Life In Bonita Springs

Forester Drive Near Kings Kew

While driving down Hickory Blvd. last week I decided to drive by the home on Kings Kew with the Passaflora to see how their mailbox plant was doing.  Yikes.  Miracle Grow, buddy.  Make friends with it.  My inspiration was wilted and it looked like the caterpillars had found it at one point or another.

After I visited the plant I drove down Forester Drive. Many years ago I almost built a home on Forester Lane, right off of Forester Drive. It’s right across the street Bonita Beach near Doc’s Beach House restaurant and because the lots are gulf access canal front you can have a boat in the back yard.  Twin toddlers and gulf access real estate didn’t mix in my opinion so that home was never built and the lot was sold.

There were a couple of really cool mailboxes on the street, including this totem pole mailbox.  This is the second totem mailbox.  There’s one on Fort Myers Beach planted upside down so that the roots look like hair.  Who thinks up these things?

See the Totem Pole Sacrificial Mailbox.  I keep hearing the them from the Bond Film, Live and Let Die for some reason.

If you’re looking for Doc’s, Kings Kew or Forester Drive here’s a map:

Still Doubt That Real Estate is Moving?

If you’ve been curious about what Estero and Bonita Springs real estate is really selling and if what you hear on the news is hype or the truth here’s the truth.  This is the last three years sales inventory that shows the increased sales of real estate.  It’s broken down by housing styles.

In addition to this real estate market report there are two other reports that shed light on what price point of real estate is selling:

What Price Point of Real Estate is Selling? September 2009

If you’re interested in seeing overall units of real estate sold 2003-2009 to see the high, the low and the beginning of the recovery of the real estate market:

Real Estate Sales History September 2004 Through 2009

Picking Your Real Estate Partner

An acquaintance I’d met some time ago decided to become a first time home owner. Though I would have probably voted him least likely to ever be tethered by a mortgage he found a home by happenstance and decided to place an offer to purchase it.

The email he sent to me last Friday night read: “My first house offer ever. Take a look and tell me what you think.” Naturally, I took a look at the home, the pictures and the attachments to the email which included the contract to purchase.

It turns out that the contract had some holes in it. Actually, the holes were big enough to drive a truck through. On top of that, there were blanks. Lots of blank lines that were suppose to be filled in with data, choice selections and figures but instead there was nothing. When I inquired about the blanks and the whole “who’s paying for this and that, thing” the buyer mentioned that he had filled out the contract and faxed it back to his agent.

If you didn’t catch that, the buyer was given a blank contract and asked to fill it out himself. While that may explain why it wasn’t done correctly, it doesn’t make it any less alarming. There were a multitude of other sins involved with this contract, most of which weren’t exactly favorable to the buyer.

This buyer made a classic mistake. He had picked up the phone and called for information about a home he had driven by and accidentally gotten married the person that answered. Just because someone on the other end of the line said, “hello” and told what the price of the home was doesn’t mean ‘til death do you part.

There was very little qualifying of the real estate agent by the buyer to verify any amount of skill, integrity or experience. There was no interaction to see if there were shared values or even compatible personalities. If these two had nothing in common and didn’t trust each other they could have broken the engagement. Instead, they ended up just staying together in a tawdry attempt to produce a sale.

What should have been a joy filled home purchase turned into a partnership of obligation tainted with duplicity and distrust. A lot like a bad marriage, when the whole thing unraveled there was plenty of bitterness and suspicion to go around.

Buyers shouldn’t overlook shopping for qualified assistance long before they decide to buy a home. Buyers also need to not be afraid to be skeptical and trust their instincts. When something doesn’t feel right, when anything clouds the transparency of any portion of the transaction they should raise issue and ask questions.

The financial commitment of a home purchase is too large to chance rolling the dice and ending up with unqualified help. If you’re going to use a real estate professional to purchase your real estate interview more than one person, ask multiple questions and compare answers.

There’s no punishment for not having blind trust especially when something doesn’t feel right. There’s also no penalty for double checking someone’s answers. At the very least, you might actually find out that you’re not supposed to fill out the purchase contract yourself.

