The Bonita Springs Assistance Office food pantry is experiencing tremendous demand for food and as a result, the pantry shelves are extremely low! Please help us help those less fortunate in our community by participating in a food drive. Items specifically needed are: Rice 16oz. ,Cereal (Big boxes),Mashed potatoes – Dry, Tuna, Tuna helper, ,Coffee, Apple Sauce, Cans of: Chili, Spaghetti, Ravioli, Juice (all kinds), Jelly, Raisins, Toilet Paper, Soap (bar),Dishwashing (liquid), Baby diapers
Time is of the essence, so please consider donating items as soon as possible. We are also asking you to please forward this message via email to a minimum of ten people in your contact list and asking that they then do the same! We have the power to create an email chain that will reach hundreds of area residents quickly and in return, generate much needed food supplies.
Synovus Bank, Bonita branch, is acting as a drop off point at 9200 Cockleshell Ct, off Old 41. AdSource is also acting as a drop off point. AdSource offices are located on US 41 in Bonita Springs, directly south the of the “big ship.” The address is 3440 Renaissance Blvd. This food drive runs through July 10, 2009.
Thank you in advance for helping fellow Bonita Springs residents.
Want Bonita Springs updates? Subscribe to the RSS feed or
One of the many protective measures that have evolved from the housing downturn is the HVCC – Home Valuation Code of Conduct. It was developed to protect consumers purchasing or refinancing homes by eliminating fraud and inflated appraisals. An effort looked upon by some as little more than closing the barn door after the horses got out.
In a nutshell, mortgage brokers may no longer communicate with appraisers. The communication with appraisers is done strictly with the lender/bank though an “appraisal management company”. This new code may sound great in theory but the ramifications since May 1, 2009 have already started to be felt.
Gone are the days when mortgage brokers can choose an appraiser on the basis of experience, professionalism or quality of their work. Appraisals are now awarded to whoever will work for the cheapest and fastest.
Here’s how it works: A consumer goes to a bank to get a loan. The bank collects $390 for an appraisal. Yes, the price for an appraisal has now gone up because the bank pays an “appraisal management company” about half of the $390 and the appraiser gets the rest. The best, most qualified appraisers can’t afford to work at such a discount. The consumer has no idea that they’re appraiser is probably less experienced, working at a discount and has often been hired just because they’re the cheapest and the fastest appraiser on the list.
Wait, there’s more. If you’re a consumer in the process of getting a loan with “Bank A” and your mortgage broker finds a better program or you are turned down for a loan with “Bank A” your appraisal is owned by “Bank A” and not transferrable. You’ve just thrown 390 bucks into the wind. Another appraisal has to be ordered for your second lender.
This is affecting the consumers trying to refinance their homes, too. In the past mortgage brokers could contact an appraiser and get an estimate on whether a home would be close to the appraisal price before spending money on a full appraisal. Now, a consumer that would like to refinance will have to go through the appraisal process and pay for it regardless of the outcome of the appraisal.
What was meant to protect the home buyers and refinancing home owners is now hurting them by costing them more and dragging out the time to fund loans. It also means rate lock extensions or longer rate locks which results in higher interest rates.
There were and still are good, honest and reputable appraisers that didn’t rip anybody off during the housing boom. They’re now being punished and driven out of the business by a system full of flaws including lack of transparency. Instead of being rewarded for years of experience and professional conduct appraisers are being undermined by the Wal-Mart effect caused by HVCC.
In the end those who are affected the most are consumers who are shelling out more money for less service and the local, small business owners which include independent appraisers and mortgage brokers who are being micro-managed out of business.
It’s quite obvious that there were considerable problems with the way that appraisals were done during the boom but the way that the system is functioning right now just isn’t working.
###
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.
Right off of Sandy Lane in Estero is a community called The Groves in Estero, Florida. It was once an orange grove, hence the name. I drove down Sandy Lane to take pictures of the goats at a ranchette but the goats weren’t cooperating. I continued north until I got to the intersection at Broadway and came to the Mysore Fig Tree.
I’ve driven by it a thousand times. My cousin Dee Dee use to live in The Groves, back in the day. This day I stopped and took a few pictures. The shame of the pictures are, I didn’t have a subject in front of the tree to give it perspective. It’s not as big as the Banyan Tree at the Thomas Edison Estate but it is large and unusual and on of my favorite Wizard of Oz trees.
