Life In Bonita Springs

Sharks in Sheep's Clothing

When ever there is massive confusion and emotional turmoil there will be people trying to take advantage of the situation. There are people preying on those who are in financial distress and losing their homes by acting like they’re going to help.

When a home owner is behind in payments long enough to get the attention of their lender, the real adventure begins. Legal actions due to a home owner defaulting on a mortgage are filed and become public record.

Just about any fraudster with a plan and dream can ramp up a program to “help” distressed home owners. The list of future clients is neatly provided by the court for anyone with a pulse who can read. The mailing address of the property owner is readily available and the phone number of the home owner is only as much as a Google search away.

There are people who fall for foreclosure rescue scams. They get contacted by post cards, phone calls and even a knock on the door.

Scammers promise to stop the foreclosure and help sell the home by way of a short sale. Confused and overwhelmed home owners will agree that it’s a discrete way to unload the home and the debt. Many forego consulting an attorney or interviewing reputable real estate agents.

Bad can actually get worse when you’re overwhelmed by the threat of losing your home. You can get ripped off in broad day light and get stuck holding the bag for a deficiency judgment for the debt or a huge tax liability. Some of those fine folks offering to stop foreclosure aren’t worried about the home owner’s future. They’re just angling to make a fast buck.

If you’re a home owner in this position you need to circle the wagons. You need to be proactive and initiate the contact with the resources that can help you. Contact an attorney or two and at least do the first free consultation or contact a legitimate foreclosure counselor.

A few key points to keep in mind when sorting through your options:

• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• If you work with a HUD approved foreclosure counselor there should be little to no fees for advice. Find a list at www.HUD.gov or call 877-483-1515
• No reputable foreclosure counselor will guarantee to stop foreclosure
• Understand what you’re signing or don’t sign it.  Don’t be pressured to sign anything.
• Consult an attorney. Never sign blank forms. Keep copies of everything with your signature.
• Trust your instincts. If you get an uneasy feeling walk away.

If a short sale becomes the plan of choice you must interview more than one real estate agent. It doesn’t cost a thing. Find them by asking around or by contacting agents that have listings in the area. Ask them for references you can call to speak to.

Verify the real estate agent’s license at www.MyFloridaLicense.com, make sure it’s active and check for prior violations.

Google search the real estate agents name. They should have plenty of information on the web about the short sale procedure and their success if they really are as experienced as they claim to be.

If they’re invisible on the web both professionally or personally they probably aren’t the best resource for you.

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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.

Rail Head Cafe at Village Walk 

Updated July 2010 – Rail Head Cafe is now in Village Walk and open to the general public.  Why not dine in a club atmosphere in a gorgeous community?  Village Walk is located off of Bonita Beach Road, East of I-75. 

In case you’re wondering, Rail Head still makes everything from scratch and is reasonably priced, too.  If you’re not a resident of Village Walk call ahead to have your name given to security at the gate so you’ll get in easily.  239-221-7093

Just last week I had an opportunity to dine at Rail Head Cafe in Village Walk.  The Arizona Wrap was actually improved, they toasted the wrap first and it made it even tastier.  The original review of the restaurant is below the new, improved map to Village Walk and The Rail Head Cafe. 

Recently when “my” Albertson’s Grocery store closed I was not only saddened but left without a local, handy grocery store. Today, I swooped into the Albertson’s on the corner of Bonita Beach Road and Livingston Road to pick up some shrimp to make stir fry with “Japanese Secret Sauce”.

FYI: It turns out that that “Japanese Secret Sauce” that gets major play at the steakhouses and franchises, isn’t really all that “traditional”. Email me directly for the “top secret mayonnaise based recipe”….and the clever story how I lost my vision by getting the secret ingredient in my eye accidentally. Seriously, I wouldn’t believe it myself unless I was the one with black, drippy, mascara running down my face.

This wasn’t the first time I visited this plaza where my “new” grocery store is. I’ve been making a nuisance of myself at the Railhead Café. Rail Head has only been in this plaza for a few short weeks. Back in the day they were in Rail Head Park, hence the name Rail Head.

Several weeks ago, long after “my” Albertson’s closed I had to go to “the other” Albertson’s. I saw Rail Head Café was there and decided to try something new.

My first trial was with @AlGorithm and he had a blackened chicken sammy and I had a breakfast burrito; egg with *home made* salsa in a wrap. I’m not wild about eggs and hadn’t befriended/blackmailed the staff to special order stuff for me yet, so I made do and lived to tell the tale.

Since then I’ve been a tough customer. I’m a picky Patty I asked for the Arizona wrap (which traditionally comes with turkey) with no meat. It has all sorts of veggies, avocado, maybe a chipotle mayo and a few other fixin’s.

It’s affordable to dine, per person at $7 or less and it’s all home cooked, as in home made. Tasty sides of pasta, slaw, fries, what have you. First time I was in with a friend the tab was $11 for two. You can’t beat that value with a stick.

Rail Head also caters, corporate catering, weddings, parties, graduations, you name it. If you need more info or to contact Matt from Rail Head: http://railheadtogo.com/

$400,000 & Under Leads Real Estate Market

Other June 2010 real estate market reports are located:

May 2010 What Price Range Real Estate Sold?

Ten Years of June Real Estate Sales Compared

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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.

History of June SW Florida Real Estate Sales

The last decade of June real estate sales shows the upswing in the real estate market in the last couple of years.  If there is any question regarding where the real estate market was and how it’s recovered, this is a great indicator. 

