Melanie Loves Tampa Bay

Have you fallen in love with one of those perfect model homes in a new construction neighborhood? I love them, too. In this edition of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay, I'm sharing tips on how to be a smart buyer for new houses. Buying a resale house versus new construction are very different processes.

#1 - WORK WITH A REALTOR

#2 - UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT COSTS OF NEW CONSTRUCTION

#3 - NEGOTIATING WITH BUILDERS

#4 - CLOSING COSTS

#5 - CONSTRUCTION TIME EXPECTATIONS

I hope this information helps all of you out there thinking about buying a new construction home. Give me a call if you're in the Tampa Bay area, and I'd love to help you!

Melanie is a Tampa Bay area Realtor with Smith & Associates. She loves Tampa Bay area area, houses, and helping clients buy and sell real estate.

melanielovestampabay.com

Email: [email protected]

Call/text me if you are looking to buy / sell a home in the Tampa Bay area! 813.368.6084

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on melanielovestampabay.com and the Melanie Loves Tampa Bay YouTube channel/social media platforms is for informational/entertainment purposes only. The owner of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site. Information provided is subject to change.

Welcome to my house! We're taking a tour to show you a few rooms I've re-purposed in order to maximize space and stay organized to get the most out of my square footage. If you want to see how a Tampa Bay area real estate agent lives and sets up a home - here's your chance.

Workout Room - This was intended to be an office or an additional bedroom. Instead, I had the same hardwood floors run into the room and moved my home gym equipment in. It's great for me, because it has a glass paneled door and good acoustics. If you have the space, investing in the equipment is worthwhile and saves you money and time compared to a gym membership as long as you have the personal motivation to exercise.

Breakfast Nook - My home's layout features an open concept kitchen / eating space / family room. I can fit a large table into the breakfast nook and just don't have a need for a formal dining room. Many new construction floor plans are incorporating bigger areas for breakfast nooks, which are becoming the primary dining/entertaining spots.

Home Office - Formal dining room turned work space. You don't necessarily need an office in a closed off room. I prefer working in an open area, which is why I chose this room with lots of natural light at the front of the house. The trick with having a home office in such a prominent spot is keeping it presentable and organized. Real estate agents work anywhere and everywhere and we need a highly functional set up at home. Utilize pieces of furniture with lots of built in storage.

If you have ideas / recommendations on how to maximize the square footage in your home, leave a comment!

NOTE: This episode relies heavily on visuals - there's a YouTube video available so you can see everything I'm referring to: https://youtu.be/ustb6Xmx44M

Melanie is a Tampa Bay area Realtor with Smith & Associates. She loves Tampa Bay area area, houses, and helping clients buy and sell real estate.

melanielovestampabay.com

Email: [email protected]

Call/text me if you are looking to buy / sell a home in the Tampa Bay area! 813.368.6084

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on melanielovestampabay.com and the Melanie Loves Tampa Bay YouTube channel/social media platforms is for informational/entertainment purposes only. The owner of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site. Information provided is subject to change.

The food scene here in Tampa is growing and changing - it can be hard to keep up with all of the new places to eat.

From the most well-known to hidden gems, I'm sharing recommendations for some of my favorite restaurants from casual to fine dining.

BERN'S STEAK HOUSE

bernssteakhouse.com/

ULELE

www.ulele.com/

ARMATURE WORKS

armatureworks.com/

COLUMBIA RESTAURANT

www.columbiarestaurant.com/

ON SWANN

www.onswann.com/

CIRO'S SPEAKEASY AND SUPPER CLUB

www.cirostampa.com/

CW'S GIN JOINT

cwginjoint.com/

BIG RAY'S FISH CAMP

www.bigraysfishcamp.com/

DONATELLO ITALIAN RESTAURANT

www.donatellotampa.com/

JIMBO'S PIT BAR B-Q

www.jimbosbarbq.com/

METRO DINER

metrodiner.com/

DAILY EATS

www.ilovedailyeats.com/

OXFORD EXCHANGE

oxfordexchange.com/

Now that I'm good and hungry, I gotta go find a place to eat for lunch! There are still so many restaurants left to talk about in the Tampa Bay area, so I'll do another restaurant-themed episode again.

Melanie is a Tampa Bay area Realtor with Smith & Associates. She loves Tampa Bay area area, houses, and helping clients buy and sell real estate.

melanielovestampabay.com

Email: [email protected]

Call/text me if you are looking to buy / sell a home in the Tampa Bay area! 813.368.6084

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on melanielovestampabay.com and the Melanie Loves Tampa Bay YouTube channel/social media platforms is for informational/entertainment purposes only. The owner of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site. Information provided is subject to change.

Sharing some of my favorite new smart home technology products that are also easy to use! I have a love / hate relationship with smart home technology. Although I love the convenience and functions of some of the products, I also get very frustrated when they don't work or they're hard to understand.

I was more recently introduced to a few products that I hadn't used before and installed a few more. It is important to note that I do not use a central home system like Amazon Alexa or Google Home. I prefer to manage all of my technologies individually through apps on my phone. Some of the products highlighted here do work with Alexa, Google, or Nest.