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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 left 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.

81% of Sales - Real Estate Under 400K

If your real estate agent told you that entry level priced properties were moving fast, they weren’t kidding.  Those first time home buyers have been scooping up their pieces of Southwest Florida real estate to get the first time home buyers tax credit.

All information is deemed accurate, not guaranteed and it might rain later today, too.

Foreclosure Bankruptcy Deed-in-Lieu Short Sales

All frightening words of despair but also words of hope.  Without these concepts, ideas such as a fresh start, renewed vigor or hope for tomorrow would simply cease to exist.

Unfortunately, some families erroneously believe that no one will lend to them in the future and turn strictly to renting. This is simply not true. While having one of these derogatory items on your credit will certainly be a challenge to getting financing in the future it is in no way the end of home ownership.

There are many keys to success to owning a home after a difficult past. It is important to remember that you are not alone (especially today!) and must learn from the experience. The next most important key for your success is to come up with a concrete plan that gives you enough time to reestablish your credit. This usually involves realistically assessing your current financial and credit situation. Once you have done this you should establish a budget you can live with, get involved in credit repair or a solid maintenance program, and commit to being disciplined to follow your plan.

Last but not least, it helps to have an idea about current residential lending rules.  For your convenience, below are listed some fairly generic information that you can share with your clients who are interested.  Please remember that this information is subject to change and different lenders may be more restrictive.  I do wonder however if some of these rules may be eased in the future if congress feels too many disadvantaged borrowers are being excluded.  Just a thought…

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Financing will be allowed after the following terms.  It is not guaranteed and does require good credit behavior after the derogatory occurrence.  Having a late payment shortly after a bankruptcy or foreclosure can be a deal killer!

Bankruptcy

Chapter 7 - 4 years after discharge/dismissal

(liquidation) - 5 years if more than 1 bankruptcy in the last 10 years.

Chapter 13 - 2 years after discharge

(workout) - 4 years after dismissal, 5 years if more than 1 bankruptcy in the last 10 years.

Bankruptcy with extenuating circumstances – Extenuating circumstances are defined as non-recurring events that were beyond the Borrower’s control, resulting in a sudden, significant, and prolonged reduction in income (extended illness, unemployment, and death of a spouse or Co-Borrower). They are not defined solely by one event.
The severity of the hardship and efforts to resolve the situation must be considered. Documentation provided to support claims of extenuating circumstances should confirm the nature of the event that led to the bankruptcy or foreclosure and illustrate that the Borrower had no reasonable options other than to default on his or her financial obligations.

2 years after discharge/dismissal

3 years after discharge/dismissal if more than 1 bankruptcy in the last 10 years

Foreclosure

5 years after discharge/dismissal (some lenders require 7 years)

3 years with extenuating circumstances

Deed in lieu

4 years

2 years with extenuating circumstances

Short Sale

4 years

No extenuating circumstances

FHA

Bankruptcy

Chapter 7

2 years after discharge/dismissal

2 years if extenuating circumstances

Chapter 13

1 year after satisfactory payment plan has occurred, plus permission from the court

Foreclosure & Deed in lieu -

3 years

< 3 years with extenuating circumstances

Short Sale

Not specifically addressed but similar timeframes

If you have any questions do not hesitate to call.

William Dukes

Senior Mortgage Banker

With more than 25 years of financial advising experience including 10 years in mortgage lending Will Dukes understands clients’ borrowing needs and concerns. More importantly, being a "survivor" in the current mortgage lending atmosphere speaks volumes about Will's integrity and ability to navigate rapidly changing conditions. If you have questions about finance contact Will at Summit Home Mortgage, Inc. 239.272.2241.

Improvement in Southwest Florida Real Estate

You won’t know where you’re headed unless you see where you’ve been.  The real estate sales rates for the month of September going back seven years shows the high of the highs and the low of the lows.

The numbers for the real estate sales which occurred September 2009 were collected on October 5th.  There are undoubtedly more closings that will be recorded in the next few days so it’s fair to suspect that there were more than 741 units of real estate sold during the month of September 2009.

