Roy Barker's Blog

Last week we had the opportunity to show a home to an investor of ours.  The home was priced at the low end of market, but there is always a chance to negotiate a lower price.  The listing agent warned us that there had been cats in the house, but we didn't think too much about that.When we enter...

 We have an investor looking for cheap houses (aren't they all?) and we found a real gem.  It was priced extremely low for the area and on a large lot. It is less than a block from the river.When we called the listing agent he told us that the house had so much mold it was probably not able to be...

It can be very difficult to walk into a home with a prospective buyer and tell them that the home that they have fallen in love with may not be eligible for financing.  I feel like I am being negative, but actually, I am being honest.  I certainly don't want my buyer to get into the contract proc...

Having been raised in the north (Seattle) I think I have always taken some things for granted.  Like, maybe, a cold shower? I just came in from mowing the lawn in 'feels like' 101 degree temps.  The first thought is to get a cold shower, but that doesn't happen here.  Unlike our houses up north, ...

My wife thinks I am crazy because I love gadgets.  I love all types of gadgets, but especially kitchen gadgets.  Our kitchen has two large pantries, one for food and the other for my gadgets.  I also use most of them.I recently purchased a Philips Air Fryer because of an episode we saw on a cooki...

I have a listing coming up in a couple of weeks, which I will post.  I had a opportunity to go visit that property for an evaluation and assist the owner with what he needed to do to prepare the home for sale. Everyone lives differently, so sometimes it is difficult for sellers to understand that...

Date palms are a very striking palm, with large 'flowing' leaves.  There are quite a variety of date palms, each bearing a different fruit.Date palms have been cultivated for so long that it is not certain where they originated, but it is suspected that they originally came from the area around I...

Cape Coral has always been a somewhat sleeping town.  It was built as a 'bedroom community' and has pretty much stayed that way over the years.  We may now be seeming some changes to that.  A new $10 million convention center has just been approved for the South Cape.  That will bring new jobs an...

Areca Palms, also known as Butterfly Palms,  are very popular in Florida.  These palms are native to Madagascar, but have become endangered due to loss of its natural habitat.  They grow to about 20-40 feet high, but are generally seen at around 20 feet (there is conflicting information on the si...

We have the cutest neighbors!  These are Florida Burrowing Owls and we have a family of them living on each side of us.  Every year they have babies and we are overrun with owls!  Then the babies take of for parts unknown and we start again next year.These owls are found throughout Florida, but t...