Cape Coral Real Estate

The basic of a Real Estate transaction is obviously a seller willing to sell to a buyer willing to buy. Once you have those terms agreed upon, you are half way to closing.

But if the seller have to settle for a low ball offer from a buyer, everyone involved in the deal may lose time and money. This is where a clever agent can use valuable skills to negotiate the deal and make it happen all the way to the closing.

One thing I use to do is really showing the temperature of the market to  my buyers. I think it is important that they acknowledge how the today’s Real Estate market in Cape Coral is reacting to. I compare sold pricing instead of listed pricing, and this can be valuable to sellers as well in order to ask the right price instead of waiting an offer forever. Once my buyer understand the market, of course, it is ultimately their decision on what to put in their offer. But at least they know the potential result.

Also, I like to compare what’s comparable. I recently visited a seller. It was a “by owner” and his price was close enough to what the neighborhood was asking for. However, the features of his home were very different and a realistic price should be much lower. That’s why it’s still for sale with no showing today, after months on the market. So, I show only similar features home for comparing and make a wise decision about the offering price.

Low ball offers usually waste buyers’ time. And that time is valuable. If a buyer is offering low ball offers on 20 properties and getting denied each time, offering a decent price at the first one would most likely had given equity by now to that buyer. Not only he had money in the property, but he is an owner instead of nothing, hoping for “the best deal” to happen. Make low ball offers if you don’t need to buy, not if you are looking for a roof to live under.

Now, if you see a property bought around 2005-2007, when the Real Estate was at peak, chances are the seller is selling at lost. He knows that and it is already difficult for him. Showing a low ball offer right there is to shoot yourself in the foot. This is something I have the need to emphasize for the health of a transaction. Sellers are people with families they have to take care of, not just a number. Ultimately, again, my buyers have the last decision about their offer.

Low ball offer

But let me tell you something that happened in the last few months when a buyer from Pennsylvania emailed me asking for a “good deal” foreclosure. I had several of them and even if I explained that the market is bouncing back, often with multiple offers, this buyer wanted to get a bargain in a location where everything was dirt cheap.

I found a nice pool home located in the SE of Cape Coral with access to the gulf of Mexico. It was a foreclosure well priced at $179,900. He told me he would pay that price when he saw the other similar sold properties I sent to him. But he wanted to “grab a deal” and he made an offer at $150,000, hoping a counter offer in the mid $160K from the bank. The scenario I told him just happened. They was a counter offer, but to another buyer who offered $175,000 and who ultimately close on that property. At this time, there is no more gulf access pool home in SE cape under $200K. No need to say the buyer made an easy $25K equity in one month. My buyer? He closed on a lovely property with a nice pool for $195,250. He does not have access to the gulf of Mexico. He’s on a fresh water canal. He knows he missed it.

So, if you are thinking of low ball offers, just know what to expect. And don’t make me wrong, I make low ball offers myself time to time, but I don’t have to buy. If I close it, great. If not, oh well, next…Not a big deal

Comments (0) Apr 25 2012

In the field, we all agree, it’s a seller’s market now. Several major cities in the country show a solid level of activity that increase Real Estate prices slowly but steadily. And Cape Coral is no exception. I see we are headed to a much more normal market now, and the fact that we just got below the 200 foreclosures mark for Lee County is a good sign.

As I often say to my clients over the phone or email, we had a peak of 1,085 foreclosure at any given day in December 2010. Today, we had 196 foreclosures. And that number is decreasing on a daily basis. So we are inexorably entering a much more normal market.

Congratulations to all buyers who bought a property ion Cape Coral or around last year or even in 2010. They officially bought at bottom. And I predict that if they hold for another 3 to 5 years, they will build some great equity in their properties.

And for those who were on the fence, waiting for the best deal to appear to them, that boat has sailed away. We are in a seller’s market and purchase prices at asking prices or higher are not uncommon. I even see multiple offers on a majority of the deal I come across.

Knowing that Lee County in general and Cape Coral in particular have the lowest single family priced in the country, I have a lots of demand for properties under $100,000. But those buyers have a hard time to get in now, hardly finding anything just decent.

Comments (0) Apr 21 2012

The number of foreclosure has hit the its lowest level. Today, when I checked those bank owned properties for Cape Coral, there were only 214 units. For your information, there were 1085 in December 2010. And that’s most likely why we see more interest in the non distressed market, often with multiple offers.