Other June real estate market reports are located below:

Short Sales & Foreclosure vs. Equity Sales June 2010

June 2010 What Price Range Real Estate Sold?

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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.

Status of Closed Real Estate Sales

Recent real estate sales for the month of June 2010 indicate about sixty percent equity sales.  The data collected constitutes all listings in the Sunshine MLS which includes Lee and Collier Counties, Florida. 

Additional June 2010 real estate market reports can be found:

Ten Years of June Real Estate Sales Compared

June 2010 What Price Range Real Estate Sold?

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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 advise before engaging in any transaction.

Click this link to see the:

Parade Photos Which are Located on Facebook

Where Mailboxes Place Mark Real Estate

Hickory Boulevard is the main connector of Bonita Springs to Fort Myers Beach.  Whether you’re just taking a trip to the beach or a trip up the beach to get to Ft. Myers you have to travel that road.

The traffic doesn’t move too very fast but there is a fair amount of traffic.  There are also several locations where there are public beach accesses with free beach parking so it’s a little difficult to watch the road and find the home or vacation rental that one is looking for.

Residents have taken liberty with installing interesting mailboxes as a means for visitors or maybe even themselves to more easily find their homes.  The beach has just about every fish, dolphin and manatee mailbox known to man.  There is even a red kayak mailbox made of a real kayak.

The buoy mailbox is a collection of buoys that must have washed ashore on the bay side and it looks like they just keep adding to the attraction.  If you ask me, this mailbox looks like it’s in distress and struggling under the weight at this point.  It certainly is one of a kind on Hickory Boulevard.

Old 41 Parade | Events | Things To Do

The Fourth of July parade starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 3rd.  The parade route travels south on Old 41 Road, turning right on Hampton Street, and right onto Front Street ending at Riverside Park, 27300 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs. 

From past experience I can share it will be hot.  Bring a chair, water and an umbrella to shade yourself while you wait for the parade to begin.

On Sunday, July 4th, there is a Party in the Park, live entertainment, water slide, dunking game, races, children’s activities, pie eating, hot dog and ice cream eating contests and a laser light show followed by a small fireworks show at dusk  from 6-9 p.m. Sunday, Riverside Park, 27300 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs,  Florida.

Parking for the parade and the party in the park will be on the east side of Old 41.  The band shell and judges viewing stand is west of 41. A map to the park and parking for the parade route is below:

Consequences of Distressed Real Estate Sales

Sometimes I really get scared for the circumstances that homeowners are in. People live through the toughest of times, foreclosures, bankruptcy, job loss, accidents. Without minimizing how traumatic losing a home can be it is a loss that will eventually be something in the past. It won’t define who the person, the home owner is as a human being or what their true potential is.

That old saying “crap happens” is true. Sometimes people get more than their fair share of it, too. The streets are speckled with stories of difficult situations and struggles with home loss these days.

What troubles me most about people that have it rain really hard on them is watching them become frozen with fear. I know it’s not apathy but terror. They’re unable to make a decision because they’re overwhelmed by their circumstances.

Worse yet is when they start making decisions without understanding the consequences for hasty actions. Just because the home is on the brink of foreclosure or is being sold short doesn’t mean that it couldn’t get any worse.

What overwhelmed home owners don’t understand is that they’re in a legal quagmire more so than real estate situation. To go through the process of selling short, deed in lieu or just giving up and letting the bank foreclose without lawyering-up can bring on a boat load of legal or tax consequences down the road.

“But my real estate agent said [insert stream of legalese and tax guidance they had no business giving you.]” was a statement I got from the exhausted home owner confused and in the throes of many awful things happening to their home and their finances. I thought to myself, you may has well have asked the guy running the weed eater outside of my window right now. He is great at what he does but he is just as unqualified to give you legal council as the person you just quoted.

On top of the fact that the information was wrong, their agent has no business giving them legal or tax advice regarding a short sale unless they are also an attorney, a certified public accountant or some other breed legal or finance wizard.

If you’re at the point when you need to sell short or you’re losing your home you need to first find legal help, not real estate help.

Success is never a secret. If you don’t know where to start looking for an attorney ask a real estate agent that specializes in short sales or ask half dozen real estate agents for recommendations and listen for consistent names that keep popping up.

If you’re concerned about attorney’s fees you need to remember that it doesn’t cost anything to dial a phone and ask questions. If you chose to move forward, charges would be minimal compared to a myriad of credit, financial and tax consequences that can show up down the line because your legal issues handled by someone as unqualified to be your lawyer as the lawn guy … or a real estate agent.

No offense to any of the lawn guys out there.

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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.

Tons of Nature – Some of it Man Made

Yesterday was a walking tour of Bonita Bay.  I’ve hit the pavement hard the last couple of months and I just couldn’t run do to the excruciating pain from my collar bones to my feet.  I grabbed the camera and walked the small three mile loop and took some great shots.  Then I decided to share this picture of grass?

Well, the grass is pretty up close and I didn’t want you to miss it.  There are people that never get a chance to look up close or to see how tiny each blade really is or the little beads of water on it at 6:30 in the morning, before the sun burns it off.

There wasn’t a soul out there and it was quiet.  The kind of quiet where you feel like the only person on the planet.  This is what it looks like when you stand up and dust off your belly after taking a close up picture of grass.