Cape Coral Florida's Real Estate Guide

lemence for CNBC.com

When Carole and Jim Gourley started looking at vacation properties in Florida last December, they weren't all that serious. The retired couple, who live in Ontario, had rented in Panama City Beach for five winters. Stuck at home with a sick pet this year, Jim Gourley started browsing for foreclosures down south for fun.

"One thing led to another and we found a condo we liked the look of and decided to pursue it," Carole Gourley says. "We could not believe the prices that some of the properties were being listed for, especially since the one we liked is only four years old."

They ended up buying a three-bedroom condo in Bellasol, a development in Fort Myers, where prices currently range from $39,000 to $170,000. "We paid 25% of the original selling price," she says. "We feel that we got an extremely good deal.

The Gourleys are part of a new surge of buyer interest along Florida's Gulf Coast, where real estate websites are seeing a dramatic increase in traffic and local brokers are experiencing an uptick in inquiries and sales.

In housing markets around the country, there are signs that perhaps the bottom has been reached, and sales are beginning to come back up-with prices hopefully to follow.

To get a handle on these rebounding markets, we asked real estate search firm Trulia to tell us the cities in which they have seen the greatest rise in searches-a proxy for buyer interest-over the last year

The result: Seven of the ten cities were in Florida, a poster state for the real estate boom and bust, and five were on the Gulf Coast side of the state.

Source: Trulia.com

Obviously, this isn't boom buying, wherein people are investing their money because prices are rising dramatically.

"Basically, the market crashed so hard, prices have fallen so much, that places have become interesting to people again," says Mark Washburn, a realtor at Island Coast Realty in Ft. Myers who blogs about the local market.

Sales for Lee County, Fla., which includes Fort Myers and Cape Coral, were up nearly 80 percent from 2007 to 2008, he says. "That's pretty impressive. The caveat is the prices are half."

The same holds true in the other Florida markets, says Stan Geberer, associate at Fishkind & Associates, a real estate consulting firm based in Orlando. "Those are all places that have seen a 30 to 50 percent decline in prices over the past year or so," he says. "From the peak of the market they may be down even further than that."

According to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, in the fourth quarter of 2005, home prices rose 36 percent in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area, 38.3 percent in the Naples-Marco Island area, and 28.2 percent in the greater Miami area. In just the last quarter of 2008, prices fell 32.9 percent, 32.8 percent and 24.1 percent respectively.

"Those areas saw the greatest levels of overbuilding, the greatest levels of speculation during the bubble," says Geberer. "[Southwest Florida] was a heavy area for starter home investors." 

Those price declines are luring bargain hunters. Some are vulture investors, Geberer observes. Washburn is seeing people from north of the Mason-Dixon line, and many from Canada.

National real estate brokerage Coldwell Banker Real Estate is seeing buyers push life plans up as a result of the economy, and seeking deals on their retirement homes. First-time buyers are coming back into the market, says Jim Gillespie, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, thanks in part to federal incentives, which include a $8000 tax credit for first-time, residential buyers.

In the comeback markets, many of the deals are short sales or foreclosures. In last quarter of 2008, according to the National Association of Realtors, 45 percent of real estate transactions in the US were so-called distressed sales.

But Gillespie points out that there are also markets that have been strong all along; places like Columbus, Ga. Inventory is up there, but prices are too-very, very slightly, about 1 percent. The same holds in Shreveport, La., and San Antonio, Texas, he says. "In most of the heartland of America, the prices are stable."

While it may not be an easy sell to consumers, he argues that it's a great time to buy: Interest rates are at historic lows, with high inventory levels, there's lots of choice, and prices are down. 

"Once the inventory levels are burned off in those hardest hit states we'll have a balanced market," Gillespie says. "And things will start to go up."

© 2009 CNBC.com

This week, President Obama revealed the details of a loan modification plan that is designed to help struggling homeowners stay in their homes. As part of the recently passed economic stimulus plan, $75 billion dollars has been allotted to reworking troubled loans. It is expected to help as many as 4 million homeowners and stop home values from continuing to plummet. Let's take a look at how you will benefit from this new plan.

If you are a homeowner who is having trouble making payments on your primary residence, you may be eligible for a loan modification. Your occupancy will be verified and you will be required to sign an affidavit of financial hardship. Other requirements include:

• Proof of Income
• The loan must have originated on or before January 1, 2009
• The balance of the loan cannot exceed $729,750.00

If you meet these requirements and your mortgage lender is willing to participate in the program, your payments will be reduced by your lender to no more than 38 percent of your monthly gross income. Then the government will step in with funding to bring your payments down to no more than 31 percent of your monthly gross income. To achieve these numbers, your interest rate will be lowered, your loan term may be extended for up to 40 years, and if needed, your lender will forebear loan principal at no interest. Your lender may also choose to reduce the principal of your mortgage, but is not required to do so under this plan. Contact your lender to see if you can take part in this new plan and save your home from foreclosure.

