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CITY OF CAPE CORAL 2008 ANNUAL REPORT
(Available March 2009) FAST FACTS:
Population 163,127 (a
4.5% increase over 2007 Annual
Rpt.)
Median Age 44 (no change since 2005 AR)
Median Income $53,549 (4.1% increase over 2007 AR)
Median Home Value $274,120
South West Florida...
"Very Affordable and Stunningly
Beautiful"
...Come see what everyone
is
talking about and stay in one of
our Beautiful Vacation Rentals
Tread
Carefully When Making a Low-Ball Offer
These days, it’s easier to make a low-ball
offer than it used to be, but still it’s important to be smart. Here are
some things that a real estate practitioner and would-be buyer should consider
when contemplating such an offer:
● Use
foreclosures as comps carefully. Look
realistically at the prices foreclosures in the neighborhood brought.
Foreclosures aren’t good comps if the homes were stripped of appliances,
pipes, HVAC, etc.
●
Examine details of short sales critically.
How many liens were there against low-selling short sales? If there were no
secondary liens, the lender had considerable flexibility.
●
Establish realistic time frames. Even
in the best of circumstances, foreclosure takes a long time. Will the seller
play the waiting game? How long have houses whose owners have equity stayed on
the market? Is the buyer in a hurry?
If your buyer makes a low-ball offer, the bank
probably won’t be in any rush to take it. They’ll likely just keep
soliciting offers without coming back with a counter. Ultimately, the property
is likely to sell for a higher price and, chances are, you and your buyer
won’t know it until the deal is done.
Source: ThinkGlinck, Ilyce R. Glink (03/30/2009)
GROW SMART
Florida will continue to grow, but without adequate planning, what will the
state look like? Be part of the solution and discuss new urbanism in Florida with hands-on examples currently
under development.
Go to: http://www.floridarealtors.org/LegislativeCenter/SmartGrowth
and download the full PDF brochure. Still have questions? Call FAR's Office of
Public Policy in Tallahassee at (850) 224-1400.
SPECIAL NOTICE(S)
Right
price helps sell homes (7/29/10)
What matters is what buyers are willing to pay; helping sellers figure
out the right pricing in today's market isn't easy (FAR).
Fla.
existing home sales rise in June (7/22/10)
Statewide sales up 15% compared to June '09; condo sales up 33%. Fla.'s
June home median price higher than May's (FAR).
Economic
outlook: Normal enough (7/22/10)
Business isn't great in many areas, but Fed says attitudes today are
significantly improved over year-earlier outlooks.
Fed eyes
steps to bolster sputtering recovery 7/15/10).
The Fed cut its economic forecast but will use tools in its arsenal to
moderate any downturn if things start to look worse.
Foreclosures
on track for 1M in 2010 (7/15/10).
Lenders took back almost 528,000 homes in the first six months, but the
number of new filings appears to be leveling out.
BP reports
progress; Gulf Coast waits
(7/14/10).
BP is cautiously
optimistic about its latest tactic to plug the leak, and claims it
should stem all oil flow into the Gulf.
NAR: Make
a home a vacation destination (7/14/10).
HouseLogic, NAR's consumer-oriented website,
offers fix-up tips for pools, decks, grills, landscaping, paving, etc.
Well-heeled
walk away from $1M+ mortgages (7/9/10).
More than one in seven borrowers with home loans of $1 million+ are
seriously delinquent, a research firm says.
Flood
Insurance expired at Midnight Monday May 31, 2010 (May 31, 2010).
Congress has a number of bills that would have extended the
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) beyond it's pre-set deadline of
Monday at midnight, but the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)
says that action is unlikely to take place.
Flood
insurance expires at midnight Monday
(5/28/10)
NAR now considers it
likely that it will again lapse. Buyers hoping to close soon should try
to secure a policy immediately (FAR).
Mortgage
rates sink to lowest level this year (5/28/10)
Mortgage rates dropped to 4.78% as investors poured money into the safe
haven of U.S. government securities (FAR).
Judge
certifies Chinese drywall class action (5/15/10) .
For the first time in
Fla., a judge in Miami-Dade ruled that a lawsuit over faulty drywall can
proceed as a class action (FAR).
Post-tax
credit buyers may save money (5/14/10)
Buyers who missed the deadline lost $8K but could now save as much as
$44K thanks to lower mortgage rates (FAR).
Fla.
consumer confidence up in April
(4/28/10)
Confidence rose 6 points despite the state's unemployment, with a
14-point surge in buying attitudes about big-ticket items (FAR).
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For More information go to
"Real Estate News" on the Side-bar to the right.
Fannie sweetens offer
to avoid foreclosure
WASHINGTON – April 26, 2010 –
Struggling borrowers who give up their homes through a "deed
in lieu of foreclosure" or a short sale will be able to
obtain a new Fannie Mae loan in two years. Currently, these owners
must wait at least four years.
The new policy, which takes effect in July, is designed to make
foreclosure alternatives more attractive. The policy applies only
to Fannie Mae's willingness to approve a mortgage, however.
Homeowners' credit scores will still take a hit following a short
sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.
To qualify for a mortgage after the two year wait, Fannie Mae says
borrowers must make a 20 percent downpayment; but those who lost a
job or have other extenuating circumstances will be able to make a
10 percent downpayment.
Freddie Mac – which, with Fannie Mae, insures over half the
mortgages in the U.S. – currently makes homeowners wait four
years after a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure before it
will back a new mortgage. Owners who go through a foreclosure wait
five years. For both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the waits can be
shorter in some cases if borrowers show extenuating circumstances.
Source: Wall Street Journal (04/26/10) P. A2; Timiraos,
Nick © Copyright 2010 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301)
215-4688
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