But what about the repairs you should AVOID? After all, some repairs are so expensive that they’re not even … Continued

Planning to hire a contractor to help repair or update your home? It’s unfortunate, but at Mae, we’ve seen a lot of homeowners hire bad contractors 🙁 Sometimes they quit the job half-way through, do a shoddy job, or charge you more than promised. That’s why we HIGHLY recommend vetting the contractor you choose to … Continued

Did someone make you a cash offer on your home? Did it seem too low? Or maybe it seemed too good to be true? Whatever the case, when professional homebuyers make offers, they don’t always disclose WHY their offer is what it is… or even if it’s actually “fair” or not. And you’re not a … Continued

Trying to sell your house? Well, regardless of whether the plan is to sell through a real estate agent or as a for-sale-by-owner, open houses are one of the best ways to generate buzz and find potential buyers. But of course, not all open house experiences are equal. At Manatee, we’ve been buying and selling … Continued

How accurate is the “Zestimate” on your home? To find out the value of their home, most people go to Zillow, type in their address, and check their Zestimate. But is that number accurate? In most cases, according to Zillow, the Zestimate will fall within 10% of the real value of the home (a home … Continued

HOMEOWNERS: wondering if it’s a good idea to do a rent-to-own arrangement with your buyers? While there are some benefits to rent-to-own — such as having a bigger pool of buyers, earning rental income, and selling for a higher price-point — there are also some little-known pitfalls. At Manatee, we’ve been working in real estate … Continued

Is your real estate agent lying to you? It’s a given that we all want to work with a real estate agent who’s honest about their costs, experience, and the condition of homes they’ve listed. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. At Manatee, we’ve helped many homeowners who felt they couldn’t trust the agent they … Continued

Has your home been on the market for a while but still hasn’t sold? We know how frustrating this can be. At Manatee, we’ve worked with a lot of homeowners who struggled for a long time to sell their property on the MLS. From our experience, there are really only a few reasons that homes … Continued

Moving for the military? Well, at Manatee, we’ve been honored to help homeowners (INCLUDING veterans and active-duty military personnel) sell their homes quickly for a fair cash price. And we understand that selling under PCS pressure can be a little overwhelming. So here are some quick tips to help you sell in a timely and … Continued

Renting vs. Buying? Which is better? Maybe you’re in the process of selling your home and you’re wondering whether it’d be better to rent or buy… Well, at Manatee, we’ve been helping home sellers get a fair cash price for their home in Bradenton and Sarasota for quite some time. Over the years, we’ve seen … Continued

Is it a good time to sell your home? There are a lot of different factors that go into selling a home. Can you find a good real estate agent? Is the market advantageous right now? Can you afford the costs of selling a home? Has your home become more than you can handle (too … Continued