Safety Precaution Tips When Living in Key Colony Waterfront Condos

Safety Precaution Tips When Living in Key Colony Waterfront Condos

For most homeowners, the safety and security of their home is a top priority. Just think about it, if you’re willing to spend hundreds of dollars to make your home aesthetically pleasing and comfortable, you should also be ready to spend some money, or at least make an effort, to keep it safe and secure, right?   

But security precautions may be a little different if you live in a condo, like one of those gorgeous waterfront condos in Key Colony Key Biscayne. Most of these buildings already have solid security features such as CCTV cameras, guard and concierge services and maintained fire alarm system to protect the owners and tenants.

If you are new in your surroundings, here are some safety precaution tips that can increase security in your own home:

1. Be aware of your surroundings. Acquaint yourself with your neighbors and, if possible, be familiar with their regular comings and goings. This will help you spot any irregularities right away and respond in kind. The presence of neighbors can also help you feel more at ease when you go out of town on trips or vacations.

2. Change the locks and make sure only you have the keys. This should be a primary rule whenever you move to a new place. Why? Because previous owners (or other people) may still have their spare keys and you don't want to go home and find them lurking inside. Also, keep the doors locked at all times, even when you are at home.

3. If your unit is on the lower floors of the building or has balconies, take extra precaution and do not leave your valuables on display. Always lock the balcony doors even if you are at home.

4. Regularly check if the smoke alarms are properly installed and in working order. There should be smoke alarms installed in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of your Key Biscayne waterfront condos.

5. Protect your privacy by using your initials or your last name only on the mailbox.

6. Immediately replace any burnt out light inside your home. Notify the building manager if there are any dim or inoperable lights in entry ways, hallways, stairwells and parking garages. Burglars and intruders like to work in the cover of darkness that’s why having  good lighting inside and outside of your home is a good deterrent against crime.

7. Take time to read your condo’s CC&R (covenants, conditions and restrictions) especially when it comes to the security policies and follow every rule.

With these safety precaution tips, you can protect yourself and those around you while establishing a safe haven right inside your Key Colony Key Biscayne beachfront condos.

Want to know more about Key Colony Key Biscayne beachfront condos for sale? Visit www.MiamiRivieraHomes.com.

If you need help in selling your Key Colony Key Biscayne oceanfront condo and for any other real-estate related inquiries, call me, Alicia Ale, at 305-586-4160. Let’s make home selling a good experience for you!

 

5 Tips to Create More Space in Your Waterfront Condo in Key Colony

5 Tips to Create More Space in Your Waterfront Condo in Key Colony

No matter how much square footage you have in your home, there will come a point when you feel like you still need some additional space. If tearing down walls or having major renovations is out of the question, don’t worry, there are plenty of ways to make the living space of your waterfront condo in Key Colony look larger than it actually is.

 

 

Check out the following tips on how to create an illusion of additional space and see if any will work for you:

 

Clear out the clutter. Don’t you just love looking at a clean, clutter-free space? Just imagine all the space you can free up in your home by cleaning up and organizing your things. With things neatly arranged and out of sight, your condo will feel orderly and open.

 

Use the right blend of colors. Since light and cool colors such as soft tones of blues and greens are reflective, they give an open and inviting  feel which makes them perfect for your living room. Another option is to use monochromatic colors, which simply means sticking to one color and using it in different shades to get a large unified look.

 

On the other hand, if you want an illusion of higher ceilings you can paint your walls with vertical stripes. Adding horizontal stripes gives an impression of largeness and additional space on your home. The right blend of colors can affect the mood in a room, from relaxing to energetic.

 

Maximize light. Perhaps the easiest way to create a grand optical illusion of space is to light up a room. Open the windows of your Key Colony waterfront condo to let natural light inside. To make the ceiling appear higher, you can use lamps to bounce off light. If you have permanent fixtures such as a chandelier or a ceiling fan with a light kit, try adding floor lamps or side table lamps to add brightness and bring balance.

 

 

Add mirrors. This is one trick commonly used in interior designing to create a sense of flow and increased area. Mirrors reflect and maximize light thus brightening a room. When placed next to or across windows, they can expand walls  and amplify the natural light coming from the outside.

