I just received another call from a buyer prospect looking for the listing agent.  The OLD story of I will save money with the listing agent is really so laughable. 

 Buyers, PAY ATTENTION!  Many of the REO (Bank owned property ) listing agents don't work with buyers.  They don't have time.  They usually refer you to a buyer's agent. Some think a buyer can get a better price and the listing agent will take less commission.  Not in this market.  Brokers are not permitting this practice.  Commissions have nothing to do with the buyers. SW Florida's market is moving at lightening spead because of the foreclosures and short sale deals.

 These properties are selling quickly and if you don't have a buyer's agent working for you and looking to meet your wants and needs, you will be too late to the party every time. You really need someone who is paying attention, has many contacts and avenues to find you your best deal.  If you are shopping for a particular item, you don't just wait  for that item to go on sale at one store.  You look at all of the stores.  The best bet is to Google the price for that item.  Having a good buyer's agent is like having Google.  Now you will get the best deal.

The News is "property 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 homes

 Pending                                    937

Active Contingent Short              1126

Ready to close                          2063 homes

 Closed past 60 days                 1205 homes

You tell me, is this market hot?  I certainly think so.

We had one bright spot in the foreclosure mess.  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. 

Imagine that!  Just when you think you have heard it all, someone comes up with a new scam for their personal gain.

 Investors are making some serious money in the bid for homes at auction.  At the auction you would hear some big investors making disparaging remarks about a particular property in order to gain the bid themselves.  Now some investor has come up with a new scheme.

 When the list comes out with new homes going to auction, prospective bidders go and look at these properties to see the condition to know how much to bid.  Well, some genius put up an "official government looking" fake sticker stating the building has Chinese drywall.  That would discourage other bidders from bidding for that home.  By the way, this practice is illegal.  Lenders own these homes and they would not be happy knowing someone has falsely devalued their property.  They want to recoup as much money as possible.

 It is certainly challenging out there.  Please comment on any and all bogs. Thanks.

Inventory 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 in SW Florida.  The national news talks about the amount of foreclosures in our area.  They are such amazing deals.

 Plus, 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.

I'm a daughter, a mother and grandmother.  Wow, when you get to this point I have such gratitude to my mother who I lost to breast cancer when I was just 22 years old.  I am so grateful for the years I had my Mom in my life.  She was such a rock and such a class act.  She had a wonderful sense of humor.  She was a great best friend to all her friends; she had high expectations for me and my brother.  She adored us and we knew unconditional love. 

 I then became a mother and aspired to be even better.  My girls were the joy of my life and I reveled in their achievements.  I was so blessed to have loads of involvement in their lives as they grew up. They have growth to be amazing women.

 Now that I have two granddaughters it is the icing on the chocolate cake.  Their mother has raised the bar once again and I only see beautiful futures for two beautiful girls.  Building sandcastles with your granddaughters;  It doesn't get any better than that.

 HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!  Go to the Beach.

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.

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?

 We were supposed to close a bank owned home today.  Last week I checked with the bank's title company which is out of the area.  They said the County was slow to record the title, but they expected it soon.  I checked Monday with the county and found that the bank had bought the property back 6 weeks ago. My question was who dropped the ball. Why wasn't this title changed to the bank?  After some digging I found out that the transfer tax of $.70 (yes the number is seventy cents) was not paid so it was just sitting there not being recorded. If I had not takent the initiative we could wait a long time until someone figured it out.  I'm told there are tons of these properties just sitting there waiting for their $.70.  I know someone that works in the court house.  She did me a favor and paid the $.70. We now have to wait another week to close.  My buyers bought airline tickets, reserved a hotel and took a eeks vacation to come down and get their new purchase in order.  To say the least they are upset.  Just one more thing to check on.

Waterfront Steals and Deals in Cape Coral

As of today Cape Coral has 26 Gulf access homes that are bank owned.  These foreclosures range in price from $159,600; a 3 bedroom 2 bath direct access to a luxury home over 3000 sq ft offered at $664,500. This home sold for $1,050,000 in 2005.  These are deals.

 They aren't making any more waterfront. It is irreplaceable.  Since Feb 1, 2009, 89 gulf access homes in Cape Coral have gone under contract and 88 gulf access homes have closed.

 You decide.  Is it time to buy?  You bet it is!  Be informed. Be smart. Don't wait. You could be too late for the best deals.  The Numbers speak for themselves.