When your looking to buy waterfront property maybe a bank owned or a foreclosure property that is gulf access ? There are a few things you need to review at each homes location. (1) The condition of the seawall is important to check many home buyers and agents do not check the condition of the seawall. The rain water should be flowing over top of the sea wall into the canal. Check to insure the water is not running behind the wall and underneath to the waterway. This will cause the seawall to weaken and crack. You should walk the entire edge of the sea wall where the yard meets the seawall. If there is already water running behind the wall you will notice the soil will be starting to wash away. Secondly you should look at the outside wall surface to insure there are no major crack... 11/12/2008

11/11/2008

To all our military:  Thank you! I flew our flag yesterday. The Cape Coral parade had about 4000 people so the paper said.   We are so blessed to be in this country.  We have seen some horrible things hit our shores.  I've never understood why one person would want to hurt another.  But, reality is that the world is a big place made up of very diverse beliefs. It is amazing that no matter how much good we do in the world that the world does not particularly like the US.  When our shores were hit on 9/11 it brought it home again in a big way that at any time we could be surprised with an attack.  My husband was a Marine in Vietnam and I lost some friends and classmates in that war. But, despite my fear and grief I was so grateful to the men and woman that put their lives on the line for ... 11/11/2008

Do not jump into panic buying of a Foreclosure in Cape Coral or anywhere. •1.       Foreclosures are not always the best deals. •2.       Search for all meeting your criteria. Including bank approved short sales. •3.       Foreclosed home in our area of dealing with Cape Coral Real Estate are plentiful. •4.       Foreclosures are bank owned and sold "AS IS". •5.       You must use an" as is" contract, Far Bar. "filled out and signed in Blue ink" •6.       They are selling for full price and above. •7.       You have the right to an inspection of the home •8.       This inspection addendum is drafted by their attorneys, sometime using an ambiguous term "major defects" instead of "structural defects". •9.       You usually need to prequalify with their lender and use their title company. ... 11/11/2008

        Yesterday, I was out showing Bank owned pool homes under $100,000 in Cape Coral Florida.We looked at 12 homes yesterday. Today I have scheduled 9 more homes with the buyers, they have already picked out 2 homes that they really like. I took some pictures of our tour so I could share with all of my readers. All these homes are bank owned foreclosure's , not a short sale and we get a reply from the bank on our offers within normally 3 business days.  Bank Short sales can take up to 90 days for a reply from the bank. There are some Bank foreclosure's that I would say are distressed property and will need repairs before moving into while others are in just need or carpet and paint and decorating to taste. I have 2 pool homes under contract now for two different Clients ! One for $11... 11/10/2008

Yesterday afternoon, I had the honor of placing 300 flags throughout the streets of my neighborhood.  The project is one I have done for the past 6 years, placing American flags next to the mailboxes of 300 of my neighbors.  What made it so special yesterday were a couple of things:  I was assisted by two high-school seniors, Esma and Adrian, neither of whom were born in the United States. Esma is from Bosnia and Adrian is from Hungary.  Both are American citizens today and spent yesterday honoring those that have given military service to their adopted country.  Secondly, it was the wonderful reaction we enjoyed from a number of the Veterans in the neighborhood.  They came outdoors and thanked us for our gesture, one of them even offering money to pay for the flag.  They were Veterans... 11/10/2008

It sure is an exciting time in SW Florida!  Here in Cape Coral, we have been featured on many national news programs within the past month.  Coverage is in regard to the fantastic opportunities that exist for buyers of single family homes, condominiums and vacant land.    Let me share a few preliminary statistics for the month of September:   55% of the current properties for sale are "short sales." (If you are unclear about what a short sale is, call me and I will explain the details)   11% of the current properties for sale are bank-owned properties. Banks do not wish to own residential real estate and negotiating with banks can be very easy, relatively fast and lucrative. Cape Coral presently has over 1160 single family homes for sale with list prices under $100,000!   The price per ... 11/08/2008

The newest statistics are almost mind boggling.  We have gone from 35.7 months worth of inventory in September 2007 to 10.94 months in September 2008.  Inventory is at the same level but sales have increased so much that inventory time has been slashed. A couple of years ago you were hard pressed to find a home under $200,000 in the Cape but this year that inventory has increased over 160%. Year over year sales have increased 94% Sames goes for waterfront.  A couple of years ago a small percentage of homes could be bought on the waterfront for under $400K.  Now more than 3/4 of the homes sold in that price are Gulf Access We have surpassed the total number of sales we had during the boom by 20% this year.  The only difference is that the total value of those sales is half what it was du... 11/07/2008

I blogged about this before…. see my post a little below.  The Cape Coral Yacht Club is really a jewel of Lee County.  So often we leave the local area to experience something that we have in our own back yard.  For example, we took a trip to the Keys this summer.  Upon arrival I looked around and decided much of what the Florida Keys has to offer can be found in Lee County.   Come and experience all that Cape Coral and Lee County have to offer. 11/05/2008

As we are in the midst of our busy season there's always something occurring in Cape Coral.  This weekend, November  7-9, the Coconut Festival will be held at Sun Splash.  During the weekend there will be: Fireworks on both Friday and Saturday Night Entertainment by Grammy Award Winning Survivor. Carnival rides for all ages   With the excellent weather we have been having this should be fun for residents and visitors. 11/05/2008

The Cape Coral Yacht Club is one of the jewels of Lee County that has a lot to offer everyone.  The Yacht Club is located off of Driftwood Parkway.  The Yacht Clubs offers: Tennis and Racquet Courts Community Pool Pavilion Rentals An Expanded Boat Ramp 89 Boat Slips which can dock vessels up to 55 feet in length Ballroom Rental A Fishing Pier Shuffleboard Courts Public Beach Playground for youngster ages 2-12 with handicap accessibility Waterside restaurant   11/04/2008

