Tag Archives: SW Florida Bank Foreclosures

Insider Secrets from a Foreclosure Pro

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With foreclosures slowing down, the competition to purchase these bargains has become even stiffer.  Many people call each week hoping to land these bargain properties and few will win the prize, so we thought it might be helpful to buyers and agents alike to learn the inside secrets on being the successful bidder on these properties.

As a listing agent for many banks, we know what the banks are looking for. We speak to the asset managers.  If you follow these tips your chances will increase as not every buyer knows what the bank considers when looking at multiple offers, which many foreclosures receive.

The first thing buyers must understand is there is a lot of competition for these homes.  Typically bank foreclosures go fast, and for over asking price.  Everybody seems to want them.  So structuring your offer and submitting it correctly will increase your chances.

Foreclosure Tips From a Real Estate Pro
How To Buy a Foreclosure Chart

Keep in mind, listing agents must have all the required information, so if they ask for something upfront, they mean it.  Listing agents don’t have time to track your agent down for this info.  We attach a document to each MLS listing specifying what is required with the offer.  Make sure your agent completes every single field.  We submit offers into an online system, and if information is missing, the offer cannot be submitted.

The bank never sees your offer until one is accepted.  The listing agent must enter information into an online submission, and it must conform to what the bank asks for, and all fields must be filled out.  If a foreclosure has 20 offers, the listing agent doesn’t have time to call 15 agents and beg for information that is required by the banks online system.  Keep in mind, it takes awhile to upload 20 offers, and the listing agent may be dealing with 20 properties.

Listing bank foreclosures is very time intensive, and the listing agent coordinates everything from repairs to working out HOA fees, title issues, code violations, etc.  Providing the required information is the first step.

Secondly, consider that you’re probably competing against other buyers, and that many will be above asking price.  So how do you compete?  Consider a higher escrow money deposit, shorter closing time, and definitely a shorter inspection period.  Bank asset managers are also gauging the strength of each buyer, so you want to put your best foot forward in hopes of getting the property.

Banks are on the lookout for buyers tying up properties then using contingencies to escape later.  Banks want solid deals, so you want to dress up your offer to make you look like the best buyer in the batch.  The price will be close to asking price or above because it’s a deal anyway, so you have to compete in other ways.

In many cases banks will counter multiple offers with highest and best.  Buyers are shocked when the bank doesn’t and just accepts one offer, so it always pays to pony up early on and go for it.  If you do get a highest and best form, assume the other buyer wants it as bad as you do, and act accordingly, because if you don’t, chances are you won’t end up with the home.

Be careful that your offer is written well and clearly states all fees and costs.  It is difficult to impossible to make changes later, and it could cost you the home.  Any change to the contract later on opens up the possibility the home goes back out for rebid and you could lose it, so it pays to write offer correctly the first time.  Same applies with names; make sure everyone who wishes to take title is on contract from beginning. You may not be able to add names until after closing, which could require new title insurance and additional fees.

If you’re purchasing as an LLC, make sure you provide documents upfront that you’re authorized to sign for the LLC.  The bank will ask.

These are some very useful tips by an experienced foreclosure agent. Each bank has their own rules, so be sure to follow directions well.  Make sure you’re working with an agent who understands contract language. Many times we see financing contracts that don’t match up or specify some costs buyer is not allowed to pay under the buyer’s financing program, and the offer cannot be presented to bank until language is cleaned up which could cost the buyer the sale because of delays.  Be sure to work with an agent who has experience writing clear and concise contracts and understands financing in and out.

Following these tips will increase your chances, and ignoring them will most assuredly have you scratching your head wondering why the bank selected another offer.  Good luck and happy house hunting.

 

New Years Resolutions

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One thing is for certain.  Every year about this time two things occur.  Real estate experts begin prognosticating what they think will happen in the New Year, and most Americans profess what their new resolutions are for the New Year.  (Well, at least for the first few weeks)

SW Florida Real Estate Market New Years Resolutions

You know, we hear the usual stuff.  I’m going to join a gym, quit eating sweets, lose 10 pounds, quit smoking, attend church regularly, make an effort to spend time with somebody, or change some type of behavior.  Some stick, and some don’t, but we all seem to do it every year.

