If you don't see the video below click here: The Real Estate Downfall.

If You Quit Sniffing Fear You Might Actually Smell The Salt Air

There isn't a buyer that I work with that doesn't eventually ask about gators, sharks, hurricanes or floods.  I've noticed it lately more than any time in the past.  I can't help but wonder if it is due to all of the negative everything on the news.  It just seems like people have been conditioned to be fearful.  They've allowed themselves to be trained by the sensational, dramatic evening news.

Read also:  Do Not Feed The Alligators in Bonita Springs

It's not that I mind that they ask.  It is a valid question to ask.  What troubles me is the laundry list of creatures they're secretly scared of.  Most of which they'll never likely see.  They'll literally go down the list as though they'll uncover some sort of city wide secret about gators sneaking up on children at bus stops or sharks that run in schools tipping over boats and eating the occupants.   Don't you wonder if everyone was as scared of sharks before Jaws, the movie?

I do wonder if some of the buyers I've worked with ever put together the math that I've lived in SW Florida for almost 25 years, managed to raise a few children, managed to operate a business or two and I've never had a limb lost by a gator or a shark.  Even my kids managed to escape the clutches of our creatures not because they're especially wiry but because they don't put themselves in harms way.

For whatever reason, it's been built up in the minds of folks from outside of the area that we're crawling with deadly animals.  The sidewalks and stores should be peppered with residents with prosthetic limbs and eye patches.  That's how you tell the locals from the tourists, right?  The locals all have bite mark scars.

Read also: More Armadillos, New Sod & Tango Delta Niner

We've all heard the news blips, read the Google news alerts and been sucked in by a good tale of gore or mayhem.  They say that sex sells but so does the carnage of a limb missing from someone stupid enough to swim in a lake in south Florida.  The only thing that would make this move any dumber would be to tie a pork chop around your neck first.

A little common sense goes a long way in any natural environment.  I think if a person is dense enough to dangle their feet off a dock and splash the water they should expect to get their foot bitten by something that likes the way flesh tastes.  Survival of the fittest?  Thinning of the herd?

Out of curiosity I actually Googled the shark attack stats and found it quite spectacular that for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide spending hundreds of millions of hours in the water there was only one fatality last year.  That death was actually in the South Pacific.  That's not around here if you were wondering.

Further, there were only about 70 shark bites world wide.  Divide that by the billions of people on our lovely planet and I think you stand better odds of winning the lottery than getting chomped on by a big fish.

The same goes for gators.  With only about a dozen bites per year divided by the eighteen million people living in Florida the odds are in your favor unless, of course, you're the one wearing the pork chop necklace.  Unfortunately there are no statistics that show blood alcohol levels or IQ tests of some of these victims.  I can't help but think there could be a correlation in some instances.  Why the heck else would someone be swimming in an algae filled lake at 8:00 p.m?

So buyers this is the big secret I have to share about gator and shark attacks.  Yes, you CAN get bitten by a shark or gator.  It is highly unlikely, however, that you will.  Oh, you also CAN get hit by a dump truck or even just a car.  You probably should have been less worried about things that go splash in the night and more worried about a couple of tons of steel on four wheels.

You've really got some crappy odds crossing that street by the way.  Over 8,100 pedestrians were injured last year and over 500 are now looking at the brown side of the grass.  You're probably not going to hear about that on the evening news.  Getting tagged by a Buick doesn't sell as many commercials as seeing someone lying in a hospital bed with their leg gnawed off.  Puppies on a webcam just don't sell ShamWOW commercials.

So go ahead and feel safe about moving to Bonita Springs, Florida, the odds are in your favor that you won't be savagely attacked by wild beasts or fishes.  I would highly recommend, however, that you look both ways more than once before you cross the street to get your mail.

First Time Home Buyers Circle Your Wagons

As you know, AmeriDream and other Down Payment Assistance (DPA) programs were eliminated October 1, 2008 due to the passage of H.R. 3221. You are probably asking yourself how Congress could eliminate these programs that are so critical to the stabilization of home prices and our economy.

We need you to take action! Congress is coming back to Washington, DC on November 17th for a week long Lame Duck Session where they plan to take up a new Economic Stimulus package and we need your help. Please call your Senators and House Representative today! Insist that the language in H.R. 6694 is included in any new Economic Stimulus package.

DPA programs promote responsible homeownership for credit worthy homebuyers, gives instant equity and do not use a single tax-payer dollar.