This information is deemed accurate, not guaranteed, yadda yadda.

These Two Mostly Give Bills and Caterpillars

The title is from that poem about children and their personality related to the day of the week that they were born on.  You can find out what day of the week you were born on here: Sunday’s Child is Full of Grace

These are Friday mailboxes and they give bills and parasites that eat my passaflora, which I don’t find particularly loving or giving.  I took this picture because the passaflora just happened to be going through a more attractive phase since the parasite spraying, fertilizing and shock of transplant was over.

Then again, she might have straightened up and flew right when she realized there was competition on the other side of the driveway.

I'll stick with Sunday's child. Since she's full of grace. Grace is something we carry quietly. I love this Amazing Grace necklace. If you wonder what the sky looked like when you were born this custom star map print is beautiful. For a soft ritual at home try the Amazing Grace candle.

You can read more about this red bloom here: Sunday Detour at Lowes Home Improvement Store

$180,000 Less Than 2005 Appraisal!

There have been a few ads spotted out there with the declaration of how much lower the home price is compared to an appraisal from back in the day. Advertising an old “appraised at” price is totally irrelevant to buyers. If a home was such a great deal and priced so far below anything that could possibly matter to a buyer then why hasn’t it sold in the months that it’s been on the market?

I’m really not clear why anyone would feel compelled to point out a 2005 appraisal price. It makes as much sense as wearing a t-shirt that reads “I’m single and looking and I weighed twenty-five pounds less last year”. In order to sell a home shouldn’t the benefit of owning the home be marketed, not a baseless, out dated appraisal?

There are some real gems out there in real estate advertising both by real estate professionals and for sale by owners. Sometimes I wonder what people consider an actual benefit of owning a particular home to be.

Some of the touted benefits I’ve seen remind me of the home with I.O.L. in the movie Arthur. I.O.L. was the abbreviation for “instant on lighting”. It turns out that when you flipped any light switch in the home the lights would instantly come on. It was a hilarious situation and a insight into what consumers deal with when weeding through prospective properties to purchase or lease.

Properly advertising a property whether it’s in the multiple listing service or on Craigslist is a matter of truthfully explaining the benefits of ownership to entice buyers to look at a home and purchase it because it is what they’re looking for, not en embellished fairy tail of what it’s not. Unfortunately, an unbiased description of the truth is a huge gray area that some take liberties with.

Gulf access real estate is still considered gulf access whether it’s navigable by kayak or a Hatteras yacht. Gulf view property is still considered gulf view even if you’re hanging off the side bedroom balcony stretching to see it, while your real estate agent is holding your belt loops.

Unfortunately, there’s no rating system to gauge benefits and features of real estate. Most of the time homes and condos with a gulf front gulf view aren’t differentiated from homes with a glimpse of the gulf by way of that whole tethered belt loop, Flying Wallendas balancing act.

If you’ve read any ads lately, what is legitimately considered an upgrade in a home is subjective and sometimes makes for good for comedy. There are soaring nine foot ceilings, sweeping views of privacy walls and too many upgrades to mention, but they’re listed and available upon request.

They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well, apparently so is the opinion of what is actually an upgraded household feature. Unfortunately, it’s the prospective buyers that get to filter through what is or isn’t an upgrade most of the time.

That upgraded dome ceiling actually had an expiration date and those newer Formica counters could actually be an upgrade but that would probably only be when comparing it to a home that didn’t have any counter tops at all.

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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 left 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.

Red to Complement the Purple

So I just thought I’d see if there were any Passaflora at the Lowes garden center and there she was.  It’s already planted out front.  If history repeats itself I will scare the blossoms white, they will then fall off, the caterpillars will come and eat the remaining leaves, the lawn service will spray it only after being asked to save what’s left and then there will be glorious new flowers everywhere.  If not, I’m going back to Lowest to buy this:

If you’re looking for a plants for a gardening project or even a Red or Purple Passaflora, Lowes is located on Corkscrew Road in Estero, Florida.

Map To Lowes Home Improvement Store