Palmetto Real Estate

Below is a list of events that will occur before you start looking for a home, while you are looking for a home and after you have found a home and have it under contract:

1. You need to find out how much of a home you are pre-approved to purchase.
2. Before you find a home and put it under contract, you need to choose a lender that you will be getting financing through and who is going to give you the best terms and conditions.
3. This is a list of the documents lenders typically ask for, the sooner you get these to them the easier the process goes. I suggest giving a copy of these documents to them right at the start.
a. Last 2 years work history
b. Last 2 years W-2’s
c. Last 2 years verification rental history or mortgage payments
d. Year to date pay stub
e. If on disability, social security or pension and you are claiming that income you have to show proof of that income
f. Bank statements from the last 12 months
g. If you are divorced or separated, you must provide either the divorce decree or separation agreement.
h. If claiming Child support income, you need to show proof of receipt
i. If you have filed bankruptcy, you will need to provide a certified legal copy of discharge
j. Any judgments or tax liens must be paid off
k. If you are paying child support, you must show proof that you have been paying in a satisfactory re-payment plan
l. If you have any 401k, IRA, Stocks & Bonds or savings accounts, you will need to provide statements from those accounts.
4. You need to get a copy of a pre-approval letter without a dollar amount on it to accompany any offers you make on a home so the sellers are aware that you are already pre-approved.
5. Now it’s time to start looking for a home. Your agent will set up an automated search for you and email you all the active listings in the MLS that fit the criteria of the home you are looking for based on the amount you have been pre-approved for. This saves you time from having to drive around looking for homes that are for sale.
6. Once you find the home you are looking for and make an offer on it, and the offer is accepted, you are now under contract to purchase that home.

NOTE: Additional documentation may be requested depending on your situation. Your lender maty also require you to pay any outstanding bills as well before closing on the home. You lender will let you know if this is required. Do not change your job, charge your credit card or affect you credit in any way, this will stop the loan process and no money will be funded. The mortgage company runs a second credit check right before lending the money, for this reason you will need to wait until after the closing for any change or purchase.

7. The Home Inspection and the Termite Inspection will be ordered. You are more than welcome to be there when the inspections are being done.
8. The lender that you chose to do your financing through will order the Appraisal. You are also welcome to be there for that as well. Survey will be ordered by the Title Company.
9. You will need to purchase homeowners insurance for a year, and provide the Declaration page to the Title Company as proof you purchased before they will allow you to close on the home. Your Insurance Company can fax a copy of that page to the Title Company.
10. Once the Home Inspection report comes back, your agent will meet with you to discuss the findings, and evaluate which items need to be repaired depending how the contract was written between the buyer and the seller. The seller will then make the requested repairs if the buyer and seller agreed that the seller would make repairs.
11. One day before closing your agent will do a final walk through of the home with you to make sure the home is in the condition it is suppose to be in and repairs were completed (if required)..
12. Your agent will go over the HUD-1 statement with you to make sure all figures are correct.
13. The Title Company will advise you of the dollar amount you need to bring to the closing in CERTIFIED FUNDS, personal checks will not be taken You will also need to bring your drivers license to closing.
14. Congratulations on the purchase of your home!!

As a reminder….It is imperative that you know what financing company will be doing your financing before you put a home under contract so the lender will have time to get all paperwork completed in a timely manner and it does not hold up the closing. The lender will also be able to provide your agent with the correct amount of closing costs so it can be written into the contract if you are expecting the seller to pay your closing costs. The more you get done ahead of time, the smoother your closing will go.

Palmetto Florida is located on the west coast of Florida just north of Bradenton. Palmetto is centrally located with easy access just across the Manatee River to Bradenton and Sarasota. You can also access St. Petersburg very easily from the Skyway Bridge from Palmetto. Tampa is just a hop skip and a jump up I-75 which can also be accessed from Palmetto.

Click here to see a map of where exactly Palmetto is located at.

