Cape Coral Real Estate

Recently, the City of Cape Coral has made some zoning and land use changes. What it means and how it affects us is a serious issue! If you list a property in one of the affected areas and the buyer is not informed, you will most likely get in trouble! 
Here it is in a nut shell……
A while back the City made some future land use changes. The zoning in those areas was changed. Properties that are now residential (single family or duplex) in the areas they changed to commercial, retail,  or mixed use allowing retail and offices are now “non Conforming.”  
Ordinance 39-10 allows already built structures that are now non conforming to be considered conforming for as long as the CURRENT OWNER is in place. If they sell, the property becomes non conforming.
They have put the burden of conveying that on the current owner to inform a buyer which we know most will not have a clue, or choose to ignore it so you will have to look up the location of the property on the Future Land Use Map and make sure it is not in one of those areas, and let the owner know if it is and they must disclose it in the listing information which will pretty much kill the chances of a sale. Also a lender will not approve a loan on a property that is in a area where the zoning has been changed and would no longer be conforming. The map can also be viewed on the City’s web site, but is so small you really can’t determine anything.

Here is the full ordinance from the Cape Coral city received by email.

On Monday, August 9, the City Council approved Ordinance 39-10.  Below is a brief summary from the City Attorney’s Office.

Ordinance 39-10 amends the Land Use and Development Regulations (LUDR) to allow single-family and duplex dwellings that would become non-conforming due to an amendment to the City’s Comprehensive Plan to be treated as a conforming structure. This would be for as long as the owner who owned the property when the amendment was adopted continues to own the property upon which the dwelling is located. However, when the amendment is the result of a request by the property owner, this will not apply.

This situation usually occurs when the City initiates either a small-scale or large-scale future land use map amendment.  The result is these dwellings, as well as accessory structures, may be repaired, altered, enlarged, or replaced, as if they are conforming structures.  Should the owner of the dwelling at the time of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment subsequently convey, or transfer, ownership to another, then this exception terminates and the dwelling shall be subject to the limitations within section 2.6.2.a, b, and c, of the LUDR’s.  Prior to any conveyance or transfer, the property owner shall notify, in writing, the person or entity to whom the property is being transferred of the change in status of the dwelling.  However, the failure to provide this notice will not affect the change in status of the property (to a non-conforming structure).

If you have any questions, please contact the City Attorney’s office at (239) 574-0408.

Comments (0) Aug 18 2010

We all know that FHA home loans, which are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), are great financing options for any homeowner who are looking to buy a house or refinance his or her current mortgage.
These loans have low interest rates and usually only require down payments of 3.5 percent! FHA loan requirements are simple, so current and potential homeowners are more likely to qualify for these loans than other types of loans.
The one I had recently was a 203k Rehabilitation Mortgage. And honestly, I’m not to encourage anyone to follow that route!

FHA 203k Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program

The FHA has a specific loan program to help homeowners who need to make improvements or repairs on their home, but do not have the funds to do so.
These loans are called FHA 203k loans and can be used for either a purchase or a refinance.
There are two types of loans in this program, one loan is for repairs that cost less than $30,000 and the other loan is for repairs that cost more than $30,000.
I had the first one since I had less than $11,000 of repairs needed and appliances replacement.

A streamline FHA 203k option is also available to homeowners who are interested in doing non-structural repairs or improvements.
This loan requires less documentation and can be less costly.
It allows a homeowner to finance up to an additional $35,000 into his or her mortgage in order to make improvements to the home.
An FHA home inspector or appraiser can identify home repairs that need to be made but that was not the case with mine.

How the Loan Can Be Used

Although there are some restrictions on what the loan can be used for, there are plenty of renovations and home repairs that the loan does cover.
In general, these include modernization, eliminating safety or health hazards, making a home more accessible for individuals with disabilities, or making a home more energy efficient.
More specifically, the loan can be used for roofing, plumbing, flooring, painting, minor remodeling and more.
However, something needs to be disclose is the time frame that the 203k process will need.
Even if I was pre-approved, 3 to 4 months were needed to close. We had 6 contract extension and I feel that if it wasn’t a forclosed home, the seller would have walked away from this deal.
But it doesn’t stop there. Once the works done, the process to release the remaining checks for contractors is so long that one of them recorded a lien on the property already.
And I can’t blame him, the job is done and he’s been paid 40% of his quote so far.
Plus, try to get in touch in a timely manner with a human regarding all those issues and you’ll understand why I will never go for a 203k anymore.
Of course, this lien issue will make the disbursement even slower!

Loan Requirements

There are certain requirements with this type of financing.
Homeowners must spend at least $5000 on their home repairs in order to be eligible.
Homeowners must get cost estimates from a licensed and insured contractor(s) before signing the sales contract.
The total cost of the mortgage, including the repairs, must remain within the FHA loan limits for the county in which the home is located.

