Have you been trying to get financing on a property only to find out you can’t qualify? Do you not have money for a downpayment? No money for closing cost? Do you have a low credit score? Bankruptcy? Collections? Do you live in southwest florida and want to purchase before prices go back up?

FHA is an AWESOME program that enables alot of flexiblity for borrowers. FHA in Southwest / Lee County florida has a loan limit of 356,250! This is BELOW the median home price which is truly amazing! Previously FHA loan limits in SWFL were at 270,750, which made it difficult in many cases to purchase with little money down.

FHA will allow a seller to contribute up to 9% towards the buyers closing cost. How about 3% for closing cost, 3% for a down payment and then another 3% for buying the rate down!

Many individuals do not realize that FHA is NOT credit score driven. It looks at the entire picture of an individual. Yes, you could have collections or a lower credit score and still get qualified. If for some reason you do not qualify, I can help individuals in establishing credit so they may purchase in the near future.

FHA offers interest rates that are at or below what a 30 year conforming fixed may be at and offers a lower mortgage insurance payment.

Please call for a confidential consultation. I can be reached 7 days a week at 239-677-7250.

The Ellis Team Real Estate Office has many foreclosure properties right now. Many of these properties have never been lived in and meet all the guidelines for an FHA loan.

As we have been reporting for a few months  now, pending sales have been jumping as buyers have been taking notice this season of incredible buying opportunities.  Sale across the board have picked up, as well as foreclosure sales along the bottom.  When official sales numbers are released next week, we won’t be surprised to see a jump in closings in February, however many of these closings won’t take place until March or April.

We also won’t be surprised if the median price decreases, which won’t necessarily be an indication that the market is free falling, but rather an indication more sales are occurring in the foreclosure realm in the lower price ranges, skewing the median price downward.

For great deals on foreclosure sales, be sure to check out our foreclosure page which we update frequently.  Foreclosures have added to the pending sales as many of the short sales never panned out.  Banks needed time to fight over who should take the loss and for how much, while foreclosure sales have been good to go for buyers, and the seller has been much more motivated.  Foreclsoures in SW Florida has been the one thing that has really freed up the market, although homes sales were simultaneously picking up in all segments as sellers pricing has begun to meet buyes expectations.

The higher the CMI Index, the more supply we have relative to demand.

The webiste for SW Florida’s Bank Owned Bargains is up.  You can access it at http://www.swflbankownedbargains.com or at http://www.topagent.com/bob.htm   You can use these webistes to track foreclosures listed by the Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group. 

Most of these foreclosures are brand new and never lived in, and are located throughout Lee County Florida.  Many are in Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, but some may be in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, and North Fort Myers.  We’re listing new properties all the time, so bookmark this website and get in on a great deal.

The Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group has been selected to market a significant number of bank foreclosures in the SW Florida real estate marketplace.  Many of these bank foreclosures and REO are located in Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral, while others are located in Fort Myers and throughout Lee County Florida.

Starting today, we’ll have a loan officer on hand to pre-qualify buyers for free at our office located at 7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr, Fort Myers, FL  33907.  After the buyer is pre-qualified, we’ll have Ellis Team buyer specialists available to sit down with you and find out what your needs are and price points.  We’ll share with you what inventory we have available to you and help you purchase one of these bank owned bargains.

The bargain properties are a good deal, and we’d really love to sell these to an end user.  An investor is just going to purchase these homes and resell it to an end user for a profit, so we’d like to let the end user in on a good deal if possible.

The banks do desire to sell these and not hang on to them, so we’re sure some of these homes will sell to investors as we can’t hold off selling these homes for all end users to buy them.  In a perfect world, we could, but it is the banks money.

So if you’re looking for a good deal on ah home this weekend, stop by or call our office immediately before these bank owned baragins in SW Florida get scooped up.

The Ellis Team has been selected to market a significant amount of properties in SW Florida.  Many of these properties have never been lived and have been taken back by the bank from speculators who walked away from their investment when they failed to flip the home for a profit.  A smaller amount have been rented out by the investors in hopes of obtaining some cash flow, and a still smaller amount were actually lived in by a homeowner who has been displaced.

While the foreclosure process is sad, it is also a healthy last step for this market’s recovery.  Many listings in MLS were listed as short sales, however very few of those actually sold as multiple banks involved required multiple decision makers, and the acceptance process can be quite lengthy in many cases.  When the answer did come back, the buyers sometimes balked as banks squabbled as to who should take the loss and for how much.