Palmetto is an old historic town with a lot of different types of homes and subdivisions.

Beautiful old Victorian homes
Old Florida cracker style homes
New homes
Town homes
Condos
Homes on the Manatee River
Homes on acreage
Gated communities
Golf course communities
Every style of home you could imagine
Homes on the Terra Ceia Bay
Island homes
Multi-million dollar homes
Ranchettes
Manufactured homes
Over 55 communities
Homes for first time home buyers
There are also a lot of things to do in Palmetto.

Regatta Pointe Marina
Emerson Point Park
Bickle Mound
Blackstone Park
Riverside Plaza
Bradenton Yacht Club
Riverside Park
Manatee County State Fairgrounds
Antique Shops
Olympia Theatre
Dining
Fishing
Boating
Golfing
Parks & Picnicking
Manatee County Convention Center

Emerson Point is a 195-acre park located in Palmetto on Snead Island. It is located at the end of 17th St W where the Manatee River meets the Gulf of Mexico.

Click here to view a map of where Emerson Point is located at.

I decided to take a drive out there to get some pictures of the area and of the water. I have been there a few times, but until yesterday, I wasn’t even aware of what I had been missing. Normally when I go, I drive all the way to the end of Emerson Point to the water. Yesterday, I noticed that soon after you enter into Emerson Point, there is an area off to the left to park your car, so I decided to check it out. I was surprised at what I found!! Located there on top of the hill are still some old remains of an Indian Village and earlier pioneers homes. It was COOL!! This is one of Florida’s oldest temple mounds. The temple mound is more than 1,000 years old and was built by the ancestors of the Timucua.

As you are walking up the wooden walkway to get to the top of the hill, there is still an old water cistern and part of an original chimney from the late 1800’s there. Once you reach the top, that is the very spot that the Indians and early settlers built their homes. They built it at the highest point in the area, so that if it ever the area ever flooded, they would be safe.

Once up at the top, you have a treetop view of the area. From up at the top, I could see the water. So we walked down the backside of the hill and out to the water. What a view!! The view was beautiful! There were a few sailboats out in the water and you could see the homes in Bradenton on the other side of the water from there.

Located throughout this area of the park are several signs that talk about the early pioneers and Indians that once called this land home.

There are several hiking trails and walkways to explore in this area and I wish I was better prepared. Next time I come, I will wear a pair of tennis shoes and explore them! Don’t forget your bug spray too! We were there in the middle of the day, but the mosquito’s were still out and I got bit a couple times.

They have a bike path that goes from one end of the island all the way out to the water at the end.

As you drive the main road of the park, you will also see a few other places you can park and more hiking trails. There is an observation tower that we also didn’t get a chance to explore this time, but from the looks of it, if you get to the top of it, you will be able to see all around the island from there and probably out to the water.

If you live in the area or you are visiting, I recommend you check it out! Bring your kids, pack a picnic lunch, wear your walking shoes, don’t forget your bug spray and most of all, bring a camera or camcorder!! I took quite a few pictures and would of been able to get more, but I had flip-flops on instead of tennis shoes so I wasn’t able to check out some of the hiking trails.

A new plan for residential and commercial development has just been proposed for downtown Palmetto. The full city block of 4th & 5th Streets and 10th & 9th Avenues is stated to be a project to happen over the next 5 years.

The project calls 6 phases with a combination of 28 store fronts and 88 one and two bedroom residential affordable housing units that will range in price of $160,000 to $200,000.

The residential units will be built on top of the commercial store fronts and will have a Key West/Florida style buildings with tin roofs, courtyards, benches and parking.

The plan is said to also include a possible $50,000 credit to any City employees that want to purchase a unit.