All is all, there are 1774 properties for sale in Cape Coral and we have experienced 451 sales in the last 30 days. That’s mean we have about 3 months inventory out there, making it a seller’s market now. And if you add the fact that multiple offers occur more often now, buyers have a harder time to have their dream home under contract. That is exactly what my french speaking buyers from France experienced. They use to make a search online for ” maisons a vendre a Cape Coral “, find me there, give me a call to begin the search and get very frustrated after looking around for a few weeks, seeing nothing good is available anymore.

Cape Coral luxury foreclosure

The thing is, today, if you plan to buy a property here, be prepared. Get your financing handy, bank letter, pre-approval. And once you see a property you like, make that offers good enough to have the seller put his signature on your contract. Unfortunately, if you don’t act quickly, chances are the property will be pending before you realize it. Prices are still the lowest in the nation here, especially if you compare the amenities that Cape Coral is offering with cities in the middle of Tennessee for example. Not only the weather is more attractive, let’s face it, but also the proximity of the water, with the gulf of Mexico and the beaches.

So, in my opinion, 2012 shows the switch from a buyer’s market where sellers were waiting for a single offer to show how low was the price offered to a seller’s market where the buyers are competing so ferociously to have a chance to buy that property at often a price above the asking price.

If you are entering the market for selling or buying a property in the Cape, give me a call or send me an email. There is still time to find your dream house at an excellent price, but don’t delay.

Comments (0) Mar 25 2012

Do you think you can write an offer on a Cape Coral foreclosure for sale without the help of an agent? The answer is a big YES!

If you think about it, my guess is you want to save the typical 6% commission that we make. If it’s the case, you are completely mistaken. First, our commissions are not set to be 6%. It’s negotiable. And in the foreclosure and REO world, it’s the bank that decides how much they really want to pay. Most agents doing foreclosure make about 1 to 2% of the closed price as the seller representative. So the buyer’s agent is really doing something like 2 to 4%. In that case, if you represent yourself for that foreclosure home purchase, you’re really saving about those 2 to 4% commission.

Now, prepare yourself to get an accepted offer on that Cape Coral foreclosure house for sale. You will need a few things checked with the listing agent, and I have been in contact with most of them, they use to be very difficult if they are not in front of another agent because they think they’ll have to do all the work believing that you won’t be able to do your part:

• What kind of paperwork do they want?  Typical is proof of funds, pre-approval letter from your bank, etc…
• How many offers are on the property? Maybe it is a multiple offers situation already.
• Is there a mandatory minimum MLS marketing time?
• How do they want to receive your offer?  Fax, website or email.

So, once you have all that done, you’ll be able to put a good offer but you will need to know something important: the price. Don’t google that. You will not be able to rely on sites like Zillow or Trulia for pricing. They are not accurate. Hire an appraiser instead, especially if you do not have access to your local MLS. The point here is that you don’t want to pay too much or too little. Too much and you may overpay for the property and too little,you may lose the home to higher bidder.

You can also read this buying a foreclosure in Cape Coral post for more tips.

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Comments (0) Sep 26 2011

I read an article published by cnnmoney about the 10 best places to retire. Cape Coral was voted #2!. So that’s good news after all the effort put into making Cape Coral a better place to live.

The single most effective move in making your retirement stash go further is, well, a move. “There’s nothing more powerful than relocating from a high-cost-of-living area to a low-cost one,” says Baltimore financial planner Tim Maurer.

If “low cost of living” conjures up visions of some bleak backwater, think again. MONEY combed its Best Places to Live database to find affordable cities and towns that offer lots to do, both inside and out. Places that are safe, with violent-crime rates below the national average. Where there’s good medical care close at hand. And where at least 30% of the population is over the age of 50, so you’ll have no shortage of golf or bridge partners.

The ten places you’ll read about in the story that follows offer all that — plus they’re exceptionally kind to your wallet. Their cost-of-living indexes range from 87 to 97, meaning that as little as 87 cents buys residents what a dollar would buy the average American. Homes are affordable, with median prices below the $173,100 national median (some well below). And tax rates are reasonable, with either no state income tax or significant exemptions for retirees. Could Cape Coral be your new home?

You can read the full story by following this link

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Comments (2) Sep 22 2011

Low-ball offers from Cape Coral homebuyers seems to be the norm these days. But as economic and stock market woes continue, some buyers are using it as an opportunity to submit even lower offers.

“Buyers are going to use every point of leverage they can to get a lower price,” Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin Corp., told The Wall Street Journal.

For example, homebuyer Anne Gordons says she reduced bids on two homes he submitted in Cape Coral, Fl., because of the stock markets plunge. She and her husband had originally offered $460,000 for a home listed at $525,000, and this week submitted a new offer of $425,000.