The owner was picking up the leaves and figs that had dropped when I drove by. She and her son make jelly with the figs. They offered me some but I’ve been having sugar issues lately so I passed on the offer.
If you’re curious to learn more about this 100+ year old tree visit the website www.MysoreFigTree.com.
If you’re looking for driving directions to see this monster:
Here’s a little known fact – there are cows in Bonita Springs. Right there beside shopping centers, schools or whatever. These cows are very special. They’ll probably never end up on a bun because they’re Bonita Bovine.
Bonita Bovine are a special type of cow, that once placed on commercial real estate with a few of their friends, help it get repurposed as agricultural land and taxed as such. Bonita Bovine earn their weigh in gold every year. How do you know the difference between a Bonita Bovine and just your regular, run of the mill moo cow? Well, here are some little known facts:
They’re curious creatures with high respect for learning. These Bonita Bovine were in the pasture beside the Bonita Springs Charter School on Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs, Florida. See the Charter School above the black cow’s ear?
Bonita Bovine are usually well mannered. Well, not this one. He apparently *really* had to go. He’s not the least bit ashamed, either. He said, “Deal with it lady.”
They’re notoriously sticking their cloved hooves or runny noses in everybody’s business. They can’t keep a secret either. Your “business” will be all over town the minute the pick up the phone.
Mabel, quick, come over. Do I have the dirt on that Griffith broad. What a piece of work. Did you catch a load of that car she’s driving? She *must* be loaded. I hear she married for money – I hear it was Paul Newman or Brad Pitt. I’m not sure I just know it was someone *like* that. (See what I mean, they’re ruthless worse than the Real Housewives!)
This is Mabel. She has her own sordid past but still keeps throwing stones from her glass house. Pity.
Alas, even Bonita Bovine have mannerless, brute husbands to deal with. My alleged husband, Paul Newman/Brad Pitt is an angel compared to Ralph Angus. … and you worry about your kids picking their nose in public. Here’s talent for ya.
This is Ralph’s wife. She’s thrilled that this was caught on camera.
I’m super late getting the Bonita Springs, Estero, Florida May statistics to you because I’ve just been swamped with work. It’s like the movie Ground Hogs Day; sun up, sun down, sun up, same stuff, sun down.
I’ve had them done for a day or so and it just didn’t make sense to post the absorption rate. The numbers are skewed because there are so many pending sale and active with contingencies that it adds years to the inventory. I was shocked at the amount of pending real estate sales so instead of showing the absorption rate that is off by years in many sectors I will show you the entire breakdown by building style and you can judge for yourself. We’ve mostly been running at about 24 months of inventory, give or take so I assume when these little rascals close we can get a more accurate count.
Bonita Springs Estero Pending Sales Numbers
Bonita Springs Estero Units Sold Numbers
As usual I do three years of real estate sales in a row so you can see the trend over a series of a few years.
All this information is deemed accurate, not guaranteed, yada, yada.
When you hear someone ask, “How’s the market?” or “What’s going on in real estate?” it’s just too broad of a question to answer.
Real estate is local and even hyper local. This graph is what will explain the southwest Florida real estate market is like for a home in your price point or in the price point your thinking of purchasing a new home or condo in.
The $600-800,000 price point continues to be the slowest moving sector in real estate sales. As anticipated $400,000 and under is on fire; a tad over 75% of our real estate sales.
A few days ago I opened my mail to find a notice from my flood insurance company. It seems that, unbeknownst to me, the policy had lapsed a few short days prior. Honestly, I hadn’t received an invoice or I would have paid the bill. It was such a hassle getting that policy to begin with, I didn’t want to stir up any trouble even by accident.
Flood insurance is a fact of life for many home owners in south Florida. If there’s a mortgage on a property in a flood zone the lender requires a flood policy in place to protect their interest. Even if you have an unused line of credit on a home in a flood zone it a requirement to have flood insurance. If you have a mortgage you can expect flood insurance costs to be part of your household expenses.
