Life In Bonita Springs

Southwest Florida March Real Estate Sales 

Watch and learn: As predicted our unit real estate sales are neck and neck with “the boom years”.  We’ve passed 2005 closed unit real estate sales and we’re creeping up on 2006 unit sales.

What caused real estate revelation, you ask?  Perhaps the consumers realized our real estate were under valued.  Perhaps consumer confidence about the economy has grown.  This year when our winter tourist returned they decided to become season residence by staking their claim and buying southwest Florida real estate.

By the way, April and May real estate closed sales are probably going to dust these numbers.  We’re written a lot of sales contracts this spring.  In spite of the ridiculous calculations of the Census Bureau and the fact that noted publications barfed up the bad numbers in mass to dupe the real estate buying public. Read also:  Real Estate Statistics – Relevance and Freshness Matter

Other Southwest Florida real estate market reports can be fount here:

• SW Florida Real Estate: Condition of The Sale March 2011

• SW Florida Real Estate | What Price Range Sold March 2011?

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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change.  Check the date on this report for freshness.  If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.

Tempting Fate with Poor Real Estate Advice

The World Wide Web has opened the doors of information for real estate consumers. The possibilities are almost limitless. Online home searches are a breeze, public and tax information is a click away and even community information, walk-ability statistics and crime rates are at the other end of a mouse.

Where the self serve portion of home buying or even home selling should end is when there is an issue. The “issue” is whatever is not going according to plan and is interfering with the close of sale of the property.

Since there is so much available online it’s the first go-to place for the consumer experiencing issues. Unfortunately, most of the time the web is not the best possible place for consumers when matters with the law are concerned.

That purchase and sale contract a buyer or seller has signed is, of course, a legal document. Most of the contracts used locally are boiler plate fill in the blank contracts which covers most circumstances which could arise in a home sale or purchase. The difference that occurs from contract to contract is how well it is or is not filled out and which extra clauses or addendums were added as supplements to the contract.

My quiet little world of real estate has been visited a few times this week by folks looking for help with their real state problems. As usual, what most consumers think is a real estate problem is actually a legal problem. Whether it’s an email or a phone call the answer has been the same; I can’t help you, you really need to contact an attorney.

It sounds simple enough but for some reason there are consumers that risk their transaction, their escrow or their liability by skirting proper legal advice.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been contacted by consumers who found my blog through Google search and asked me “how to get out of their contract” because they have cold feet, how to get a short sale deficiency judgment removed from of their credit because it was put there in error and how to get their escrow returned since the home they in contract to purchase was foreclosed upon during the process and the home owner can’t be located.

Mr. Chilly Feet was down right miffed that I wouldn’t tell him what to do to get out of his contract, even though I was not involved in the transaction, didn’t know the details of the contract and the whole sordid mess was occurring in Washington state.

Why, I was almost downright crushed when he hung up on me for not practicing law in the great state of Washington.

I’m not sure why he wasn’t consulting the agent who was the blank-filler-inner of the sale and purchase contract. Maybe his agent was smart enough to not dispense legal advice so he just started Googling. The mistake he made was not Googling for a name of really good attorney who specialize in real estate … in his state.

So, when do you know when you definitely need an attorney? When whatever predicament you’re facing is going to risk your finances, your credit or could possibly strap you with a judgment or tax liability.

Contacting anyone other than an attorney when a problem arises would be no different than asking your dentist or gardener for legal advice.

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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area.  Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor.  If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.

You can subscribe to a weekly email newsletter by visiting www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com and entering your email in the subscription area on the center pane of the web page or by adding us to your reader by subscribing to this blog. Oh, and if you’re reading this content anywhere else but www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com or Naples Daily News it is probably stolen.

Local Real Estate Statistics Trump Census #Duh

At dark o’clock this morning I sat down at the computer with a cup of coffee and the first email I read began, “If my brother is trying to scare me, it worked. What do you have to say to counter this article?”

The referencing article was a CNN Money article with some reconstituted stats from an old article written a few months ago which touted the gloom and doom of Florida real estate. Didn’t hear the freshness vacuum seal pop? Well, neither did I. The stats in that article stunk the first time I read it months ago. When it was re-heated as left-overs it was even less palatable.

The article included fabulous blood red graphs which indicated the vacancy rates for Lee and Collier Counties. The data was collected by the totally-accurate-for-ten-year-increments census bureau.

There probably isn’t a real estate agent in southwest Florida who didn’t show property with census notes on the door of vacant condos or homes. I know I did. I also know that the market has changed dramatically since then, too. We’ve sold off a staggering amount of real estate since the census data collection.

What’s was not included in the re-reporting of those numbers was any sort of update with viable recent sales figures. What is included in the numbers is, well, everything else lumped into a pile.

