Blog

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

Wondering how much your home is going to appraise for over the next few years? Buying a home is exciting. Trying to find the perfect house — one that fits the budget and all of the criteria buyers tend to have for their living situation. But selling a home? It can be a little complicated … Continued

Are you dealing with some funky smells in a house that you want to sell? Unfortunately, the smell of a home is a HUGE factor that determines whether buyers will make you an offer or not. A home that doesn’t smell right… It doesn’t sell very fast. Maybe you’re dealing with pet odors, mold, or … Continued

Stuck with an investment property? 🙁 Real estate is a great investment and you’ve probably read somewhere before that there’s the potential to make a lot of money in repairing and flipping properties or keeping them as rentals. That’s true! But also… the market fluctuates. And sometimes, real estate investing doesn’t feel like everything it … Continued

Do you need to relocate for work? Depending on how far you’re moving, that can be a big job that requires a lot of time, effort, and money — hopefully, the new employer will help pay for the cost of the move. In fact, if you’re wondering what sort of costs to expect, here’s a … Continued