Thursday, July 24, 2014

Warning Signs That You Need to Repair Your Carillon Lakes Home

Warning Signs That You Need to Repair the Foundation of Your Carillon Lakes Home For Sale

It is important to address problems with the foundation of your Carillon Lakes home for sale as soon as you see these warning signs.

A shifting, settling, or failing foundation can cause major structural damage to your Carillon Lakes home. The sooner you are able to fix any problems in your home’s foundation, the less damage it can cause.

The problem with foundation issues is they don’t show up right away. Your home’s foundation shifts, settles, or fails gradually and the simple telltale signs of foundation problems could be easily overlooked by homeowners.

Here are warning signs of foundation problems:

1. Cracks in floors

2. Misaligned garage doors, exterior doors, and windows

3. Bulging floors

4. Cracks in the foundation, brick, or stonework

5. Interior doors don’t fit their jambs any longer or get stuck

6. Cracks in the interior sheet rock

This amazing tips in buying a Carillon home for sale will ensure your purchase will be a successful one.

If you notice any of these signs of foundation problems, call a structural engineer immediately. The engineer will assess the damage and determine what type of repairs are needed for the foundation of your home. The engineer will also identify the causes of the problems in your home’s foundation.

The next step would be to call a foundation repair company to do the necessary repairs (like slabjacking and piering) to save your Carillon Lakes home for sale.

Make sure to ask your structural engineer what caused the problem and how you can prevent it in the future. Usually, the culprits are uneven distribution of moisture in the subsoil which results in settling and shifting, eventually destroying the home’s foundation. This can be avoided by making sure you have good lot drainage and sufficient and properly installed gutters.

Addressing problems in your home’s foundation as soon as you see these warning signs will help you avoid bigger and costlier damages in the future and will help to ensure a smoother sale of your Carillon Lakes home.

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

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Top 9 Tips In Buying a Carillon Lakes Home for Sale

Top tips in buying a Carillon Lakes home for sale

Buying a home in an active adult community like Carillon Lakes is not too different from buying a home in a regular neighborhood.

The best thing to do is to hire an agent who is experienced in buying or selling Carillon Lakes homes for sale and who understands 55+ communities.

Here are some more tips in buying a home in Carillon Lakes:

1. Arrange your financing. Talk to your lender and get a preapproval letter before you make an offer on a home.

2. Get a home inspection. This also applies even for brand new homes.

3. Talk to the neighbors and find out what they like or don’t like about living there.

4. Ask the seller about cost of utilities and other costs associated with owning a home in Carillon Lakes Fl.

5. Check the neighborhood during weekends and different times of the week and day for noise level.

6. Ask for their Homeowner Association documents and read the minutes of their meetings.

7. If you have questions about seller disclosures, consult an attorney.

8. Determine if the purchase fits your budget and retirement plans.

9. Ask for a home warranty plan.

If you are ready to buy a home for sale in Carillon Lakes, make sure to hire an experienced agent who could help you arrive at the best decision.

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

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

How to Prepare Your Carillon Lakes Fl Home for Storm Season

How to prepare your Carillon Lakes Fl home for storm season.

It’s that time of year to get ready for storm season in Florida. You’ll never when or how strong a storm would be, so it’s better to prepare as early as possible.

Here are some tips how to prepare your Carillon Lakes home for hurricane season:

1. Take a walk around your home and look for anything that is damaged or could get damaged in a storm. Make sure the eaves are up in place and not hanging down. Check the fascia for damage. If it’s loose, repair it. Check for loose nails as they tend to pull out as they expand and contract with the changes in temperature.

2. Check your windows and screen enclosures for damage. Never underestimate a small tear as this can turn into a bigger problem during strong winds. Screens take a beating from the sun and need to replaced every few years. One way to check the condition of your screen is to look closely and see if there are spots that are lighter in color compared to the rest of the screen. This means that the screen is getting thin and needs replacement.

3. Check the trees. Remove dead limbs and trim them back away from your home. Carillon Lakes community require that trees be maintained and kept trimmed from the homes and sidewalks at all times as a safety measure. Flying fronds from the cabbage palm can fly through the air and cause damage during storms. If you have a very high tree that you cannot reach with a pole trimmer, call a professional tree trimming company.

Along with getting ready for hurricane season, it’s also the best time to spruce up your Carillon Lakes home for sale as you make these simple repairs and improvements for your home.

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 Carillon Lakes Fl homes for sale.

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!

Thursday, July 3, 2014

7 Ways Not to Sell Your Carillon Lakes Home for Sale

7 ways not to sell your Carillon Lakes Home for sale

If you are selling your Carillon Lakes Home in Florida, make sure you avoid these 7 ways of how not to sell your home:

1. Overpricing

Price is almost always the main factor in why homes do not sell. It’s either price for condition or price for location. How do you know if you have the right price for your Carillon Lakes home for sale? It’s when you start getting offers from multiple buyers. To find out how what the best price for your home is that will attract many buyers, hire an agent who has experience in selling Carillon Lakes homes.

2. Bad location

No matter how great your house is, it will never compensate for a bad location. Homes that are close to a busy freeway, a waste treatment facility, or a power plant, will often sit longer on the market. Neighborhoods with high crime rates or a bad reputation will also turn off potential buyers.

3. Poor condition

If you sell your home in a bad condition, buyers will think that it will cost them half as much to repair and renovate it as it does to buy it. Most buyers want move-in ready homes and today’s buyers are reluctant to spend much on home repairs or renovations, especially if there are other homes around the area that don’t need as much work.

4.Bad design

Some buyers get turned off by homes with strange floor plans or inefficient use of space. Some homes stay longer on the market because of their outdated or obsolete design like homes where you have to walk through one bedroom to get into another bedroom or a home without a driveway.

5. Dated or tacky decor

Loud colors, busy patterns, and dated furniture and window treatments can be a major turn off to buyers. When it comes to selling a home, less is more, since everyone has different tastes. You might want to consider remodeling your 1970s kitchen to a more modern one to help your home sell faster. Making it more modern and energy-efficient will increase its value and give you a higher return on investment.

6. Bigger home among smaller homes

Bigger is not always better. You may think that having a bigger, fancier, more elegant home is nice and will sell faster, but it actually will not do you any wonders when it comes time to sell. Buyers are not only paying for the home, but also for everything around it. If the homes in your neighborhood are too different from yours in size and design, if yours is the only big home while all the other homes are smaller ones, you might not get the luxury price you expect for your home.

7. Bad photos

Never post photos of your home in an unclean state, bad condition, or even bad lighting. This includes cluttered floors, dirty clothes, and disarrayed furniture. Buyers will think that the home is not maintained properly or in need of repairs and will look elsewhere for cleaner looking homes.

Aside from avoiding these 7 issues, make sure you get the help of a real estate agent who has experience in selling Carillon Lakes homes for sale so you can get expert advice and the right marketing tools and techniques to sell your home fast and for top dollar.

Petra Norris, REALTOR®…

Going The Extra Mile For You!