January 12, 2012 Cape Coral, FL USA

Cape Coral real estate broker, Susan Milner of Cape Coral real estate brokerage, Florida Future Realty, Inc (That’s Me would like to take a moment to wish every one of you a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

As each new year approaches we tend to look back over our previous year and make new plans for the coming year. As a huge fan of planning, goal setting and living life to its fullest I want to extend my best wishes for your best year ever. If you haven’t already made a plan for the coming year (and beyond) I encourage you to sit down for a few minutes and write something up! It is amazing to watch life unfold exactly as written/planned. I firmly believe that great things do happen to great people and those people who are not afraid to set, and believe in, grand goals.

And if your goal happens to be real estate related I’d love to chat. We can assist you with buying a retirement home here, purchasing a second home, investment property or relocating to Cape Coral, Florida. Cape Coral real estate is predicted to continue to rise slowly over the next few years and this year may be the last year for many years to come to acquire a great Cape Coral property at a reasonable price. Our Cape Coral real estate team has great experience with short sales and foreclosures in Cape Coral along with experience with more traditional real estate sales in Cape Coral. Allow us to guide you in the process.

There are never any fees to buyers no matter how hard we work to find you that perfect Cape Coral property.

So come on down, or call or email us today to learn more about Cape Coral real estate and how buying or selling in Cape Coral can be a reality in this new year.

As always, should you have ANY real estate questions do not hesitate to call or email us for more information. We look forward to working with you.

To get started you can start your online search now for Cape Coral property or fill out our contact form to have an agent contact you right away about Cape Coral real estate!

We look forward to working with you!

We also work with sellers of real estate in Cape Coral. If you own a Cape Coral waterfront or off water property and would like to see it featured here; please let me know. We are looking for realistic sellers who want to get the most out of their property within a reasonable timeframe. We also handle short sales in Cape Coral.

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner, REALTOR Broker/Owner ~ e-PRO, GRI, SFR, CDPE, and (TRC) TransNational Referral Certification

Florida Future Realty, Inc

Search Cape Coral real estate

(239) 542-8521

I’m always looking to hire more motivated and professional licensed Florida real estate agents. If you are interested in learning more about Florida Future Realty, Inc. feel free to contact our office at 2816 Del Prado Blvd. S., Unit 1, Cape Coral, FL 33904, via phone at 239-542-8521, online at Cape Coral Real Estate Career or via email at FloridaFuture@gmail.com. Susan Milner, the broker in charge & owner of Florida Future Realty, Inc. can also be reached on her personal cell phone at (239) 218-2229. All contact will remain strictly confidential.

Unless otherwise noted all content Copyright 2012 Susan Milner.

Is The Lee County Rocket Docket Over?

The previous ‘rocket docket’ is said to be over in Lee County, Florida.

What is this Rocket Docket?

Over the past couple of years the civil courts of Lee County have been handling foreclosure files quickly or also known as the ‘rocket docket’. The idea was to process files quickly as to not clog up the judicial system. The state supplemented the local court system with funds to allow them to hire additional staff for case management and to hear foreclosure cases. One possible problem that came along with this was cases being foreclosed on unjustly or without due process. Even lenders (plaintiffs) complained as well stating that they could not stop foreclosure cases being pushed through via the court systems. Many defendants and organizations have complained about these actions and additional suits have been filed because of this. One such complaint was made by the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) stating that the Lee County Rocket Docket does not allow for defendants to be granted the due process they deserve. To top that, the money that had been provided by the state is said to have run out.

What is happening to the Lee County Foreclosure Cases now?

Foreclosure cases that are ‘sitting’ at the courts have been placed back into ‘case management’ for the most part. Cases that are considered ‘sitting’ are cases where neither the defendant (the home owner) or the plaintiff (the lender) have filed anything recently. Some options* that a defendant has are: Motions to Dismiss, compel, produce or mediate. Some options* that the plaintiff has are: Motion to set for hearing, trial and/or summary judgement. If neither party has taken action the court is now discontinuing with their docket soundings and moving everything out into what is called ‘case management’. Once back in case management nothing really happens with the case until one or the other party files something new.

Can this help you in your situation?

Perhaps. If you need more time to figure out the best option for you this could be really good news.