Maybe we do it in our personal lives, and maybe we do it in our professional lives as well.  I always wondered if the real estate market had a voice what it’s resolutions would be, so for fun I came up with a few.  Like any resolution, some will never happen, but wouldn’t it be nice if in some magical way all our resolutions stuck all year.  Here’s an idea on what we think the market’s resolutions might be:

  1. Short Sales-Banks would speed up short sale
  2. Less Foreclosures-In part because homeowners who cannot afford to stay would successfully navigate and close a short sale
  3. Economy-Jobs is what will pull us through.  May 2011 bring a better economy and jobs to SW Florida
  4. New Construction-Brings jobs, and will be a sign prices are recovering to the point people choose to build again
  5. Prices Increase-Prices may be artificially too low right now, but one day they will recover.  Wouldn’t it be nice if this happened this year?
  6. Lee County would attract outside business to relocate to SW Florida-We know the county and Chamber is working hard on this.  Results in 2011 sounds like a great resolution
  7. Commercial rebounds because economy improves and new tenants fill empty buildings
  8. Red Sox Stadium pays for itself-Lee County is saturated with new fans seeking warmth and sunshine
  9. Homeowners Associations cooperate and help us close properties faster
  10. Cities like Cape Coral and Fort Myers code enforcement worry less about every little dime and work with banks to actually get properties closed so we can get new buyers into property.
  11. Government goes on a diet-Property taxes decline again and more people can afford to move here.

I know, not all of these things will happen.  Just like in the real world, it’d be nice to have a perfect wish list.  I’m sure you have others.

May 2011 bring more prosperity than 2010 did, and hopefully we’ll see some meaningful improvement we can build upon.  Together we’ll all get through this.  Don’t forget, it’s always darkest just before the dawn.  If you keep your head in the sand, you might miss the sunrise.  With a little luck and hard work, may 2011 bring that sunrise and a beginning to a new day.

Tips on How to Sell a Property in Today’s Market

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In past articles we’ve given tips on what to be aware of when buying a short sale or foreclosure as these sales are relatively new to SW Florida in the past few years. We’ve also given tips on how to select an agent to properly handle a complex short sale when selling, but we haven’t yet offered tips on how to sell a normal non-distressed property in today’s distressed environment.

Tips on How to Sell a Property in Today’s Market

Tips on How to Sell a Property in Today’s Market
Selling Your Home is a Balancing Act

Selling a “Normal” sale can be much different than selling a distressed property.  A normal seller has some distinct advantages over distressed sellers, and a few disadvantages as well.

A short seller may have limited time to sell if they haven’t been making mortgage or HOA payments.  Either the bank or HOA can foreclose, so time is not always on the seller’s side.  A short seller needs to price the home competitively, but not too high or too low.  If they price too low the bank will reject the short sale and if they price too high buyers won’t be interested.

Correct Pricing

A normal seller should also price correctly.  If the property is priced too high, buyers will either not buy, or will buy something that offers better value.  If the home is priced too low, the seller is just giving equity away to the new buyer.

A normal seller typically doesn’t “Have To” sell because of a bank foreclosure.  They may want to sell to trade up, trade down, take a job relocation, move closer to schools, family, etc.  The “Wish To” sell is very different than the “Have To” sell.  Buyers are often more interested in a “Normal” sale because there is just one decision maker.  The buyer doesn’t have to wait weeks or months for a decision and there is less stress on the “Normal” seller about deficiency judgments and tax implications, all making for a smoother transaction even if bank accepts the short sale.

When pricing the subject property, we often have to look at the condition of the short sale and foreclosed homes.  Many times these homes need appliances, flooring, fixtures, landscaping, air conditioners, and much more.  Condition plays such a big part in comparing homes.  Normal sellers are competing with short sales and foreclosures, but they’re not always apples to apples and adjustments need to be made.

Using the Correct Comparables

Agents also look favorably on normal sales because they are rarely affected by last minute title, judgment, and lien issues.  I can’t tell you how many times HOA, utility, code enforcement, and other liens delay a closing on foreclosed and short sale homes.

Financing a normal home is much easier for a buyer because they can reasonably lock-in they’re interest rate.  It’s almost impossible to lock-in a rate on a short sale as you never know when you can actually close, and also true on a foreclosure if any of those last minute title surprises creep up we mentioned earlier.

Normal sellers need to keep their eye on the “Current” of the market.  Even though the normal seller has many advantages, the distressed sales aren’t emotionally tied to the home, so many times they’re more willing to look at what is actually going on in the market versus what they “Feel” they need out of home.  A bank or the investor may just want out and can afford to dump a property versus a normal seller who has worked hard for their money and need it for the next venture.

