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Keep on top of Southwest Florida with Linda Flack, Cape Coral and Fort Myers Florida real estate professional serving Lee County, Collier County and Charlotte County. The Flack Team can handle all of your real estate needs in Southwest Florida and also service North Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples, Estero, Lehigh Acres, Cape Coral and Fort Myers.
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The mortgage crisis is still a nightmare. As a real estate agent for 29 years I try not to have surprises for my customers but, it seems that this market keeps them coming. My client was putting down $90,000 on a $134,000 home. Wouldn’t anyone think that was a slam dunk? Wrong: Turned down because the house to be purchased was a flip only purchased 93 days before contract. Yes it appraised. The seller is an investor who had purchased it on the court house steps, fixed it up and put it back on the market for market price. But, because it was a “flip”, the new underwriting rules were not to approve any “flip”. They consider a flip if owned for less than 6 months (Not FHA guidelines). The bank had no risk with that huge down payment but because of the “rule” they couldn’t sell the loan. Therefore, the buyer was turned down the day before closing Dec. 30th. We scrambled and the buyer came up with cash to close on the 31st.
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WOW! The Resort at Marina Village at Tarpon Point is absolutely 1st class. I attended the Cape Coral Arts Auction done by the Cape Coral Realtors. We took our own tour of the property and it is already being discovered by the locals. We watched sunset at the Nauti Mermaid; a beautiful outdoor bar area overlooking the water. a huge glass sparkling fire pit adds to the opulance of this beautiful property. Inside the lobby is a two story water feature you have to see to believe with circular open stairway climbing to the next floor. It is amazing. The new restuarant is gorgeous with a wow of modern and wood ship like decor. We have clients taking advantage of the opening reasonable fees and they love their rooms. This venue will surely put Cape Coral into a whole new upscale city. I ran into lots of old friends. This was quite a memorable evening.
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It's back and it's wonderful. Every Saturday lets go shopping for locally grown fruits and vegetables. I saw some friends and snapped up fresh fruits and veggies. There of course is a booth for our furry friends, craft stuff, bakery items, plants and bushes for sale, live tropical style music and much more. This is a don't miss opportunity.
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Did you vote in the last primary? Probably NOT! Well I guess you don't care about higher taxes and mismanaged money. We are on the verge of recovery. New homes are being built. (Not huge numbers but the builders still left standing are getting busy again). The great deals on the market are creating a bidding war with the bunch of people streaming in to get their piece of paradise. We have already seen a rise in value because of this. If they increase milage, will they take it back next year? Now all we need is our local government to take responsibility for the spending debacle and get things under control. We have all put some things off in our own lives because of the cut in income. Don't you think there should be greater gains in that avenue for the city of Cape Coral? Vote for the people that are mad and not going to take it anymore. I just don't get that they don't get it. We took in massive amounts of money in the boom times. Did they really spend it all? VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! It is not only a privilege, but a right and responsibility. Be responsible, cast your VOTE! Our world is better when you VOTE.
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The News is “Cape Coral IS selling! Housing is a hot commodity in Cape Coral. The stock market have you scared? I don’t blame you. It scares me to death. What kind of interest are the banks paying? 2%-2.5%. Yipee! My advice is not free but it is priceless. Come on folks. Don’t miss this bus. I don’t think we will ever see this again. We have people flying in from all over the world to buy these deals. We have multiple offers on most everything. Who wouldn’t? Prices are far below anything you could build. There is still plenty of inventory, but those who hesitate… . Have you dreamed of your vacation home in Florida or your permanent residence; blue sky, crystal white clouds, palm trees swaying in the breeze and the occasional pelican cruising by. What are you waiting for? Looking to make money on rental property? Well, get off that fence. I have investors taking their money out of the bank and buying as much property as they can. They have the five year plan. The rent alone makes good interest on your money. Now, factor in the market increase in 5 years. Now we’re talking a real investment. As of today 8/22/2009 these are the statistics on single family homes in Cape Coral. Foreclosures 236 Short Sales 691 Regular Listings 1081 Total Listings 2008 Pending 937 Active Contingent Short 1126 Ready to close 2063 Closed past 60 days 1205 You tell me, is this market hot? I certainly think so. Questions or comments welcome.
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We had one bright spot in the foreclosure mess in Cape Coral and Fort Myers. Folks that couldn’t afford their first home have had an opportunity to buy an affordable home at the bottom of the market. GREAT! We also have had a run of folks buying their second dream home. Again because it is affordable. GREAT! Enter the banks into the scenario:
First, they were the greedy culprits that led us into this huge mess. Can you say “predatory lending”? Second, we the people of the USA bailed them out. In plain English, the kids were very bad but let’s give them tons of money because not doing that would be worse. Now they are trying to work quickly thru their losses but they are giving the homes to investors over new homeowners for less money. Time and time again buyers that are very qualified for a new mortgage are being rejected for cash buyers. I’ve seen the difference as much as $10,000 less from the cash buyer. That just makes me MAD! That also continues to drive prices down along with appraisals. Finally, is this a good business decision? NO it isn’t. It’s just easier. It seems they don’t care about their losses. We give them money on the back side with free money. It’s like a garage sale at the end of the day. “Just take it, I don’t care.” Just when you think this mess could get cleaned up with some benefit to real people, big business ruins it. We gave the banks huge amounts of money. We need to insist those same banks encourage lending to real homeowners and let these same people get a leg up ahead of investors in buying these foreclosures. That’s good business. That’s good for the economy.