It may surprise you to know that even elevated homes need flood insurance. My home is elevated but since I have a garage at base level FEMA and my lender looks at my garage as living area; glorious living area with the most expensive ten sheets of ceiling drywall in all of Florida.
Special vents had to be installed in the walls in order for the insurance to be approved. The vents do nothing but let more moisture into the home and an opportunity for flood water to pour in through the vents. It’s genius. Some engineer with more time in college then common sense decided that gaping holes in garage walls would save the world. I’ll remember to silently thank them in prayer the next time I’m scrubbing down the walls with a Clorox based concoction getting rid of the mildew.
What fascinates me about the flood insurance, besides the fact that I had to jump through flaming hoops, wrapped in barbed wire, to get it is that if your policy were to lapse the bank is nice enough to pick on up on your behalf to continue coverage and protect their interests.
I guess the banks don’t have time shop for rates since they’re so busy approving short sales and liquidating foreclosures in a timely fashion because the coverage they found me is $3,075 per year, plus interest, and will only cover the structure. None of my personal property or living creatures like Goober my grand-hamster are protected.
My flood policy is less than $600 per year, by the way. My insurance agent called and it turns out that I had a few days left in the grace period to get a check to the insurance company and avoid the thirty day waiting period for a new policy to become valid. Yes, just because you pay your policy doesn’t mean it’s active and that you’re covered. There is a thirty day period you have to get through, first.
Home ownership is a big responsibility. There are safety measures built into the process, though. Rest assured knowing that your lender is going to be there to pick up the slack and get you covered if you make a mistake and the government is helping them keep it all regulated and, of course, vented.
###
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.
This flower is really pretty. It’s in a little gated community in Bonita Springs, Florida. There are twenty two homes on the street, of which four are currently in distress and may be foreclosed upon.
When you drive down the street you would never know or suspect there were distressed properties. They’re in every community and there isn’t a person that doesn’t know someone that hasn’t been effected by the housing and economic crisis.
Unfortunately, I now know many people who have lost their homes or will lose their homes in the coming months. They’re often good people with bad circumstances. I always make sure to tell them that foreclosure isn’t what they are, it’s just something that happened in their life. It doesn’t define them as a person.
Whether you live in Bonita Springs, Florida (Lee County) or Eustis, Florida (Lake County) or even Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (Palm Beach County), or anywhere in the USA for that matter, your needs to finance a home loan mortgage may be killed thanks to a wonderful idea called Home Valuation Code of Conduct, or HVCC.
What is HVCC? Quite simply it is government intervention that forces a total hands off involvement of the appraisal process in determining a property value for the purpose of financing.
Who is hurt by this? The Appraiser and the borrower.
The Appraiser:
Forced to join a management company that will collect up to 40% of the appraisal fee. Yes, that is right. The appraiser will now lose almost 50% of his/her income by being forced to join in order to keep working.
Only targets appraisers. Other valuation models, such as AVM (Automated Valuation Models) and BPO (Broker Price Opinions) are not affected. This will lead lenders to accept these values (which are less accurate) due to the less restrictions.
No communication between the broker or lender or anyone else that stands to earn money from the deal. Single handedly destroyed all relationships with these entities literally overnight.
Borrower:
If a new lender is needed, a new appraisal is needed. In the past, the Broker could simply submit their appraisal to the new lender.
Increased time to fund loans. Lenders and Brokers can no longer communicate with Appraisers to expedite orders, which means longer rate locks (IE Higher interest rates).
Forced to stick with current Lender even if not what they want because of increase fees to having to obtain a new appraisal.
And there is one big issue that surrounds this whole crazy plan… what is the real estate worth? Well, now without the communication from the broker or lender, an appraiser is left to appraise the value of the property. Sounds good in theory, but let’s look at reality.
Appraiser is given an order to appraiser property 123 Main Street, Anywhere, USA. Appraiser is not told the loan amount or an estimated value on the property. (PROBLEM 1: IN THE PAST, AS A COURTESY, THE APPRAISER WOULD CONTACT THE BROKER TO SAY YES OR NO ON THE ESTIMATED VALUE BEFORE WASTING ANY ONE’S TIME OR MONEY.) Appraiser determines value of property, but to keep in good favors with the management group and to avoid future legal actions for why they valued the property at $x.xx shaves several dollars off the top. (PROBLEM 2: THE ORIGINAL VALUE MAY HAVE BEEN THE RIGHT NUMBER TO DO THE DEAL, BUT TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AGAINST A NOW UNKNOWN, THE DEAL IS DEAD.)