Never Chase the Market Down

In a declining market you never want to get caught chasing the market down. This is true for distressed and normal sales.  You really need to study the “Current” of the market and see what it’s doing, not only for the overall market, but also competing homes like yours.  Traditionally, sold comparables mean more than Active listings as anybody can ask anything for a property, but the proof is what others are willing to pay.

The market doesn’t rise or fall in unison for all properties.  It’s possible the market has bottomed and even started going up in certain segments of the market and still declining in others.  Recognizing where your home stands in the various sub-markets will be critical to pricing it effectively, and will offer you the greatest chance of selling, even in today’s market.

It doesn’t matter if the market is up, down, or sideways, pricing based on analysis is critical.  Marketing is especially important when buyers have many homes to choose from. Make sure you’ve discussed with your agent and have a clear plan based upon your property’s needs.  Marketing, pricing, negotiating, and solving the transaction puzzle are the keys to being successful in any market. We hope we’ve offered tips in two of those areas.

Good luck in successfully selling your property.

Stop-Go-Yield!

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Last week we reported that distressed sales accounted for 63.27% of all single family home sales in August, and that a big shake-up was about to ensue as banks declared they were halting foreclosure sales at auction until they had time to investigate whether they’ve followed proper procedures.

Since that time Three major lenders (J.P. Morgan Chase, Allied Financial Inc. (GMAC,) have all stated they were halting foreclosures, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Last week there were in fact several foreclosure sales to the astonishment of the banks who have instructed their local counsel to halt proceedings of final judgments until they study each case.

SW Florida Real Estate Foreclosure Market
Stop- Go- Caution

We at the Ellis Team handle foreclosure sales for one of the large banks and FNMA. FNMA says they have not been affected because they didn’t employ the robo signers the big banks did. The large bank we work with gave us orders on 10 new properties in the past 2 weeks, and we had a closing this past week.

To date title companies are still issuing policies and the banks are still closing sales, although we’ve heard reports of some cancelled sales by agents. Banks may be halting summary judgments, but in many cases they are moving forward with new foreclosures to get the process started, but holding off on the final judgment or auction sale until they know they are on solid legal ground with their paperwork. This is not necessarily stopping them from disposing and selling properties they previously foreclosed on.

So one has to wonder if the bank’s announcement was all a farce for publicity. The answer is probably not. These banks are large and decisions take awhile to matriculate down to all the branches. The implications are huge though.

What’s at stake is the bank’s legal authority to foreclose. Typically the bank makes a loan then services the loan after they sell the loan to an investor, often times as a group package in what is called a security. These loans are typically bundled together with many loans, and many investors may join together and invest in the security package. Other times an investor will buy individual packages of loans.

Because these original loans get bought and sold, there must be a paper trail as to who actually owns the security, and the right to foreclose against the borrower. Defense attorneys have long asked for the lender to produce the note, often called “Produce the note defense.”

Usually the lawyers would sign affidavits that they, or the bank does indeed have the note, and the judge would accept that. The reality is, the note and other paperwork may be missing and perhaps never found. Because of all this, some judges may no longer accept those affidavits, and many of these sales may be in question.
Some speculate this could happen in as many as 30-40% of the cases out there, and the answer is nobody really knows, not even the banks or attorneys right now. This is why banks and states have opened investigations. If this is wide-spread, it could have deep financial implications to the banks and investors, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see damage suits against the banks by those foreclosed upon where the paperwork was insufficient.

This very well could stall the process and tie up the courts for awhile, which could affect the real estate market. It would make sense for the banks to emphasize short-sales now that foreclosures could be delayed, but the banks don’t always make sense.

Inventory could dry up, and transaction volume could decline. Some speculate prices would be driven up fast and furious, but we’re not so sure. We’ve had high sales because prices have been at bargain prices. Unemployment is high, and the economy is hurting. Will prices rise just because supply goes down? In a balanced economy, we’d say yes. In this economy, we may just be prolonging the foreclosures further out and delaying our recovery. We hope this situation gets resolved quickly as nothing good results from a foreclosure moratorium. In the end, the property will still be foreclosed or sold, so no sense delaying it and letting neighborhoods decay and the market falter. Let’s hope this gets fixed and we all get back to business soon.

Watch SW Florida Real Estate Update-Foreclosures-October 2010 on video

SW Florida Real Estate Market Market Up, Down, or Sideways?