Now is not the time to turn our backs on responsible homeownership! DPA provides affordable homeownership opportunities for low-to-moderate homebuyers. The ripple effect of those borrowers entering the market allows the “move-up” buyers to sell and re-purchase. New homebuyers are needed to stabilize home prices. Simply said, DPA needs to be brought back to allow the full recovery of our economy.

It's not too late! Take Action! Congress needs to hear from you TODAY!

Last month H.R. 6694 fell by the wayside because of the $700 billion bailout. Another chance is now before us….

• H.R. 6694 will allow DPA to exist in a fiscally responsible manner and will NOT cost taxpayers any money, in fact it MAKES money for Treasury.
• We need programs like DPA. Programs that don't use tax-payer dollars and bring new credit-worthy home buyers into the market.

After all, tax-payers SPENT $700 billion to bail out Wall Street, it’s time Congress authorizes programs that help Main Street...and don't use my tax payer dollars.

Don’t forget IT’S NOT TOO LATE,

Happy Monday! Traffic has picked up, and we know what that means… things are moving!

Rates are still very low and two of the best programs in the market center are:

• 30 year fixed rate at 6.125% loan amounts up to $417,000
• 5/1 ARM at 5.5% with loan amounts up to $3,000,000

If you need a hand getting prequalified by a reputable lender just drop me a line and I'll give you the phone number of a couple local super star lenders that have passed my test. :-)

I'm Home

I'm still trying to catch my breath from the last week of convention I attended in Orlando, Florida.  The National Association of Realtor's put on quite a soiree.  I've never been around so many nerds in my life...it was a blast.  Don't worry every nerd that I was surrounded by was proud that they were a nerd so it is not the least bit offensive.

I'll be back to regular blogging in short order I hope.  Though I didn't announce that I was away for obvious reasons you would have figured it out if you followed me on Flickr or Twitter.  My user name on twitter is Twitterzilla.  What else would it be?  In my absence I wasn't so worried that my house would get robbed just because people knew I was away.  I have four ninjas living in the kids rooms upstairs.  They are bad ass security and even walk the dog on occasion.

Catch you tomorrow after a day of rest!

Back in the Day at Bonita Beach

Long, long ago on a beach far away....not really I think I took this picture September '07.  I took this picture on Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs, Florida.   Lately, I've been cleaning out my new laptop of all  sorts of propaganda, "save till I read later" junk and the countless, countless countless images I have stored.  So the version of the image was found and I put it up on a website called Flickr. It is a slightly different version of the original that was quietly popular.  One of my buddies commented on the new version.

In my secret nerdy world (no disrespect to my fellow nerds *wink*!) on the internet there are photo files, some of which others can see and enjoy.  This photo was always enjoyed and commented upon.  It was odd that one day that someone saw an angel in the clouds and emailed me to tell me so.  Several emails have come in plus individual comments on the photo about the angel.  Do you see the angel?

Sadly, when I was shooting the picture I was too consumed in my everyday life, taking photos, probably batting off mosquitoes or telling @AlGorithm to wait a minute that I missed it.  It's not all for loss.  I'm getting better at smelling roses and sunsets as a direct result.

Enjoy your angel drizzled sunset.  It's not just for nerds.  <smile>

Catch a Game & a Pizza at Johnny's

For the first time in a good long while I stayed up past my bedtime.  I went to an event with friends and afterward someone suggested that we head to Johnny Malloy's for a bite to eat.  It was probably 9:00 p.m. when we got there, which was an ordeal and a source of conversation for some time.  I'm sure I'll hear about it again, too.

A good many people didn't know that part of town so I casually mentioned, it's where the Whales Tale use to be.  I was instantly a time stamped photo and they all howled with laughter.  One person even exclaimed that I had to live here at least twenty five years to now that place.  So what. ;)  So, I've been to the Whales Tale.  It was back in the day and I had the energy.

If you're looking for a good place to catch a game, grab a bite to eat or blow off some steam on the weekend, Johnny Malloy's is a great place to hang out.  There are so many TV's that every person can see a game without craning their neck around.  We watched Texas vs. Texas Tech and it was a nailbiter to the very end.

Thank gosh I don't do late nights often.  Fortunately I stayed out on time change and was technically home by 11.  Yeah, I'm a *real* party dog.

If you're looking for Johnny Malloy's and you're not sure where the Whales Tale used to be here's the *Lumberjack*  directions:  SW Corner of Bonita Beach Road and Old 41 (across the street from the dog track)  it's the spanking new plaza.

