RENT VS. BUY IN CAPE CORAL

August 13th, 2010

Renting has several benefits;

Renting leaves you free to move frequently.

When renting the owner is responsible for repairs on the building.

A big plus right now is rents are low in Cape Coral and choices are plentiful at the moment.  In uncertain times it may be your best option.

A negative to renting is not knowing an owners intentions of keeping the home. You have to ask the question if the seller is upside down in his property it may not be a good place to rent. When your lease is up you might have to move. If your owner is in financial trouble and going into a short sale or foreclosure you might have to move unexpectedly.

But, if you are employed with decent credit or have cash, this is the ideal time to buy.

When have you seen mortgage rates under 5%? They haven’t been this low in a half century.

When have you seen housing priced below replacement cost?  This is definitely time to buy!

If you are staying in the home for more than 5 years, this is the time to make it happen. Tax breaks, freedom to be in control of your own environment. You can paint any color you want; remodel, etc.

You can get a nicer place, and monthly costs are stable as long as property taxes stay stable and that should happen.

There are a few dangers. If something breaks you have to fix it.

If you can, BUY NOW! This opportunity won’t come around again in our life time.

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SHORT SALES VS. FORECLOSURE IN THE BANK’S EYE

August 11th, 2010

In recent months it was apparent some of the short sales that made great sense were not making sense to the banks.  We would have a fair market price for the home and a great buyer. They would just close the file and foreclose on the borrower. The question was always, why?  The story is basically the same but let me set up the scenario. This story is played out all over Cape Coral and Fort Myers.

The borrower thinking the market would never collapse to the degree that we experienced refinanced for a variety of reasons (2 of my customers over 70 used the money to help their children).  Others just purchased homes that were 60% more valuable than they are today. Since the collapse, they have lost their jobs, had health issues, and lost their retirement in the stock market and other retirement venues including owning other real estate.

The bottom line is they could no longer pay the mortgage payment. They need to survive. The program used to be that the banks did much better with a short sale than a foreclosure.  A short sale was much quicker; the property was in better condition; the legal expenses were thousands less; it was a much better scenario for the banks in taking back a property.

Step in the Federal Government to screw this up. The banks that collapsed and their debt was offered to other banks at say 70% of value by the FDIC.  You must watch the following YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/user/fiercefreeleancer.  Please pass this video on to everyone. It illustrates the greed of the financial institutions and lack of thought by the Federal Government. The ones getting hurt are the public.  The fall out is not just the people losing their homes. The fallout from this has far reaching effects for the total economy and valuation of everything.  

Don’t hesitate to comment and repost. Please contact your Senators and Congressmen. Let them know how disappointed you are in the current financial idiocy and to help real people.

Contact me at Linda@Flackteam.com or www.TwoCityLink.com.

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Cape Coral and Fort Myers No Oil

August 9th, 2010

The Forbidden Zone of SW Florida. We in SW Florida are located in the best place possible in Florida. The #1 concern today is over the Gulf Oil spill. But, we are looking very good. Not only does the Gulf loop current stay away from our shore, BP has the leak under control and is cleaning the water.

I didn’t know until recently that their are organisms in the water that feed on the oil. Over time this helps dissipate what is not picked up.

A team of researchers from the University of South Florida, Scripps Oceanographic Institute, Florida State University, and the Minerals Management Service (Yang et al. 1999) identify SW Florida as the ” Forbidden Zone”.  This project placed over 300 passive drifters at various locations in the northern Gulf, from the Mississippi-Alabama border eastward to off Cedar Key, Florida, and tracked their changes in location via satellite.
Here is the link for the map of the passive drifters placed in the Gulf and the path that they took. This is what identified SW Florida as the “Forbidden Zone” http://www.fgcu.edu/CWI/files/Forbidden_Zone_CWI.pdf .

So, come on down. The water is clear, the weather is great and the deals are plentiful. Boating, fishing and our beaches are all top notch.