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This is the age old question everyone asks.  How is the market doing?  Have we bottomed?  When will prices go back up?  When will my home be worth what I owe?  How long until we get back to 2005 prices?  Should I sell or rent? 

Actually we get more questions than this, like should I pay my mortgage, should I pay my homeowners association fees, etc.  We’ll stick with the value questions for this article. 

We’ve included a graph illustrating median prices since 2008.  Median prices don’t tell the whole story, but they do tell a story.  The definition of median price is half the sales are over and half under a certain price.  As you can see, prices have fallen sharply since January 2008, and even more dating back to 2005.  Ironically, home sales are up and setting records precisely because home prices have fallen.  We’ve explained this in depth in past articles. 

Lee County florida Single Family Median Home Sale Prices
SW Florida Real Estate Prices Graph

Average sales prices were approximately $365,000 back in January 2008 vs the median price of $225,000.  We have been watching how the average and median price are related, and we have a chart in our annual State of the Market Report on Pg 4 that shows the relation over time between the two.  This report can be found at www.Topagent.com 

The average price gives us a little more depth to the market and helps us understand the overall breath of the market.  As we’ve been saying for quite some time, we expect higher priced foreclosures and short sales to actually pull the median price up, and we believe this will occur.  This past week official numbers were released, both statewide and nationwide.  Prices actually fell 3.3% vs. last month, and were down 9.74% from last year. 

Some might ask if we do all this research, when will our predictions come true.  Our best estimates have been we could see year over year price increases as soon as March or April data.  March data won’t be released until next month, but keep in mind these are only predictions about the future and nobody knows for certain.  We are fairly confident this will occur; the question is more of when. 

We have been looking at both median and mean average sales price data and it appears that prices for both dropped since December 2009 as official data would indicate, however were are seeing some price increases in March data that would indicate this trend has reversed, at least temporarily.  Keep in mind we have many more closings that occur at the end of a month that could skew the data, but the trend looks good. 

We would also expect sales this time of year to be higher as our Northern visitors are here and buying property as well, and many of these sales are in the higher than median price range.  Many of these sales will occur past March into April and May, and many will come back and buy in the summer. 

Ultimately prices will be determined by jobs and the economy.  As more people get back to work, it should slow the foreclosures, and bring more people to the area.  When will this occur?  I think it’s so much easier to forecast prices in the short term than predict the overall economy.  Congress has been focused on health care and the climate more than the economy, so it’s really hard to predict what’s coming out of Washington and how it will affect us and the economy, especially since we’ve largely been kept in the dark until something passes. 

We would encourage our government to turn its attention to actually helping the economy, or get out of the way so small business can begin creating jobs and getting us back on our feet.  Once the economy starts looking up, Main Street can begin to recover and prices can begin to rise.  Our prices are artificially low, and they won’t stay that way forever.  Prices are well below replacement cost, so builders are on the sidelines now as they don’t wish to build at a loss.  Our market will increase in value perhaps 40-50% before this occurs, and this is why buyers today have a chance at building substantial equity quickly. 

Once the dust settles and our market reaches price equilibrium, builders will be building again, bringing more jobs to the area and sustainable price appreciation.  Good times await those who buy now and ride the coaster on up to equilibrium.

Be sure to check our latest video on the Flood Insurance Crisis affecting home sales.

Search all SW Florida Single Family Home Bank Foreclosures

2009 SW Florida Real Estate State of the Market Report Released Yesterday

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Yesterday Brett Ellis of the Ellis TEAM at RE/MAX delivered the SW Florida State of the Market Report to the public.  The report is 77 pages and includes data on Lee County Florida home sales, including Cape Coral real estate sales numbers, Fort Myers real estate sales numbers and pricing trends, Bonita Spring real estate updates, Estero, Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva, Pine Island, and all of Lee Couny.

The report shows single family home inventory in Lee County Florida declined 15.61%, and months supply of inventory in Lee County declined 42.66% due to decreasing inventory and increasing sales.

Cape Coral is the hot spot for sales activity, with 4,633 sales and less than a 1 yr supply of inventory.  Lee County overall inventory level stands at 17.53 months, down from 30.57 last year.  Median single family home sale prices were down 37.89%.  Two areas actually saw a rise in mean average sales prices in 2008; Bonita Spring-Estero and Central Fort Myers.