“Unless we get a steal, we’re not going to buy any house,” Gordons says.

Analysts say that the Federal Reserve’s vow to keep short-term interest rates near zero until 2013 has reduced the urgency of buyers. It gives buyers “comfort that they are not missing out on low interest rates if they wait,” says John Burns, a home-building consultant in Irvine, Calif. “That has tilted even more power toward homebuyers.”

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Comments (0) Aug 23 2011

I read a great news about a new concept of homes to be build in the Cape. It’s actually a home with $0 energy bill, and that’s attractive. Go green and keep it!

Many American have jumped on the “Go Green” idea inside the past couple of years. One Cape Coral builder says that although green is great, zero is far better.

Ravenwood Homes lately launched their series of Net Zero and High Performance Homes. The houses are aiming to either cut property energy costs by over 50% or cut them out fully.

Energy efficiency has been built into higher end houses for awhile, but Ravenwood Houses say they desire to offer those exact same power efficiencies towards the average buyer of 1,500 square foot houses too as the million dollar houses.

Ravenwood Homes partner Reed Schweizer says the company has been working on the idea for the past two years. Schweizer says like numerous neighborhood builders they had been working predominately remodeling jobs throughout the slow economy, but felt in order to remain competitive they needed to appear at the future of actual estate. Then 1 day Schweizer says he received a call from Dave Jenkins, “It was during that conversation with Dave we had what you’d call an “a-ha moment”. We had been talking about power efficiency and also the ‘green’ movement that has swept the globe over the past couple of years and thought why not take it to the subsequent level and appear at creating houses with minimal to no energy costs,” said Schweizer.

With energy expenses rising and seeing that chances of declining rates within the future were slim to none, Ravenwood began thinking about the concept of offering houses comparable to other builders with no energy costs, “We must change the way individuals feel when purchasing a house. Property buyers ought to not just take into consideration the expense with the residence construction, but the ongoing expenses soon after they move in,” says Schwiezer.

With that in mind the organization began working with their subcontractors to create houses that were power efficient in methods not noticed in this location just before. Adding solar panels, high efficient air conditioning units, high quality insulation as well as the actual design and structure itself the company feels it now has the ideal power effective houses.

The builder has developed the Net Zero Houses, which come with solar panels equipped and the High Performance Homes which don’t incorporate solar panels, but can be added at a later date for an additional expense.

The other aim of Ravenwood was to make the energy efficient houses and make them cost-effective towards the typical residence buyer. Energy efficiency has been built into higher finish houses for awhile, but Ravenwood Houses say they need to provide those identical energy efficiencies to the typical buyer of 1,500 square foot houses as well as the million dollar homes, “If it’s carried out the right way you wind up having a gorgeous property and no energy bill,” says Ravenwood partner Dave Wishtischin.

Spending two years developing the idea, the business has created six different models ranging from 1,750 square feet under air to two,680 square feet under air. Costs range from $212,400 to $334,529 for their High Performance Residence lines.

The firm says building the same size residence with an average builder will price exactly the same initial expense, but with a High Performance Residence, the typical energy bill will probably be $70 per month, saving the home buyer close to a $150 per month. The Net Zero house will have a $0 electric bill and save the buyer on the same property just over $200 per month. Savings that Schweizer says will give the organization the edge over a lot of other builders in this market place.

Thursday morning, two years of function and preparation came to reality, as the organization held the groundbreaking of its 1st Net Zero Home in south Cape Coral on Gleason Parkway, “We need to have a neighborhood impact and be a leader, it is time to begin building houses once more in Southwest Florida,” stated Schweizer during the groundbreaking ceremony.

Wishtischin says the power efficient homes will appeal not merely to nearby property buyers, but the European market place also, “Europeans have been utilizing power efficient construction practices for the last 20 years. They’ve come to anticipate it and we really feel this can be a specific draw to that marketplace.

When asked why prospective residence buyers really should seriously give Ravenwood’s new line of houses a critical look, Wishtischin provides up his advice, “You don’t wish to be the person who just signed a contract to build a residence utilizing obsolete construction methods.”

The company hopes to have the new home total by the finish of the year and says it really is already has interest from buyers in creating other people.

If you are interested to purchase a $0 energy bill green house in Cape Coral, feel free to contact me through my Go Green Properties in Cape Coral website.

*photo courtesy of Paige Wilson

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Comments (0) Jul 30 2011

An additional hot spot will soon occupy the South Cape Entertainment district when the Dixie Roadhouse opens its doors in late August.