The Lee County Division of Natural Resources provides an excellent web site containing all you would ever need to know about boating in Lee County. One of the more popular questions when selecting a home in Cape Coral is ‘How far to pick your favorite boating destination?’ While it’s not an exact science the Interactive Map is very useful, especially showing the slow boating channels. When someone quotes you a boating time I find that they are often times being overly optimistic. Like many things in life… do your homework. 11/03/2008

These are truly "why rent when you can own for the same or a lower payment" days.    Surely still as the foreclosures shake out, those borrowers bearing a foreclosure on their record will not be able to own again for quite sometime.   They'll be looking for a house for rent. The low prices of the marketplace contribute to lower tax and insurance costs, making homes in Cape Coral even more affordable than ever, and with more types of new homes to choose from. This opens the door for two groups of people. People who want to become homeowners, and those who want to become landlords.    Lots of folks in other parts of the country where the average house is $300,000 are coming here to start new lives.   Here you can buy a house for what a 1bed room apartment rents for where I'm from in NJ. P... 11/03/2008

Press Release Release Date: November 3, 2008 For immediate release The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced the execution of a Written Agreement by and among Riverside Gulf Coast Banking Company, Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast, both of Cape Coral, Florida, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation. A copy of the Agreement is attached. Attachment (666 KB PDF) 2008 Enforcement Actions Under the agreement, Riverside Bank is required to take specific steps to implement certain policies and procedures. It requires the bank to retain an independent consultant, acceptable to the Federal Reserve and the Division of Financial Institutions, to conduct a review of staffing needs and the qualifications and performance of all senior managers.... 11/03/2008

I visited the home below for a client of mine that wanted more information. As I’ve blogged about before the listing agent did a disservice to the seller, our profession, and all of the potential buyers out there. The agent only supplied 2 photos of the home and no pictures of the communities amenities. Below are the pictures I took for my buyer. A previous blog posting about Sandoval, Cape Coral,FL has the community pictures. This 3 bedroom, 3 full bathroom home is located in Sandoval, Cape Coral. This community was developed by the Bonita Bay Group, with construction being done by Pulte Homes, Ryland Homes, and Taylor Morrison. Unsure how to buy a Cape Coral foreclosure or Cape Coral Short Sale? Download our special FREE Guide, "How To Successfully Buy Foreclosures and Short Sales" an... 11/02/2008

While Cape Coral,FL is one of the states largest city it only has but a few gated communities. One of the most recent and arguable the nicest is Sandoval. This community had some the of the first residents move in during 2005. For many people this is a community that they really enjoy. The location is close to everything but once inside the community you will definitely appreciate all that Sandoval has to offer. Unsure how to buy a Cape Coral foreclosure or Cape Coral Short Sale? Download our special FREE Guide, "How To Successfully Buy Foreclosures and Short Sales" and "The Ten Biggest Mistakes Buyers Make". 11/01/2008

Cape Coral, FL Absorption Rate....  First, what is an absorption rate?  It is the amount of real estate that will be sold in a certain amount of time.Let's say that not another house went on the market.  How long would it take to sell the existing inventory? In the past month there were 480 single family homes that sold in Cape Coral....with a little over 4200 homes currently on the market; this means that there is a 8.8 months absorption rate (it would take 8.8 months to sell everything on the market).  Not bad compared to where we were at a year ago. Here are some figures from 9/15/08 - 10/15/08  Home Prices # Sold 9/15-10/15/08 Currently on the Market Absorption Rate (In Months) 0-100K 171 1045 6.1 100K-150K 150 1170 7.8 150K-200K 74 554 7.5 200K-250K 37 326 8.8 250K-350K 33 431 13.1... 11/01/2008

Yes, we all know the market in Cape Coral has tanked and this SW Florida city is the number 2 foreclosure capital of the country. Sales have been strong since June with September being exceptional. Most of these sales were foreclosures or short sales. The banks have finally gotten serious about getting these homes sold. The listed price is now the price the bank is certain to sell the home within 30 days. This is great news for today’s buyer.  Short sales are also selling. 153 of the 451 homes sold in September were short sales. That is a dramatic turnaround in the lenders’ attitude. Is there room to negotiate? On homes $125K and under, I would say no. There is little wiggle room here. Most are selling close to 100% of asking price, often over asking price. The competitive price invite... 11/01/2008

More and more of my clients are interested in building/buying green homes.  As Vice President of Sales for Villa Homes of SW Florida this is something we are well aware of.  For many years we have been building our homes following the Lee County Electric Good Cents Energy program.   Included in this program are the following improvements to the home: Heating / Cooling Equipment A Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER) is the method used to measure the efficiency of an air conditioning system. LCEC’s GCH program requires a 14 SEER or higher air conditioning system, which can save you $100’s per year. The higher the SEER, the lower the operating cost, which equals more savings! Air Conditioning is Florida households largest annual cost.  Efficiency Programmable Thermostat Saves money by... 10/30/2008

Baby it's cold outside! We woke to temperatures in the 40's this morning! Brrrrrr! Nothing to worry about though, it is already up to 70 and headed to 80 again by Friday! It was actually refreshing this morning and it is always fun driving around Cape Coral and looking at people dressed like it is 20 below wearing hats, mittens and even ski jackets!! Although the temps are cooling off, the real estate deals certainly are not! I showed 5 houses yesterday all priced below $100,000! So if you are in the market to buy in Cape Coral or Ft. Myers or you know anybody who is please go to my website www.sellstateadvantage.com and sign up for your very own Listingbook account and we will keep you informed on what is happening! For immediate assistance please call 239-549-9200 and we will have som... 10/29/2008