When the term “Lee County” is used, Sanibel Island is lumped in with Lehigh Acres and Bonita Springs is lumped in with Cape Coral. When they got to Collier County there were even guestimates that Naples would not “come all the way back” until the late 2030’s.

The question begs to be asked, “Come back to what?”

Simply back to a balanced real estate market or back to the prices the real estate was in 2000, 2003 or 2006? Was that speculative date for the beachfront condos, Golden Gate Estates or all of Collier County?

According to someone in a cubicle two thousand miles away, if any of us do live beyond December 21, 2012 Naples real estate won’t recover until 2038.

There is one thing certain and that is that if I was going to be buying a condo in Las Vegas, Cleveland or Southwest Florida my first call for inventory, absorption or vacancy rates data wouldn’t be the United States Census Bureau or an analyst based in Pennsylvania.

Market statistics are only reliable if they’re collected from a relevant, current source, not from recycled, stale information or the census bureau’s year old data. I’m still trying to figure out why anyone would speculate the prognosis of Southwest Florida or Naples, without accessing and referencing local data.

Our real estate isn’t all puppies and daisies but it’s not in the dumper until 2038. The only way to find out whether or not you should be in or out of any real estate market is to arm yourself current, local data and then make the judgment call.

Good news or bad news, if you’re reading a national publication and it doesn’t include local real estate stats you simply do not have the real story or all of the information. Period.

The link to the CNN Money story is here: http://budurl.com/Naples2038

Five days later Bloomberg had this to say about Florida real estate: http://budurl.com/NaplesRises

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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area.  Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor.  If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.

You can subscribe to a weekly email newsletter by visiting www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com and entering your email in the subscription area on the center pane of the web page or by adding us to your reader by subscribing to this blog. Oh, and if you’re reading this content anywhere else but www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com or Naples Daily News it is probably stolen.

  Luxury Real Estate Marketing Checklist

The difference in luxury real estate isn’t hugely different from marketing real estate in general.  The fact of the matter is that real estate buyers are on the web looking for information.  That information should be provided to them in the a myriad of digital forms which bring the real estate buyer virtually through the doors of your luxury home so that it compels them to make an appointment with either their real estate agent or yours to cross the threshold.

In no particular order, here’s a list of absolute must-have marketing techniques and tools your real estate deserves and seller’s of luxury real estate must demand.  If I was a consumer interviewing a real estate agent, not using any one of these would be a deal breaker.

1.  Complete MLS Report In *ALL* Local Multiple Listing Systems - At the date of publish there are two in the Bonita Springs – Estero Florida areas and not all agents belong to both.  Each MLS system gets syndicated to Realtor.com for double the worldwide exposure.  Plus, local agents with high ranking websites use the MLS-IDX to promote real estate listings on their sites which increases your exposure exponentially.

2.  Professional, High Quality, Wide Angle Digital Photos - Copious amounts of photos so that each MLS has slightly different marketing photos.

3. Visual Tour - complete with neighborhood photos, community amenities, clubhouse, golf course, pool, etc.

4.  Addendums – The critical info buyers need and the “cover your  back side” sellers of luxury real estate should demand for themselves.  Nearly every MLS offers the capability of adding documents as attachments making them available to all agents.  Documents luxury home sellers should insist be uploaded to the system include:

• Sellers real property disclosure
• HOA-Homeowner association and Condominium association documents. These documents disclose the fees and membership obligations.  The executed HOA disclosure may also be mandatory for a contract to be valid.
• Lead based paint, hazardous materials, Chinese drywall, mold disclosures.
• Floor plan, community site plan. 
• Additional upgrades list, because the remarks section has been exhausted with extensive detail and all of those fabulous home features don’t fit.

5. High Quality Printed Materials - To be left in the residence and presented to potential buyers.  Items to be included in your personal real estate marketing brochure booklet should include all of the items listed above; 1 through 4.  All pages should be bound together by a spiral spine, comb bind or hot glue binding machine … not a Swingline staple.

6. Source of Syndication  - Placement on a variety of real estate marketing portals which should include, Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist and a variety of others.  It makes no difference how your real estate is passed around the web, just as long as it gets there.  Ask your real estate agent what sites they use and verify the resources. 

7.  Supra Key Box - Your agent has no reason to no reason to not allow properly scheduled agent previews or a buyer’s real estate agent with an appointment let themselves in the home if they are running behind.  All real estate agent’s finger prints are on file with the state, the supra box records “who” opened it when the agent uses their electronic key. Listing office accompany inhibits showings and the result is fewer buyers touring the real estate.

8.  Internet Reputation Management – Your agent should be web savvy and Google the street address of your luxury real estate to monitor online marketing and reputation management.  One would never know if a past buyer or seller has publicly smeared a home that is for sale or it’s owners.  It may be wise to Google the community name and monitor it’s reputation, also.  Luxury real estate sellers should know … the buyers will be doing it.  It doesn’t hurt to “Zillow” a home to see the Zestimate buyers would get if they wanted to “value” the home using the service. 

