Cape Coral Real Estate

Did your listing agreement for your Cape Coral or Ft. Myers property expire last week? Do you still need help to sell your property?

I ask because today I received several phone calls & emails from Fort Myers & Cape Coral homeowners asking for help. For whatever reasons their house, condo or investment property didn’t sell. I checked in our MLS and in the last week 1,198 residential homes in our local MLS (multiple listing service) EXPIRED!

I spoke to one gentleman today who is going to need a short sale on his Ft. Myers house. After we ended our phone conversation I looked up his property. It just expired on Dec 31, 2008. It had been listed with another agent & real estate brokerage office.

This is a lovely home in a gated community. The agent only had 2 photos of the Ft. Myers property. They used the photos from our property appraiser’s website. This consists of one front photo (with a truck in the driveway & garage door opened) and an aerial photo showing the roof. Are you kidding me? And the agent probably said they don’t know why it didn’t sell. Well I do! To top that off there were about 2 lines of description in the MLS. Basically, “Look, here is a Ft. Myers house for sale, you wanna buy it?”.  I’m guessing that this property can NOT be found on any real estate search websites either. It is truly sad. The seller should have known about this. The listing agent should have known better.

Why didn’t they try everything to sell your property? Did they think they’d get the buyer themselves & didn’t want to ‘share’ their commission? Did they just not know any better? OR Were they just lazy?

The good news for this seller is that he found us. We specialize in getting properties sold. I don’t take listings just to increase my inventory. I take listings to SELL them.  We help traditional sellers compete with the bank owned and short sale listings. Your house must STAND OUT.

We also handle bank owned and short sale listings in Cape Coral and Ft. Myers. Sometimes short sales take a little longer to sell but we still market them just as well as any other listing! We use multiple photos, a great description, video, etc! How could you not? And how could you not expect your agent to at least take multiple photos? Some real estate websites even allow up to 20-30 photos per listing. Think of the possibilities. Most MLSs allow for at least 10 photos. We make use of those available spots.

BUYERS WANT TO SEE PHOTOS – AND LOTS OF THEM. Buyers often even ask me to exclude any listings that do not have multiple photos. There are just too many ‘unknowns’ for them to deal with. Over 90% of buyers begin their search for a new home online. This means that YOUR LISTING must look appealing to them. The internet may not ‘sell’ your house but it will get it on their ‘list’ of prospective properties to view. 

Finally, if you have not checked to see how your listing appears in the local MLS or on national & international websites PLEASE go check. If your agent is not doing their best to show your house in the best light then let them know. Give them the opportunity to FIX it or hire a new real estate agent.

And most importantly, if you have property that you need to sell in Cape Coral or Ft. Myers, Florida please give me a call. I’ll give you the ‘real deal’ on value & market your property to its full potential.

Your time is valuable and selling your house is important to you. It shouldn’t be something you have to stress about after you hire a real estate professional! That’s OUR responsibility!

What do they say about employers? They should HIRE SLOW & FIRE FAST….so should YOU. Do your research! Ask Questions!

I’ll see you on the SOLD side J

Happy New Year!

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner

Broker/Owner

Florida Future Realty, Inc.

Call my cell: 239-218-2229

Or office: 239-542-8521

Email: Susan@CapeCoralSusan.com

Search Cape Coral Real Estate

                       

This beautiful, new home in SE Cape Coral is ready for new owners. Located very near the Caloosahatchee River (only 1 bridge to navigate under).

This very large home features a formal dining room, large living room, breakfast room and separate den or study.

Spacious master bedroom has 2 walk in closets & dual vanities, jacuzzi tub and walk around shower. 2 other bedrooms on other side of the home connect and both have full bathrooms as well.

The kitchen comes equipped with all appliances, center island, solid surface counters and wood cabinets!

Outside you’ll find the lanai with swimming pool with great views down the gulf access canal.

3 car garage, hurricane panels, irrigation system and manibloc plumbing truly complete this home.

Call us, or your agent, today to schedule a private showing!

This home is priced right at only $375,000.

Search for more Cape Coral homes!

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner
Florida Future Realty, Inc.
www.Florida-Future-Realty.com
(239) 542-8521

Cape Coral, FL   Real Estate news

How our current real estate market relates to Black Friday.