This loan cannot be used to flip houses, and the homeowner must use the loan on the home in which he or she lives.
The work being done on the house must begin within 30 days of the loan closing.
All work must be completed within six months to comply with the loan requirements.

If a homeowner wants to do some repairs to his or her home and wants additional financing, this kind of financing could be the best option.
Many of the same eligibility standards used for standard FHA home loans apply to the FHA 203k loan.
Most lenders will require that the borrower have a credit score of at least 620 to be eligible.
To qualify for the mortgage, certain energy efficiency standards, as well as certain structural standards, must be met.

This loan could be great option for owners who need a better way to finance home repairs and improvements without depleting their savings if they are not afraid about the time frame needed to deal with it.

More about the 203k FHA Rehabilitation Mortgage Program can be found here

Comments (0) Aug 03 2010

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Comments (0) Jul 09 2010

We all know that in the past, buyers only had to make a phone call to get a mortgage. Those past years showed that almost anyone could get financing without any credit, or with zero down, or even with no job if a 10% or 15% down payement was on the closing table.

Today, it seems that it’s exactly the opposite.

I made a few stats about buyers and sellers so far and saw that 87% of my pre-approved buyers have been denied. That was huge enough for me to put my number on paper.

My last 3 buyers had a lot in common:

* They were all employed at their same position for more than 2 years.
* They all had their last 2 years of tax returns.
* Their FICO score were all in their low to mid 700.
* They were all tenants and had a down payment.
* They all made an offer on a property priced below $100K.

However, they have been denied by their respective lenders, all different, for different reasons.

What’s strange to see is that those buyers are paying their rent, month after month, religously, sometimes a higher amount than their mortage payment, but still are seen as a risk by those lenders.

The sub-prime put the mortgage field in a big mess that we know today. The lack of common sense may put it in an even worse situation…

Comments (0) Jun 07 2010

Well, since 2 or 3 weeks now, I have seen an increase of leads, emails and phone calls from buyers. It seems that they really begin to see an increase of pricing and realize that it’s now or never!

There is no day that I don’t have a couple of showing, and I mean showing properties for 2 different persons in that day. Of course, the main market is the foreclosures and/or properties priced under $120,000. There is a huge demand at the moment. And there are lots of beautiful houses in that price range, sometimes with pool.

However, I experience more difficulties to find what I was finding in the past months. The inventory is shrinking for that $120,000 and less houses. Those buyers will definitely get a nice equity in their purchase soon. I’m guessing 2 – 3 years from now. And those who were waiting will regret what we experiencing now.

TV news also showed a decrease in the foreclosure filing in Lee County, from the 900+ down to 800+

Bottom line, not only there are much more buyers out there but the low priced properties are decreasing in number. That’s the rule of  this time…So hurry before it’s too late

Comments (0) Jun 04 2010

March has show an increase of the number of homes sold by Realtors in the Greater Fort Myers area.
There were 11.2 percent more homes sold in March 2010 if compared with March 2009.
Realtors of Lee county have sold 1474 homes in March compared with 1326 in March 2009.
Single family pending homes rose by 22.3 percent month-to-month. However, the pending number is almost the same from March 2009 with  2063 for March 2010 and 2019 for March 2009.
As for the median price, it is at $90,000 for March 2010, 7.2% more than March 2009 and 5.9% from February 2010.
The record number of existing home sales in March is indicative of the continued demand for homes in Southwest Florida due to affordability and low interest rates. Buyers still tying to take advantage of the tax credit before the April 30 deadline need to act now as available inventories are rapidly being depleted and as a result, the median price rose $5,000 in the past 30 days.
There are currently 11,147 properties currently listed in the MLS, a number that is 4,138 (27.1%) less than  in March of last year.
Of these, 6,889 are single family homes, which is 28.7% lower than in March 2009, when 9,666 single family homes were in inventory.
The median price encompasses three types of properties: traditional, short sales and foreclosures. At the end of the first quarter of 2010, the median price for traditional properties rose $5,000 from $135,000 to $140,000; for foreclosure properties, the median price dropped $2,900 to $67,000; however, the median price for short sale properties dropped 10.5% to $85,000 from $94,950 in the prior quarter.
Of the existing home sales in March, traditional sales accounted for $38.8% of all sales, while foreclosures were 44.4% and short sale made up 16.8%.
This do not necessarely include sale made without a Realtor, like the “for sale by owner”.

