Leslie Barad

When I was a teenager I used to vacation a lot in Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale. I always had fun there but it never occured to me to think of living there. Compared to the culture and history found in Boston visiting Miami and Fort Lauderdale seemed like a trip to an amusment park. A fun place to spend a few days but no place to build a life. I spent a few days in Fort Lauderdale recently and nothing much seems to have changed. Although many, many years have passed, I felt exactly the same way I had when I was nineteen and twenty.

Florida is a big state. Most people who move here want to be near the ocean or the gulf and there are many big cities and small towns that will allow you to do that . I was surprised to find that I really liked the west coast of Florida better than the east. I first came here to visit a friend who had recently moved to Fort Myers from Boston. I really questioned her wisdom in actually relocating here..was Florida really a place to live year round? To my surprise, I found that I really liked it.

Now that I've lived here for four years I like it even more and I'm very happy I made the decision to move here. Yes, being older definitely has something to do with it. You don't feel old here because everyone else is too. In Boston, famous for being a college town, everything gravitated around youth. Here just the opposite is true.

But there is a lot more reasons why I chose this particular place: tropical weather, peace and quiet, enough variety of activities so there is always something to do without the hustle bustle and huge traffic snarls of a big city. And people are nice here. This is an area, while developing real sophistication, retains the friendliness and openess of a small town.

If you'd like to know more about Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs or Naples, just give me a call or send me an email. I'll be glad to answer any of your questions and send you emails of some of the great bargains available in the lovely community I live in.

In sports, coaches often remind their players to remember the fundamentals, to get to basics. As is so often the case, sports is a good analogy for my life.

Today I routinely asked a potential customer on Staten Island: "How are you?" "Cold.", she said. "I'm cold. What's it like down there?" I looked out my office window. I have been so busy lately I hardly ever get outside. But as usual my office revealed another golden day just like so many others. Just another glorious day in sunny Southwest Florida.

When you're down here all the time it's easy to forget the real reason peope want to move to Florida: it's sunny and warm amost every day. It smells good down here, especially at night when you can see a thousand stars, many of which are new to me. There's water for swimming, boating and just looking at close by all the time. And palm trees and tropical flowers. Never wear a coat and hardly ever need a sweater.

If you are cold, in Michigan, Minnesota or Staten Island, there has never been a better opportunity to get a piece of paradise for your very own. An unbelievable buyer's market exists here now that will probably never come again.

Call me or email me anytime and I will email you some examples of bargains you won't believe!

Last week I wrote in general terms about the truly amazing opportunity that exists now in Southwest Florida to purchase real estate at bargain basement prices. Now I want to get more specific and give you some actual examples

For example, it is possible to puchase a decent condominium in Fort Myers for less than $100,000. I just presented an offer on a very nice 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit with loft and enclosed patio in the very heart of Fort Myers, close to everything, that was listed at $99,000. My client's offer of $89,000 will very likely be accepted.

On Cape Coral, a very popular waterfront community criscrossed with navigable canals, brand new 2 bedroom, 2 bath houses are going for less than $100,000.

Then there is Naples, a city that is often compared to Beverly Hills, one of the most up-market locales in Florida. Some single family homes in North Naples, a friendly community minutes from beaches and close to Naples' elegant shopping areas, are selling in the low to mid $200's.

Finally, my broker just asked me to do an open house in one of her listings at Grandezza, a totally posh gated golf community in the poshest part of posh Estero. I almost flipped when I saw the price. This townhouse unit, 3 beds, 2 full baths, is listed at only $230!!

Call me or email anytime if you would like me to email you some listings suited to your taste and pocketbook.. How long can this bonanza last?