This is their official site: http://www.johnnymalloys.com/ourlocations/bonita_springs.aspx

Here's a real map that's not drawn by Lumbjack: Map to Johnny Malloy's

Peace, Love & Friendship in Bonita Springs

One of the common subjects that comes up while buyers are shopping for Bonita Springs real estate is being involved in the community enough to make new friends.  Whether they're looking in a Bonita Springs general or one of the many country club or gated communities in Bonita Springs they worry they'll not find enough to do or a way to meet people.

Don't worry you'll make new friends here.  Every day I meet new people.  Some people I introduce myself to and others come to me.  Take a look at the stranger that showed up while I was cooking dinner the other day.

This is the bravest little frog in the world.  Look how close he is to that boiling kettle of water.

The Bonita Springs Real Estate Market's Slow & Steady Recovery

After showing property in Gateway, Fort Myers last weekend, I passed Germain Arena in Estero while driving down the interstate.  There was an RV show that was in progress and they had filled the lot with campers and RV's.  They were parked everywhere.  As I drove by going precisely the speed limit I thought to myself I wonder if RV salespeople get asked how business is.

If I'm at a get together, Rotary meeting or whatever the event may be and someone knows or finds out that I'm a Bonita Springs real estate agent they always ask, "How's the market?" or "Can people still get loans?"  However they phrase the question it is usually punctuated with some sort of tone of pity.  They may as well ask, "Is the market so bad that you're standing in a soup line, yet?"

So as I pass the herd of recreational vehicles patiently waiting for their new owners I wonder what it's like for the salesmen working that show.  I'm sure the recreational vehicle industry took a punch in the gut this year.  I mean it has been one of the worst years in American history for fuel prices and with the economy slowing people may be thinking twice before spending their hard earned cash on big ticket items.  Everyone has tightened their belt a notch or two, right?

Then again, maybe I'm just using supposition like people do that ask me how business is.  Maybe we all watch a little too much television and take the advice of strangers too seriously.   We let their opinion and rhetoric determine how our lives and our businesses will unfold instead of just living.

Sheeple.  A local restaurant owner I was speaking with called it the Sheeple Syndrome, a condition where people are blindly being herded like sheep.  He said people keep hearing the same crappy news and they've been influenced into depression or at least a pretty bad case of the Monday's.  They've been convinced that things are bad and have forgotten that it won't be that way forever.

I realized rather quickly that the snap judgment I made about the RV's was probably Sheeple thinking. Just like real estate I'm sure there have been pricing adjustments and incentives that help people find the value and fuel the desire to own a new RV.

You know, just like real estate, if a person is at a position or an age in their life when they will have the time and means to purchase and enjoy a recreational vehicle shouldn't they enjoy their life?  Tour the country or just the state like they always wanted to do?

It's the same with real estate.  If you've worked an entire lifetime with the goal of enjoying retirement in Florida would you not move because everyone says the economy is bad?  Probably not.  You'd find a deal and "get your retirement on" instead of being miserable and cold somewhere up north wringing your hands over what everyone else is telling you to worry about.

Real estate has been selling and RV's probably have been too.

Just last week I was listing a home in Estero and told the sellers that there was a little over twelve months of inventory in their neighborhood.  Their initial reaction was disappointment.  I interrupted that thought right away and told them that twelve months is actually good news.  It had been as high as three and a half years.  Their neighborhood is balancing out and with their home priced effectively it will likely sell this season.

These sellers had heard so much negative information about the Bonita Springs Florida real estate market that they never considered that it is ever changing and not going to be the same forever.  When everyone was being distracted by bad news inventory was selling off and adjusting.  There are not fireworks and streamers going off but as a whole things continue to move and improve.

Maybe when you weren't looking things could have improved a little in your market area, too.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you should fake it till you make it or ignore the struggle if your market is experiencing it. I'm saying that whether you're a consumer, home owner, buyer or an agent, if you find that you're being negative you should probably check the facts and figures again to make sure you have current information.   It might be time to have your wool sheared.

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.

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Get Your Rump Out and Vote!

Who-whack-phew!  I'll be happy when its over, too. I'm not stumping for anyone but you.  Go vote.  If you're debating whether you should vote or not read this:  Early Voting in Bonita Springs, Florida

Even the little engines that could (Lumberjack and Mini-Me) gave a darn, took time out of their day and made a difference.  I'm so glad that they love America. I hope you do too, Bonita Springs!