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It seems we are in NO MAN”S land. The city of Cape Coral like the rest of the world got fat and happy in good times with expectations of the growth advancing at a rapid rate. The problem is no one took notice that most of the buyers were investors and not end users. They assumed these homes would be occupied with tax payers. Hind site is so 20/20. Now we have these big plants built or near completion and we need money to pay for these loans. WOW are we in trouble. Today we have 273 vacant double lots for sale under under $15,000 in the NW and NE Cape. Many are listed at $6000 and $7500. Remember when people turned lots back to the city? I see this as a probable scenario for the next couple of years. The value of the property is far less than the utility assessment. There are a lot of vacant lots out there that will just be turned back to the city. This will hurt. No tax money and no payment on the utility expansion. I hope the city is taking this into account.
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The News-Press indicated the numbers were actually up for Cape Coral’s population. Just driving around seems to be a lot less. Population for schools seems to be down. Something seems to be off. I just can’t quite put my finger on it.
We do have a ton of people that have bought short sale homes and foreclosure homes. It’s great. Some people have left, but others have come here to find their piece of paradise. These folks have come from all over the world. I just love this place. SW Florida is just like the Energizer Bunny; It keeps going and going and going.
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The inventory of homes is continuing to reduce. That is great news for the economy. If you are looking for your piece of paradise, it is time to BUY! Hesitate not! The word has spread and folks from all over the world have come to buy their dream. First time buyers can snag $8,000 in government money. This is huge! The builders are looking to come back to the marketplace. That is the sign of recovery. Don’t despair, the deals are still there. I imagine the super deals will be around at least till the end of the year, but the prices are starting to creep up and there is competition in snagging that deal. Sign up today at http://www.southwest-florida-real-estate.com/ . Buyers rave about looking for property on Listingbook.
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What a great opportunity. I have been contacted by several lenders and wholesale companies looking for investors with cash. It's time to buy, fix it up and sell for a profit. There is a need for homes that have been fixed up. There are so many homes I am looking for a few more investors ready to do their thing. I have people in place to fix them up. Don't miss your window of opportunity. call me for more information. These are exciting times.
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We were first in, first to drop and first to recover. The numbers say it loud and clear. In April, Cape Coral had nine new building permits and there is a large increase in remodeling permits. These permits are for pools, docks, commercial and other fix ups. The deals of neglected homes are being snapped up and fixed up. These homes are fulfilling lots of dreams. It is a 27% increase since the beginning of 2009. That is huge. Folks bemoan the loss of property values and the foreclosures. This news made national media attention and has brought buyers from all over the world. One mans trash is another mans treasure. Even Jim Cramer of MSN Money stated this morning housing has stabilized, banking nightmare over. Banks are starting to pay back the tarp. It is that intangible positive attitude that can be felt everywhere. Buy SW Florida NOW. Prices are starting to rise. Sign up for ListingBook at the top of this page and search the MLS like a Realtor. It is FREE and powerful.
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Cape Coral market is heating up. Let the games begin! Cape Coral – Fort Myers have hit national news again as #3 in foreclosures in the country. That means buyers are coming as fast as they can. Multiple offers are on every well priced listing. Most sell for thousands over asking. So, be prepared. This market is not for the weak of heart. Buyers must move fast or lose to another. Keep heart. Whatever home you are lucky enough to get, it is a deal that won’t come around again. Our buyers are so excited about their new home in Paradise.
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Tenant in Place
• 1,236 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story -  MLS® $85,000 - Reduced to Sell SW - Unit 65, Cape Coral - 3bd 2ba home in desirable SW section of Cape Coral. ALL ASSESSMENTS ARE PAID. New roof in 2005. New carpet, freshly painted. AC updated AS IS with right to inspect. Great tenant in place. Investors take note.
This is a short sale requiring lender approval. Seller is in contact with the bank.
Property information
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Buyers are giddy with their deals. I won another one but we had to up the ante to get it. Was it worth it? You bet it was. We looked at 25 homes. 20 homes were in need of much repair. Unfortunately you can’t tell that on the MLS. There is no smell-o-vision as yet. Plus agents don’t necessarily take pictures of the bad stuff. Those homes will be great for the fixer upper contractor guy. Now that we had 5 to pick from, they needed to pick the one that best suits them. One went pending that day. Now we are down to 4. I called all the agents to see if there were any other offers. There were of course. I now council prospective buyers before we go out to look at property with a CMA of sold homes like this; listed at $80,000 and sold for $86,000. This is the trend because so many buyers have shown up in our market place. These are still amazing deals. It looks like the bottom has been found; at least in this lower price range. YEAH! The home we put a bid on was listed at $109,000. My folks bid $120,000 and got it. They are ecstatic. The home is large and in pristine condition. The only big ticket needed are appliances. For $3K you can get a really nice appliance package. They just closed and are busy cleaning and finding furnishings. Don’t you just love a good story?
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These challenging times have created a lot of stress for realtors. The effects are long reaching. We have had financial impacts, physical impacts and emotional impacts. It has been hard to stay positive when all around you seems to be crashing down. The daily grind of the news, our customer’s stories of bad news have taken their toll. I received an email from Ray Higdon (the forever wealth club). Ray is creative and always positive. His club was hosting Andy Dooley and his presentation “How to Change Your Life Forever”. Andy is Mike Dooley’s brother (life change guru). I received the email and didn’t decide to go until 3 hrs before. I solicited another agent in my office to go with me. Wow, what a fun exhilarating night. We laughed out loud and a lot. We were inspired that “it’s not as hard as you think. Your life can change in a blink”. I am so glad I decided to take a mental vacation and let the stress go. Everyone should find an opportunity to go to an event for infinite possibilities. It will change your life. “Live today as if you were dying. Spread your wings and start flying.” Change your stinking thinking. Believe and know in your heart what you want to happen and let it go. Let the universe make it happen for you. Clear your clutter on your desk. Thank you Larry Easto for your post on clutter. I’m going to do that today. My office is getting a make over. I’m going to take before and after pictures. Pictures on the next post.
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