Cape Coral Real Estate

I read an article online the other day and it was said that Councilman Chris Chulakes-Leetz spoke of working with a group of citizens to present a proposal to construct a convention center in Cape Coral. Last week the group unveiled its plan to a group of citizens and business leaders at City Hall.

The brainchild of Cape Coral resident, Martin Brady, the group announced the idea of the Cape Coral housing a 16,000 to 18,000 convention center and entertainment complex in the city, “Anything you can do outdoors and anything that can be done outdoors can be done at the complex we are imagining,” said Chulakes-Leetz.

The group says the area of land in North Cape Coral known as Academic Village would be the perfect spot for such a venue. Academic Village is located on 170 acres of city owned property at the corner of Del Prado Boulevard and Kismet Parkway. The area was in the spotlight in 2010 as the proposed location for the failed Swim Center.

Brady, a retired firefighter from Philadelphia, moved to Cape Coral in 2005 and began working for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. During this time he realized the city was missing something in his opinion, “As I drove around I realized this city has a lot of parks. Everything here was planned around children and young adults. There was nothing for adults.”

It wasn’t until Brady and a few friends attended a boat show at the Harborside Convention Center in Fort Myers that he realized what Cape Coral truly needed, “We went to the boat show and had to park a mile and a half away from the venue and had to be shuttled in, making numerous stops on the way. Another thing I noticed was they basically closed all the streets in downtown Fort Myers for the show and upsetting many local business owners doing so. I thought North Cape Coral has a vast amount of land and would be a perfect location to host these types of events and conventions.”

During this same time, the city began discussions with a private company regarding the idea of building a Swim Center in North Cape Coral. Brady said he decided to wait and see what happened with the swim center before moving ahead with presenting his idea of a convention center. Once the swim center was defeated, Brady began putting together his plan for the convention center.

Brady says he has spent the last 1.5 years working on the plan and feels the convention center would be a major economic boom to the city, “Do you know how many industries and companies have events and conventions throughout the year? The American Medical Association, the Boy Scouts, big trucking companies, any type of industry that is out there, anybody that sells anything, where do they go? They go to conventions.”

Brady also stated that when people attend conventions, it is not just the conventions they attend, but many of the surrounding businesses as well. Brady says because of this it would cause the need for such businesses as hotels, restaurants and other service oriented businesses.

Something Cape Coral resident Mike Kumbier, who has worked the last 27 years in the RV industry as a manufacturer’s representative completely agrees with, “A convention center like this would add a lot to the Cape. It would bring industry back into the Cape and put people to work. Really, that is what we need to see happen.”

According to a recent study conducted by the Convention Industry Council, the meetings industry was responsible for $263 billion in spending in 2009. The study also related 1.7 million jobs in the United States to the meetings industry.

Brady along with Chulakes-Leetz says the center will not only house conventions and other events, but it could also serve as an emergency evacuation center during times of disaster. Brady says school gyms are not made for housing people after a storm and the convention center could store ready to eat meals, have a 3,000 gallon water tanker available, air conditioning, first aid, cots, and everything else needed for creating a well equipped evacuation center. Brady also says by creating the evacuation center grants from state and federal government agencies could help offset the cost of construction on the convention center.

The city currently owns the land the proposed convention center would be built. Chulakes-Leetz says in order to finance the construction of the center it would have to be financed by bonds and hopefully federal and state funding, “This would be the citizens investing in their own city.”

Chulakes-Leetz said the city would retain ownership of both the center and the land and would outsource the running of the center to private companies. The revenue generated from events, souvenir and food sales would go back to paying the bonds off and once those are paid money generated from the center would become a revenue stream for the city.

In order to make the convention center a reality, Chulakes-Leetz says it would have to be something the citizens of Cape Coral actually want. Chulakes-Leetz said he would like to see a referendum on the initiative before 2013. The councilman says he has been in touch with the Lee County Elections office and said it would be possible to do a mail referendum to get a vote on the initiative.

Those in attendance seemed cautiously optimistic about the reality of Cape Coral getting its own convention center, “I think it is a great start. I would love to see something like a convention center come to the city of Cape Coral. Who wouldn’t? There is a long road to go, though,” said Cape Coral Construction Industry Association Executive Director Heather Mazurkiewicz.

Brady says the next steps will be to put together the framework and further define the overall vision of the project, “This is the shot in the arm this city needs. This will make Cape Coral a destination for thousands each year.”

The group says it plans to meet again at the end of October and the meeting will be open to the general public.

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Comments (0) Aug 30 2011

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

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Comments (0) Apr 18 2010

Once you have sent your offer of 55% of the lowest average comparable and deducting for any repairs to the bank, the bank is going to hire a third party company to have a look at the property that is being discounted or what it is called a short sale transaction.

The following steps are what you have to consider to have a successful outcome from that third party that is doing the BPO/Appraisal.

Make yourself the contact person for the process.
When the third party company that is calling you to schedule an appointment, you want to make sure that the person on the phone knows the fact that this property is been foreclosed and do they know that it has a contract to be sold. Most of the people just want to come out and take pictures and run to the next one. They are in it to get as many done in a day as possible because they are getting paid minimal money to do this task, most of them being Real Estate agent that are not producing enough for a living. Build a rapport with them right out of the door and ask them a few questions while you have them on the phone. For examples:

Do you know that the bank is looking for a quick sale value on this home?

