Engel & Völkers Villages

What mistakes to avoid when buying a foreclosure

Buying a foreclosure can be a great way to save money on a new home, but you need to exercise a certain amount of caution. Although foreclosure discounts can significantly lower the cost of a home, you can also end up in over your head financially if you’re not careful.

Avoid making these common mistakes when buying a foreclosure:

* Not hiring a realtor: Foreclosure transactions are much more…

10 mistakes to avoid when having an Open House

Yes, it’s true, it’s a seller’s market out there, but you can still ruin your chance at finding a willing buyer while mortgage rates remain low or landing the price you want if you mess up your open house.

Here are 10 open-house mistakes to avoid:

No. 1: Hovering

As a seller, your job is to get out of the way. Let your agent and their team interact with the buyers. Nothing scares off buyersfaste…

Preparing Your Lawn in The Villages For Spring

What’s the first thing people see when they pull up to your home? It’s your lawn. A healthy green lawn can make all the difference when it comes to good front yard first impressions. It’s still winter, and your grass is fast asleep, but that doesn’t mean it’s not in need of some care. Take advantage of these tips to ensure your lawn wakes up happy and healthy in the spring.

Fertilize

Many…

What To Consider Before Buying A Second Home in The Villages

Are you thinking of buying a property in The Villages, FL as a second home, perhaps as a vacation residence, a rental property or an alternative place to live near your family? A second home can be a great investment, can improve your lifestyle and can bring you rental money. However, there are a number of things that you need to keep in mind when you are buying a second property.

Do Your…

When and why saying no is good for business

Engel and Volkers is an international luxury real estate brand with a reputation for providing a consistent level of white-glove service throughout the world. We have a network of almost 600 brokerages located in 38 countries. If you haven’t heard of Engel and Volkers yet, it might be because we are strongly committed to the idea of exclusivity.

Exclusivity is a mindset and highly regarded value…

Did you know that the color of your wall can have an impact on your sleep?

Whenever you decide to redecorate your home, there’s always far more at play than just finding some new furniture. Interior design is all about creating an atmosphere, a sense of who you are and the statement you want to make, and then blending this as seamlessly as possible with the practical purpose of each room. Bedrooms are a prime example of this: ideally, this should be a space in which you…

Why Home Ownership in Florida Still Matters

The economy seems to be finally turning, and home loan interest rates are still historically low. Real estate values are starting to climb as well, all of which makes for a growing opportunity for new homeowners to get into the marketbefore it gets too expensive again. However, Millennials don’t seem to be on board. They represent the next generation of homebuyers, but a number of barriers can…

Stage Your Home For Spring: Tips For Using The Season To Your Selling Advantage

Spring has arrived! The flowers are blossoming, the greyness of the sky is clearing, and the air is warming. The best season to sell your home is here, and with the added natural light and blossoming colors, you can easily take advantage of the benefits of spring when it comes to sellingyour home. Make sure to show it for all it’s worth, and follow these simple tips for staging your home in…

Take Your Laundry From Drab To Fab With These Five Easy Fixes

If you’re looking to lengthen the life span of your clothing without always needing to purchase something new to wear, consider the following five easy steps every time you do a load of laundry. It’s a little bit of effort that goes a very long way; and who knows, you might just enjoy doing laundry again after seeing such great results!

Button, Zip, Turn Inside Out, And Separate

Spend a little…

7 Things You Should Do As Soon As You Move Into Your New Home in The Villages To Slash Your Electricity Bill

Moving into your home is an exciting time, and you shouldn’t allow higher than expected electricity bills to dampen your spirits. Every day, households around the world waste large amounts of energy. If your home uses more energy than it needs to, you are the one that is paying the price. Luckily, there are many ways to make sure your home is running as efficiently as possible. Save yourself from…

Now’s the time to buy here. Wildwood anticipating a huge boom…

Original Article Can Be Found Here

Earth movers are chewing up the ground across the street from the Wildwood home where Carlos Bailey has lived since 1955, so he no longer sees the picturesque rural landscape that he once enjoyed from his 5 acres on County Road 44A and Powell Road.

Bailey says it’s time to move.

“’I’m going to sell everything that I got. I’ve had quite a few offers, probably 10…

Why a listing presentation works better if it isn’t a presentation…

I think by now you will know my feeling on listing presentations and that the client is always number one and our job is to always LISTENto what they want and act accordingly. It’s not to flick through a ring binder…! For example whether or not you know it but our office has the highest listing conversion rate out of any of the brokerages in the area. Yes the highest. That is probably because we…

Why great photography matters

With so many real estate transactions beginning with a casual browse online, it’s no surprise that the visual presentation of your home is more important than ever. Where once buyers would have had very little to go on when deciding whether to view a property, now the decision is frequently made before they’ve even read the full listing, based simply on the photographs. If you’re planning on sell…

3 Often Overlooked Tax Breaks For Real Estate

I’ve been in this business long enough now to have mastered the timeline along which most of our…

[Infographic] 10 Customer Service Skills for Real Estate

Here are 10 customer service skills for real estateagents. Customer satisfaction is great,…

Swiss Universe magazine covers Christian Völkers

In its 01/2014 issue “Swiss Universe”, the exclusive inflight magazine for first and business class…

Canadians Looking in Florida told it's time to buy!

TORONTO, Canada – Feb. 10, 2014 – The epic beach party might not be over yet, but the economic…