Cape Coral Real Estate

Good News in Cape Coral

What is good happening in Cape Coral? Well, it seems that anytime you search for “good news” and “Cape Coral” you find negative news. That is because pretty much all news stations focus on the negative. Whether it be crime, accidents, budget cuts or weather they sell more news when it is negative.

Don’t more people want to focus on the positive? I know I do. I rarely read any news. Why? Because it is depressing. I’d rather create my own happy news.

Cape Coral is a beautiful place to call home. With awesome weather year round, friendly residents, boating, fun & so much more!

How about the real estate market in Cape Coral for instance? Have you heard it is gloom and doom? Well, sort of. The values have been decreasing since the bust in 2006. Let me see if I can place a positive spin on this though. This allowed more homeowners to actually be able to afford to live in Cape Coral. In 2005 the least expensive house in Cape Coral was still about $250,000. Figure out the payments on that and not many ‘average’ people could afford to comfortably live here. Take that to our now $90,000 average house and it is a totally different story! Investors can also purchase homes that will actually cash flow now. Before that was completely unheard of. Sure, we still have more work to do. For instance, there are still too many vacant houses in Cape Coral. But we are selling those along with the regular occupied homes as well. To the tune of an average of about 500 residential homes per month in Cape Coral alone! That is a lot of inventory moving.

What about for sellers? You can see that there are great opportunities for buyers but are the sellers losing out? Nope! If they are upside down in their home and need to sell we can help them with a short sale. And if they have equity in their house there are plenty of buyers out there right now too! If they don’t need to sell, then they shouldn’t be trying to sell. That is easy

In closing, we all need to try to focus on the Happy Positive of ANY situation. Quit focusing on the negative and watch your life change. I hope you enjoyed this little ray of sunshine today!
Learn more about our team of short sale professionals or feel free to call us directly at (239) 542-8521.

Ready to search for available homes now? Visit our Cape Coral real estate source!

We look forward to hearing from you! If you have any questions at all give us a call!

(239) 542-8521

Susan@SusanMilner.com

We look forward to working with you.

Cape Coral residents are you facing a financial hardship? Are you unable to keep up with your current mortgage payments? Are you looking for options to keep your Cape Coral house or to short sale your house to avoid foreclosure?

There are programs available to assist owners in these situations. Have you heard about HAMP and HAFA? These acronyms are being thrown around a lot these days.

So what do HAFA and HAMP really mean to you? If you are having problems making your Cape Coral or Fort Myers mortgage payments this article should help guide you some. ~ remember that I am NOT an attorney or tax accountant; rather I am a real estate agent who works with homeowners to short sale their home or property~

The first few things to keep in mind are:

HAFA stands for Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives

If your lender advises you that you do not qualify for HAMP then you may qualify for a HAFA short sale or any other variation of short sale that they do offer. We can assist you with a short sale if that is the direction you choose to go. We always recommend that sellers attempt to keep their property through debt counseling, attempt a loan modification, etc but when those options don’t work for you we are here to assist you with a short sale.

Under HAFA guidelines, lenders work with homeowners to liquidate their home by means other than Foreclosure. These options are available for homeowners who:

do not qualify for a trial mortgage modification under the Making Home Affordable Program;
do not successfully complete the trial period for their modification;
miss at least two consecutive payments during their modification period; or
request a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

Did you know that you may be able to receive $3,000 at closing after doing a short sale? The HAFA Program can help the strapped homeowner with relocation costs by offering this $3,000 cash at closing. Some lenders will start working with the homeowner and real estate agent right away to work out a plan for pricing, marketing and the sale of the home. This helps all parties move the property quickly to avoid foreclosure.

If we are unable to negotiate a short sale for some reason, most lenders will work out a deed-in-lieu with the homeowner. This is basically a *quick* foreclosure. With this option the homeowner may also receive the $3,000 cash for moving expenses.

You can read more about these options at:

http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/hafa.html

Should you be thinking about a short sale contact us with any questions you may have. We have been successfully selling short sales in and around Cape Coral for several years now.

Our agents and staff are here to answer any questions you may have pertaining to selling (or buying) a short sale. Using discretion, care and professionalism we are able to assist you during this time frame. Past customers of ours will tell you that they were never made to feel bad about their situation and were always treated with respect and confidence.

Learn more about our team of short sale professionals or feel free to call us directly at (239) 542-8521.

Ready to search for available homes now? Visit our Cape Coral real estate source!

We look forward to hearing from you! If you have any questions at all give us a call!

(239) 542-8521

Susan@SusanMilner.com

We look forward to working with you.

Cape Coral residents are you facing a financial hardship? Are you unable to keep up with your current mortgage payments? Are you looking for options to keep your Cape Coral house or to short sale your house to avoid foreclosure?

There are programs available to assist Cape Coral homeowners in these situations. Have you heard about HAMP and HAFA? These acronyms are being thrown around a lot these days.

So what do HAFA and HAMP really mean to you? If you are having problems making your Cape Coral or Fort Myers mortgage payments this article should help guide you some. ~ remember that I am NOT an attorney or tax accountant; rather I am a real estate agent who works with homeowners to short sale their home or property~

The first few things to keep in mind are:

HAMP stands for Home Affordable Modification Program

This program is designed for home owners who want to keep their homes and attempt to work out a loan modification with their mortgage servicer and investor (owner of mortgage note).

You can get started with the HAMP program by clicking the link below or you can always call the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline 1-888-995-HOPE (4673). Your mortgage servicer is going to need things like proof of income, tax returns and the actual affidavit requesting the modification.

http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/requestmod.shtml

How do I know if I am eligible for a modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)?