So, I think this is a great idea to build these unique types of buildings in Palmetto and give people the option to live and work close to Downtown. However, $160,000 to $200,000 price range? C’mon already! When are they REALLY going to build some REAL affordable housing in the area? You know, something along the lines of $125,000? That’s affordable housing by many people’s standards, especially people that work for the City or County. There are plenty of single family homes currently on the market listed between $160,000 and $200,000, so someone please tell me how offering a $160,000 to $200,000 condo as affordable housing makes any sense? And why buy a condo for the same price you can buy a single family home for? Unless you want something maintenance free, most people would rather have a single family home than a condo if they can get it for the same price.

I don’t understand the logic some of these developers think they are using.

Source: North River News

Regatta Pointe will be getting a major addition in 2008. They will be opening a new waterfront restaurant and new shower/bathroom facilities, laundry facilities, media room, club room and exercise facility will all be added.

The exterior will also be getting a major face-lift. They will be changing the current “Boston Harbor” theme to a “Grand Floridian” Key West style theme with softer colors and metal roof.

The new 4,000 square foot waterfront restaurant will have 180 degree panoramic views of the Manatee River. High-end European glass walls will be used that will allow the entire restaurant to either be completely open or closed depending on weather conditions. When opened up, the walls will nearly disappear allowing beautiful views of the water. Now, use your imagination here……Can’t you just feel the warm Florida breezes blowing through as you enjoy your lunch or dinner?

The restaurant will seat 150 inside and 60 outside on the water.

More information is to come in the Spring of 2008.

Sounds like these are going to be some wonderful changes. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when completed. This is one of my favorite places in Manatee County already to go and if they add another restaurant overlooking the water, this is *fantastic*.

I think I will go take a bunch of photos of what it looks like now and when it’s done I can do a “before and after” post of the changes. I bet it will drastic! It’ll be good to see the theme changed to a Florida Key West style. I think it will be much nicer.

If your home is listed with an agent, you need to be asking yourself this question. Am I SELLING my home, or is my home just “For Sale”?

Let me first explain to you the difference between the two so that you can better answer that question.

Someone that is SELLING their home, has a home that is always clean & has been depersonalized and de-cluttered, the lawn is always maintained, the home can be shown at a moment’s notice, you leave during all showings and there is a lock box on the door for agent access.

A person that has a home For Sale has a tendency to leave the house in not so tip-top condition, hasn’t bothered to mow the lawn in about 2 weeks and it’s now knee high, refuses showings because it’s “bad timing”, likes to hang around during the showings or refuses to let the listing agent put a lock box on the door.

If you’re still having a hard time answering this question, let me ask you some other questions to help you out:

Have you ever refused a showing because you forgot to pick up your dirty underwear or wash last nights dishes which are still sitting in the sink or on the counters, and the agent wants to show your home before you are able to get home & pick things up and clean the house, so you tell them no?
Does your lawn still look like it hasn’t been mowed in about a month and the garbage cans are still sitting at the curb, and garbage day was 2 days ago?
Do you require 24 hours notice?
Do you only allow your home to be shown during your “off hours” from work because you want to be there for all showings to let the agent in?
Do you require your agent to attend all the showings, so thus refusing to allow a lock box to be placed on your home?
If you’re answered YES to any of those questions, then you my friend are not SELLING your home. Your home is just “For Sale.” Having your home “For Sale” in today’s market versus SELLING your home could mean you won’t be selling or moving at all, so you don’t need to worry about cleaning it or mowing the lawn!