How long have you been doing BPO/Appraisals?
As you are listening, you are on a mission to gain information. You will be able to use this information to give you more details on how to proceed with this particular person before meeting them at the property.

How many of these inspections are you doing a day?
How many have you done in the last month/last week? And so on…

What is the name of your company/Phone #/Fax #/cell phone#?
So you can contact them ahead of time to confirm your meeting when set.
I also call some of them time to time for tips about new foreclosures.

If it is a Realtor, ask if they do a lot of REO’s.
This is a bank foreclosed home that Realtor’s like to list after they have been foreclosed on. You want to be sure on this because it will help you know how to proceed in handling the person in the field.

If it is an appraisal you are going to
You want to know this as well because an appraisal will be a little longer than a BPO. They are going to measure the property just like they did when it was purchased. They will do the size of bedrooms, how many rooms, all interior pictures, front and back pictures of the house and more…

Compiling all the right paperwork to take to the meeting at the house consist of the following:

A folder that has all information about the property
Write in big “Foreclosure” and “Working with banks and sellers to liquidate properties” on the front of the folder.

A copy of the purchase and sale agreement
You sent it to the loss mitigation department. It should be completed and executed in a time frame of 30 days or less.

A hardship letter
The hardship letter we were talking about here from the seller explaining why they are losing their home.

A repair estimate of the house
All documents supporting the value that is being offered. Made you homework here. You’ll get better at it with experience though.

Low comparable from the property
Get you comps from Real Estate agents, MLS and so on. Get the lowest 3 similar LISTED and 3 SOLD properties. The keyword is lowest here!

Articles from newspaper or online articles
Try to get newspaper articles explaining the down turn of the market or any problem of the area where the property is located. Check online local newspaper as well.

Copy of the building sketch of the property
If it is an appraisal, supply the appraiser with a copy of the building sketch of the property. This will put a smile on the appraiser face because it helps them get their job done sooner. This move will instantly put yourself as knowledgeable and therefore, your numbers as much more accurate, even if you may be a bit low

The day when you are meeting them at the property
Make sure you call and confirm they are going to be on time. Be professional.

Arrive early so you have a chance to get a feel of the house
Drive by the neighborhood and look for any signs in yards. Take them down if any and remove any flyer/advertising you may have at the house. You do not want them to know what you are marketing it for. Look around the house for any new damages or negatives to point out.

When the agent gets there
DO NOT HAND them the package you have. Lay it down somewhere visible in the house (kitchen counter or on bar). Start building a rapport with them. Have a conversation about anything, something in common (have a quick look at his/her car bumper sticker. You most probably see something he/she like to talk about: pets, football team, etc…). Ask how they are doing and get a little personal.

Do not start bashing the house
As if you want a low value, it is important though that you don’t bash the property. Let them in and walk the house showing them around from behind them. That will let you read their body language. Do not get up in their face. Be nice and have a sense of humor about the meeting and that you two are in this together.

The Big Question!!
When the agent/appraiser asks who you are in this process, whenever this comes up, either on the phone in the beginning or on the way there when you are confirming the appointment, DO NOT LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE AN INVESTOR. You are just the person meeting them there to show them the house. Minimize yourself. If they ask you if you are the listing agent or the Realtor® and you are not, let them know that our company works with the seller and the bank to liquidate the property. If you are a Realtor® then answer yes I am a Realtor® but working to help the seller.

What should I wear to this meeting?
Try not to over dress or look like you are better, smarter or know more than they do. Play at their level or below. Allow them to be in control or at least think they are in control (better results). Ask them if there is anything else that they need. Include a couple of newbie’s questions about their field. Leave an impression that you know he/she is the professional here.

Getting the package in their hand.
Talk a little about the market and show them things that need repair along the way. However, be helpful not forceful. When you pass by the package pick it up and let them know you have a copy anyway. Inform them that it contains info like comps, the current purchase agreement, etc… You don’t have to tell them everything in it because they can see it for themselves. You want them to ask you for it. Let it be their idea of getting it instead of it seeming like you are forcing it in their face, you must take this type of approach.

What do you think of the value?
After the meeting, hint around about the value. “What do you think the value will come in at?” “Ballpark figure”. Come across with the seller needs to sell attitude rather than they want to sell. If the agent/appraiser will tell, that is okay.

Can I follow up with you?
Have either yourself or someone else follow up with them 24 hours after the value was done. Thank them for coming out, be polite and ask them if they have completed the value and sent it in to the bank.

Calling 24 hours later.
Start out asking them how it is going. Then ask them if they have completed any more inspections since the one they did with you. By this time you should have an idea of how well they are going to respond. Just ask what they thought the value came in at and did the value come in around the contract price.

After that, call the bank and ask if they have received the value and can they accept the offer that you have submitted. If not, ask them to call you back with the approval as soon as they get it.

Comments (1) Dec 27 2009