 

Organize your furniture. When it comes to arranging furniture in your Key Colony Key Biscayne beachfront condo, the visual weight and not the actual size, matters. For example, a boxy, upholstered sofa may look dark and space consuming while a light color furniture with legs may appear to be lighter and more attractive. It is important to strike a balance between making a room as spacious as possible while also squeezing in extra seating.

 

All you need is some creativity and a little effort and you’ll have that much-needed additional space in no time! You can check out www.MiamiRivieraHomes.com to find out how comparable homes in your area are decorated and staged.

 

Need help in selling your Key Colony Key Biscayne oceanfront condo this spring? Call me, Alicia Ale at 305-586-4160. Let’s make home selling a good experience for you!

 

5 Step Guide to Pricing Your Waterfront Condo in Key Colony

5 Step Guide to Pricing Your Waterfront Condo in Key Colony

Are you thinking of selling your waterfront condo in Key Colony this spring? If the answer is yes, now might be the best time to start figuring out how much to list your home for.

Determining your asking price is one of the most crucial decisions you will make at this stage. Why? Because your asking price is probably the single biggest factor that will determine if your home sale will be a success or a failure. Your Key Colony waterfront condo might be exquisitely staged and stunningly impressive, but none of that will matter if you list it at the wrong price.

So how do you set  a competitive price for your home? Here’s a simple 5-step guide that can help you:

1.  Research. Understanding the local market conditions is the key to coming up with the right price. Resist the urge to base your price on the amount you paid for the home when you first bought it. This will only complicate things and will likely give you a false information on your home’s value.

If you’re having sellers market, you’ll have more flexibility with your pricing, whereas if you’re having buyers market, you may need to lower your price to attract the interest of potential buyers.

2. Check out the competition. Are there a lot of homes for sale in your area? What’s the price range and conditions of these homes? How long have they been staying on the market? There are plenty of real estate mobile apps that can help you obtain this information on the go. Although these homes may have different upgrades and amenities to offer, the information you’ll get will give you a fair idea of home much your Key Colony waterfront condo’s worth could be.

You can check out www.MiamiRivieraHomes.com to find out more about comparable homes in your area.

3.  Hire a REALTOR®. You’ll better understand the impact of these market trends on your asking price if you have an experienced  Key Biscayne REALTOR® explain them to you. Since he or she  is most likely active in the local marketplace, you’ll have all the help you need when it comes not only to  pricing but with marketing, negotiation and closing as well.

4. Get a home inspection. These days it’s not only buyers who hire a home inspector, sellers get pre-listing inspections, too. A pre-listing inspection is a great tool in helping you come up with a realistic price for your home. For example, if the inspection results showed that your HVAC system already has some significant wear and tear and needs to be replaced, you should take that into consideration when pricing your home for sale.

5.  Be objective. Try to emotionally detach yourself from the property and see your home through the eyes of the buyers. This may be a little difficult to do especially if you deem your home to be priceless. Always remember that potential buyers don’t share the same sentiments. For them, it’s just another house and they won’t pay for your emotional attachment. Ask yourself, “If I were a buyer, how much will I  be willing to pay for this home?”

When you’ve finally decided to put your Key Colony Key Biscayne beachfront condo in the market, it is important to price it right at the start. This will help you get the best possible price and terms and most likely lead to a very successful sale!

Need help in selling your Key Colony Key Biscayne oceanfront condo? Call me, Alicia Ale at 305-586-4160. Let’s make home selling a good experience for you!

What Stays and What Goes After a Waterfront Condo in Key Biscayne Sale?

What Stays and What Goes After a Waterfront Condo in Key Biscayne Sale?

When you move out of your waterfront condo in Key Colony Key Biscayne after a successful sale, the buyers expect the home to be in proper condition, or at least in a condition stipulated in the sale. But what is customarily left in a home after you move out? Believe it or not, this topic, insignificant as it may seem, has been the cause of a number of disputes between sellers and buyers.

Everything inside your home is negotiable, this is true. But not everything is included in the sale. If the purchase contract does not specify ALL that should be left behind after the sale, buyers may assume that some items might still be present at their pre-closing walk through.

Below are the general guidelines on what stays in your Key Colony Key Biscayne waterfront condo and what goes with the seller when they move.