You should never be refusing showings unless it’s a family emergency, you have company over, you’re in the middle of dinner or your kids are sick. You’re trying to SELL your home, which means that your home needs to be shown on the buyer’s schedule…..NOT YOUR’S! Your home should always be spotless (or as clean as possible if you have kids), and if that means you have to stay up an hour later each night cleaning and picking up the house, then that’s what you have to do. You should never leave for work with dirty dishes left out, dirty clothes on the floor or a dirty house in any other sort of way. If someone calls at 11am and wants to see it at 11:15am, then you need to be prepared for this! If you want your home SOLD, then live in a home that is in tip-top condition at ALL times or as much as possible if you have kids.
If your lawn doesn’t look AS GOOD OR BETTER than the day it was listed and all the photos were taken, then you have some work to do! If the lawn is not well maintained and garbage cans are laying at the curb with 3 days of newspapers at the end of the driveway that you haven’t bothered to pick up, then it usually means the inside of the home is dirty, which also means you probably haven’t maintained your home in any sort of way, which in turn screams to the buyer to RUN!!!
Why do you require 24 hours notice? Unless it’s a tenant occupied house, there is no reason why you need to have 24 hours notice!! Selling a home in an inconvenience that you will have to deal with for a few months if you want your home sold. By requiring agents to provide 24 hours notice for showings, probably will result in less showings. Many buyers call last minute and want to see a home right away or within a couple of hours. You need to be willing to work with them. Some agents see that requiring 24 hours notice and you refusing showings with anything less than 24 hours notice as difficult people to work with and they may advise their buyer that you are probably not serious about selling and may be difficult to work with. NEXT!!
Ok, so if you’re one of these people that insists on being there for all showings and you have to be there to let them in, GOOD LUCK! You’re gonna need it. Chances are you probably aren’t going to sell your home either. Many people like to look at homes during the day…while you’re at work…and if they can’t get in, then that’s another buyer you’ve potentially lost. Most times, they will NOT call back to reschedule. There are too many other homes that are available to get into much easier. And as much as you think you may be helping the situation by being there to let us in and you’re there to answer any questions…..buyer’s HATE when homeowners are home! They feel like they are intruding in your home and they don’t feel comfortable looking in closets or cabinets. In fact, most times they will rush through the home to get out quickly because it is so uncomfortable having a seller there.
If you don’t allow an agent to put a lock box on the home or you require your agent to be there for all showings….once again, GOOD LUCK, you’re gonna need it! I know I certainly don’t have time to hunt your agent down and drive somewhere else to go pick up a key or to try and work around your agents schedule to show my buyer your property! There are too many other homes on the market to waste time driving some place to pick up a key that I will then have to drive back to return it, or to re-schedule my entire showing schedule because your agent has to be there to let me in and it’s bad timing for them. NEXT!!
Having a “For Sale” sign in your yard and your home listed in the MLS isn’t going to do you one bit of good if you’re refusing showings, allowing showings while your home is dirty, requiring to be there for all showings, not allowing a lock box to be placed on the home, not maintaining the home or the yard or requiring your listing agent to be there for all showings!

As I said before selling a home can be a big inconvenience. BUT, if your home is in tip-top shape and ready to show at a moment’s notice without any hassle or anyone hovering over the agent that is there showing the home, chances are higher that you will sell it faster and move on. If not, then you will probably end up dealing with the inconvenience of selling your home much longer than you really needed to if you’d of just been a little bit more flexible.

You need to be impressing a buyer. Not turning a buyer off! There are way too many other homes for sale that you are competing with and it’s too easy for a buyer to say, “You know what, never mind. We don’t really need to see that one.”

So let me ask you this question one last time. Are you SELLING your home, or is your home just “For Sale”?

Linda Reynolds has proven herself as a wonderful real estate agent. When we were looking for a new home, she had professionalism, courtesy, and patience when it came to our needs. She always listened and always gave her best advice. Never giving up, she found us the right home. To have Linda Reynolds as your real estate agent will be in your benefit. Not only did we find the home of our dreams, we’ve also found a true friend. A.V.

Becky was delightful to work with and went beyond the call of duty to help us. We flet like we knew her even though we had never met her. We would recommend her and your company to any of our friends and family. Thank You! S.B.
Our experience with Linda Reynolds has been wonderful. She sincerely cares about our family and listened to our thoughts and ideas when we were purchasing our home. She was patient with us and worked diligently to find exactly the home we were searching for. Now that the time has come to move on, we wouldn’t trust the sale of our house to anyone but Linda. We know we will get great service from a professional who will put our needs first. She really is our “real estate agent for life”. J.N.