The report provides insightful data at the county level, and at the neighborhood level, as well as foreclosure data.  The sub-markets we analyzed were Cape Coral North, Cape Coral Central, Cape Coral South, North Fort Myers, Central Fort Myers, SE Fort Myers, SW Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres, East Fort Myers including Alva, Bonita-Estero, Pine Island, Fort Myers Beach, and Sanibel and Captiva Islands.  We provide data such as monthly pricing graphs for 2008, monthly sales charts, List price to sales price ratios, months supply of inventory levels, total list and sales volume,Minimum listing, maximum listing, lowest sold listing, highest sold listing, median price, average price, and total sales.

It is our most detailed report yet.  We scrutinized the data from multiple MLS boards and eliminated duplicates.  This one of a kind database is more thorough and accurate than services such as MLS Alliance because some boards pull their data out of the Alliance.  Additionally, we scrubbed the data for known errors.  We allowed duplicates when there were actually multiple sales on the same property for the same year.

73% of foreclosures in SW Florida were non-homestaeded property, meaning investors walked from their investments when the value fell below what they owed.  Most investors were planning to flip for a profit when they purchased.  SW Florida bank foreclosures were absorbed and sold, and inventory fell as the market heated up, even if prices have not.

We’ll add video of news stories from the report in coming days.

SW Florida Real Estate Buying Strategy

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People always ask each year what Season will bring in terms of home buying activity in SW Florida.  The past few years Season has been slow compared to historical standards, with good reason.  The past few years buyers have been fearful prices could slip lower, and the economy seemed to be showing signs of slowing down and consumer confidence was eroding.  Some have even argued we’ve been in recession or at least heading toward recession.

So why would 2009 Season be any different, as the economy doesn’t look any better than it has the past several years?  There are many reasons this year could be different.

1.  Prices are down.  Not just a little down, but way down.  They’re down so far that builders wouldn’t dare build right now because sales prices are much lower than replacement cost.  This phenomenon can only last so long, and once inventory levels start coming down, prices will go back up.  We’ve witnessed a large number of foreclosures work their way through the system and come to the market.  As soon as they hit the market, they’re sold because they’re affordable.  Affordability is back in this market, and that is new.

2. Retirees aren’t getting younger.  A Retiree has been able to sit on the sidelines and wait for prices to come down, and they have come down significantly.  The demographics for Florida are still fantastic as Baby Boomers haven’t even peaked yet.  Retirees have wisely waited, but they can’t wait forever.  A retiree only has so many good years and opportunities left, and if they wait too long they’ll miss out on living their dream in Sunny SW Florida forever, not because the market won’t be good, but because they only have so many good years left.  Retirees are so much healthier when they move to the sunshine because their outlook improves, and they can be physically active 365 days per year due to the weather.  They also enjoy conversations with other people in the neighborhood close to their same age and with similar interests.  This isn’t always the case in rural areas up North with bad weather.

3. It’s always wise to Buy when everyone else is selling and Sell when everyone else is buying.  Look back to 2005 and you’ll recognize many were buying.  Those that sold did very well.  Now that prices are abnormally low and below replacement costs, those that buy now when banks and sellers are selling at bargain prices will fare much better than those that purchased only 3 short years ago.

4. Interest Rates have remained low.  Because of the global crisis, the World Bank has coordinated interest rates cuts among many nations, so the US was free to cut again without fear of the dollar being de-valued if we were the only one’s cutting rates.

5.  Inflation may come back long term.  If so, buying assets today at low prices and financing them with low rates allows people to pay back a rapidly appreciating asset due to inflation at today’s low prices and with cheap money.  It’s the same reason people have bought gold, only a house is something you can live in, Vs.  gold or a stock.

6. When real estate was down, people flocked to stocks.  People are running from stocks right now, and because prices are so low in real estate, you could see a charge back into real estate in the next year or so.

The bottom line is nobody knows for sure the future.  All we do know is that our streets are getting busier with our friends from the North visiting, and people are watching to see if this is the year many of these snowbirds start opening up their wallets now that Florida is on sale.  Everyone loves a good sale, and we’re having a blowout sale as we speak.  The next few months could get interesting.

Click here to Search the entire MLS for your bargain property today.  Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres has had a number of bank foreclosures.  Fort Myers has had a few, but not near as many, but there are bargains galore.  Sales in Lee County Flroida have been up tremendously versus other areas of the state because our prices in SW Florida real estate have come down much faster than other areas.  The areas throughout the country seeing the greatest sales gains are those where the sellers have reacted first and brought value back into the market.  While it’s been painful, SW Florida home sellers have reacted.