9.  Superior Legal Aid References – Your real estate agent should be able to provide legal resources for what ever issues a home seller may be facing.  The attorney should specialize and be experienced in real estate law to monitor and close your real estate transaction.

10.  Real Estate Blog or Website – The listing real estate agent should have a platform to present information regarding your home, as well as a complete neighborhood overview.  That overview, a community profile page, draws in real estate buyers looking specifically in your neighborhood and can lead them to your listing.

Go forth and hold your standards high when you list your luxury real estate.  Make sure your home is represented in the most professional manner … or keep interviewing real estate agents until you find one who will.  Trust me.  I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’ve suffered, my buyers have suffered at the hands of incompetent, untrained, poorly chosen listing real estate agents all too often.

Luxury Real Estate Specialist, My Eye

At the time that I’m writing this, I’m whooped tired. It’s Saturday night in the middle of tourist season and it’s been busy.  Today, I had the distinct displeasure of showing “luxury real estate”.  I never really cared for the term “luxury real estate” but it does sound better than the term “expensive real estate”.

The luxury real estate I showed today was priced around two million dollars.  There were only two homes on the agenda to look at since the buyers, who were searching for gulf access real estate, had very specific criteria that filtered out the rest of the homes. 

On a Monday I set the appointments for the following Saturday.  Luxury real estate is usually listing office accompany, meaning the listing agent attends the showing and opens the home, so I thought I’d better get my time slot early.  Five days was ample time for the seller’s and their agents to prepare.

To begin with, I asked to tour the homes in advance of the showing so that I’d be familiar.  It was an issue with both homes.  One agent was too busy, the other just made it difficult.  These “luxury homes”, the pampered pooches of real estate, were not previewed by me prior to the showing.

The plan was to meet the buyers at the home.  I was nearly 30 minutes early hoping to get a quick run through of his fabulous luxury home prior to the buyer’s arrival.  I did not.  The agent showed up moments before the buyers.  The key didn’t work in the door and shenanigans ensued, property managers, neighbors with keys were called … blah, blah, blah. 

When the door got unlocked some time later, with us milling about in the driveway, we walked in to a home that was unprepared.  Oh, the agent parked in the driveway, too, garage doors up showing all the un-luxury crap piled up in the garage. A big no-no when showing any sort of real estate.  The driveway is for the buyers to park in, not for the lazy, thoughtless real estate agent who didn’t want to walk from the street or just plain wasn’t smart enough.

The home was a disaster, toilet seats up, clothes all over the place, dirty dishes, doors closed, you name it.  Not a light was on.  On the most beautiful spring day in Bonita Springs, Florida the sliding doors, which over look blue gulf waters, were closed.  The real estate agent at this home actually went on to point out what was undesirable about the home, instead of the so-called luxury features and benefits of luxury living.  Some of the items had not even occurred to the buyers but were quickly added the the “cons” side of the pros/cons luxury real estate list.  Thanks for helping, cupcake!

Luxury home number two, just as bad except add a mail order business set up in the gourmet kitchen and dining room and three busted down, hoopty cars in the driveway and their shifty owners side who scattered when we walked in.  It felt like they were running an escort service or something even more shifty out of what was being billed as a “luxury home”. 

The listing agent actually unlocked the door prior to our arrival and then he left. He wasn’t even there.  There were no additional marketing materials provided about the home, even.  There was certainly *nothing* in the MLS, like a floor plan, seller’s disclosure, HOA disclosure, short sale disclosure, etc.  

Here’s my thoughts … What on earth are the seller’s of either of these luxury homes paying their agents for?  What exactly did they hire these people to do?  Imagine the salary that either of the real estate agents could potentially earn.  Why are they selling luxury real estate and treating their listed real estate and the sellers more common and with less regard than a bank owned row home.

I’d love to say that one or both of these were isolated cases but they’re not.  They’re poster children for lazy, untrained, tactless real estate agents trying to fake their way through a transaction as a “luxury real estate expert”.

Read Also:  Ten Luxury Real Estate Marketing Requirements 

For owners of luxury real estate who lost the genetic lottery and *have* to use an untrained family member with a real estate license or simply just want to make sure your agent actually sells your real estate the correct way.  Otherwise, you could probably pull a homeless person off the street and they could undoubtedly fake their way through a property tour better than the agent’s you’ve actually hired.

Ya Snooze Ya Lose Real Estate

Naturally, this is the time of the year southwest Florida is visited by tourists. This year those visitors recognized some of the tremendous real estate values and were inspired to start buying real estate.