We were very pleased with your service, agency, and level of professionalism. Becky is a jewel! Thanks for your efficiency. We’d like to thank your listing coordinator who stayed up til midnight listing our house on the MLS. Thank You, Thank You. M.S.

Becky Troutt was exceptional!! We cannot thank her enough, she truely was outstanding. I would recommend Reynolds Realty to friends and family. J&G S.

Enjoyed working with you. As you know I had alot of concerns and you answered them. Looking forward to working with you when I’m ready to buy again. C.P.

Excellent job, top performer for the fast sale of the house. I would recommend Reynolds Realty to friends and family. K.S.

I needed to let you know about a VERY special person working with you. Thanks to you, I was connected to her in my search for my very first home. Everything you told me about her and so much more was absolutely the ultimate truth. Mary is a fantastic realtor!
She knew exactly what I could afford and what I would or would not accept as a purchase after only telling her once. She was prompt with advising me of listings and never let me down. She was ready even at a half hour’s notice to show me homes. She was professional and pleasant and you know what? She made the experience fun for me. C.L.

It has been very good for all of our family members working with Linda. Our sincere thanks for all of her efforts in two sales. A.S.

Reynolds Realty has been open since July 2004 with the main office in Palmetto (Manatee County). We opened a second branch office in Riverview (Hillsborough County) in October 2005. Linda Reynolds is the Broker of the company. Linda has over 30 years experience in Corporate America with a combination of Management and Computer Consulting with a vast array of computer background knowledge and education. Her past career has been customer serviced based so she fully understands the power of customer service and passes that same philosophy on to all of the agents within her company. This attribute makes us stand out above the rest, because we put YOU first.

For instance, one thing that sets us apart from other companies is our “Fire Me Anytime You Want Policy”. If you feel we are not doing the very best job to market and sell your home, you have the right to cancel the Listing Agreement at no cost or penalty to you. This is just one of the many items on our Marketing Plan. We have an extensive Marketing Plan prepared, feel free to contact us at anytime to discuss it further.

We currently have 11 agents total between the two office locations and are looking to add additional agents to our company. Our agents are professional, courteous and have a wide range of past career experience.

Please feel free to contact us at anytime for a no-pressure consultation.

Thousand
Oaks in Palmetto Florida is a
great first time homebuyer opportunity.  Great homes in a great community.  Thousand
Oaks is an older community but the homes are a solid buy. 
Located in the eastern most part of Palmetto close to
Parrish makes it a great location for commuters.

There aren’t any amenities so it helps to keep the association
dues lower.  Since Thousand Oaks is an older
community the trees have grown and there are some great shaded areas.  Drive by
and check out Thousand Oaks in Palmetto
Florida and if you have any questions or want more information
on

Palmetto Real Estate ask us and we will be happy to assist.

Waterfront
living, executive homes, luxury homes, this is what describes Rivieria
Dunes.  Sitting right on the Manatee River, Rivieria
Dunes contains one of the last protected harbors to be built. 
The selection of homes are single family homes, condos and town homes, either
choice displays the best of everything.  Granite countertops, private elevators,
spectacular views, it just doesn’t get any better than this. 

Boat slips are available for sale within the community,
however take note that only motor boats will probably work.  Rivieria
Dunes is on the east side of the bridge and isn’t tall enough
for sail boats to go under to get to the bay.  If you want to live in
Rivieria Dunes and own a sailboat then your two
options would be to get a slip at Regatta Point
or the Bradenton Yacht Club
as they are on the west side of the bridge.

Rivieria Dunes
in Palmetto has the following amenities:

• Gated Community
• Tennis Courts
• Marina
• Boat Dock
• Heated Pool
• Spa
• Fitness Center
• Club Room