 

Official SW Florida Real Estate Sales Numbers Released-Large Increase in Home Sales

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Official May 2008 sales numbers were released for SW Florida, Fort Myers and Cape Coral, as well as the entire state of Florida.  We predicted a 57% increase in the number of sales and a 25% decrease in the average sale price in Official SW Florida Real Estate Sales Numbers Due Out Tomorrow post on June 25.

As you can see from our Florida Sales Report – May 2008 Single-Family, Existing Homes, official home sales were up 43% and the median sale price was down 25%.  The official numbers use statistics from various sources and we analyzed statistics from the Greater Fort Myers and the Beach Board of Realtors.  We knew our stats would be close to official numbers and while the number of sales was a little off, the trend was overwhelmingly positive no matter how you look at the numbers.

We posted a new Ellis Team Current Market Index on June 20th, and the prognosis for continued strong sales activity persists.  Condo sales were up 32% and median sale prices of condos in SW Florida were down 9%.  See Florida Sales Report – May 2008 Existing Condominiums   For additional housing statistics in Fort Myers and Cape Coral real estate, see our Housing Statistics page.  If you’d like to search for property in SW Florida, including Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs, and all of SW Florida, visit our SW Florida MLS Property Search Website.

If you’re interested in Bank Owned Properties and Bank Foreclosures throughout Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Lehigh Acres, visit our Bank Owned Bargains webpage.

 

Preliminary SW Florida Real Estate May Sales Numbers

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Official sales numbers for May won’t be released until about June 25th by the Florida Association of Realtors.  I’ve spent some time this month analyzing May home sales, and it pretty much confirms what our latest Current Market Index suggested, that sales would be up in May.  The Current Market Index accurately predicts the SW Florida real estate market into the future, so May’s number’s won’t be surprising.

We’ll release these numbers today with one caveat.  The official numbers are derived from various MLS sources, and are adjusted after the fact sometimes a year later.  The results we release today may not be 100% in line with what is officially released, but we will go on record with our predictions and we’ll see just how close they were once the officials are released.

From the data we’ve looked at, it appears May Sales were up 51.67% over last May’s numbers, which would beat the 41% increase of the official April numbers.  It would also hint that April’s sales numbers were not an aberration and may indicate buyers are truly off the fence as homes have become affordable.  In fact, homes sales in May were up 7% over April’s blistering pace.

Home prices in May were down 25.07% from last May’s numbers, less than April’s 29% official number.  For this example we used average mean price and not the average median price.  We are showing a 1.82% price increase ion the average mean price of a home in SW Florida this May over this April, another encouraging sign.

So what does all this number business mean?  It means buyers are back in the game, sales are very, very strong, and prices may have leveled this past month.  We’ll wait for official numbers to be posted later this month, but don’t be surprised to see more encouraging news once official numbers are released.  We think buyers have their greatest leverage right now, and time is slowly slipping away on buyers as market inventory has actually been going down and sales are up drastically.  We predicted 2008 to be a year of bouncing along the bottom in our 2008 State of the Market Report released last January, and it certainly is shaping up that way.

Bank foreclosures and short sales have helped affordability in the SW Florida market.  Inventory has been coming down, and without the bank foreclosures and short sales we would eventually run out of inventory and be back in the same sellers market we were in a few years ago, minus the wild speculation that occurred.  To listen to Brett Ellis tell how to buy bank foreclosures in Fort Myers and Cape Coral in a radio interview, click here.

Check out  an Inside the numbers look at Entry Level Home Sales and Inventory in SW Florida for april.  This will give you an idea of what is driving the Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres home sales market.

 

Busy Week in Real Estate

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I can’t tell you how many properties we sold last week because I don’t have those numbers in front of me as I write this Blog, but I can tell you we were busy and several did go pending.  We had multiple offers on several properties, which I’ll tell you more about later on.

We’ll be updating our SW Florida Bank Owned Bargains page tomorrow.

The best priced properties are selling in SW Florida, and many are bank foreclosures, but not all.  Many have predicted that bank foreclosures would top out last month, and we were hopeful as well because we saw 2-3 months of declining rates.  I spoke with good friend Jeff Tumbarello today who tracks Lis Pendens with the county probably better than anyone, and he tells me April will be another record setting month.  When I heard the number I was amazed.  We’ll let him announce it tomorrow, but this just tells me we have another wave coming, so stay tuned for some more upcoming bargains.

