Is The Lee County Rocket Docket Over?

The previous ‘rocket docket’ is said to be over in Lee County, Florida.

What is this Rocket Docket?

Over the past couple of years the civil courts of Lee County have been handling foreclosure files quickly or also known as the ‘rocket docket’. The idea was to process files quickly as to not clog up the judicial system. The state supplemented the local court system with funds to allow them to hire additional staff for case management and to hear foreclosure cases. One possible problem that came along with this was cases being foreclosed on unjustly or without due process. Even lenders (plaintiffs) complained as well stating that they could not stop foreclosure cases being pushed through via the court systems. Many defendants and organizations have complained about these actions and additional suits have been filed because of this. One such complaint was made by the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) stating that the Lee County Rocket Docket does not allow for defendants to be granted the due process they deserve. To top that, the money that had been provided by the state is said to have run out.

What is happening to the Lee County Foreclosure Cases now?

Foreclosure cases that are ‘sitting’ at the courts have been placed back into ‘case management’ for the most part. Cases that are considered ‘sitting’ are cases where neither the defendant (the home owner) or the plaintiff (the lender) have filed anything recently. Some options* that a defendant has are: Motions to Dismiss, compel, produce or mediate. Some options* that the plaintiff has are: Motion to set for hearing, trial and/or summary judgement. If neither party has taken action the court is now discontinuing with their docket soundings and moving everything out into what is called ‘case management’. Once back in case management nothing really happens with the case until one or the other party files something new.

Can this help you in your situation?

Perhaps. If you need more time to figure out the best option for you this could be really good news.

To read more about the Lee County Rocket Docket and find out how we may be able to assist you with a short sale in Lee County.

We spent our Sunday afternoon on Captiva Island, Florida

Mid 70s, light breeze, beautiful beaches, tons of shells...need I say more?

Cape Coral Gulf Access homes make great second homes.

What will a second home in SW Florida cost?

As the prices of homes in SW Florida are, can we say, more than affordable, many people across the U.S. and abroad (especially Europe and Canada) are entertaining the possibility of a second home. The biggest question on everyone’s mind is “What will it cost me?” Obviously it is pretty easy to find the listing prices of Cape Coral homes online but to truly understand what the ‘cost’ will be can take doing some research. In this article I will go over the basic costs you can expect to pay when investing in a second home here in beautiful Cape Coral or Ft. Myers, Florida.

First to consider: Cost of Money

Are you planning to pay cash or do you plan to get a mortgage for some of the purchase price? If you plan to pay cash make sure that you are comfortable with the rate of return on your investment. You may wish to consider getting a loan for some of the purchase to keep more capital for other investments (more houses, or?).

If you are going to obtain financing make sure you determine which loan is best for you and your needs. Most investment properties will require 20-25% down. If you are Foreign National you must be prepared to put down at least 30% in most cases. You can also attempt to receive a loan from your country as well. The rates will be lower but you may have to put up your current home as collateral (borrow against your equity). Some second homes may be purchased with less money down. But your payments will be much lower with the more money you put down on your purchase.

For comparison purposes here let’s look at a sample waterfront listing. The current asking price is $375,000. Let’s assume that you plan to put down 25%. This means that you will be putting a down payment of $93,750. Here is an estimate of closing costs:

Taxes: $ 6,422.24*

Loan fees: $3,846
Prepaid taxes & insurance: $5,778

Total costs to close: $103,374.

• from current 2009 tax bill – properties are reassessed every year here so this could change. Currently this home is assessed at $374,230. Please also note that taxes are NOT higher for non-residents. But full time residents are eligible for exemptions.

To find insurance companies who are still readily writing homeowners insurance in the state of Florida visit www.ShopandCompareRates.com

You can verify tax information online at www.LeePA.org

Next we need to figure maintenance. You will have an electric charge and probably a water bill as well. Let’s assume that you are not here full time and so we’ll estimate these charges on the ‘low’ side.

Monthly Bills
Electricity $200-400
Water $ 50-150
Lawn $ 75-100
Pool $ 75-100
Alarm $ 20-50

You may also wish to hire a maintenance company to handle all of this. They will have their own crews to handle lawn, pool, cleaning, repairs, etc. They charge anywhere from $50-500 per month above the charges listed above.

You can also have the property rented out during the months you will not be visiting if you’d like to offset the costs. Rental rates very depending upon location and whether we are talking about in or out of ‘season’. You can pay anywhere from 5-15% for property management assistance. This fee is generally deducted directly from your monthly rental income.

Keep in mind that these are estimates and that the real charges could be higher or lower.

Our professional real estate agents can walk you through this process and assist you in determining what makes sense for your needs and wants.

Ready to search for available homes now? Visit our Cape Coral real estate source!

We look forward to hearing from you! If you have any questions at all give us a call!

(239) 542-8521

(888) 764-6665

inquiry@floridafutureagents.com

Copyright 2010 Florida Future Realty, Inc.

I cannot believe what that idiot did today!

