Hey, Deborah - Gloria Thinks You're an Idiot

Contact Chris Griffith:

Your Name: Gloria Ifejka

Phone Number: 221773545380

Your E-mail address: gloriaifejka2@live.fr Best time to contact you: Day

Regarding: Investment

Message: Dear Deborah,

I have enough capital I intend to invest under your proper care in your country. Please if you can be of assistance, I will be happy to give you more details about me.

I am waiting for your reply.

With regards.

Gloria Ifejka

Bonita Springs Real Estate Bonita Springs Sales and Listings Update

Folks, we’re winding down from tourist season here in Bonita Springs, Florida but we’re still seeing sales activity. The last several weeks have seen a steady increase in pending and closed sales. The same tune is playing about Bonita Springs real estate, it has to be priced right and when it is, it sells. We aren’t over the hump yet but things are leveling off. According to economists the Bonita Springs and Naples areas will maintain level pricing and see and uptick in sales with more movement increases in the fall.

I’d like to thank the stupendous “Mr. J” for passing on this article (through the bars of the fortress) for me to share with you from the Wallstreet Journal - Dated May 6, 2008: The Housing Crisis According to WSJ

Your April ‘08 Estero and Bonita Springs real estate market report is available and ready for your review. The report shows the units of sale for the month of April for the last three consecutive years. Yada, yada: The data is from the Sunshine MLS which is, of course, deemed accurate but not guaranteed. After all, the information is put into those computers by humans. Enjoy this months Bonita Springs market report and check out the low rise condo sales for April ‘08.

Continue Reading at Life In Bonita Springs

Nesting in Estero Florida

Swans of Coconut Point

There is a large lake with a water feature fountain between Coconut Point Mall and Tamiami Trail. While taking a shortcut from Rapallo I crossed the big wooden bridge by Hemingway’s and Moe’s and saw this lovely swan keeping house. She’s on the south side of the bridge in some bunches of grass. Today, when I took her picture she had company.  Mr. Wonderful is curled up behind her.

I am not sure how long the pair have been on the nest or how long it would take for peeps to hatch. I looked it up online - 35 days after the last egg is laid. There is some serious math involved, here, and some serious guessing as to how many eggs are actually there. They’ve been on the nest for a few weeks now. I can’t wait to see the peeps. There is also a pair of black swans on the lake. I wonder if there will be white peeps, black peeps or two tone peeps.

Now, I look for excuses to cut through Coconut Point. I take the long way from the Brooks or Marsh Landing just so I can ride over the bridge to see Harold and Maude. If you stop in to take a look, just take a look. Don’t get too close to them and certainly don’t touch them. You can see them by slowly driving by. Everyone is slowly driving by now. The secret is out. Harold and Maude are going to be parents.

For the record, the swans have excellent taste. They’ve chosen one of the most prime locations in all of Estero. It’s waddling distance to just about every convenience.

Swept Up

Lately, I've been busy trying to keep up with work, writing, blogging and getting ready for the next opportunity that will comes around the corner.  A few months ago I wrote about how Active Rain got me ready for writing for the local paper on a post called  The Whipping Boy.  (it's a members only post)  Another page has turned in my story and I've now been asked to be an a panel at the NAR Mid Midyear Legislative Meetings and Trade Show.

I realize what a great opportunity this is and I know it will be a lot of fun.  I thought I would stop in and share it with you, the members of Active Rain.  I know that if I hadn't blogged on Active Rain, met the members that I did and networked via social networking this opportunity wouldn't have likely happened.   It goes to show that blogging can bring more to the writers of real estate blogs than closed sales and listings.  There are other opportunities just waiting to be discovered.  I can't wait to see what's next.

If you're attending Mid Year this is my panel.  My twitter ID is CGriffith.  Tweet or comment if you'll be in Washington DC! 

Click here for Meeting Info 

More Lures to Southwest Florida

The Lure of Bonita Springs

…another Mailbox in Bonita Springs

Come on! What else would I use for a title? I spotted this mailbox in Bonita Shores. If you don’t know where Bonita Shores of Bonita Springs is, it’s that small part of Bonita Springs on the Southwest corner of Vanderbilt Beach Road and Bonita Beach Road. Besides the neighborhood of Barefoot Beach, Bonita Shores is the only part of Bonita Springs that is technically in Collier County. Real estate in Bonita Springs with a Collier County tax.

Continue: The Lure of Bonita Shores - Bonita Springs, Florida

Yeah, this is part of my mailbox series. 

Read also: Seeing Red on Bonita Beach 

Oh My Darling, Clementine ... Flake Off, Already

Is there a way for Active Rain to stop Clemintine by blocking her IP? 

Is she spamming anyone but me with her Ocala Mansion dot com essay contest? 

Instead of blogging about it she's loaded up my blog comments and I'm over it. 

Clemintine, you're pishing me off. 

Knock it off.

You're an author, not a real estate agent. 

• Hire a REALTOR*.  If you have one, and the house is listed, you're due for a price reduction just like he/she has been asking you to do.
• Price your real estate to sell and it will sell, period.  It's really that simple.
  
• You aren't going to get what you paid for it if you bought it after 2003.
• Read the Active Rain real estate blogs to learn why your home hasn't sold and then implement what you learn.

The Mailbox Series - First Time Poster's Welcome

If you're looking for something to post about or you're new to blogging and would like to finally take the first step to post something.  Join in the "Mailbox Series".  I've started a mailbox series on my blog www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com.  If you're interested in joining in and sharing unique or unusual mailboxes in your city, Here's a few ideas for you:

• Photograph a mailbox
• Post the photo of your mailbox 
• Write about the location of the box, where to find it, city, state, street name.
  
• Tag your post "Mailbox Series"
•  You are welcome to add your link to the comments section of this blog. To share your mailbox.
• If you're a first time poster, you're welcome to share that, too, so we can all come give you comments. 

And so it was born, the mailbox series.

Bonita Beach in Bonita Springs is one of those places where there’s a great bunch of mail boxes. Today, I drove to the beach and parked down by Big Hickory, just across the street from the marina and grill. I dragged my poor little dog the length of Hickory Blvd. and admired mailboxes.  Continue reading: The Mailbox Series.

Impatiens at Hunter's Ridge

The Latest Grift, Rental Scams

Tenant Beware - Landlord Beware

Yes, Virginia, scammers can take advantage of tenants and home owners in Southwest Florida and the Bonita Springs real estate market is ripe for the picking.

Although you and I don’t think with criminal minds there are other people that do. The real estate market has brought on swift and confusing changes. There are vacant homes, foreclosures, short sales and rentals galore. Bonita Springs, Florida has always been the land of absentee owners. We have even more now with the excessive inventory on the market. The market conditions breed all sorts of scams.

Nation wide rental scams are starting to pop up which homeowners, tenants and consumers need to be aware of. It hadn’t really occurred to me how easy it would be to take advantage of someone looking for a home to rent until now. There are even scammers that rent homes with the intent to show and rent the home to other tenants. They get the security, first, last or whatever monies they can get and then they leave town. In some circumstances they have written dozens of leases to dozens of tenants and skip town with a boat load of cash.

Sometimes the scammers just act as though they work on behalf of the home owner, as the homeowner is out of town, out of the country, ill, hospitalized, etc. The victim pays the money and the person who rented them the home disappears. They later learn the house or apartment was not for rent. Of course, their wallets are lighter when they find out.

What can you do to protect yourself if you are a tenant looking for a home or condominium to rent in the Bonita Springs area? There are a few ways to check to make sure the person who says they own the property actually owns the property.  Continue Reading