A lot of our regular sellers are selling now as well, so it’s not just the foreclosures.  Basically anything that is priced at market is selling, and buyers are jumping off the fence in droves.  We think when April sales numbers are released next month there will be an uptick in closed sales, because we’re seeing it.  In fact, we just hired another staff person to keep up with the workflow, and we’re hiring buyer specialists right now as well.

Back to the multiple offers.  Everyone probably thinks as a listing agent having multiple offers is fun.  All I can say is it is more fun than having a listing for months and no offers, but the fun ends about there.  Last week we had several properties receive multiple offers.  One had four offers, and the agents involved just had to have this property for their buyers.  We let each agent know that we had several offers and gave each of them ample notice to inform their buyer and come with their best offer.  Each one did, and was convinced the bank should sell to their buyer and their buyer alone.

There truly was one offer that was better than the others, and another offer that was perhaps second best, and so on.  The best offer was never in question, and by definition the bank can only accept one offer, so it should be no surprise that there will be one winner and 3 losers.  In this case, the losers didn’t take it well and wanted to know why their offer wasn’t taken, told us how their buyer deserved this home, and so on and so on.  One even tried to complain to the bank directly about how they didn’t like the process.

From a listing agent standpoint, it’s never fun to have to tell 3 people they didn’t get the home they wanted.  I spent all weekend talking with these agents, even though I couldn’t present the offers until Monday morning when the bank opened.  There were a few procedures that must be followed, such as one about pre-approval letters that must accompany the offers, but some saw fit to not do this step until after I told them they wouldn’t get the property without it.  I spent almost all day Monday dealing with this one property.  As a listing agent, I can only sell it once, but I had to deal with four agents all weekend and all day Monday, and three were Mad at the outcome.

Then I had to start all over with another property, and another.  Invariably we get some agents who don’t or won’t understand the process and work to do what is necessary to get their buyer the property.  I received an offer today from an agent who didn’t like the counter-offer I gave them back.  She informed me that the bank should know it’s a buyer’s market, future assessments are coming, and so on and so on.  I tried to tell her the bank gets a BPO from me and they do their own appraisal.  This property today is listed well below my BPO number I thought it was worth, and I was being conservative.

Still, they are arguing over the price, meanwhile the property had several more showings today.  Most of these bank foreclosures sell at or above full price, and it’s only a matter of time before we get multiple offers.  This could happen tomorrow if we don’t get this property wrapped up soon.  And if it happens, I hope to not have to hear about how this buyer deserved the property, had their offer in first, why it’s stupid for the bank to counter-offer, etc.  It’s a good deal and I hope this buyer sees it.  If not, another one will soon, I am certain of that.

Bottom line is even when you’re getting multiple offers, it’s not always fun.  Many buyers, some of our own included, are learning the hard way that their first and second choices are being sold out from under them and they’re left with their third choice.  Buyers have read for so long how terrible this market is, and they believe it.  The sooner buyers hear and believe what really is happening on the streets, the more likely it will be that they’ll get their first or second choice instead of the left overs.  Listen to your agent, and don’t doubt that there are some positives in this market.  The headline of the story doesn’t always match the article, so read the entire article.

Ask your agent.  A multiple offer situation is not fun for the listing or selling agents.  Buyers are placed under a large amount of stress, and agents do the best they can for their client.  I know the agent today who is telling me what the bank should know is just doing her job the best way she knows how.  I hope secretly that she’s telling her buyer what a good deal this house is and to now mess around and lose it.  One of our buyers took too long this past week and just lost out on a nice golf course home in Fort Myers.  They had a verbal agreement, but took a week to get back with us and by the time they could get a formal contract to us, another buyer had come along and beaten them to the punch.  The seller was not obligated to honor a verbal and took the higher offer that was in writing.

The lesson to this story, if you’re going to steal, don’t do it in slow motion.  And don’t get too greedy fighting over the last few thousand dollars.  Get the deal and get it wrapped up.  Otherwise. you’ll be on your 3rd choice in no time.  Stay tuned and watch for some big foreclosure numbers, but don’t just read the headline.  Read the whole story, and the story in the days that follow.  Our market has a silver lining.  And stay tuned for more deals to come.  We have several on the way, so call our office if you’d like in on one of these deals.