We’ve had a robust winter sales season and the mountain of great deals which was once lying around waiting for buyers have not only been selling off in record numbers but it has nearly completely sold off in many value priced neighborhoods. Lately, the offers are flying and we’ve even been experiencing multiple offers.

What the typical, future snow bird thought they knew about the southwest Florida real estate market before they got here wasn’t remotely close to the reality when they finally arrived, especially if they are cautiously moderate, entry level buyers.

The real estate market under two hundred thousand dollars continues to be the fastest segment of the market and we’re selling a record numbers of units this season.

Hopefully, the buyers have done some homework before they got here but if not, here’s the crib sheet on buying in the spring southwest Florida real estate market.

• Buying real estate these days means you have to bring proof of funds or an approval from a local mortgage broker which proves they’re willing to loan you money. A great credit score or cash in the bank is the new black.
• If your agent didn’t email you a blank or draft contract to review when you were “back home” have them email one now or fax one to you at the Hampton Inn. You’re probably going to have questions about it so it’s best to get them answered up front when time isn’t of the essence.
• Whether it’s a short sale or a foreclosure, there’s still a portion of our real estate which is bank involved on some level and sold “as-is”. Buying as-is real estate is not a hostage situation for buyers.
• Get a firm understanding of the neighborhood or price point of choice. If the pickin’s are slim and you’re only in town for a few days you seriously need to be prepared to take action if and when an opportunity presents itself.
• Not all real estate offers are below list price. You’re not the only buyer out there trying to score a deal in a thinning price point. Whether the real estate in your budget range is in short supply or a property is “drama priced” to generate offers it’s going to sell to the savvy buyer who understands the value. Sometimes it takes a failed offer or two for real estate purchase offer evolution to kick in.
• If you end up in a multiple offer situation, you should know that they’re serious when they ask for the “highest and best offer” from all parties. Brush up the offer or make the terms more attractive or you’re going to be starting over again tomorrow.
• Not all real estate is eligible for financing … no matter how awesome your credit score is. Your local mortgage broker can tell you a few reasons why. Local. Mortgage. Broker.

We have an extra long tourist season this year. With Easter landing at the end of April the heated market will continue moving swiftly for the next several weeks. Happy house hunting!

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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area.  Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor.  If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.

You can subscribe to a weekly email newsletter by visiting www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com and entering your email in the subscription area on the center pane of the web page or by adding us to your reader by subscribing to this blog. Oh, and if you’re reading this content anywhere else but www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com or Naples Daily News it is probably stolen.

Local Restaurants Which Permit Pets on The Patio

Floridians love their dogs and many local Bonita Springs and Estero Florida restaurants offer outside dining or patio pet friendly dining.  Since I’ve managed to locate a good portion of pet friendly restaurants to take my own beloved, old timer, dog I thought I’d share the list.

If you are looking for a pet friendly restaurant to take your dog out for breakfast, lunch or dinner enjoy this list but know this:  An amateur pet owner prepared the pet friendly dining list so individual restaurants may change their rules at any time.

1. 
   Pet Friendly Dining Map

   Silver Spoon at The Promenade near Bonita Bay, Bonita Springs, Florida

2. Tijuana Flats of Bonita Springs
3. Big Hickory Grille and Marina at the north end of Bonita Beach (Bay Side)
4. Moe’s at Coconut Point Mall
5. Rail Head Cafe at Village Walk of Bonita Springs, Florida
6. Crispers at The Prado (Beside Big Al’s Sports Bar) in Bonita Springs, Florida.
7. Luna Pizza at Miromar Outlets in Estero, Florida.
8. Survey Cafe of Bonita Springs, Florida

In addition to the list above, there are many restaurants at Coconut Point may that may be pet friendly.  If you’re a fan of pet friendly dining and you’d like to add favorite pet friendly restaurants not on the list, just add a comment with the restaurant name. We’ll do our best to add them to the pet friendly restaurant list and pin them on the map.

Practically Perfect Purple Petunias

Spring is Here ~ Bonita Springs Florida

Finally, fresh flowers on Sunday morning again.  The warm spring air is here and early morning doses of frost has allowed our buds to start manufacturing these beauties again.  Happy Spring!

Short Sale, Foreclosure & Equity Real Estate Sales

The SW Florida real estate market is on *fire* right now.  The month of March 2011 is going to bring record sales in units.  The real estate prices were low, under priced and the rest of the nation just realized it. We’ve been on quite a real estate selling streak. 

Just an FYI for you folks delaying a real estate purchase - things have changed dramatically.

To read the other February 2011 Southwest Florida real estate market reports, read also:

SW Florida Real Estate | Historical Sales February 2002-2011

SW Florida Real Estate | What Price Range Sold February 2011?

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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change.  Check the date on this report for freshness.  If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.