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The Biggest Real Estate Connection Between Two Cities

July 7th, 2010

Sitting on the Bridge At Last

I’ve talked about this idea for years.  When I came up with the idea of marketing  myself sitting on the Cape Coral Bridge I thought it would be fun to be on the big billboard at the bridge.  Well, I finally made it happen.  I’m on the Cape Coral Bridge. Isn’t that cool?

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The Wealthy Moving to Lee County

July 5th, 2010

Forbes Magazine has reported that the wealthy are moving to Lee County.
The report states that one of the favorite locations is Lee County, Florida. Well I did my homework. I checked the numbers on the multiple listing. I found an astounding number of homes sold over $1 Million. In Lee County since April 1, 2010 to today there were 103 homes sold over $1 Million. The Lowest price was exactly $1,000,000 and the highest was $3,250,000.
Ok, now are you a believer? We in the Fort Myers area know that there are great deals and It is a tropical paradise.

Low taxes, warm sunshine and deep discounts on real estate. No wonder IRS data shows the wealthiest among us are headed south to Florida.

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Flood Insurance and Tax Credit

July 2nd, 2010

WASHINGTON – July 1, 2010 – The deadline for closing on a home and qualifying for the federal homebuyer tax credit ended at midnight, and the National Flood Insurance Programs expired May 31, 2010. But two bills reauthorizing each program received Congressional approval yesterday, though both still need President Obama’s signature to become law, a move expected shortly.

Once the president signs the bills, both extensions become retroactive, meaning the law will not recognize a lapse in coverage for either program.

Homebuyer tax credit

The only thing that changes under the new tax credit bill – The Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623) – is the deadline for closing on a home. Under the latest version of the tax credit, buyers had to secure a signed contract by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30, 2010. The bill extends the closing deadline to Sept. 30, 2010.

Short sales, however, can take considerably longer than two months to close. And an onslaught of buyers trying to beat the June 30 deadline proved challenging to Realtors, title companies and lawyers trying to beat the clock.

The National Association of Realtors lobbied heavily to get the tax credit extended, but Congress took the issue down to the wire before eventually approving the change.

National Flood Insurance Program

The federal flood insurance program has general support among lawmakers, but they continue to disagree on the details. As a result, it has expired three times this year, only to be reauthorized after the fact by Congress. Each extension is considered a short-term fix so lawmakers have time to consider a long-term solution.

Officially, NFIP is still on hiatus until the president signs the bill, HR 5569, into law; but once that happens, it’s official again back to May 31, 2010.

© 2010 Florida Realtors®

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Congress’ Flood Insurance Lapse Strands Residents, Home Sales

June 28th, 2010

It is just amazing.  This congress seems to be oblivious to the effects of their inaction to approve The National Flood Insurance Program Florida is the epicenter of economic downturn. We no sooner seem to be coming thru this with hurricane season at our doorstep and no one can get flood insurance. WOW!  How in the world could they have adjourned without putting this as a top priority?

Anyone needing a mortgage in a flood zone must have flood insurance or no mortgage,
We have loads of customers stuck in limbo; sellers trying to sell and buyers trying to buy and move in.
With hurricane season upon us, it could not be a worse time of year for Floridians to be without flood insurance.

The National Association of Realtors estimates that for each day Congress delays, 1,400 sales are tied up. In Florida, it’s affecting about 175 deals a day.

The flood insurance program expired May 31. Since then, some lenders have been willing to accept binders, or promises, to write flood insurance policies as soon as Congress reauthorizes the program. But others are refusing to allow deals to go through without insurance.

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, who voted to reauthorize the program, said Congress’ delay has brought an already weak real estate market to a “total standstill.”

“To say that Florida’s economy is in a fragile state would be an understatement,” he said. “In this uniquely perilous economy, if someone is prepared to buy a new home, they should be able to buy it.”

The halt in flood insurance isn’t affecting only homebuyers.

People living in flood zones whose insurance has expired also are beginning to panic.

It is a wonder how Congress could allow so many citizens to be at risk.

The National Flood Insurance Program was jammed into a controversial $110 billion jobs package designed to extend unemployment benefits. House members stripped the insurance provision into a separate bill and passed it this week. But senators, who shot down the jobs bill, left for the weekend without taking up the insurance bill.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has called Congress’ delay “irresponsible.” So do I.

