Thinking about a short sale or foreclosure in Southwest Florida? You may want to think again.
I have gotten my share of e-mails/calls wanting a "great" deal. Who can blame the buyer? Everybody wants a great deal, right? And, of course you have heard the news...Florida is falling apart at the seams. Sellers are going bankrupt, foreclosure is rampant, and God forbid if we have another hurricane! With all the bad press it is no wonder these "got any short sales or foreclosures?" calls are coming in steadily.
So, what is the problem?
For one, buyer's need to cool their jets a bit and do their research. I received an e-mail last week from an out of town gentlemen. He was interested in some villas in a upscale private golf community in Naples. Minutes to the sparkling Gulf. The villas are listed (and selling for) around $1.2M. His e-mail directed me to let him know if someone "needed to sell" for HALF OF THE LISTING PRICE. He cited the "doomed" economy in coming up with his price - this is what he thought they were worth. I very gently (and kindly) told him that if they are going pending at these prices I seriously doubted they would ever depreciate by half. I sent him an e-mail with some condos that were in his price range. I have not heard back from him. I am not saddened by this. Buyers need to be realistic. Yes, there are deals. No, most sellers are not going to even come close to accepting half of their asking price. Not all sellers are "losing everything". We all still expect a fair amount of logic,reason, and humanity in buying and selling real estate.
Secondly, there are many, many good deals out there that are NOT short sales or foreclosures. These "deals" come complete without what I call the "short sale hassle". The short sale hassle is the waiting and not knowing that your offer has been accepted or even looked at by the bank, the additional paperwork, the added fees (yes, there are added fees usually), and the fact that while your offer is in, the bank is holding out for a higher offer.
What about foreclosures? Foreclosures are usually in bad physical shape. Not always, but usually. By the time you spend your time and money on making the home livable, you've spent just as much as you would have on a home that is non foreclosure/short sale without the hassle.
So, what is a buyer to do? Find a Realtor who knows the market and can find you a non short sale/foreclosure for the same amount of money. They are out there. They are common. There are sellers with lots of equity that can afford to reduce their price to be competitive with the short sales. These are the homes you want to offer on.
Contact me today for a complete list of "great deals" in Naples or Bonita. 239 776 0090