LIFTMASTER GARAGE DOOR OPENER WITH MYQ

https://www.liftmaster.com/myq/myq-smart-home?gclid

WEMO LIGHT SWITCH

https://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F7C030/

RING DOORBELL

https://www.amazon.com/Ring-Wi-Fi-Enabled-Doorbell-Nickel/dp/B00N2ZDXW2

KWIKSET SMARTCODE ENTRY KEY PADS

https://kwiksethardware.com/?page=products&manufacturerID=101&collectionID=268192

Melanie is a Tampa Bay area Realtor with Smith & Associates. She loves Tampa Bay area area, houses, and helping clients buy and sell real estate.

melanielovestampabay.com

Email: [email protected]

Call/text me if you are looking to buy / sell a home in the Tampa Bay area! 813.368.6084

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on melanielovestampabay.com and the Melanie Loves Tampa Bay YouTube channel/social media platforms is for informational/entertainment purposes only. The owner of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site. Information provided is subject to change.

Experienced Tampa Bay Realtor Melanie Atkinson with Smith & Associates shares her story of how she became a real estate agent, highs and lows in the real estate industry, advice for surviving downturns in the market, and her worst year in the business - making $11,000 in 2011 during America's recession.

Melanie is a Tampa Bay area Realtor with Smith & Associates. She loves Tampa Bay area area, houses, and helping clients buy and sell real estate.

melanielovestampabay.com

Email: [email protected]

Call/text me if you are looking to buy / sell a home in the Tampa Bay area! 813.368.6084

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on melanielovestampabay.com and the Melanie Loves Tampa Bay YouTube channel/social media platforms is for informational/entertainment purposes only. The owner of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site. Information provided is subject to change.

Selling your home? While you've probably seen information out there on this topic, we're diving a little deeper in this episode.

Here are my 5 home selling pitfalls you need to be aware of and avoid:

#1 - PACKING

#2 - FINANCING

#3 - TITLE

#4 - INSPECTION

#5 - THE APPRAISAL

Melanie is a Tampa Bay area Realtor with Smith & Associates. She loves Tampa Bay area area, houses, and helping clients buy and sell real estate.

melanielovestampabay.com

Email: [email protected]

Call/text me if you are looking to buy / sell a home in the Tampa Bay area! 813.368.6084

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on melanielovestampabay.com and the Melanie Loves Tampa Bay YouTube channel/social media platforms is for informational/entertainment purposes only. The owner of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site. Information provided is subject to change.

Thinking about buying a house with a pool? There's a lot you need to know about owning and maintenance when it comes to swimming pools.

Fellow Smith & Associates real estate agent Travis Long is here to help, as he's also a licensed pool service contractor.

Top 3 things to consider:

1) LIFESTYLE

2) POOL INSPECTION

3) MAINTENANCE

Melanie is a Tampa Bay area Realtor with Smith & Associates. She loves Tampa Bay area area, houses, and helping clients buy and sell real estate.

melanielovestampabay.com

Email: [email protected]

Call/text me if you are looking to buy / sell a home in the Tampa Bay area! 813.368.6084

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on melanielovestampabay.com and the Melanie Loves Tampa Bay YouTube channel/social media platforms is for informational/entertainment purposes only. The owner of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site. Information provided is subject to change.

Buying a house? There are lots of practical, utilitarian features in a home that can be overlooked and underappreciated.

- Gutters

- Pre-wires & Pre-plumbs

- Utility Tubs

- Outdoor Water Lines

- Permanent Garage Shelving

- Storm Shutters

I encourage all of my buyers to pay attention to the big and little upgrades in a home.

Melanie is a Tampa Bay area Realtor with Smith & Associates. She loves Tampa Bay area area, houses, and helping clients buy and sell real estate.

melanielovestampabay.com

Email: [email protected]

Call/text me if you are looking to buy / sell a home in the Tampa Bay area! 813.368.6084

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on melanielovestampabay.com and the Melanie Loves Tampa Bay YouTube channel/social media platforms is for informational/entertainment purposes only. The owner of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site. Information provided is subject to change.

A comparison I've used often over the years with buyers is comparing dating to home buying.

Here are my 5 reasons why:

1) TECHNOLOGY

2) FLAWS

3) THE RIGHT FIT

4) APPROVAL

5) THE PRETTY FACE

I wish you the very best both in home and love searching!

Melanie is a Tampa Bay area Realtor with Smith & Associates. She loves Tampa Bay area area, houses, and helping clients buy and sell real estate.

melanielovestampabay.com

Email: [email protected]

Call/text me if you are looking to buy / sell a home in the Tampa Bay area! 813.368.6084

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on melanielovestampabay.com and the Melanie Loves Tampa Bay YouTube channel/social media platforms is for informational/entertainment purposes only. The owner of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. Info subject to change.

In a previous episode, I talked about the Westchase community, but what about the surrounding area? Let's get into those neighborhoods right now!

If you're considering moving to this part of Tampa, it's important to understand all of your options.

Melanie is a Tampa Bay area Realtor with Smith & Associates. She loves Tampa Bay area area, houses, and helping clients buy and sell real estate.

melanielovestampabay.com

Email: [email protected]

Call/text me if you are looking to buy / sell a home in the Tampa Bay area! 813.368.6084

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on melanielovestampabay.com and the Melanie Loves Tampa Bay YouTube channel/social media platforms is for informational/entertainment purposes only. The owner of Melanie Loves Tampa Bay makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. Info subject to change.