My client just lowered the price of their condo for sale in 100 Central. The price was reduced from $439,950 to $399,900. This has 1 bedroom, den, 2 bathrooms and 991 square feet. The den could be used as a 2nd bedroom. This is the perfect winter getaway.

Built in 2005, and in a prime location in the heart of Downtown Sarasota, this attractive, light-filled end unit is short stroll to Whole Foods, The Saturday Farmer’s Market, Starbucks, Bayfront Park, Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota Opera House, and an exciting variety of award-winning restaurants. Situated on the South side of the building, the unit has extra windows in the 2nd bedroom and master bath for a bright, open feeling. Featuring a spectacular terrace with unobstructed city views, high ceilings, 2 full baths, granite countertops, maple cabinetry, secured parking, and extra storage, the unit provides a wonderful day-to day living environment. The building offers state-of-the-art amenities, a fabulous entertainment level with a lap pool, spa, outdoor kitchen, clubhouse, fitness center, movie-theater, art studio, and a guest suite. With a 24-hour concierge, pets are welcomed.

View more photos and a virtual tour

Call Marc at 941.812.6272 to see this property.

See part 1 of the 15 things I love and hate about the real estate business. Here are 15 more:

16) I love to attend a Tuesday sales meeting and get energized or hear some useful information.

I hate to attend a Tuesday sales meeting and it is one big waste of time.

17) I love when a buyer comes to realization that there is no such thing as a "perfect house."

I hate when a buyer spends years looking for the "perfect house" and never buys.

18) I love when I give a good listing presentation and the sellers lists with me at a realistic asking price.

I hate when I give a good listing presentation and the seller lists with a competing Realtor only because he would take it at an unrealistic asking price.

19) I love that the Sarasota real estate market is improving.

I hate the mess that the Sarasota real estate market went through the last 5 or 6 years.

20) I love when a prospect is respectful of my time.

I hate when a prospect that never turns into a sale is disrespectful of my time.

21) I love that experience is helping me focus on money making activities.

I hate that there are so many ways to waste time in the real estate business.

22) I love when a client sends a testimonial without asking for it.

I hate when I go above and beyond for a client and don't receive a thank you.

23) I love the idea of throwing my blackberry into the lake behind my house when/if I retire from real estate.

I hate the fact that I have not done that already. ;-)

24) I love the fact that I set my own schedule and don't have to "clock in" to work everyday.

I hate the fact that I probably work far more hours than a job that I just "clocked in" to.

25) I love the idea of taking a vacation without my cell phone or email access.

I hate the fact that I have NEVER done that.

26) I love that I can fire a buyer if needed.

I hate when I have to fire a buyer.

27) I love having a flexible schedule so I can take my kids to school if I want.

I hate that I work more than 40 hours a week that prevents me from hanging with my kids more.

28) I love when a buyer see a property on my website and buys it.

I hate that the conversion rate for website visitors is so low.

29) I love when I sell my own listing.

I hate that it does not happen more often.

30) I love when a blog post gets featured on Activerain.

I hate when a really good blog post does not get featured on Activerain.

1) I love when a buyer finds their dream home.

I hate when a buyer is too picky to ever find their dream home.

2) I love when a seller receives a good purchase offer.

I hate when a seller rejects a good purchase offer out of emotion, spite or need for conflict.

3) I love when a buyer/seller chooses to work with me.

I hate when a prior client lists their home with a different Realtor.

4) I love when I have a closing and get a fat commission check.

I hate when I work with a seller/buyer for a long time and get jack sh*t.

5) I love when a prepared buyer flies into town and gets a home under contract within a few days.

I hate when a buyer flies into town and wants me to play tour guide of several Sarasota houses and does not buy - ever.

6) I love when a buyer comes to town to see if they like Sarasota before they look at property.

I hate when a buyer comes to town and wants to see houses prior to finding out if they like Sarasota.

7) I love when a seller is realistic about the value of their home.

I hate when a seller is unrealistic about the value of their home and ignores logic as to the reasons why.

8) I love when a seller realizes that open houses aren't that useful for selling homes.

I hate when a seller thinks an open house will somehow counteract their high asking price.  

9) I love when a buyer doesn't spend too much time in a house they know they won't buy.

I hate when a buyers knows within the first few minutes of seeing a home that it won't work for them, however they spend the next 15 minutes visualizing placement of their furniture or critiquing the house.

10) I love when a buyer says, "I don't want to look at any short sales."

I hate when a buyer says, "I'm only interested in short sales."