The foreclosure process cleanses all that and leaves just one motivated bank with a property to sell, and one decision maker who can act quickly as time is money.  These properties tend to be excellent bargains to the end user.

Today the Ellis Team listed the first 42 of these properties, with more to follow.  Obviously it does take time to process each listing.  Interested buyers should call our office at 239-489-4042 and leave with us your buying criteria so that we can match up what you’re looking for with what we just listed or what may come available in the coming weeks.  Today many of the homes have been located in Lehigh Acres, Cape Coral, and one in North Fort Myers.  We do expect some in the Fort Myers area in the future.

The institutions involved range from credit unions to large national banks.  We will be setting up a new webpage specifically for bank owned properties in the coming days.

The Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group has released it’s annual SW Florida real estate state of the market report.  In it you’ll find detailed graphs and analysis about which areas are hot and which areas are soft.  You can compare pricing all over Lee County Flroida, as well as inventory levels.

Some interesting trends are emerging right now.  Pending sales spiked 25% of January levels, which were also up over December levels.  Could some of this be seasonal, perhaps the start of a trend worth watching?

The Ellis Team CMI (Current Market Index) also plunged in February, another positive sign going forward.  You can read in the report about the housing bottom, what it will look like, and if we’re there yet.

We also have information on the Lee County condo market, lot prices and trends in SW Florida, and Collier County data.

Media can contact the Ellis Team for interviews regarding the report at 239-489-4042

Visit our website at Topagent.com

Prior to Ammendment 1 passing on January 29, 2008 sales were already picking up.  Many have reported that Ammendment 1 is adding to sales in this market.  While this may be true, we haven’t personally witnessed that yet.  We feel those benefits will come later when sellers decide to use that portability when making a decision to move.

We feel the market is really picking up steam because buyers are realizing the end of the decline is either here or near, and now is a good time to buy.  In fact, last week we had multiple offers on three of our properties, and all three went under contract, plus a few more.  There is a real excitement, a buzz so to speak, in this market that hasn’t been present the last two seasons. 

We’ll continue to monitor this trend in the CMI Index.  If this trend continues, it could bode well for sales in 2008 and recovery in 2009.

The higher the CMI Index, the more supply we have relative to demand.

Are you or someone that you know having difficulty making mortgage payments? Have you had an interest rate increase that you can no longer afford? Have you lost your job or have you had a substantial reduction in hours resulting in lost wages? Do you want to stay in your home, but can not afford your payments? Are you afraid of foreclosure? Have you heard the buzz word short sale, but not sure exactly what it means or how it may affect your family or your credit?

Regardless of what the cause or circumstance, I may be able to help! Do not wait until you are so far behind on mortgage payments that you can physically not do anything. If your current on payments but getting close to not being able to afford your mortgage payment I may be able to help.

If you are located in lee county, charlotte county or collier county in SW Florida (Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Estero, Naples, Lehigh Acres, Port Charlotte) please call Adrian immediately at 239-677-7250 or email at adrian_jacobs@countrywide.com. There are several options that you may have that you dont realize or know about. You DO NOT Need to be late on payments to be proactive. As i live within the community, I am also looking to help people living within the community. Your call will be kept confidential.

Tuesday morning the Fed jumped in and cut a key interest rate by .75 bps unexpectedly. This was a much needed cut after a global plunge monday that came from heightened fears of a recession. The cut from 4.5% to 3.5% was the biggest reduction in this target rate on record going back to 1990. It is also the first time the fed has changed the fund rate in between meetings since 2001 when the US was battling fears of a recession and terrorist attacks.

I have received numerous calls about the rate cuts affecting mortgages. It does not directly affect 15 and 30 year mortgages. The fed fund rate cut will directly affect prime which is tied to equity lines and or 2nd mortgages. The bond market is directly tied to our 15 and 30 year mortgages. After Mondays plunge this would typically indicate investors are selling off and placing money into safer areas such as bonds. When bonds are driven up, home loan rates on 15 and 30 year mortgages will improve.

How will this affect things here in SW Florida / lee county? Feel free to call Adrian at 239-677-7250 (located in fort myers, cape coral, fl) or blog for additional information.