Comments (0) Apr 24 2010

The rates of foreclosure in Lee County has increased for the month of February over the same month last year.
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers area foreclosure rate is 13.47% for the month of February, an increase of 0.99% compared to February 2009 when the rate was 12.48%.
However, the activity sourrounding the foreclosures in Cape Coral-Fort Myers is higher than the national foreclosure rate, which was 3.17% for February 2010, representing a 10.30% difference.
In Lee county, the mortgage delinquency rate has increased as well. 22.93% of mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent compared to 20.05% for the same period last year.
No need to say that Real Estate investors have still some good months ahead by investing today. If you are interested to receive my list of Foreclosures for Lee County, feel free to visit my website at www.1capecoral.com

Comments (0) Apr 23 2010

For March, contractors/builders have pulled permits to build 51 single-family houses, with a value at $9.8 millions, in Lee County.
If we compare, there were only 34 permits issued in February and 20 in March 2009, according to the Lee County Department of Community Development.
However, only 4 permits were issued for multy-family units in March, compared to the 18 in February and 16 in March 2009.
Regarding commercial buildings, only 4 permits were issued, valued at $796,800. But no permits for commercial buildings were issued in February.
You can always check the department website at www.lee-county.com/dcd

Comments (0) Apr 22 2010

I had an interesting day today. I had planned to go to the Yacht Club pier to see the kids fishing derby in Cape coral with my family. The event was supposed to end at 11:30am and it was about 10:45am when I parked the car in the parking lot. And guess what? Everybody was already leaving with their prizes and catches.

So we let them go and went to the end of the pier anyway. Still few fisherman left were fishing and we stop to watch for a while. When something happened. A seagull thought it was a good idea to catch the fresh shrimp that a fisherman used to fish with.

Fortunately, the seagull was not hurt by the hook itself but its wing tangled in the fishing line. It was fighting to get away but the fisherman was trying to get it back on the pier to freedom the bird.

It was a really good feeling to see the seagull freed and taking off by itself. My daughter was immobilizing the bird while somebody was cutting the line with a knife. I guess we all made the bird’s day

We then bought a lunch and heading the Rotary Park for a pic-nic, as we do quite often.

The preserve is a 97 acres of mostly salt marsh, some upland and a lot of rock just under the surface, this park is the result of funding from a grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection stipulating the area be preserved. In the mid-1980’s, the Rotary Club of Cape Coral was looking for a worthwhile project where they could utilize the funds they raised through various activities on something to benefit the community.

The site currently known as Rotary Park was then city property with no plans for development. So, after many years of hard work, Rotary Park opened in 2001 as the result of the combined effort of three local Rotary Clubs, the Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Cape Coral.

The preserved area can not be developed (that’s why it’s called a preserve) excluding the 9 acres of upland that the building, the dog park and the open areas currently occupy. The 4,200 square foot environmental center is used for gardening and nature related classes, exercise classes, summer camp, and is home to the Burrowing Owl Festival and large native plant sales. It is also available to rent for small to medium sized gatherings, as long as you don’t mind partying with a few creatures! A variety of small critters reside in the nature center including snakes, frogs, lizards, turtles and even alligators if we can trust the sign below

Comments (0) Apr 18 2010

Today, I came across an article written by an Oregon broker (Todd Clark) regarding another Real Estate broker who wanted to purchase a house. I was not what we can call shocked because I had 2 buyers in the past with very similar problems.

But I thought I’ll share this one. It’s just plain unbelievable. I quote:

I was talking to a friend of mine who was trying to buy a home, but he said despite making five times what his wife does per year, he was turned down for a loan while his wife was granted a home loan with no problem. This is what has left me scratching my head and let me explain why.

Why was he turned down, despite having a 35% down payment and 742 credit score? According to the underwriter it is because he is commission based and there is no way to guarantee he would have a check every month.

So, what was my friend’s mortgage broker’s solution? Let’s try to get the loan in your wife’s name only. Well, the loan went right through and the underwriter issued the loan in the wife’s name for the full amount without question. All she wanted was her pay stubs from the past year and a copy of her taxes. (You know the ones that the husband is also on, since they file jointly?)

So, the house closes and I wasn’t going to question a thing if the underwriter wasn’t. So, why do I think this is such a sad day for logic on this loan? They wouldn’t give the husband the loan because he didn’t have a steady paycheck, he was commissioned based real estate broker. But, his wife got a regular check… FROM HIM! Yep, he is the one that wrote her the check, she was an employee of his. So, who cares if he couldn’t pay for the home, because clearly she would still be getting a check every month if he was bankrupt.”

I think this one deserve to be seen. It’s obviously not like before anymore. The good old time are gone…

A good solution though would be him, on the other hand, making monthly check for himself. He might see a good alternative right there for future purchase.

Comments (0) Apr 07 2010