We all know Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving that so many rush out in the wee hours in the hope of finding that AWESOME deal on some electronic or other great Holiday gift.

We’ll compare the glossy store circulars to the real estate websites.

A couple will be lucky & will be able to buy one of the 3 50″ flat screen t.v.s for $50.

We’ll call that an under valued short sale that got lucky. You know the $50,000 home that exists in Cape Coral. You look at the photos online and can’t believe your eyes. But you get down here to see that the house needs a lot of work (of course there were no pictures of that), the neighbors houses all look the same and it is very far away from every convenience.

Quit a few others will be able to buy that same t.v. for $500.

We’ll call that a bank owned property that didn’t get proper marketing. Maybe a listing agent called another agent or buyer right out the door on it. Maybe the listing agent didn’t provide enough photos to entice buyers so only one offer came in.

And several others will miss the boat and have to pay $750 the following day.

We’ll call that the typical great buyer deal. Bank owned; short sale or private seller. The buyer got a great deal. Their agent did everything to help them find the best deal. The buyers are still very happy with their purchase and realize that the real estate market is MOVING in Cape Coral.  The house that they bought for $175,000 sold for nearly $400,000 in the peak.

Everyone knows that we are in a buyer’s market. But that’s a little misleading. How so? Well because; properties that are priced correctly are moving quickly and often times with multiple offers. So if you are up north looking at a house for $50,000 and you think you can buy it for less than that chances are you can’t. If anything you’ll probably have to pay more. I know it seems strange but that is what is happening. It happens time and time again when I work with buyers to find them deals.

A little trick to try: Look at homes listed slightly higher than other comparable properties. Offer just under what the others are asking and you may just get it. Or at least a decent deal. Why? Well because the homes just over market value are not getting any attention. Many sellers want to stay high to ‘give themselves wiggle room’.

To conclude, a very small percentage of buyers made a quick decision and were lucky enough to purchase a 3/2 pool home for $100,000. Many were lucky enough to purchase one for $125,000 but most paid upwards of $175,000 and more.

So with Black Friday coming up in conjunction with our busy season; I hope this guide assists you with your investment in Cape Coral real estate.

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner

Florida Future Realty, Inc.

(239) 542-8521

Specializing in great waterfront properties in Cape Coral & Surrounding areas. Visit us online at www.Florida-Future-Realty.us or search for homes online anytime at www.Florida-Future-Realty.com.  

Copyright 2008 Susan Milner Florida Future Realty, Inc.

Cape Coral Real Estate – How Short Sales should work – our opinion

Short Sales and How I Think They Should Be Handled

First of all I do not believe that any real estate agent should list a home as a short sale without having done some research first.

Research

You should have a preliminary title search done to determine if there is a second mortgage or any other liens on the property. Determine who the owner(s) are.

Document Collection

Next, you should collect all of the necessary paperwork that the lender will require for their short sale package. (Some banks require less/more documentation but this is a very ’standard’ list)

Obviously the following that you’d normally complete:

• CMA – YES, you need to know the market value of the property!
• Listing Agreement
• Short Sale Addendum (if your board doesn’t have one yet you should get an attorney to create one for you)
• Seller’s Real Property Disclosure (Yes, even AS IS deals)
• HOA documents/ HOA/Condo disclosures as necessary
• Lead Based Paint Disclosure as necessary (pre 1978)

• Last 2 year’s tax returns
• Last 2 month’s bank statements
• Last 2 pay check stubs
• Letter of Authorization
• Financial Statement
• Hardship Letter

(if customer is missing a tax return or pay check stub have them write an explanation as to WHY (i.e. No paycheck stubs because they are 1099 contractor)

*for your info: Copy of mortgage statements

• If there are 2 lenders you will need these documents for each.

Listing Activities at property

• Take multiple photos of the property – the good and the bad. Obviously use the prettiest photos for your marketing material but disclose any known defects. The bad photos are good to show the seller’s lender.

• Put an electronic lockbox on the front door or hidden if seller/tenant prefers. Agents that have to pick up a key or schedule to meet an owner/tenant/agent are WAY less likely to show that home. Especially in this current buyer’s market. There are too many other choices available. Check out my previous blog about tenant occupied short sales.

• Install your sign.

