Top Property Management Companies in Land O Lakes, FL 34639
Recent Reviews View all
Releve Real Estate
By Kellilyn June 29, 2016
My experience with Jordan Ditullio of Releve Real Estate was very unprofessional. He was very difficult to contact and communicate with. Would not recommend. ...read more
Sun Cove Realty Inc
By Pissed Renter August 06, 2010
DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY. I cannot stress that enough. Due to relocation, we had to rent based off the pictures online. We have old, outdated, malfuntioning appliances that they will not fix. The house they advertised online was not the house we got - the inside was disgusting, FILTHY dirty and filled with LIVE roaches. The outside was an overgrown jungle that we were responsible for mowing. YOU WILL REGRET IT IF YOU DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. ...read more
Tim Kelly - Pullara Realty & Rentals
By R & L Home Services, Inc. August 02, 2010
What a great staff. very helpful. very pleased with the service. Thanks Everyone. ...read more
New Photos 8 photos
Blogs View more
Investing in your home
MAINTAINING AND INVESTING IN YOUR HOME From Tim Kelly Realtor, Inc. Years of experience in buying and selling homes has given Realtor's great insight into how individual home owners care for their homes and how that care translates into future expenses, heart ache as well as re-sale dollars. Many times I find that home owners stave off all the home improvements to the time just before they put their home on the market. Think of how nice it would have been to enjoy some of these improvements awhile before the house was put on the market for sale. Kitchen and bath renovations, new paint inside or outside the home, new landscape around the home are just a few of the improvements I see homeowners jumping through the hoops to get accomplished just before they put the home on the market. Whether you purchased a new home or resale home, homeowners should set up a schedule for maintaining the home. It should contain monthly, quarterly and yearly duties to maintain some of the most important parts of ones home. If the maintenance is done regularly you will find no big surprises in the future and the overall condition of the home will be better preserved. Creating Reserves For Major Repairs -Regular maintenance should be proactively planned. You might want to consider creating a home maintenance calendar andkeep it postedwhere it can be easily seen and not forgotten. Whatever way you can, remember to accomplish this regular maintenance on your home so that the small stuff doesn't turn out to be big stuff. Sometimes this can happen in a very short time. You might want to consider budgeting for larger repairs like painting, roofing and A/C issues. First, start with figuring the life of the item. Let me take a roof as an example. Estimate the total cost of replacing the roof and estimate what it might cost in the future at the year of replacement. I use an aggressive cost of living average of about 3.5%. If you end up with more money at the end, that is a good thing. Start by multiplying the cost of the roof times 3.5% this year and adding it to the next year times 3.5% and so on. Then divide the expected cost of a new roof by the number of life years left. Now take that dollar amount which is what you would need to save per year and divide it by 12 months to get your total per month estimate to put into reserve. Here is an example. The average shingle roof in last between 15 and 18 years. Let's remain conservative and figure it to be 15 years. Let's say the roof is 6 years old. 15 minus 6 years totals 9 years left. Let's say a new roof today costs 6000. Take 6000 and multiply it times 3.5% for the first year. This would total after year 1 to be 6210. Now in the 2year multiply 6210 times 3.5% = $6427 and so on until year nine. In year 9 the roof is expected to cost around $8177.00. Divide 8177 by 9 years and you get $908.00 per year. Now take $908.00 and divide it by 12 months which equals $75.66 per month. Even if the estimate comes up a little short or you move, you might appreciate having this saved for the next reserve account start up. Page 2 Do It Yourselfers-One note of real caution -- if youCAN'T DO IT YOURSELFlike a professionalDON'T DO IT YOURSELF. So many times I've seen botched paint jobs, flooring, landscape and more. These types of un-professional upgrades or fixes can severely affect the re-sale value of your home. Regular Maintenance –By proactively maintaining your homes exterior as well as the interior you will maximize the life of each item. Here are some insights of maintenance which should give you some good understanding. Paint – Exterior paint in can last as little as 3 years with some builder grade flat paints and as much as 15 years with premium paints. Without a solid coat of paint on the exterior of your home the elements will start to cause wood rot, rust and other forms of deterioration. I suggest using a high quality satin or semi gloss paint on the exterior. Even thought they cost slightly more, they provide easier cleaning and longer life. The same goes for interior paints. I enjoy high quality satin types the best as they don't shine too much and can easily be wiped clean of soil. When choosing colors have it your way if your are not selling for years to come otherwise be very wise to choose neutral colors that prospective buyers will love if you are selling in a few years. Lawn and landscape – Lawns and landscape are very expensive items to replace. If you were lucky enough to buy a home which had nice landscaping, congratulations! Plan to learn as much as possible about the care of the landscaping and lawn. Allowing bugs or weeds to over-take lawns or landscape can cause serious repercussions or death to them. You might want to consider hiring a contractor to do this maintenance until you get a grasp of how to care for them. Pools – Another very costly mistake is not caring for your pool. The chemical balance of the water if not monitored can destroy the pools surface and that can cost you thousands of dollars. Again, you might want to hire this out at first until you get the hang of it or go to Leslie's Pool Supplies or Pinch A Penny to learn how to do it yourself. Upgrading your home–Many of the upgrades individuals choose to do to their homes do not pay them back dollar for dollar. Below in order of best return on the dollar are the upgrades that make the best sense. (1) Kitchens -Upgrading kitchens return dollar for dollar in resale pricing. The upgrade will make a buyer usually choose your home first even is it is lacking in other amenities which are important to them. My suggestion is to keep your upgrading in line with the price range of your home i.e.; installing expensive marble floors and custom cabinetry in a home which is not a custom higher price range home is usually not the best decision if you are going to sell soon.. If you go over board you might not re-coop your full investment. This might be balanced out however by years you might enjoy the upgrade. Most popular now are solid surface counters of granite and other materials like corian etc. Integrated sinks or upgraded stainless are great investments. Smooth top appliances, stainless and black on black are very popular. Cabinetry can be ordered cost effectively through Home Depot or other like stores. 