Fixtures. As a rule, fixtures or whatever is permanently attached to the home, stays and whatever isn’t, goes. These include built-in cabinets, light fixtures and ceiling fans. If taking an item would cause ruination in the walls, ceiling, etc., it’s considered a fixture. Lamps are considered personal property and should go with the seller. On the other hand, when it comes to chandeliers, the buyer and seller need to discuss as to who should keep them.

Similarly, window treatments such as curtain rods, blinds, shutters and shades are considered fixtures while the custom-made curtains hanging from the rod and other decor that simply rest on hooks usually go with you.

Appliances. In most cases, appliances that simply need unplugging before transport are considered personal property by the seller. These may include TV, vacuum cleaner, hair dryer and others. However, kitchen appliances such as stove, microwave and dishwasher are considered fixtures and should remain in the house. Just to be on the safe side, if you plan to bring certain appliances with you, better make it clear during open houses that they are not part of the sale.

Personal items. Obviously, any personal property that you can readily detach with your bare hands belong to this category. These include free-standing appliances, furniture, pictures, your own personal items and collections.

Remember, when showing your Key Colony Key Biscayne waterfront condo, don’t display items you intend to bring with you when you move. You’ll only disappoint potential buyers if they see something in your home and find out it won’t be part of the sale.

If you have questions on whether a particular item should stay or go, talk with your Key Biscayne real estate agent. He or she can discuss the matter with the buyer’s agent and if agreed by the other party, have your request specified in the contract.

You can check out www.MiamiRivieraHomes.com to know more about Key Colony Key Biscayne beachfront condos for sale.

Need help in selling your Key Colony Key Biscayne oceanfront condo? Call me, Alicia Ale at 305-586-4160. Let’s make home selling a good experience for you!

How to Choose the Best Offer for your Waterfront Condo in Key Colony

How to Choose the Best Offer for your Waterfront Condo in Key Colony

When putting your waterfront condo in Key Colony Key Biscayne up for sale, you hope to get some really good offers. After all, you’ve spent weeks and a lot of effort preparing your home for the sale. But choosing which offer is the best could be a tough call. Would you just simply choose the highest price offer? Or are there other terms to consider?

The whole process of selecting the right offer can be tedious, one that needs a thorough examination of what’s really important to you so you can get the best deal. It would also help if you have a trusted Key Biscayne real estate agent to help you. Here are some tips when handling multiple offers:

Set your priorities. As with any negotiation, it is always important to have a clear sense of what really matters most to you and what you wish to accomplish at the end of the sale. You may also need to set a realistic timeline so you can adjust your expectations accordingly. Ask yourself, “How much time and effort am I willing to spend to the home-selling process?”

If you want to sell your home for its fair market value or higher, you must be willing to extend your patience and add some upgrades. But if you want to sell your home fast, you should be prepared to accept an offer lower than the home’s fair market value and make compromises.

Make a plan. Most agents have their own “strategies” when it comes to taking offers and negotiating. Work with your agent to make sure his or her system works well with you. A good real estate agent can be flexible to help you achieve goals, within your timetable. He or she will help you analyze the offers and make sure you get the best deal possible.

Understand how “offers and negotiation” work. It would be wise to have a clear understanding of how to deal with offers and the negotiation process even before you start selling your Key Colony Key Biscayne waterfront condo. Understand that although all offers are negotiable, you can turn down any offer you don’t like. You can also give a counter offer and request for changes in the terms of the offer to suit your preferences.

Carefully study every offer. With your home attracting a lot of interested buyers, it would be wise to slow down and be not tempted to accept the first offer that comes your way. Thoroughly scrutinize every offer. Pay particular attention to details such as the terms, earnest money deposit,  the amount of money the buyer will be mortgaging, target closing and contingencies, and others. Remember your priorities and previously set plans and make a prudent decision based on those. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask your Key Biscayne real estate agent for clarifications.

There’s nothing more exciting than getting several offers when selling your waterfront condo in Key Biscayne FL. With the right goals and preparation, you’ll be well-equipped to accept the best offer and have a successful sale.

You can check out www.MiamiRivieraHomes.com to know more about Key Colony Key Biscayne beachfront condos for sale.

Need help in selling your Key Colony Key Biscayne oceanfront condo? Call me, Alicia Ale at 305-586-4160. Let’s make home selling a good experience for you!