For Sale By Owner in Bonita Springs Florida
So I’m up at the dog park trying to burn some energy off of “hell on four legs” and one of the regular dog park attendees strikes up a conversation with me and says, “I’m thinking of getting a real estate license so I can sell my house.” Besides being absolutely shocked that I was standing in the presence of a living, breathing, Floridian without a real estate license, I was also surprised that someone would go to the trouble of real estate school for the sole purpose of selling their own house.
Out of curiosity I asked what the motivation was to become licensed just to sell their own home. I was genuinely curious since licensure is not a legal requirement to sell one’s own home. Surprisingly, this person thought there were all sorts of financial advantages. I suspect that, just now, one out of every one hundred seventy-five people reading this hit the floor laughing because they know differently. In the state of Florida alone, 1 in every 175 residents is a Realtor® according to a recent report. In case you were curious, Florida is number three in the nation behind Arizona and Hawaii.
While there may be some advantages on part of the commission depending upon the end result of who brings in the buyer, there is nothing about being a real estate licensee that absolves a person from the responsibility of closing costs; documentary stamps on deed, prorated taxes and HOA fees and possibly title insurance. Having a real estate license also doesn’t protect your home from being overpriced, not appraising for the buyers mortgage or for not selling.
So here’s the deal about selling your home yourself. You don’t need a real estate license; you just need motivation, a plan and to be more honest with yourself about your home than you probably can even imagine, which is the biggest obstacle for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) home owners have. Some of what sellers need to accomplish isn’t markedly different than employing a real estate agent. Depending upon inventory, which is particularly low in entry level pricing, it’s now more probable that real estate will actually sell FSBO.
If you have the desire, time and inclination to sell your own home here is a list of eight action items for the FSBO home owner:
1. Pricing – Just like listing your home with a real estate agent, ninety percent of your success is going to be determined on properly pricing your home. It just is. Read that sentence again, slowly.
2. Prepare your home for sale. You can’t get it clean enough or organized enough.
3. Interview and hire a real estate attorney to protect your interests, prepare your contracts and to close the sale of the property. There is so more to selling a home than just finding a buyer.
4. Market your home, especially on the internet. About 90% of home buyers search for real estate on the internet. Also, don’t overlook neighbors as a resource for knowing people who are interested in the neighborhood.
5. Keep up on closed sales in the area. Think the neighbor’s house or a house in the area sold? Call the agent and find out. They will tell you the price after it has closed sale. The closed sales, good or bad, influence valuation and the ability of your home to qualify for financing.
6. Network with real estate agents in the area with similar listings and offering a co-broke fee for bringing in a buyer. If supply in the area is low, they’ll probably be calling you asking to bring in buyers.
7. Ask for showing feedback from the agents if they do show it. While buyers may not be as honest about pricing, condition, location an agent will and it will help you adjust to entice new buyers.
8. Read item number one again.
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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area. Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor. If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.
You can subscribe to a weekly email newsletter by visiting www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com and entering your email in the subscription area on the center pane of the web page or by adding us to your reader by subscribing to this blog. Oh, and if you’re reading this content anywhere else but www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com or Naples Daily News it is probably stolen.
Tags: Bonita Springs Florida Real Estate, Bonita Springs Real Estate, for sale by owner, fsbo, real estate agent, real estate attorney, Realtor
Bonita Springs Real Estate Inventory
- Single Family-Villa 11.9 Months
- Low Rise Condo 10.06 Months
- Mid Rise Condo 13 Months
- High Rise Condo 20.8 Months
- Attached Villas 9.7 Months
- Manufactured Homes 14.15 Months
How much real estate is on the market? Is Bonita Springs real estate as bad as they say Florida real estate is? These statistics are a broad stroke of the brush and when doing the calculations pending sales are counted as active so the numbers are less than what is published. Great news for home owners, not so great of news for those looking to purchase Bonita Springs real estate. Inventory is low in the entry level prices.
To see other reports for April 2012, read also: Bonita Springs Real Estate market Reports
Tags: Absortion Rate, Bonita Springs Real Estate, Bonita Springs Real Estate Market Report, condo, high rise, inventory, Single Family Homes, villa
SW Florida International Airport Near Bonita Springs, Fl
Bonita Springs, Florida offers fast access to Fort Myers International Airport RSW. Generally a trip to the airport from Bonita Springs is about thirty minutes or less. The distance is less than twenty miles from most locations in Bonita Springs to Southwest Florida International Airport.