Real life scenario: Borrower wants to refinance house. Eligible for RefiPlus, so we can go to 105% of the appraised value. Appraisal was ordered. Cost $400. Original appraisal cost before HVCC $350. (Appraiser needs to charge more because he has to pay someone now.) We needed at a minimum $x.xx to make the deal fly, but appraiser does not know this. Appraisal took over one week to obtain, when in the past took only 48 hours. Appraisal is returned with a value of $10,000 less then $x.xx. Deal is dead. Borrower is out $400. Broker is penalized by lender for fallout of locked loan.
Had this been pre-HVCC. The appraiser could have said it will be a tight deal on the value and let the borrower decide on whether to proceed. Now, the borrower is out $400 and had no decision. Pre-HVCC, the appraiser would have looked harder for comps to get the value that was needed just to keep the relationship with the broker/lender. (There is nothing wrong with this provided that the comps are there and justifiable.) Pre-HVCC would have allowed the borrower to get a 15-21 day rate lock offering a lower interest rate, instead of a 30 day lock or floating the rate in the current volatile market.
HVCC is a big deal when it comes to financing your home. It costs you, the borrower, more money to finance real estate. It eliminates your options to shop with multiple lenders when using a broker, which means you might not be getting the best deal. It is just all around bad news.
Help us help you in getting your rights back when financing your mortgage loan. A moratorium is being requested for 18 months. Should this happen or even if it does not, contact your state legislature to voice your opinion on the issue. Or take the time to sign a petition against HVCC.
Jason Price
Owner/Principal Broker
(352) 308-7219 Phone
For some time now, Knightlines Mortgage Services has been offering the people of Florida a convenient way to finance and re-finance their residential property.
But that isn’t the entire story - we are also doing commercial lending in all 50 states. AND - now we can offer commercial financing OUTSIDE of the country as well. Caribbean, South America, etc - just call for the details.
Everyone knows how to get to Riverside Park from Old 41 or Pennsylvania Avenue. Did you know there is a secret foot path from South Riverside Drive just off of West Terry Street? Well, there is. This is how you find it … if you know where South Riverside Drive is look for that tree up above. If you don’t know where South Riverside Drive is here is a map.
Across the street from that cool Wizard of Oz tree is this sign and walk way. It’s a WALK way. There is no parking lot. You should probably be walking or at the most on a bike. No cars.
Here’s a closer look at that sign:
After you go through the entry you get to walk by a very pretty garden that a private home owner keeps. No touchie! He’s a very nice man, by the way, and told me all about the owls that live back in the park. You should probably look for owls back there, by the way. A dozen yards in you’ll see this:
Half way over the bridge look to your right and you’ll see this:
If you want to see the rest of Riverside and Island Parks in greater down town Olde Bonita Springs, Florida you’ll have to take a walk back there yourself. The park is free, by the way, so it would be a great thing to do with your family. If you’re looking for things to do in Bonita Springs take a Frisbee or something and enjoy the parks that are sitting there waiting.
Check out the park I “enjoyed” last week [sarcasm]:
One of the most common questions you’ll hear while a real estate discussion is going on is; how motivated is the seller? Given the climate of the current real estate market it would seem that most sellers would be motivated. In reality, the ad running for their property may say they are but most of them aren’t.
There is a huge difference between motivation to sell and desire to sell. The word “motivated” has now been used in real estate circles to the point where the meaning has been watered down. It’s right up there with “won’t last long” and “must see”.
Recently, I helped buyers work their way down the street of a production build neighborhood trying purchase one particular floor plan. It occurred to me that, in spite of what the listing notes read, most of the sellers weren’t motivated they just had a strong desire to sell. Most of the homes weren’t priced appropriately. They were priced at what the seller wanted to net, not what the recent sales supported.
I’m not faulting sellers for trying to make as much money possible or trying to contain as much of the loss as they can on their real estate transaction. I’m just questioning their degree of motivation to sell when the property isn’t priced correctly and they then get offended by an offer at market price.