Because the closing of the Hired Hand Saloon far more than 13 years ago, numerous have anxiously awaited for the county scene to come back to Cape Coral.

Opening its doors on August 26, the Dixie Roadhouse will probably be a 10,000 square foot country and western nightclub located inside the heart of the city’s entertainment district. Coincidentally occupying exactly the same address as the Hired Hand Saloon as soon as did, the club can hold as much as 900 folks and promises to be new and distinctive option at the same time as a reason to get up off the couch and hit Cape Coral’s budding nightlife scene, “This will likely be one thing different than other clubs and restaurants. This is an actual nightclub,” says Dixie Roadhouse co-owner Lynn Pippinger.

The nightclub will probably be open its doors Wednesday via Saturday beginning at 5pm.

Looking to attract all ages, the club will offer line dance lessons nightly beginning at 7pm. At 10pm, music to pack the dance floors will start and play via the rest of the night, “The earlier entertainment and line dancing lessons will attract the older crowd. Once 10pm hits, the music shifts mixing country with classic rock, dance, retro and Best 40. That is when the younger crowd will come in and hit the dance floor,” says club co-owner David Townsend.

Whilst this may be the first club Townsend has opened in Cape Coral, he can be a veteran with the night club scene, having owned approximately a dozen clubs nationwide. He and Lynn also currently own Saddle Up in Chicago.

Townsend and Pippenger said they researched close to 200 properties across the nation when they decided to open up yet another club. Following narrowing their choices down to 25 properties, the duo hit the road and began visiting various places and buildings. When they drove into Southwest Florida, they knew they were on to one thing, “We came here and saw a marketplace with over 700,000 individuals, 3 country stations and no country nightclub,” mentioned Townsend.

The developing that Townsend and Pippinger had their eye on was the developing situated on SE 47th Terrace and SE 11th Place. The building was once the property of the Hired Hand Saloon and later the Bamboo Club, “We have really been seeking at the creating for the last year plus a half. It was built for a country and western nightclub. It had the bars in the precise locations we would have put them. Every thing was pretty significantly here. It’s far less costly to remodel than to construct. It was a ideal fit,” says Townsend.

Even though the creating may have as soon as been a country night club, do not anticipate the familiar appear that when was. The club is currently undergoing major renovations that consist of expanding the two,500 square foot dance floor, adding an additional bar, producing 3 bars total, two enormous fans over the dance floor and a new lighting system, at the same time as much much more.

Together with the new look, Townsend says they are also making innovative ways to make certain everybody will have an excellent time at a moderate cost. Drink costs, he says will probably be on par with other clubs and there is going to be methods to make the most of the $5 cover charge to obtain inside the doors. The club will supply poker chips with a $1 value to several of its customers. For example, if you come towards the club among 5pm and 8pm, if you pay the $5 cover charge, you are going to obtain five $1 poker chips to utilize toward drinks in the club during your go to. An additional way is if you want to reserve a table for the night, you pay the $100 fee for reservation and you are going to obtain 100 $1 poker chips to utilize toward drinks.

The club will also begin highlighting drink specials and hope to attract national music acts for particular events.

Townsend also says he considers the August opening phase one. He hopes to launch phase two within the next couple of months that can, l if all goes in accordance with program, a brand new deck on the back with the club, a patio on the front and utilize the roof best location with the constructing for patrons. He also hopes to hold a “Battle of the Bands” for local bands using the grand prize getting the chance to attend and play live in the Country Music Awards held later this year.

The club opening has also positively impacted the job marketplace, as it plans to hire roughly 60 local residents to function at the club with positions ranging from security, to bar staff, to advertising and marketing and much more.

Excitement for the club opening has raced across the city with the club’s Facebook page already garnering over 1,500 fans, “People are so excited we’re coming. We can’t wait to jump in and open the doors. It’s going to be exciting,” says Pippenger.

The club will open its doors August 26 and then have their grand opening September 25. To discover far more information concerning employment in the club you can pay a visit to their Facebook page where they also have VIP passes available for download.

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Comments (0) Jul 29 2011

I use to prospect by knocking on doors or distributing fliers. That gives me some phone calls and leads.
One of them was from a young couple with 2 kids. She called me to pass by and discuss what I can do in order to list and sell her home.