During the busy winter tourist season time frames can be lengthened to about forty-five minutes, just to be safe.
Of course, time of day is just as important as distance when estimating travel time between Bonita Springs and the airport.
8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. are busy drive times on the routes to the airport, I-75, Ben Hill Griffin Parkway, Alico Road and US 41/Tamiami Trail.
For more information about RSW, the local airport, read also: Southwest Florida International Airport
Tags: airport, Bonita Springs, Distance, florida, Fort Myers Airport, rsw, southwest florida international airport
Historical Bonita Bay Real Estate Sales
Bonita Bay real estate sales fought to hold their own during the month of April 2012, but dipped only a few units shy of the average. Of the recorded Bonita Bay real estate sales, all were considered equity sales, none were foreclosures or short sales. This report includes both Bonita Bay homes and Bonita Bay condos, including the towers.
To get an idea of what price ranges of real estate in Bonita Bay has sold, take a look at the following graph. The price range of real estate selling in Bonita Bay helps consumers, both buyers and sellers of real estate understand how swiftly or slowly their real estate market is moving.
To review additional or more current Bonita Springs Florida and Bonita Bay market reports, read also:
Bonita Springs Real Estate Market Reports
Real estate sales that occurred during this time period were located in: Arbor Strand, Bay Point, Baywoods, Cracker Cove, Esperia South, Estancia, Harbor Lakes, Hidden Harbor, Horizons, Lakeside at Bonita Bay, Riverwalk, Riviera, Sandpiper at Bonita Bay, Tavira, The Hamptons, Tuckaweye, Waterford and Wedgewood.
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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change. Check the date on this report for freshness. If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.
Tags: bonita bay, Bonita Bay Condos, Bonita Bay Homes, Bonita Bay Market Report, Bonita Bay Real Estate, Bonita Bay Towers, Bonita Springs, florida
Bonita Springs Real Estate and First Time Home Buyers
There’s never been a better time to buy a home … unless the buyer is financing the purchase. It’s not because it is difficult to finance real estate or that the banks aren’t lending, it’s because the entry level real estate market is chock full of cash buyers and the super affordable inventory is gone.
The Southwest Florida real estate market can remove that big scarlet “drowning in inventory” sign it’s been wearing around its neck for the last few years. The original deluge of foreclosures and short sales which flooded the area has, for the most part, been absorbed. For the record, I did say original deluge. I don’t want the sticks and bricks fatalists to have absolutely nothing to wring their hands over.
At any rate, one would have to actually be a first time home buyer or someone with the ambition to get in on affordable, entry level home ownership to feel the pressure. All of the starry eyed dreaming and careful planning aside, the first time home buyer of today is entering a combat zone trying to purchase a home these days.
Today’s successful first time home buyer is always prepared, has already found an experienced mortgage broker and a dedicated real estate agent who can drop everything morning, noon or night to get them into the latest listing that just hit the market. These buyers have been prequalified to purchase, been saving their dollars, tidied their credit and set off for the hunt, only to start placing offer, after offer, after offer and not getting awarded the contract.
Those who decide to live the American dream through the joys of home ownership can barely catch a break if they’re financing their purchase in the entry level market. How could that be?
Cash talks and financers walk … to the next available property that will, like the others before it, hit the market, receive multiple offers and call for highest and best offer by 5:00 p.m. The contract will likely be awarded to a cash buyer about 81% of the time if the purchase price is under $100,000 and 61% of the time priced under $150,000. Pretty tough odds, huh?
Wide eyed, first time home buyers become frustrated and if they’re not on the proverbial home buying band wagon when they start dabbling in the home buying arena, they get there quickly after a couple of smack downs by home sellers who step right over them for a buyer with cold, hard cash in hand.
Generally, cash buyers serve a very important place in the real estate market. They’re the buyers who can purchase real estate that is not financeable or the damaged and derelict properties needing extensive repairs. Unfortunately, there just isn’t a whole bunch of affordable real estate to go around, again, so they’re able to squeeze in and make the deals.
Besides digging up a cash benefactor there isn’t a big secret first time home buyers should know to help them get awarded the contract on the next property they place an offer on except speed, perseverance and luck. Luck, in this entry level home buying climate, is simply when thorough planning and preparation meets opportunity. So, if the goal is to buy a home in southwest Florida in the entry level real estate market, get your home buying team in order, plan your purchase, prepare for the financing, search every web portal and keep finding and quickly offering on new real estate opportunities until good fortune shines on you.