Write your congressman.

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Getting Your Home Ready to Sell

June 23rd, 2010

How do you get a buyer interested in purchasing your house in this tough market? Impression is the keyword. You just need to get your house ready to sell by doing some preparation. Get inspected by a professional if you want to put a little effort for maximum results, or if you don’t want to spend much money by paying professional you can do it by yourself but it won’t have the same impact for a buyer.

 These are the steps for getting your house ready to sell to a buyer.

Beautify your exterior!

The goal is to make your exterior look pretty and fresh to impress your buyer. Just to inform you that the exterior becomes the first impression of your house. There are two sensory areas of a buyer you must impress. Those are eyes and nose. The garden must be neat and must look pretty and fresh. The steps you can do are:

-              Get the grass, trees, flowers, and plants tidy and fresh by mowing and watering it

-              Clean up the curb and entering path, plant flowers and lay down fresh mulch

-              Freshen up the smells by put scented potpourri.

-              Clean up all of windows and entering doors.

-              Get rid of equipment and put out of sight.

-              Paint the walls if necessary.

Make the Interior Cozy

Now the exterior has that welcoming feel  do some simple things to get the coziness of your interior. The aim is to make a buyer feel like home when entering your house. These are the steps:

-              Clean up the tile floors; scrub it if there are some bad spots.

-              Polish furniture and pack excess pictures and collections.

-              Shampoo carpets .

-              Get your furniture well placed and get rid of unnecessary pieces.

-              Clean out closets and organize

-              Clean the garage and attic

-              Get the windows opened and clean, it lets the light in.

-              If you have pets, bath them.

-              Put some fresh fragrance in air conditioner.

Repairing and Replacing

Some Repairing and replacement is necessary to do, if there are some broken furniture, equipment, or appliances remove or fix them.

-              broken or missing doors and handles

-              cabinet handles

-              ceilings with old stains or cracks.(paint and caulk)

-              ventilation filters must be clean

-              broken tiles in bathroom and kitchen

-              faucets shouldn’t leak

-              wallpaper (remove if dated, stained); then paint

-              some furniture (too much-remove; broken-remove)

Get your friends’ opinion or a home stager

Assume some friends like a buyer, and get some advice and suggestion to make your house get more ready to sell.

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Going Green

June 18th, 2010

Energy is on the front page of the news a lot this past year or so. We are either talking about paying an incredible price at the pump or the Gulf Disaster spoiling the Louisiana shoreline and the eco systems.

My lease was up on my SUV and I needed to car shop. That is a very painful experience. I checked other car dealerships. Over the last decade I have driven only a Lexus because of the unmatched customer service, quality of the vehicle and the features that have made the Lexus a Lexus. The folks at Scanlon Lexus are the very best. The sales team, management, credit manager and service have always been the most professional, friendly and easy to deal with I have ever seen.

This year it just made sense to go for the hybrid. It is time to do more for our environment and go green. The HS250 is a great car and I get 29 miles per gallon. Now that is exciting! It’s not only good for the environment; it is great for the pocket book. I had the windows tinted to save on AC and it does.

Now we have to get greener in our homes. We need to turn down the hot water temp in the tank and blanket wrap it, turn up the temp. in the house. It is summer time; wear less and run the ceiling fan when you are in the room. Turn it off if you are leaving. Trim and hour off the pool pump. Make sure any windows with eastern or western exposure need tinting and blinds. With these small things you can save a ton of kilowatts.  One more thing, those light bulbs that save energy. Just do it.

Now how hard is that? The greening of America. Let’s help.

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Word on The Street

May 28th, 2010

Prices are up and continuing to climb. SW Florida was the epicenter of the overbuilding investor debacle. We were the first to send prices out of sight. We were the first to fall and we are the first to start the recovery.
For starters let’s talk about 30 homes listed over one million dollars that have closed in the past 3 months in Lee county. They are evenly divided between Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita and Sanibel. We have had record number of sales this year because pricing is so wonderful. That means the economy is improving and we are on our way back.

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