11) I love when a seller thinks that a competing home for sale in their area is better than theirs when it really is.

I hate when a seller thinks they have the absolute best property for sale in the area when it isn't even close.

12) I love when a buyer prefers to see houses during the week so I can take weekends off with my family.

I hate when a buyer only wants to meet on weekends (nature of the business).

13) I love when buyers drive by homes and communities before making an appointment to see a home they viewed on the internet.

I hate when a buyer makes an appointment to see a home and afterwards says, "I would never buy in this neighborhood."

14) I love when a buyer pays cash.

I hate when a prospect asks about lease options or lease purchases because they don't have enough money for a downpayment.

15) I love being able to vent and share war stories on Activerain.

I hate the need to vent about the real estate business.

Read part 2 of the 15 things I love and hate about the real estate business.

1) Fire a buyer

2) Establish and actually get business from a geographic farm area

3) Build a real estate website

4) Make sales from your real estate website

5) Sell a really expensive property

6) Fire a seller

7) Explain to a seller that open houses really don't sell houses and that Realtors mostly use them to pick up buyers

8) Make it clear to a buyer that you are not a tour guide

9) Be a tour a guide for someone so you know why you should avoid those prospects

10) Tell a prospect that you don't work weekends - even if you do.

11) Sell your own listing

12) Sell your own house so you know how it feels to work with yourself

13) Go on caravan - it is a good way to learn the market and get some free food and coffee

14) Write a blog post

15) Take a client to lunch

16) Update your real estate photo every so often

17) Show a property in shorts

18) Go through the short sale process with a client - preferably an agonizing one. It builds character.

19) Pitch a listing in a sales meeting

20) Give really honest feedback on a showing. For example, "your listing is WAAAAY overpriced!"

21) Come to the realization that most sellers think their home is worth more than it really is

22) Realize that the huge producing Realtor that you might envy isn't all that brilliant

23) Make it clear to those buyers who think seeing property is fun that you work on commission

24) Have a drink with a client (if you drink)

25) Have a drink with a fellow Realtor

26) Have lunch with a very successful Realtor. I have and learned a few things.

27) Write a business plan

28) Turn your cell phone off the entire time you are on a vacation (I have not done this one).

29) If you have kids take them on a showing with you (Haven't done this one yet either)

30) Reschedule a showing with a buyer just because you aren't in the mood to be social

31) Tell a seller that listing their property would be a waste of your time

32) Sell a really cheap property

33) Be the biggest producer in your office for a certain time period

34) Pass on some of your wisdom to a new Realtor

35) Contemplate opening your own brokerage

36) Realize that family comes first. My kids just woke up so I have to end the list here. Can you add a few?

Bent Tree is a neighborhood designed with nature in mind. The elaborate lake system is not only beautiful to look at but it also provides for superior drainage during Florida’s rainy season.

The preserve areas, large lakes, open golf course and mature tree canopy provide habitat for a diverse range of birds and animals. Whether you enjoy the bald eagles that return every year to raise a new brood, the mallard ducks, cardinals & blue jays, the black bottom ducks, the sand hill cranes or the deer that come out at dusk and dawn – there is something here for all nature lovers.

Bent tree is also a neighborhood that has a diverse range of homes. If you enter off Proctor Road, there is an area called the Woodlands II to your right. This is an area of some of the newer homes in Bent Tree and is fairly upscale - larger executive style homes.

If you were to go straight, you would pass by larger homes, some on the lake and some on the preserve. This stretch was known as millionaire row when it was first built in the 1980’s. Many houses off to the left look out on one of the area’s largest residential lakes.

If you continue on you’ll find a cute area of homes off to the left with smaller lots, but some still have great water views. Keep on going straight and you’ll find the villas. A variety in sizes, some over 2000 square feet, make these units great if you want to leave the maintenance to someone else.

To get to the other side of Bent Tree, you enter off Bee Ridge (unless you’re on a bicycle or golf cart). This neighborhood contains the Bent Tree Golf Course & Clubhouse. Hitting golf balls watching an eagle fly by – does it get any better than that? Unless it’s hitting golf balls while your friends up north are shoveling snow!

With it’s diversity, natural beauty and proximity to I-75, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Chili’s and a host of other restaurants and retail stores, Bent Tree is one of my favorite neighborhoods and is an area that should be considered when looking at Sarasota houses.