To read more about the Lee County Rocket Docket and find out how we may be able to assist you with a short sale in Lee County.

Cape Coral Florida offers wonderful gulf access homes and communities.

In the first quarter alone we noticed an upswing in the amount of higher end homes sellling in Cape Coral, Florida.

Comparing the figues to our first quarter of 2010 we see that properties over $500,000 in Cape Coral went from making up only 2% of the entire market (2010) to this year (2011) making up 12% of the total market.

We also saw an increase in our higher end, yet still affordable houses as well. Those houses selling between $200-500,000 went up from 16% in 2010 to 36% of all home sales in the first quarter of 2011.

This tells me that the higher end buyers are making decisions to buy in Cape Coral again.  Yes, we still have many properties for sale under $200,000 but that market share is diminishing.

Watch my video below to see the Cape Coral luxury home sales data in a slideshow presentation.

* raw data derived from local MLS & interpreted by Susan Milner of Florida Future Realty, Inc. Does NOT include condos, vacant land, commercial or multi family properties. This data is strictly including single family home sales in Cape Coral from Jan 1, 2011 through March 31, 2011. Note: some sales may have yet to be recorded. In our mls active contingent means that there is an offer but there is some sort of short term contingency on the offer/contract. Active contingent short sale means that the listing is a short sale and the seller has accepted an offer already but is awaiting bank approval of said contract. Pending typically means that everything looks good on the accepted offer and that they are on their way to closing (could still have financing and inspection contingencies though).

Judging a book by its cover...do you wish to be perceived as a DEVIL or an ANGEL?

We were told as children and growing up to NOT judge a book by its cover. However in life we judge books by their cover ALL of the time. And if you don’t believe that your customers are judging you by your cover you are WRONG.

I say this because I see many real estate agents (and many other business owners and companies) handle business online poorly.

Whether they are showing partying pictures on facebook, talking about a competitor or just straight complaining in their blogs/status updates/tweets these things are looked poorly upon by consumers.

We are all consumers. You judge companies all of the time by their FRONT. This could be the hostess at a restaurant, the check out clerk at the grocery store, the customer service rep on the phone, etc. It is all similar.

I remember on our last vacation we went to a very cute waterfront restaurant and the hostess looked at us as if we were bothering her by coming into the restaurant, was not friendly and was slamming things around after she seated us. Now who knows what her deal was that day but honestly, who cares? No one wants to hear about your drama. We were on vacation and looking for a pleasant meal. Our meal turned out just ‘ok’ but I have a very strong feeling that had our welcoming been friendlier that we would have had a GREAT overall experience.

Here is something to think about when you are blogging, creating your website or updating your social networking sites. Think about the subject line, content and pictorials you are using. If someone doesn’t feel like or have the time to read the entire article what impression are they going to get?

I wrote an article previously about ‘dealing with idiots’. The article was actually reminding everyone that we ALL appear to be ‘idiots’ from time to time but someone just quickly looking at my heading could think, “what a jerk” I must be. What about your posts?

• Do you talk about the ‘stupid’ agent who can’t figure anything out?
• Do you complain about the customer who thinks they can buy a mansion on the ocean for $100,000?
• Are you remaining respectful to others?

I know I would be VERY hesitant to call upon a real estate agent that came across as harsh or as a whiny complainer.

So next time you write an article think about the impact this will have on others. Aren’t we out here blogging and on social networks to GAIN business not lose it?

I’ll be the first to admit that I have had frustrating moments and done it ‘wrong’ but I am also willing to FIX any mistakes I make and learn from them.

We spent our Sunday afternoon on Captiva Island, Florida

 Mid 70s, light breeze, beautiful beaches, tons of shells...need I say more?

Cape Coral short sales are still abundant in and around Cape Coral, Florida. I've been personally handling short sales in SW Florida since the end of 2006. Anyone in our area who claims to have been handling them prior to that timeframe is full of it. Why? Well because in the early 2000s everything was appreciating at such a fast rate that no one needed a short sale. We did however experience a similar bust in both the early 80s and early 90s ~ see a pattern?

