Marnie Matarese / DWELL REAL ESTATE

  FAQ :  What is the difference between a Home Owner’s Association and a Neighborhood Association?   A Home Owner’s Association is a group of property owners who have the legal authority to enforce rules and regulations that focus on restrictions and building and safety issues. HOA membership is ...

  SELLER HAD NO POA WITH HER AT CLOSING   The Usual Suspects:  Buyer, Seller, Closing Agent, Realtors and    The Unusual Suspect:  Biker Mike   After a lengthy estate battle and an even longer time on the market, my seller’s family home was finally closing. The seller I was working with, a young ...

For those of you who are tired of everyone you know thinking that your job is a walk in the park, give them this to read.  Great article!What's keeping you from becoming the successful real estate agentyou set out to be? Show Me The Money When you first thought about becoming a real estate agent,...

Just left a closing that has been smooth from start to finish!  Wait… I promise this is not a joke.  Haven’t had one in some time during which everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do, on time and with a great sense of enthusiasm.  The seller allowed it to be shown, it was always in gr...

I am not usually this excited about publicity but Active Rain just put me in the news! After writing a blog about how I handle low offers submitted on my listings I received a phone call from Kenneth R. Harney of the Washington Post. We had a delightful conversation and he is an avid Active Rain...

  I have shared my life with four fabulous felines during the last 18years.  Each one of them was adopted or found and brought home in distress with illness.  Each recovered and lived a long and wonderful life until last year as they began approaching old age.  The lone ranger male, Felix, eleven...

We have a new eatery in town and it offers up superbly fresh selections.  State Street Eatery at 1553 State Street in downtown Sarasota has a menu bursting with flavor and originality.  From Baked Lobster “Mac & Cheese” to the best “Reuben” I have ever had, this is a great place for lunch or din...

Almost every neighbor has one or two and they all get along with each other.  In the evenings we close off the cul de sac with a human fence and they run their hearts out chasing tennis balls.  Cars know to crawl down the remaining block at about five miles an hour and no one complains.  My backy...

More and more buyers are looking to bank owned properties instead of short sales because the length of closing    is usually greatly reduced.  REO is an abbreviation for Real Estate Owned and the bank owns it.  It is property that usually been vacant for some time and has been exposed to the ris...

Sometimes the light is just right and the subject is captivating.  This picture was taken in Vienna, Austria in 1965 of my little sister, Martha.  She was all of five years old and totally engrossed in the German newspaper and one would believe she could not only read it but interpret it as well....