Motivated sellers have been prompted to sell. They’ve come to the realization through balancing the inventory supply, holding costs, recent comparable closed sales and their own personal financial situation that their real estate must be sold. They’re willing to negotiate with a buyer and move on from the transaction. They’re unhappy about selling at a loss or for far less than they wanted to have sold but they realize that their profit margin isn’t the responsibility of the buyer.
Real estate is still only worth what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to take. Real estate is a commodity that trades by way of supply and demand. Right now, there is just a larger supply in some areas than others and certainly less demand.
In some areas real estate isn’t much different than selling or trading stock. A “motivated” share holder wouldn’t call his stock broker and try to negotiate a sale of his portfolio back to summer of 2007 prices. Imagine the scenario: But my stock certificates are printed on better paper than everyone else’s, the corners aren’t tattered and there are absolutely no coffee cup rings on any of them, they’ve barely been used … that’s why they’re worth more than the other’s that they’re selling now.
Having the desire to sell and simply hoping or wanting to sell really badly isn’t going to make a buyer want to pay more than what anything is worth whether it’s shareholder’s stock certificates, an SUV or real estate.
Willing buyer on board, a motivated seller is someone that sells at the current value and has come to terms with the fact that they won’t be able to sell for the price they really wanted to, no matter how much that they wish they could.
###
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.
For some time I’ve been wanting to hike the Estero Bay Preserve. It’s at the West end of Broadway (via US 41), about a half of a mile north of Corkscrew Road. I finally made the trip.
See this creepy little dragon fly? This is one of the many creatures, great and small, to be seen and experienced in the Estero Bay Preserve. Just look at the notes others left behind regarding what they saw there. Remember, to tell the truRth. Hey, at least deAr was spelled correctly.
Sidebar: Armadios sounds the same as armadillos en Espanol so you have got to love that misspell, instant classic.
Wild Hogs, Raccoons, Armadillos ‘n’ Snakes
I’ve also driven past this sign and seen other things like skunks and stuff so user beware. On this hike, I did see where the wild hogs had rooted up soil and dozens of footprint from them, raccoons and such. The path will lead you right along side the Estero River, by the way. There were people in canoes and swimmers taking a dip.
Canoeing the Estero River
While I was taking this photo was right about the time that a swarm of bugs found us. Besides the usual mosquitoes, there was horse flies, deer flies, someone said yellow flies, someone said cut flies. I don’t know and I don’t care because it made us walk really fast, which combined with the heat made for a turn of events, the likes of which I’m just getting over.
We were walking through a wetland path with the cutest fiddler crabs scurrying every where. I would have taken pictures for you but I was too busy swatting flies and trying to not catch West Nile or Meningitis. *She who is slow or pauses for photos gets stung and bit a lot.*
It wasn’t long after hustling past the fiddler crabs that we decided to turn back because it was getting worse. I really thought it was but I was trying not to be a big, huge baby, quitter.
There were a couple of times the trees got tippy on me and was a little disoriented. I ended coming through the gate at Armada Court, climbed the fence and, after helping a gopher tortoise get un-stuck from the fence, promptly left my delicious, Terri’s Summer Breeze Cafe breakfast on the side of the road, no where near this tortoise. (It’s a $500 fine for messing with one of these suckers. I bet barfing on/near one is a punishable offense.)
Do Not Molest a Gopher Tortoise - $500 Fine
If you’ve made it through this tale, this far, you should know that the rest of the day was filled with involuntary muscle cramping all over my body, a little more punies, dizziness, hallucinations and I was a little meaner than usual.
For the record, I had sunscreen on, frozen water and was hydrated, light colored clothes and I assumed that I was prepared. Florida just kicked my butt on a random Sunday in the year of our Lord 2009. I mention that because, again, I was laying in bed, sick as a dog, watching Clint Eastwood movies and now that saying is stuck in my head … again.
What I saw of this park was great and I can’t wait to complete the whole big trail, which was one of three at varying lengths from a short loop to about five miles – hikers choice.
In November I’ll be back, Estero Bay State Preserve. Next time you’re not taking my hash browns.
The official site for Estero Bay Preserve is here:
Category: 
