Bill Gillhespy Fort Myers Beach Realtor

The Beach Elementary School will hold the 7th Annual PTO Golf Tournament on Saturday April 25 at the Fort Myers Beach Golf Club. Shotgun start at 8:30. The event is limited to 22 four person teams and costs $60/person. Interested golfers and businesses can also become sponsors or donate merchandise for the raffle to be held after the included lunch. Call 463-6356 to enter or call the club at 463-2064 for more information. This is a really great event for golfers of all levels and helps support our island elementary school kids.

If you've been to our island paradise recently you have probably driven past this chrome and steel sculpture !

They attract passersby to my friend Peter's store. They sell all kinds of nautical gifts and decor items. Much of it is authentic. It fits perfectly into the nature of the island : fun, friendly and playful.

Where is it located ? Peter, Carla and their trusty dog " Brady " are located at: 2471 Estero Blvd. here on Fort Myers Beach. Phone: 239 463-9900. Stop by and say " Hi" to my friends at The Flying Fish Trading Company .

I know, I know. We've covered this topic and I doubt that this post will change anyones' mind. Maybe, just maybe it will help some newer agents to rethink this most basic marketing tool. Maybe it will encourage some agents to look again. Maybe it is o.k. to get back to grunt work.

I started doing " opens " because it seemed the least expensive and most effective way to get in front of new customers.

Today I do " opens " because they are the least expensive and most effective way to get in front of new customers. If you believe that this business is a numbers game then you probably do open houses.

We have all heard the tired old reasons why you shouldn't bother with opens so I won't repeat them here.

My reality is that if it were not for open houses I would not still be in this business ! Until very recently I used a gorgeous Gulf front listing as my " Farm Area ". It consistently drew people in and allowed me to engage them, do fact finding and qualifying, It was my real office and produced a lot of business as well as many prospects for my contact management system during the last year.

Results: Over the last 12 months this open house produced the following:

1. Sale of a small Gulf front condo : $210k

2. Listing a great Gulf front condo : $720k

3. Selling the above condo : $720k

4. Listing a nice canal condo: $420k

5. Listing a very nice Gulf front : $785k

6. Finally, selling my "Farm Area " $ 1.2 mil

Downside: It is grunt work, requires a huge time commitment and won't help your golf game !

I get a lot of calls from people interested in buying a " Short Sale " in Southwest Florida including Fort Myers Beach. My guess is that there is a late night infomercial promising that if you just purchase their "CD" course for $ 99 bucks you will magically be able to buy all the distressed homes you want for no money down and ten cents on the dollar ! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it just isn't true. Well, the part about them cashing your check for the $99 bucks ...that part is true.

For those of you already familiar with what a " Short Sale " is feel free to skip to the next section. For the rest of us consider the following example:

Dave and his wife ( Not their real names - why do they always say that anyway ? ) bought a nice home in 2003 for $ 300,000 dollars. Their lender lent them the entire amount of the purchase. Within a year they decided to add a room, pool and workshop. Now they owed a total of $ 400,000. Dave just lost his job and they cannot afford the payments anymore. Since 2003 the market has changed dramatically and identical houses now sell for $ 250,000 if you can find a buyer ! Dave is lucky and has a buyer who is already approved by his bank for the purchase price of $ 250,000The problem: Dave owes $400,000 on a house which in this market will only bring $250,000 ! In this example Dave is " Short " the difference between the amount owed ( $400,000) and the sale price ($250,000) or $150,000.

For there to be a short sale all of the following conditions must be met:

1. Dave must submit paper work documenting the " Hardship " conditions which force this distressed sale.

2. The lender must agree to " Forgive " the shortage of the balance owed - in this example $150,000. In some cases they may require that Dave sign a note promising to repay the difference . Or the lender may modify the terms of the loan in some fashion.

3. In some cases the lender will send Dave 1099 Statement of Income reflecting the $150,000. This, in effect, says that Dave received the $ 150,000 as income. As such, Dave must pay taxes on the amount the lender forgave on his next income tax cycle ! Talk about being down and getting kicked around.

Next section: Back to the buyers. In Southwest Florida, and I suspect most places nationwide, only 18 % of short sales result in a closed transaction ! Yes, 18 % or less than one in five actually close. Not surprising really ! Consider that when a buyer makes an offer on a short sale listing the bank really has no incentive to bother with a response. The offer goes in a pile while the bank hopes better offers will come in. Lesson # 1 Don't bother with a " Low Ball " offer. Work with a Realtor to determine the short sale guidelines of this particular lender and determine the comps for like properties. Your Realtor can help you prepare an offer with the greatest chance of acceptance. Lesson #2 Listen to your Realtor.

What you need to do. Be realistic ! Learn what is really happening in the market you are interested in. Get pre-approved by your lender. This approval must be on lender stationary, contain contact information, clearly indicate the dollar amount of the approval and any conditions or restrictions on the loan. This approval will demonstrate to the seller's bank that you are serious and can actually close the deal. Lesson #3 Be patient. Short sales may take several months for a decision - and you may not get it.

Bill Gillhespy is a licensed Realtor with Century 21 Tripower and living on Fort Myers Beach .

239 699-7128

www.BillSellsFortMyersBeach.com

Hearing the heavy " clank " as the key locked the door for the last time was emotional. It was the end of an era !

Century 21 Tripower Realty has been an institution on Fort Myers Beach since 3 young agents put their money and faith into forming Tri ( as in 3 of them ! ) Tripower Realty. It was a difficult decision and many challenges lay ahead. Over time the office became known for its' hardworking and innovative threesome.

Our tiny island is approx 8 miles long and was a very well kept secret. Many agents joined the office, some moved on for various reasons. Always there was the undying belief that real estate was a great investment and those willing to work hard at delivering great customer service would be rewarded. The office became the leader in condo hotel marketing and successfully brought several well known properties to market. That program became the model for many similar devgelopments here on Fort Myers Beach and elsewhere.

But past results and shear effort on the part of management and agents sometimes arn't enough. Sometimes the market decides who will continue to grow and succeed and who will diminish in size or perhaps go away. Several realty offices have closed, shrunk in size and scaled back operations. We all faced the same daunting market where buyers scranbled for the sidelines as sellers fought to protect equity.

Closing an office is a very emotionally draining process and affects everyone connected with it ! Careers are put on hold, dreams put on the shelf. Hearing that final clanck of the key locking the door for the last time would be heart breaking for anyone. Unless you moved to larger quarters where the future is even brighter and dreams will surely come true ! Yes, Century 21 Tripower outgrew the old office and moved into a shiny new office where each agent has a private work station, access to an inviting conference room and customers benefit from a beautiful and professional environment.

Yes, during this difficult market, when others were closing their doors and drowning in all the negative press this Century 21 office saw a positive future for Fort Myers Beach. Saw a need for continued customer service and did something about it. Broker Judy Haataja put her reputation and checkbook on the line when others pulled back. Her faith in our market and belief that our agents were committed to success made this difficult decision a little less scary for us all. Our new building is more than bricks and mortar. More than new work stations and air conditioning which actually works ! It is a statement of faith in what we are all about in this tough business ! It is leadership when much easier choices were available !

So here's to you, Judy ! Always moving forward. Always believing in Fort Myers Beach ! Rock on !!