If you do not qualify to take part in this plan or if you simply are not behind on your mortgage, this plan is still good news for you. Provided that this plan works, housing prices will stabilize. By putting the brakes on further foreclosures, property values can stop falling and even increase. This is good news for those who have been wanting to sell but waiting for the market to calm down. You may be able to put your house on the market and make that move up you have been dreaming about without taking a huge financial hit.

There is something in this plan for everyone. This plan also has a $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit and other incentives for homeowners. For more information on available tax incentives or to buy or sell a home in Cape Coral, contact me today!

Deciding how much apartment they can afford is one of the most important decisions a renter will have to make. This decision will help to determine a number of factors include the size and location of the potential apartment as well as the types of amenities offered. Those who are interested in renting an apartment will have to consider all of their current expenses in comparison to their monthly cash flow. They will also have to determine whether or not there are changes they can make to their current budget to make a larger or more well situated apartment affordable.

Consider All of Your Expenses

When deciding how much apartment they can afford, renters should carefully consider all of their monthly expenses in relation to their monthly income. Expenses may include, but are not limited to, utilities such as gas, water and electric, telephone, cell phone, Internet services, cable television, car insurance, renter's insurance, gas for car, cost of commuting to work, groceries and other incidental charges. Subtracting these costs from the monthly income will give the renter a good idea of how much money they can afford to spend on rent each month. Renters might also consider subtracting an additional amount out of their monthly income to give them the opportunity to save some money each month.

Expenses to be considered should also include expenses for entertainment purposes such as dining in restaurants, going to movie theaters or cultural events. Even movie rentals should be considered in this category. Considering these expenses is necessary because otherwise the renter may not allot a portion of their budget for such purposes and may find themselves unable to participate in some previously enjoyed leisure activities.

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While there are some renters who view renting an apartment or a house as a failure, there are others who see the benefits there are to be gained from renting a property as opposed to purchasing a property. Some of the benefits of renting include the ability to save money while renting for the purpose of purchasing a home, few maintenance requirements and the inclusion of amenities which the renter would not likely be able to afford if they were to purchase a home instead of renting. Although there are some negative aspects to renting an apartment, this article will focus exclusively on the benefits of renting a property.

The Ability to Save Money

Being able to save up a great deal of money for the purpose of making a down payment on a dream home is just one of the many great advantages to renting a property. Many homeowners were able to realize their dream of homeownership only after living in a rental property for a certain amount of time. Although renting is often criticized as throwing money away because it does not result in equity, the ability to save money while renting is unparalleled

Rent for an apartment is usually considerably less expensive than the monthly mortgage on a home. The home is also typically much bigger than the rental property but in cases where the renter is renting for the sole purpose of saving money, the value of renting cannot be denied. Depending on how long the renter stays in the apartment, they may save hundreds or even thousands of dollars during the course of the rental agreement.

No Maintenance Properties

Another advantage to renting a property is there is typically little or no maintenance required by the renter. This is especially true in an apartment situation. The renter may be responsible for small items such as changing light bulbs but more extensive repairs such as leaks in plumbing or clogs in drains are typically handled by the maintenance staff of the rental property.

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If you are applying for a loan, credit card or mortgage, it is normal for the agency to check your credit worthiness. This is essentially based on the assessment of your credit history, thus helping them determine the possible risks of the deal and decide the terms of the loan. Positive assessment means good financial background, which increases your chances of obtaining credit.

The process wherein consumers with poor credit histories try to reestablish their worthiness is called credit repair. It involves procuring the credit report from agencies and taking careful and appropriate steps in addressing apparent issues, including omissions, misreporting, misinterpretation or other inaccuracies.

If there are any discrepancies found in the credit report, the consumer is entitled to dispute the errors that unjustly harm their financial healthiness and credit worthiness. There are several laws and regulations that are designed to guarantee fair and legal undertaking of the credit report process. These laws can be used to legally and formally start the process of credit repair.

Every consumer is entitled to one copy of credit report each year from each credit reporting agency. Investigations with regards to the real nature of the inaccuracies and errors are possible and necessary for successful credit repair.

What influences your purchasing power and eligibility of availing any credit facilities in the future is your credit record. You should keep in mind that a good credit score can help in several purposes, such as: mortgaging a home, buying a car or applying for a job. On the other hand, a bad credit score can make you vulnerable to exorbitant interest rates and unnecessary loan terms from several companies. These two facts are important in helping you understand why maintaining a good credit score is vital.

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