On a separate note, this would probably be an excellent time for someone to come up with a first time home buyer’s version of the St. Joseph statue.
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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area. Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor. If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.
You can subscribe to a weekly email newsletter by visiting www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com and entering your email in the subscription area on the center pane of the web page or by adding us to your reader by subscribing to this blog. Oh, and if you’re reading this content anywhere else but www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com or Naples Daily News it is probably stolen.
Tags: Cash Buyer, first time home buyer, foreclosure, mortgage broker, real estate, short sale, southwest florida, Southwest Florida Real Estate
Sales History of Bonita Springs Homes and Condos
Bonita Springs real estate has changed dramatically and quietly over the years but often times consumers have a hard time figuring that out with the conflicting reports that make it to the mainstream media. A good portion of the reason why I blog is to write accurate news.
Oye … most real estate buyers and sellers don’t realize how time consuming it is collect the data for these reports. That being said, here is the latest and greatest of what is going on in the Bonita Springs and Estero Florida area. For the most part it’s all good, we’re selling off inventory like gang busters and the market is stabilizing and moving forward.
If you’re interested in seeing the other April 2012 real estate market reports, read also:
Bonita Springs Florida Real Estate | Condition of the Sale April 2012
Bonita Springs Florida Real Estate | What Price Range is Selling April 2012
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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change. Check the date on this report for freshness. If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.
Tags: Bonita Springs condos, Bonita Springs foreclosure, Bonita Springs Home Sales, bonita springs homes, Bonita Springs Real Estate, Bonita Springs Real Estate Market Report, Bonita Springs Sales History, bonita springs short sale, Equity Sale, Historical Sales, March 2012, Market Report, Market Reports, real estate market report
What Price Point of Bonita Springs Homes is Selling?
Bonita Springs Home Sales have been chugging along. We’ve seen the price point of $400,000 and under command the market for some time. The reality of Bonita Springs and Estero Florida real estate sales is that all price points sell, just some price points sell more.
Those homes and condos in the slimmer margins on the graph are generally in better condition and priced appropriately for the real estate market.
Excluding manufactured homes, there are only about thirty properties on the market in Bonita Springs and Estero Florida, priced under $100,000. We will be seeing the $200,000 and under market shrink in sales ratio simply because the 100K and under price point of Bonita Springs real estate is slowing going away with market recovery. It was nice while it lasted.
For more April 2012 Bonita Springs real estate market reports, read also:
Bonita Springs Florida Real Estate | Condition of the Sale April 2012
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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change. Check the date on this report for freshness. If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.
Tags: Bonita Springs foreclosure, bonita springs price range, Bonita Springs Real Estate, Bonita Springs Real Estate Market Report, bonita springs short sale, Equity Sale, March 2012, Market Report, Market Reports, Price Point, Price Range, real estate market report
Bonita Springs Real Estate Sales Statistics
Bonita Springs Real estate sales have been cooking along and the latest month’s report has us looking at the lowest amount of foreclosure and short sales we’ve seen in a while in the Bonita Springs and Estero Florida areas. Equity sales, the green section, are homes and condos for sale which do not have bank involvement. They are just regular real estate sales.
The market has stabilized quite a bit and we’ve seen a tremendous amount of inventory absorbed as well as the prices of real estate go up. The entry level has been absorbed. Homes that hit the real estate market in the most affordable price points sell quickly, often with multiple offers. It’s not fun being a first time home buyer in the Bonita Springs real estate market, these days.
For more April 2012 Bonita Springs real estate market reports, read also:
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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change. Check the date on this report for freshness. If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.
Tags: Bonita Springs condos, Bonita Springs foreclosure, bonita springs homes, Bonita Springs Real Estate, Bonita Springs Real Estate Market Report, bonita springs short sale, Equity Sale, estero condos, Estero Foreclosure, estero homes, Estero Short Sale, March 2012, Market Report, Market Reports, real estate market report
Tags: CREW, CREW Trails, Oak Tree
Laurel Ridge Bonita Bay Homes For Sale
Laurel Ridge at Bonita Bay is a single family home community located in Bonita Bay of Bonita Springs, Florida. Laurel Ridge is located just off of Country Club Blvd. Laurel Ridge consists of only one street called Laurel Ridge Court.