Did you ever dream of enjoying luxury waterfront living with only a five minute commute to your downtown office? Well, Harbor Acres is the neighborhood for you. It's a well established neighborhood that is know for it's mature trees, diversity of houses and proximity to everything. Harbor Acres has homes to fit all tastes - some that have been torn down and built new, fully updated homes and even some that reflect the charm of old florida.

Combine that with a quick commute to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Downtown Sarasota, Marina Jacks, Selby Gardens, Southside Elementary, Sarasota High School, and the Southside Shopping District and there is something here for everyone. On the weekend, park your car and ride your bike to get groceries at Morton's Market, meet friends for lunch at Sam Snead's or grab some breakfast at the Serving Spoon. And don't forget to stop by one of my favorite new places to dine, Libby's - great serving staff and food that is served with a healthy and organic twist - YUM!

If your looking for that ideal combination of mature tree, waterfront location, great homes, a real neighborhood feel and don't like to drive forever to get where you need to go then you should really consider Harbor Acres - the best of all worlds.

Looking for a waterfront home on Siesta Key? Take a look at the popular Siesta Isles waterfront community on the island. Many of the homes are on the canal providing great boat access for residents. They can hop on their boat in the back yard and be cruising in the Sarasota bay within minutes. 

The homes were primarily built in the 1960's and 1970's. However, some of the homes have been torn down to make way for newer, more modern structures. Currently asking prices in Siesta Isles range from $420,000 to $1,795,000. If you must live on the water on Siesta Key then you should look at the homes for sale in Siesta Isles.

If anyone asked me I would say that the IDX is the most important feature of my real estate website. Most visitors go to a real estate website to look for property. Hopefully, you are familiar with an IDX. If not it stands for Internet Data Exchange. IDX gives MLS Participants the ability to display eash others' listings on their websites. It is what allows me to show virtually every listing in the Sarasota MLS.

Google analytics shows that most visitors to my website are looking at property. They stay on the property pages longer and see many of them. To really compete on the internet it is crucial to have a property search. 

Advantages to having an IDX:

• Makes your website sticky
• Visitors will come back to your site if you have a good IDX
• The fresh content and constant updates appeals to consumers and search engines
• Lead capture
• Users can save searches, receive automatic updates of properties and save properties.
• Educates consumers

I have to hand it to my web guys - www.realestatewebmasters.com for building great custom IDX's. My Sarasota MLS listings search allows consumers to search for properties by subdivision, condo building, map, MLS #, city, or zip code. Searches can use the advanced search where they stipulate property type, price range, bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, keywords, lot size and property age.

Below I added some photos of my property pages.

Above you can see multiple photos, address, price, MLS#, Realtor remarks, bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage and virtual tour link.

This is on the same page. It shows more information about the property.

Here you have the Bing overhead map with the location of the property as well as Google Streetmaps. Depending on the property location the Bing map will show up as the Birdeye image which is really cool.

I get calls from Realtors asking for advice on building a web presence. I tell them that a property search is very important. People visit a real estate site to look at property for sale. They look at other information as well but they are primarily there to see what is for sale. The competition is only going to get more stiff so if you don't have a good property search on your site you will lose visitors to those websites that do.

1) The right price - you can't sell a home in today's market if your asking price is out of whack.

2) The right price - good marketing is important to selling a home but it means nothing if your asking price is not in the right ball park.

3) The right price - a good Realtor is very valuable in a real estate transaction. However, if the seller is stubborn and unrealistic in terms of price even a good Realtor can't sell it for more than it is worth.

4) The right price - a clean home should sell faster than a dirty home but neither one of them will sell if the asking price is way too high.

Obviously, there are exceptions. I have seen a property here and there sell for more than it is worth. It does happen. However, sellers shouldn't rely on that. Most buyers are very well educated and look at several properties before making an offer. Value is very important in today's market. Be the value out there and you stand a good chance of selling.

Large lots - Check

Waterfront homes - Check

Convenient to Siesta Key beach - Check

Spacious homes - Check

Close to shopping, downtown Sarasota and restaurants - Check

Good school districts - Check

Easy access to Field Club - Check

Looking for a great family neighborhood? Take a drive through the highly sought after and exclusive Oyster Bay Estates in Sarasota. This is a fabulous west of trail community with a diversity of homes for sale. Asking prices of homes for sale in Oyster Bay currently range from $419,000 all the way to magnificent bayfront home for $4,650,000. There are plenty of homes to choose depending on your budget. If your requirements for a home include waterfront, convenience and beauty then you will want to see some homes in Oyster Bay.

View other Sarasota properties for sale and call me at 941.812.6272 to see any of them.