?To apply for a modification under HAMP, you must:

Be the owner-occupant of a one- to four-unit home. (This means that investment or second homes are NOT eligible under this program *)
Have an unpaid principal balance that is equal to or less than:
1 Unit: $729,750
2 Units: $934,200
3 Units: $1,129,250
4 Units: $1,403,400
Have a first lien mortgage that was originated on or before January 1, 2009.
Have a monthly mortgage payment (including taxes, insurance, and home owners association dues) greater than 31% of your monthly gross (pre-tax) income.
Have a mortgage payment that is not affordable due to a financial hardship that can be documented.

If you answered YES to all of these questions, you may be eligible for a modification under HAMP. Only your servicer will be able to tell you if you qualify.

Is your servicer participating in the HAMP program?

http://www.makinghomeaffordable.com/contact_servicer.html

Keep in mind that banks are always looking at ways to keep your loan and not have to foreclose. Just because your lender does not participate in HAMP or just because you have an investment property you are hoping to modify does not mean your lender won’t work something out with you. Contact your lender directly for information to see if they have options for you.

If your lender advises you that you do not qualify for HAMP then you may qualify for a HAFA short sale or any other variation of short sale that they do offer. We can assist you with a short sale if that is the direction you choose to go. We always recommend that sellers attempt to keep their property through debt counseling, attempt a loan modification, etc but when those options don’t work for you we are here to assist you with a short sale.

Should you be thinking about a short sale contact us with any questions you may have. We have been successfully selling short sales in and around Cape Coral for several years now.

Our agents and staff are here to answer any questions you may have pertaining to selling (or buying) a short sale. Using discretion, care and professionalism we are able to assist you during this time frame. Past customers of ours will tell you that they were never made to feel bad about their situation and were always treated with respect and confidence.

Learn more about our team of short sale professionals or feel free to call us directly at (239) 542-8521.

Ready to search for available homes now? Visit our Cape Coral real estate source!

We look forward to hearing from you! If you have any questions at all give us a call!

(239) 542-8521

Susan@SusanMilner.com

We look forward to working with you.

Property Management now offered in Cape Coral, Florida through Florida Future Realty, Inc. Florida Future Realty, Inc is once again offering property management services in and around Cape Coral. These services include everything a Cape Coral owner or investor needs to have their property managed, leased or just maintained.

Tenants in Cape Coral can also contact our office for assistance in finding the right rental property for their needs. Very competitive rates, reliable & quick professional service.

Cape Coral Property Management Services included:

Tenant Placement

Tenant Background, credit and employment checks

National Property Marketing – huge web presence

Leasing

Property Management – tenant issues – rent collection – repairs

Maintenance

Evictions

Accounting

Move outs

and more…

We specialize in waterfront homes in Cape Coral, Cape Coral pool homes and even handle vacation rentals. With the demand for Cape Coral rental properties at an all time high, now is the time to hire us to market your Cape Coral investment property for lease.

Should you be interested in adding your Cape Coral property into our rental or management inventory call us at the office at (239) 542-8521.

We look forward to working with you!

Yours in Success,

The Florida Future Realty Team

Florida Future Realty, Inc

Search Cape Coral real estate

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(239) 542-8521

copyright 2010  Florida Future Realty, Inc.

Strategic Defaults in Cape Coral Florida

In Cape Coral, Florida more and more home owners are looking at strategic defaults as an option in this current market place. Whether the owner ends up negotiating a short sale, loan modification or a deed in lieu or just lets the property go back as a foreclosure many are facing this challenge. Being upside down on a house in this depressed economy is definitely stressful to homeowners. Many have lost income, whether completely, or just reduced. Many more are forced to move to other cities or states for work. While some could continue to make their mortgage payments, even if challenging, they are opting to quit making the payments in order to get their lender to work with them on some sort of loan modification or short sale. There are programs available for those who are also current on their mortgages but often these are difficult to get approved.

~ Always check with your attorney, or an experienced attorney who deals with foreclosures and short sales first ~

While we, as real estate agents, cannot advise you on the decisions and legal ramifications of a strategic default we are able to help you with the sale of your home. We can place the home on the market for sale at market value, help you find a qualified buyer and work with your lender on the short sale. Many lenders are approving short sales for homeowners and investors. They have guidelines in place for those facing hardships.

Depending upon your situation they may require some cash at closing or they may ask for you to sign a promissory note. Lenders are NOT obligated to accept a short sale and can even seek a deficiency judgment against you after allowing you to sell the property in a short sale. You need to make sure you are working with a competent real estate professional along with seeking the advice of a qualified attorney prior to agreeing to any terms the lender may propose. We always seek to obtain a full release and satisfaction from the lender for our customers. If we are unable to achieve this then it is at the customer’s discretion, along with their attorney’s advice, as to how to proceed.

Should you be thinking about a short sale contact us with any questions you may have. We have been successfully selling short sales in and around Cape Coral for several years now.

Our agents and staff are here to answer any questions you may have pertaining to selling (or buying) a short sale. Using discretion, care and professionalism we are able to assist you during this time frame. Past customers of ours will tell you that they were never made to feel bad about their situation and were always treated with respect and confidence.

Learn more about our team of short sale professionals or feel free to call us directly at (239) 542-8521.

Ready to search for available homes now? Visit our Cape Coral real estate source!

We look forward to hearing from you! If you have any questions at all give us a call!

(239) 542-8521

Susan@SusanMilner.com

We look forward to working with you.