So back to my point of this article. I get at least one call or email a day from someone who is considering selling their house 'short'. Most have already being doing quite a bit of research on the subject. Whether they have just been reading various articles online or if they've checked with friends or maybe even spoke with a professional like their accountant and attorney they've done something. But I all too often find them with mis-information. That really tends to bother me. Some common misconceptions I hear often are 1) The bank won't approve a short sale because I am not behind on my mortgage 2) The bank won't do a short sale because the loss is too great (ex. I owe $800,000 and the house is only worth $400,000) 3) The bank won't do a short sale because this was/is now an investment property 4) The bank won't do a short sale because.....fill in the blanks to 5) It is better to do a deed in lieu or just let it foreclose, etc.

While everyone's specific situation IS different and unique to THEM, in *most* cases it makes more sense for someone to do a short sale vs a deed in lieu or foreclosing. Florida is a recourse state. This means that a lender can, and most likely will, come after the borrower for the difference. If you just bury your head in the sand while your house goes into foreclosure you will have to worry about that judgment sneaking up on you. According to attorneys I've communicated with, these banks have up to 5 years to decide to file against you. From there they can keep renewing the judgement for up to 20 years! AH! Do you really want to worry about that for the next 20 years of your life?

When we negotiate a short sale we always attempt to obtain a FULL Release and FULL Satisfaction of mortgage which means the bank is waiving their right to seek a deficiency judgment against the borrower/seller. Most of the times we are able to get this but sometimes we are not. At some times the banks will agree to a short sale but are unwilling to provide a satisfaction of mortgage. This means that they still have the right to come after the seller/borrower for the difference. In these cases we make sure the sellers/borrower gets in touch with an attorney and discusses this with them. Usually they go ahead with it at least knowing now what the property is selling for and selling it sooner than later (it can take much more time for a foreclosure to go through and the bank will tack on many more expenses too) to avoid owing even more to their lender later. Sometimes these individuals have other liabilities too (like credit cards, other loans, etc) and are planning a bankruptcy in the future. Their attorney may be able to add that pending judgment into the bankruptcy for them. Again, everyone’s situation is unique and there is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution.

If you qualify for a HAFA Short Sale you will not be held responsible for the forgiven amount. Many lenders are now on board with HAFA’s program but there are certain criteria that you must meet to qualify.

We've completed MANY short sales in the past few years. Some the sellers have not been late on their mortgage, many of the sellers have owed 2-3 times the value of the property, most have received full release and satisfactions at closing and a few have had to sign promissory notes and/or came up with some cash at closing (typically only requested of someone who actually has assets of some sort).

While we cannot know what your lender will say (every file is different - even with the same seller and same lender on different properties we’ve gotten different responses) but we can give you a great shot at a positive outcome.

Being organized and having experience with major lenders like Bank of America (Countrywide), Chase Home Mortgage (JP Morgan), Fifth Third Bank, GMAC, CitiMortgage, National City, SunTrust Bank, Wells Fargo (Wachovia), EMC Mortgage, Flagstar, Green Tree Servicing, LLC, SLS (Specialized Loan Servicing), HomeEq Servicing,  Saxon Mortgage Services, RoundPoint Mortgage Service Corp, and several smaller banks as well such as BB & T,  Riverside (TIB Bank), Suncoast Federal Credit Union just to name a few.

If you've consulted with your attorney and tax accountant and have decided to sell your property as a short sale we'd love to go over the process with you. I've written many articles going over the process of the short sale, documents required, outcomes possible and so much more to assist sellers in this trying time.

You can check out these articles about Cape Coral short sales on our website: www.The-Extreme-Team.com or you can call us anytime to discuss your personal situation at (239) 542-8521.

We look forward to hearing from you.

~ Before you decide to sell your house as a short sale we recommend you contact BOTH a CPA/tax professional & an experienced Attorney to discuss YOUR specific situation. Laws & guidelines change frequently and you want to be sure a short sale is in YOUR best interest! ~

Could you buy again in 6 short months from completing a Cape Coral short sale? Maybe. Read below how one family did just that. The guidelines are fairly strict but if you make the decision to do a short sale before you go into default and if you maintain your other good credit this could be possible. We specialize in short sales and can help you out of your situation fast. Learn more about us and Cape Coral short sales. The moral of the story is to NOT WAIT. You need to make the decision before you get too far behind.