Homes in Laurel Ridge were constructed between 1989-2006. There are no vacant home sites remaining on which to build. The community is complete and there are are only resale homes available.
Laurel Ridge at Bonita Bay is a small community with a total of only twenty single family homes. Home sizes range from about 1,700-3,500 square feet of living space. Nearly all Laurel Ridge homes have a private swimming pool. Views from the lanais of homes in Laurel Ridge are of wooded area preserves or lake views.
Home owners in Laurel Ridge not only enjoy the resort lifestyle of southwest Florida but also the great amenities of Bonita Bay. Home owners in Laurel Ridge enjoy easy access to the Bonita Bay walking path system as well as access to the nearby River Walk Park.
Bonita Bay is bordered by Spring Creek, Imperial River & Estero Bay w/direct access to the Gulf. Residents enjoy Bonita Bay’s private beach pavilion, 12 miles of bicycle and walking paths, basketball, boating/canoeing/kayaking, and 3 waterfront parks.
Bonita Bay Club is member owned & offers 5 golf courses, 18 Har-Tru tennis courts, a state of the art fitness center & Olympic pool and a clubhouse offering casual as well as fine dining. Bonita Bay also offers a full-service marina w/Gulf access via the Imperial River.
Due to the smaller number of homes available in Laurel Ridge there are generally not many available on the resale real estate market. Other homes in Bonita Bay which are similar to Laurel Ridge are located in River Ridge at Bonita Bay and Woodlake at Bonita Bay.
To learn more about the amenities of Bonita Bay, read also Bonita Bay Golf and Country Club.
Laurel Ridge, Laurel Ridge at Bonita Bay, Laurel Ridge Bonita Bay, Bonita Bay Laurel Ridge, Homes in Bonita Bay, Bonita Bay Homes, Laurel Ridge Homes, Bonita bay Real Estate, Bonita Bay Golf and Country Club
Tags: Bonita Bay Golf and Country Club, Bonita Bay Homes, Bonita Bay Laurel Ridge, Bonita Bay Real Estate, Homes in Bonita Bay, Laurel Ridge, Laurel Ridge at Bonita Bay, Laurel Ridge Bonita Bay, Laurel Ridge Homes
Your Second or Even Third Comparative Market Analysis
Chances are you probably had a CMA, a comparative market analysis, when you listed your real estate for sale. If you didn’t, you should have. What many home sellers do not realize is that there probably should be more than one CMA over the life of a home’s listing period.
Sooner or later your home is going to interest the right buyer and you will receive an offer. How you choose to respond to the offer, if you choose to respond to the offer, if you choose to counter the offer should be based on current, I repeat current, closed sale statistics and current market conditions.
The real estate market has been shifting and the inventory is tightening up. The market has undoubtedly changed enough for most home owners to get a current updated market on their property when an offer comes in. Whether the home was listed for one year or one month prior to the offer coming in a seller should receive an update on what has closed sale in the past six month time period, which properties are pending sale and how many active homes are now on the market competing with the subject property for the same buyer.
Every day that a home is on the market the sand is flowing through the hourglass. The comparable sales used on the day that a home is listed actually have a freshness date. If a buyer is getting a mortgage that freshness date has never been so important. The buyer’s lender is going to have an appraisal which is used to value the home as part of the mortgage process and the appraiser will only be using the fresh comparables, not the now stale comparables used to estimate the value of the home when it was listed.
If a home has been listed for three months at the time an offer comes in, there are three months of stale comparables which, in most circumstances, are no longer relevant. There are also potentially three months of fresh, new comparables which may be beneficial or possibly detrimental to supporting the offer price. These recent sales will be part of the new comparative market analysis.
Sometimes what a home seller perceives as a low-ball offer may be, in fact, based on similar closed sales which have occurred between the date a home was listed and the date the offer was presented. It may not be pretty but a closed sale is a closed sale.
So what’s a seller to do in this evolving market when an offer comes in? Demand a fresh CMA if your real estate agent hasn’t provided one so a decision can be made based on the same critical, current sales prices everyone else involved in the transaction is going to be using.
It probably wouldn’t hurt to have your agent ask the buyer’s agent to see the CMA they created when they chose their offer price. There are a few reasons this can benefit a home seller:
· To determine if they even did a CMA or they’re just tossing out offers.
· To verify that the buyer is actually using the most qualified, recent comparable sale prices.
· To make sure that there isn’t a closed sale that you and your real estate agent could have overlooked or not yet discovered.
