There seems to be a lot of this in the Sarasota area and I notice it on Trulia and City Data blogs and forums.

Agents post a lot of information that is easily retrievable in the MLS or Google. For example, a recent forum question about zip codes elicited a voluminous response about which neighborhoods were in which zip codes.

Anyone can find that out.

What is always lacking is an analysis of the data, trend information based on agent experience, and...

Popular with Europeans and well known by the locals, it's surprising that many home buyers who ask me about beach homes in the Sarasota area are not very familiar with Anna Maria Island.

Anna Maria Island (locally referred to as AMI) is a barrier island north of Longboat Key in Manatee County. There are three towns on the island: the town of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach, and Bradenton Beach.

Anna Maria Island beaches rival those of Siesta Key in color and texture. Unlike...

I'm a member of the Trulia Voices community, where home buyers and sellers go to ask local real estate agents for advice.

One question that always comes up is the "good neighborhood" question.

Home buyers from out of town understandably want to know about neighborhood crime and safety. Unfortunately, Realtors cannot answer these types of questions.

It is a violation of Federal real estate law to give opinions on neighborhood crime, safety,...

The topic of the neighborhood specialist is always a cause for debate on real estate websites and blogs.

Old school thinking holds that a Realtor who is a neighborhood specialist is the best choice for home buyers and sellers when selecting an agent. I couldn't disagree more.

I act primarily as a buyer's agent and I cover a 3-county area on the Gulf Coast of Florida, including Manatee, Sarasota, and Charlotte Counties.

Right now I am working with buyers...

Is having a washer and dryer in your own vacation condo unit at one of the beaches in the Sarasota area an important criteria in your property search?

Most vacation condos for sale at our area beaches do not offer units with washer/dryer hook ups. Some condo owners have taken over closet space to cram a stacked unit in, but there can be drawbacks to this. You need an outside wall for ventilation, and proximity to a plumbing source.

You will likely have to get condo...