Back at office

• Call bank(s). Ask them where to send the authorization to release and what their short sale process is. They’ll either tell you over the phone or send you some additional package of information. Also make sure to verify where/to whom you will send the package once you do have an offer (ALWAYS goes to some different #/Dept)

• Enter property into MLS. Use multiple photos. Use a full description. Make the showing instructions easy to find and follow.

• Enter property onto the best internet sites. We typically start with point2agent and Realtor then add as necessary. Our listings are enhanced on Realtor so we can add more photos and a better description. Point2Agent is a great website to use to get your listings onto several other real estate websites.

• Add the property on your blog. Make it interesting. Use lots of photos. Talk about the emotional benefits.

Yay, Showings and Offers!

You get showings, and now an offer comes in. GREAT! How do I think offers on short sales should be handled? Like any other sale.

            Present all in a timely manner. Encourage your seller to make a decision asap. If they like the offer, have them sign the contract. We require all contracts to be on the Far/Bar As-Is contract along with the Short Sale Addendum. We also require a bank letter of funds available or a pre-approval letter and a copy of the buyer’s escrow check.

            What’s next? First of all, stop taking other offers! After the buyer and seller have agreed the property is now for all intents and purposes PENDING. Yes, there is a third party approval required but that DOES NOT mean that you do not have a CONTRACT. You do. I’m sorry to go off a little here but this one of my pet peeves. We have buyers write up all of the time to hear weird things like the following:

            1) Our seller isn’t going to sign – it’s up to the bank

            2) The seller has already accepted 4 other offers, they’re waiting on the bank to respond

            3) They accepted another offer last week

            ETC.

My response to each:

1) Then we don’t have a deal. I will continue to look for homes for my buyer. This obviously makes no sense. The contract is between the buyer and the seller – the bank is a third party approver only. Most banks won’t even look at a file unless all documents are correct and signed/dated and still within timeframes.

            2) Why would you obligate your seller to sell his/her property 4 times? Again, I’m going to find my customer something else. This is a waste of time. I get what the agent is trying to do. For lack of better terms, ‘have their cake and eat it too’. If one buyer gets tired of waiting, they’ll have possibly 3 more in line. I get that but it is not done correctly. You can have one offer you are working on and 3 back up offers but not 4 contracts on the same house. That’s utterly ridiculous.

            3) Really, then WHY is it not marked pending or active contingent short sale (that’s our MLS’s new rules for short sales that have been agreed on (under contract) but are waiting on bank approval)?

Listing agents: If you want to play the multiple offer game that is fine. I realize you want your seller to go with the most likely offer to get accepted and be able to close. That’s a no-brainer. But you have to disclosure what you are doing. Like many bank owned listings, they’ll say “We will be accepting offers for 5 days before we’ll get an answer from the bank. At that point the bank will most likely ask for everyone’s ‘highest and best offer’.” My response: GREAT, here’s my buyers offer. It expires in 6 days. At least they know what they are doing. That makes sense!

Submit That Offer

            Ok, now back to the seller’s bank. You should have already spoken to the bank(s) to know exactly what to send and to where. Create a nice coversheet detailing the borrowers (that’s your seller) Property Address, Name and Loan #. Include page #s like a table of contents. Include the contact for the BPO/Appraisal. Include a preliminary Hud1 (get from your title company), updated financial if out-dated, comparables and property history of the property. Send this and call the following day to verify. (Some banks say it takes up to 72 hours to receive so you may have to call back again) DO NOT STOP CALLING UNTIL YOU HAVE VERIFIED THAT THEY HAVE RECEIVED THE PACKAGE AND THAT THEY HAVE EVERYTHING THEY NEED. Most of the time if you are NICE they will look through the package while you are on the phone and let you know. Also find out who the negotiator is and when the bpo/appraisal will be ordered. Get the negotiators Full Name, #, Extension and Email address if at all possible.

Follow up

            From today on, call at LEAST once a week. Some banks may have an answer within a week; others may not for 2-3 months. All banks work differently. Always ask them what their timeline is. Do not leave multiple messages in the same day. You will irritate the negotiator. They are very busy people. Most have 100-300 files on their desk. Make sure you acknowledge that and make their job easier by having everything ready for them. If they prefer email, shoot them over a quick email for an update. They appreciate the non-intrusiveness of email.