Sound familiar? Do you constantly end up dealing with ‘Idiots’ in your real estate business? They don’t know what they are doing. They clearly haven’t read the new laws! They don’t even write up a contract correctly! Sheesh, we should all ‘Raise the Bar’!

It is funny that I am writing this. I have definitely had my moments dealing with ‘idiots’. Yep, I said it. But you know what? Looking back I clearly could have handled the situation differently, better even. Instead of allowing the initial frustrating thought to take over I should have stepped back and realized that EVERYONE makes mistakes.

We all have our moments of saying or writing something ‘stupid’. We have all messed up some document before. We have all misspelled something in our day! We have all done something completely incorrect.

But you say, “I take responsibility for my actions”. Or even “No, I don’t make mistakes”. You are crazy if you think you haven’t made mistakes. We all do! Great, you take responsibility for your negative actions but you don’t think others do? Well maybe you could respond with kindness and actually HELP them out instead of ranting about what they do.

For instance, in this current market we are dealing with a LOT of bank owned properties, short sales and investors. Some of the real estate professionals around here have been handling short sales and/or bank owneds for years. Others are just now starting to take these kind of listings. It appears that the ones who have been handling it for longer are (from the newbies mindset): Rude, non-responsive, even unprofessional
While they are: so much more professional. They would of course answer their phone and most certainly return all phone calls promptly, take more photos of the house, be nicer to agents who ‘are trying to sell this house for the listing agent’!

Funny thing is though on the flip side of the coin these listing agents are “tired of all the stupid questions”, “exhausted with the low ball offers”, “too busy to explain to every buyer’s agent how to write up an offer properly”, “knowing the property is priced so low it will sell fast & don’t need to take 10 photos of it - it is a foreclosure after all’.

Sound familiar? See the problem? Everyone is too worried about everyone else and not worried enough about themselves. We all need to focus more on our own professionalism, our own friendliness, kindness and ethics. We will never force someone else to be something they are not but being rude to them will not help - in fact that will make it worse! (i.e. viscous cycle)

Next time you are thinking about ‘ranting’ about some ‘idiot’ agent/any other person rethink it. Think about being kind and doing something way more productive with your time! Like maybe ‘helping’ someone out!

And please, don’t convey your opinion to the public or your customers. It will only make you look like the loser. People want to be around happy, kind people - not jerks.

So leave your negative attitude, huge ego and BS at home and come out and be positive, have fun, be professional and be more successful!

No one is perfect but we can all make a better effort to be ‘better’. And ‘better’ is not telling someone else how to do their job. It is being better at your own!

My 2 cent rant for the day ;)

Make it a GREAT one!!!!! And wouldn’t you rather be HAPPY than RIGHT?

(and the photo is there to help you RELAX :))

June 1, 2010

Cape Coral, Florida

June 1 is the first day of Hurricane Season.

This year is predicted to be a busy hurricane season. The official NOAA predictions are as follows:

“We estimate a 70% probability for each of the following ranges of activity this season:
14-23 Named Storms,
8-14 Hurricanes
3-7 Major Hurricanes
An ACE range of 155%-270% of the median.” (from http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.shtml)

NOAA is clear to state that they DO NOT make landfall predictions. They are unable to predict landfall until a few days out.

It is always best to be prepared as you never know exactly what may happen in your neighborhood/area. The good news with Hurricanes is that they give us plenty of warning. We are notified of their formation SEVERAL days before they are even close to United States in most cases. This gives you plenty of time to prepare. Whether you plan to board up and stay at your house or board up and leave is up to you. Depending upon the strength of a Hurricane you can make the best choice for you and your family.

I remember when Hurricane Charley hit our area in 2004. Most people didn’t even make the necessary preparations because they had never experienced a storm this large. They were used to small storms that caused minimal damage. We knew it was headed our way as at least a category 2 storm well in advance. However, as it approached it reached a category 4 Hurricane status. Many older homes sustained minor to major damage and many other homes sustained minor roof, pool cage and tree damage. We lost power through most of the area for several days. Charley was definitely a wake up call for our area.

The following years were mild for us including last year which was also pretty mild in and around Cape Coral.

I wrote the article below in the past to remind people of other natural disasters around the US and World to put Hurricanes ‘in perspective’.

Being in SW Florida, I hear concerns from people about Hurricanes from time to time. We usually end up discussing historical data, newest hurricane codes & then I typically go into ‘natural disasters elsewhere’.

Honestly, I cannot think of a single place to live that there won’t be something weatherwise to concern yourself with. Basically it comes down to picking the ones that least annoy you, or maybe are least likely to kill you.

Here are some I can think of:

• Hurricanes
• Tornadoes
• Mudslides
• Blizzards
• Avalanches
• Fires
• Floods
• Draught
• Extreme Heat
• Wind
• Earthquakes
• Tsunamis
• Sink Holes
• Volcanic Eruptions
• Solar flares, meteors, etc…

So, what natural disasters do you have to explain in your area?
Oh, I almost forget Florida is also the lightning Capital of the World
But I can’t see myself living anywhere else!

Read the remainder of this article on my webiste: Cape Coral Hurricane preparedness