42" seems to be the most popular but I've always liked the staggering between 42's and 36" Depending upon your budget many kitchen can be upgraded this way between $5000 and $15,000. Page 3 (2) Bathrooms -are another area of great pay back and enjoyment. Keep the same upgrading philosophies in mind depending upon what price range of home you live in. Most popular are corian, cultured marble or granite countertops, wood cabs, designer sinks, faucets and toilets are great additions and in high demand when it comes to re-sale. Look into cultured marble as it is very cost effective and comes in an array of colors. (3) Flooring-Another great way to improve the look of your home is upgrading the flooring. If done correctly, flooring can really improve the look of the interior of your home. Hard Wood -is the most expensive flooring upgrade of all. Keep in mind that hard woods do require maintenance and are not good choices for rooms (glassed in rooms) which receive high doses of sunshine. I caution clients on the amount of wood they lay in the home as it can cost over $10,000 to put down in large coverage's. It may only return 30% to 50% of the total cost in a re-sale of the home. In upscale environments it almost is expected that wood be utilized however in lower price range of homes be careful of over spending if you plan to move soon. Laminate flooring -once known as Pergo, has exploded into a huge array of colors and styles. Relatively in-expensive laminate is a great choice for upgrading. Ceramic tile –Another great cost effective upgrade is tile. When looking into tile, larger tile is the most popular. 12" tile is almost looked down upon. 16" to 22" laid on the diagonal is a great way to go. Stick with neutral earth tone colors and avoid white coming from personal experience. Tile can be purchased inexpensively from discounters like "The Carpet Store" and others. It pays to shop. Remember to learn about the upkeep. It is important to seal the grout when installed and every couple of years thereafter. (4) Carpet -Very inexpensive additions to your home if you know where to buy it. I love the Carpet Store or other reminate retailers where you can buy carpet at 30 to 70% off normal retailer prices. Invest in an upgraded pad as it makes a huge difference in feel for a very small amount of cost. Major Components Replacements –Pools, Roofs and A/C systems. Really do your research when upgrading or replacing these major components of your home. There is much to know and here are a few of my suggestions when looking to replace or install these types of items. First, if you are not going to live in your home but for 1 to 2 more years installing a pool or replacing the roof is not a good idea. For instance a pool which cost 30,000 to 35,000 will only return around 18,000 to 20,000 in resale. A new roof costing $6000 will only return around $2500 - $3000. Now if the roof has to be replaced that is another thing all together. Pools –Not all pool builders are the same. As I said, do your research. A pool builder that is going to build the same pool another builder is going to build for you at thousands less might not be the best choice. Choose a reputable builder best referred from someone who has had direct experience with that builder. Big mistake is building too small of pool for the type of home it is. Secondly, building too small of decking space around the pool. Remember that pools are entertaining spaces and not leaving enough deck space for children or guests to relax on is a big mistake. Building small pools in upscale homes are also a big mistake. Upgraded interior pool surfaces are a good choice if you plan to remain in the home for a longer period of time. Pebble Tech, Diamond Bright and others are types of surfaces which are aggregate based and have a much longer life than that of regular marcite. Pool decks can be done in pavers, cool deck and stamped concrete. We all have budgets but since the pool is a major component of the home be sure you do it right. Page 4 Screened 's add huge creature comforts to your home. They are also one of the most important desires of future prospective buyers. Be sure to again think about quality and space. Too small of enclosure can be a detriment to your home. Roofs -Roofs again are another area that you should greatly research. Many people choose the lowest bid and resent it later. There are items to think about like quality and size of ridge vents, 20 to 50 year roof longevities, steel, tile and more. Consider wood replacement of deck boards and fascia if need be. Three dimensional 30 or 40 year shingles add an upgraded look and durability to your home for about a 20% to 30% cost differential. Landscaping –Unprofessional or ruined landscaping can really hurt the value of your property and the property of your neighbors around you. First impressions are the most important and when someone is looking at your neighborhood as well as your home, important 1 time judgments are made which could detrimentally affect your homes value and its desirability to prospective buyers. Landscaping is a complicated state of affairs. Most people should consult a landscaper to get an analysis of what could be done to improve your landscape. There are many landscapers who will diagram out landscape to include what type of plants or trees to be planted and where. This service can cost a couple hundred dollars but if you don't know what plants do well in and what location is best then it is money well spent. Many problems occur with planting trees and palms too close to the house or sidewalks. Not understanding how large a tree or a shrub is going to get is bad news when it outgrows its space. Take it from a guy who planted plants or trees in wrong locations as well as someone who has killed more plants than you can imagine. Also take the time to talk with someone in a garden department as to how to plant these items. It will help you greatly in doing a successful landscape the first time. Lawns -are usually the first item to get away from a new homeowner. If you are not hiring a service to care for the lawn you better read up or pick the brain of the owner of the nicest lawn in the neighborhood. Bugs, weeds, in climate weather etc. can ruin lawns and replacements can be very time consuming and costly. Remember lawns are a huge part of your homes first impression. There you have it… great information to help you make your home beautiful and keep more money in your pocket over the long haul. If you should have any questions or need referrals of any contractors, do not hesitate to call me at any time. To Your Future! www.timkellysellshomes.listingbook.com "Recognized, Respected, Referred!" ...read more
By Tim Kelly - Pullara Realty & Rentals August 15, 2010