Always get the facts and figures before you start negotiating or you could be negotiating a sale price which won’t appraise or, even worse, leave money on the negotiating table.
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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area. Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor. If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.
You can subscribe to a weekly email newsletter by visiting www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com and entering your email in the subscription area on the center pane of the web page or by adding us to your reader by subscribing to this blog. Oh, and if you’re reading this content anywhere else but www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com or Naples Daily News it is probably stolen.
Tags: Bonita Springs Real Estate, buyers agent, cma, comparative market analysis, home seller, listing agent, real estate agent, real estate for sale, tips for sellers
Four Bedroom Creek Front Pool Home in Historic River District of Downtown Bonita Springs, Florida
27072 Riverside Drive Bonita Springs, Florida
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Chris Elizabeth Griffith
Downing Frye Realty, Inc.
(239) 273-7430 chris@LifeInBonitaSprings.com http://LifeInBonitaSprings.com
Listed by: Downing Frye Realty, Inc. |
Nearby properties for sale
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Tags: Bonita Springs, Creekfront Home, gulf access, Gulf Access Bonita Springs, No HOA, plan of riverside, pool home, Riverside, riverside drive, single family home
Enclave at Bonita Bay – Bonita Bay Homes & Villas
Enclave at Bonita Bay a neighborhood of fifty-four single family villa homes located in Bonita Bay in Bonita Springs, Florida. Enclave at Bonita Bay is located just off of Country Club Drive south of the main gate. The Enclave consists of three streets, Enclave Drive, Key Lime Court and Sawgrass Court.
The homes in The Enclave were built from 1988 to 2003. The community is built out and there is only resale real estate in The Enclave available.
Villa homes in The Enclave have from 2-4 bedrooms and from 1,775-2,400 square feet of living area. Many of the homes feature their own private swimming pool. All homes have a two car garage.
Homes in Enclave at Bonita Bay are structured with outside maintenance of the lawns and gardens included in the quarterly assessment. Landscaping is taken care of so living in The Enclave is the next best thing to care free condo living yet owners enjoy the benefits of single family home ownership.
Views from the lanais of homes in The Enclave included wooded views, golf course view or lake view. Home owners in The Enclave can easily access the walking path system of Bonita Bay, which runs beside the community.
In addition, River Park of Bonita Bay at Bonita Bay is nearby and offers additional walking trails, playground, tennis courts, boat ramp, work out stations and more.
Home owner of The Enclave also enjoy use of the many amenities of Bonita Bay which include Spring Creek Park, Estero Bay Park, The Beach Park and optional memberships including marina membership, social membership, fitness membership and golf membership.
For more information about the fabulous, resort style amenities at Bonita Bay, read also:
Bonita Bay Golf and Country Club
Real estate in Bonita Bay which is similar to the Enclave includes Montara at Bonita Bay, Laurel Ridge at Bonita Bay and Cracker Cove at Bonita Bay.
Enclave Bonita Bay, Enclave at Bonita Bay, Bonita Bay Homes, Bonita Bay Condos, Enclave
Tags: Bonita Bay Enclave, Bonita Bay Homes. Bonita Bay Villa, Bonita Bay Real Estate, Enclave, Enclave at Bonita Bay, Enclave Bonita Bay, Homes in Bonita Bay, The Enclave, The Enclave at Bonita BayBonita Bay Golf and Country Club
The Mexican Butterfly Weed
First, I apologize for the mediocre picture. I was so excited to see the caterpillars that I whipped out the cell phone and snapped a picture right away before the sun set fully. Second, this nature experiment started sort of by accident because I took a picture of the plant in Bonita Bay and it had a monarch butterfly on it. I matter of factly added that I need to find out what the plant is so I can get monarchs in my back yard. The picture of the plant is here: Deerwood Bonita Bay
It wasn’t long until a loyal reader sent me the info on the plant and I was on my way to the Home Depot on Bonita Beach Road. I picked up a variety of plants that attract butterflies, including the Mexican Butterfly Weed. I had a monarch visit within days. I saw them laying eggs and today, when I ate dinner out on the patio with Dillon the Villain and saw the caterpillars. I have dozens of them already!
We are officially, accidental butterfly gardeners! Thanks Minnesota Mike!
Here is some more scientific info about the plant if you’re interested in attracting monarchs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_curassavica
Tags: bonita bay, Bonita Springs, Deerwood, florida, Mexican Butterfly Weed, Monarch
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