            Also each week, call your seller to let them know what the bank said. Call the buyer’s agent to tell them what is going on. Tell them to call their buyers to advise. Call the title company to keep them in the loop. Communication is key. If you keep everyone in the loop your chances of a successful closing go WAY up!

Approval

            Now you have an approval. Make sure the closing date will work for everyone. Send the approval over to the buyer’s agent and the title company. The buyer may need to get financing so make sure they have enough time for that. They’ll also want to have an inspection completed. Make sure to have the electricity and water turned on for that. If your seller cannot afford to have it turned on then turn it on for them! You took the listing knowing the financial situation of the seller. Don’t stop helping them out now.

            You know the rest of this, now it is just like any other transaction.

Close on the property

The sellers have now SOLD their house. The buyers have now BOUGHT the house they wanted at a good price. Everyone wins.

Conclusion

Good luck out there.

Buyers, don’t be intimidated by short sales. Just make sure you have an agent working for you that understands the process. They’ll be able to inform you right away if something doesn’t add up or seem right.

Sellers, please do not make the mistake of listing your home as a short sale with just any agent. Make sure they fully understand the short sale process. This is a very important transaction in your life and not everyone is cut out to handle this for you.

We look forward to working with the other professional real estate agencies on short sales and the many buyers and sellers as well.

 © Susan Milner 2008

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner

Florida Future Realty, Inc.

www.Florida-Future-Realty.com

www.The-Extreme-Team.com

888-764-6665 toll free

239-542-8521 local

Susan@SusanMilner.com

Cape Coral Foreclosures – Great Opportunities for Buyers!

Cape Coral, FL   Cape Coral buyers, Paul & Sharon came to visit me last week. They are looking for a nice home in Cape Coral, Florida. What they wanted was a slight stretch but we were able to find a few homes to go check out. Their hopes: SW Cape Coral / inground pool / city water & sewer / good condition / price under $100,000.

I love a good challenge so we scoured the MLS (multiple listing service) and eliminated many on looks alone. We were left with 2 decent possibilities. As we go to head out the front door of Florida Future Realty, Inc., in walks Stephanie from ABC 7 News. She has interviewed me previously for another story. She is doing a story about the foreclosures in Cape Coral and the city’s plan to help clean up the situation. She is looking for some sort of list of addresses of foreclosures. Since we were on the way out I didn’t have the time to print out a list for her but I invited her to follow along. She agrees, Paul & Sharon agree and off we go. I can send you that list each week if you’d like: Cape Coral Foreclosure \ Cape Coral Short Sale List

The first house we look at is only $94,500. It is in OK shape but it needs more cosmetic work than my customers are looking to do. The next one we look at is GREAT though. After the news team leaves we spend quite some time really looking at the house. They are very interested in this. And it is only $104,500.  I tell them it is a good price and that they may already have an offer. They want to think about this and after they leave I call and talk with the listing agent. He advises that there is another offer but encourages us to submit a back up. That evening I meet with Paul and he signs an offer. I present it later that night. No word. The next day we hear that the other (original) offer is looking pretty good. My customers will still keep their offer on the table as a ‘back up’.

A bit discouraged now, my customers, Paul & Sharon ask that I keep searching. I find a few others but nothing as nice as this last one.

They headed back home with nothing under contract But I’m still keeping my eyes peeled for a house that will fit their wishes. I’m sure we’ll find something else good. It might just take a tad longer.

Fun news: We were all on the news that evening that we looked at those 2 homes.

(This photo was taken in the uglier home for $94,500)

Nothing big but here it is:

ABC7 Appearance

Lessons learned:

1) There are some amazing real estate investment opportunities in Cape Coral, Florida

2) Being on the news is fun – even though my customers weren’t 100% up to it (you were both GREAT sports)

3) Properties that are priced right are moving quickly!

If you’d like to search for homes in Cape Coral, Florida please let us know. Myself and my team of licensed real estate agents look forward to working with you to find the best deal for you. Everyone is looking for something different. There are houses priced from $50,000 to 2,000,000 in Cape Coral so there is one suited for you & your needs.

See homes in Cape Coral by price range or search thousands of cape coral real estate listings! Anytime 24 hours a day from the comfort of your own home. When you are ready to see them in person let me know!

I look forward to working with you!

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner

Florida Future Realty, Inc.

239-542-8521

susan@susanmilner.com