I stopped by and was in front of a nice and cozy wood frame house with a big basement that includes a 2 car garage.
At the dining room table, she explained that her husband and her were behind payment, that they needed to sell yesterday.
But the market was slow. I immediately understood that it will be a tricky listing. That couple was in trouble and needed to get the home sold as soon as possible. They knew that with the market, it will be difficult.
I took the listing. We signed the paper works and I said I’ll get in touch on a weekly basis.
They had their small electric company. Her husband was electrician and she took care of the paper work and customer care plus appointments and so on.
But the business was not good enough. And those financial distress made it even harder on their life as a couple.

After a couple of weeks, I had few showing, because we were agreed to list it at a below market value to make it faster.
But still, no offer on the table. So we were back on the dining room table again. I was bringing an idea for her.

It was what I sometimes offer to sellers as an investor: taking over the payments… and the house!
I explained how it works, what for her and what’s for me, how we can get this done smoothly and easily, how I could go around the bank, etc…

So, basically, the house worth $160K with an existing balance mortgage of about $140K.
I, of course, disclose everything I had too, the fact that I was an agent, that I could sell it with a profit later on, that she would walk away from the closing table with no money and no house. She agreed.
I paid the due payments and did a quit claim. I just had a house for the few thousands late payments.
She was relieved. She called me several times telling how glad she was, that now, she sleep much better even if she was going through her divorce, the situation had killed her marriage.
She was starting over. From her father’s garage converted in a room for her and her 2 young children, she was studying to become a nurse. It was a 2 years thing. 2 years that I enjoy the house for myself.
She didn’t call me after those 2 years, I did. She was working as a nurse, a high demand position. She was re-building her life, her credit and I was making her payment, keeping her credit score as intact as possible. She was very courageous.

I had an offer for her: to get her home back. For free. She got me the back payments I paid for her and we did a quit claim again.
She was back in her home with her 2 children. She had the little improvements I did in the house. Few walls in the basement, hardwood flooring and fresh painting.

It’s been a great feeling to be able to help someone in one of the most difficult time of her life. And very rewarding.
Of course I had a call from the bank, but we agree that a check from an unknown person is better than no check at all.
I passed by time to time, but without disturbing. A little kitten has been included to the family and the small cherry tree I planted in the yard has become stronger, battling hard weather. Life goes on. I think I was making her a favor but when I decided to quit claim it back to her, she really made my day thinking all she went through and all she became.

To be a Realtor is a true privilege. We got most of the times more than decent check for most of the times less hard work than some people. We need to realize that and never take it for granted. Look around and ask yourself: “how can I help someone today, for free?”
You may get the highest pay check ever: satisfaction of a job well done.

Comments (0) Feb 06 2011

Today I break two records since I have my Real Estate license, about 10 years ago now.

The first one is I made, so far, more offers than days in the month. We are Nov 18 and I made 19 offers so far.

The second one, and most important for me, the last offer passed the limit of the 10% higher than asking price. Last year, offers were about 2% to 5% below asking price for those foreclosures in Cape Coral. Last spring, they were about on the asking price. Since last summer, buyers had to go higher than asking price for any Cape Coral foreclosure. November and I had an offer at $301,000 for an asking price of $272,900

Now, what’s amazing is my client has been outbid! Someone offered an even higher price for a foreclosure. That’s a very good sign. We were in a buyer’s market and we are entering a very strong seller’s market.

Of course, everything is not lost. My clients are cash buyers and very motivated to buy. So tomorrow will be another offer for them. I’ll have to suggest to pass the 10% above asking bar though, but they know that already

I often have newer buyers calling me about foreclosures in Cape Coral. When I explain that an offer at asking price or below is just not enough, some of them are a bit sceptical. Some believe I’m bluffing to get more commission, other will try another agent, just to hear what they want to hear. The remaining buyers will try several times below asking until frustration appears. Then, they will remember what I said and will try full asking price offers. Most of the time, if not every time, they will be outbid. Usually, the number of offers at asking price is lower than the previous offers at below asking price. They seems to understand faster. That’s when they hit the third level, and honestly, they can be frustrated as well.

The prices of the foreclosures in Cape Coral, Florida, are increasing, little by little. The demand is there and starving for “good deals”. The best time to buy a foreclosure in Cape Coral was last year and winter-spring 2010. The market is rebounding and for those who didn’t catch the train will regret soon or later.

UPDATE:

Today is March 29, 2011 and I wanted to give some updates.
Last November, when I wrote this article, there were more than 1,000 foreclosures in Lee County. Today, there are only 389! That’s mean we are going forward the end of the foreclosure crisis. And, banks realize that they can get more money now for their properties. The good prices we saw in 2010 are not there in 2011. I hope you bought your foreclosures last year.

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Comments (1) Nov 19 2010