Jim Gibson

Wind Inspection affects Florida Homeowners Insurance Premium

Jim Gibson — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:25:00 GMT

Previously, we have posted several articles about getting a Florida Wind Inspection under the present, but soon expiring, state funded program.
Look up previous posts using the keyword "insurance".

Today we received our Homeowners Renewal from ASI Assurance and it was interesting reading.

Bad News....The premium went up from $7,357 to $10,241. Yes, I have a large home on a golf course in Cape Coral, Florida.

Good news.....Multiple Discounts on the premium due to the wind inspection report are just over $7000.
Also got a New Dwelling discount (why not last year????) and a Senior Citizen Discount (thank you).
Then they added back a whole laundry list of miscellaneous charges ......(this is good news????)

Bottom Line....New Premium is $2,824.

If your Florida Homeowners Premium did not go down this year, you need to ask your agent a lot of questions !!!

New 2347 sq ft Single Story Home For Sale in Cape Coral FL- $145,000

Jim Gibson — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:46:00 GMT

New Home - Never Lived In

• 2,347 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story "Florida Style" - MLS® $145,000 - Short Sale Special

North - Units 37-43, 48, 2743, WH13, Cape Coral - This is a never lived-in Huntington Model by Hansen Homes.

Property information

Price Reduced on 302 NW 2nd Place, Cape Coral Florida $145,000 pre-foreclosure

Jim Gibson — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:46:00 GMT

North - Unit 37 - Central Cape Coral - Announcing a price reduction on 302 NW 2nd Place,, a 2,347 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story "Florida Style". Now MLS® $145,000 - Short Sale Special. This home was completed late 2007 and has never been lived in. Nice quiet neighborhood just North of Pine Island Road and just West of Santa Barbara Blvd.

Property information

Cape Coral Real Estate Collapse - According to the St. Petersburg Times

Jim Gibson — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:37:00 GMT

(Print version Headline): CAPE CORAL COLLAPSE

(Internet version Headline):

Cape Coral's real estate collapse attracts bargain hunters

By Susan Taylor Martin, Times Senior Correspondent
In print: Monday, August 4, 2008

Janet Kenyon and her mother, Renate Schotsch, check out a $103,000, bank-owned home in Cape Coral.
	[SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN \| Times]

CAPE CORAL

As the minibus swings into the driveway, Janet Kenyon takes one look at the new three-bedroom, two-bath house and lets out a shriek. "Oh, my God. I hate yellow!'' The house is indeed very yellow, but the hour is getting late and Kenyon and husband Blu have yet to see any place they really, really like. So they head inside to a pleasant surprise. "Aw, this is nice,'' she coos, stroking the faux granite countertops. "Sweet, isn't it?'' he agrees, exploring a custom walk-in closet. Best of all, the price: $103,000.

Three years ago, a house like this might have gone for $250,000 as investors swooped into Cape Coral and transformed the sleepy waterfront city into one of the country's hottest real estate markets. Then demand dried up, and by February, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area had a new distinction: No. 1 in the nation in foreclosures.

The area is still Florida's foreclosure capital, though it has dropped to fourth nationally. Sales are up as cut-rate prices attract buyers like the Kenyons, who are moving from Connecticut to be close to Janet Kenyon's parents in nearby Estero.

Cape Coral is once again affordable, but with such a plunge in taxable value that the city of 170,000 is laying off dozens of employees and cutting park programs and other services.

And with nearly 11,000 homes in foreclosure — 1 in every 31 households — it could be two years before all the distressed properties find buyers.

"There's always a wisdom in maintaining a sense of cautious optimism,'' said City Manager Terry Stewart. "You obviously don't want to go off the deep end and say some of the positive things you see happening are absolutely going to continue.''

'Feeding frenzy'

Cape Coral is one of Florida's youngest cities, the creation of brothers Jack and Leonard Rosen. In 1957, they paid $678,000 for Redfish Point, renamed it and began building their "affordable waterfront wonderland'' across the Caloosahatchee River from Fort Myers.

What Cape Coral may lack in historical charm, it makes up for in size and location. At 115 square miles, it is the third biggest city geographically in Florida, trailing only Jacksonville and Tampa. Even today, 50 percent of the land is undeveloped, giving parts of Cape Coral the look of a windswept Kansas prairie.

Among the city's selling points are 400 miles of canals, many with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. That, along with cheaper housing prices than those in the Tampa Bay area or South Florida, attracted hordes of speculators as loose lending standards and low "teaser'' interest rates fueled a nationwide real estate boom starting in 2004.

"It was a feeding frenzy,'' recalls Suzanne Sherer, an agent for RE/MAX in Cape Coral. "People were flipping properties right and left. You'd see some homes in bidding wars the minute the sign went up.''

Teachers, police officers and others who had made Cape Coral a bedroom community of Fort Myers were priced out of the market as the average sale price soared to $309,000 in 2006. Then the inevitable happened.

"Prices didn't make sense anymore,'' Sherer said. "Anytime a market is driven solely by investors, it can't sustain itself.''

In March 2005, the city issued 848 permits for new single-family homes. This March, it issued nine.

Word spreads abroad

Somewhat surprisingly, commercial development has remained fairly strong even as home building tanked. Once ignored by national chains that instead focused on Fort Myers, Cape Coral has recently landed its own Lowe's, Target, Carrabba's, a Kohl's department store and Starbucks.

City officials see that as a sign of the cape's long-term appeal.

"Even at the peak, we were undervalued in comparison to many other places in the state, and a lot of those places are pretty much built out,'' said Stewart, the city manager. "Cape Coral still has great opportunities not only for developing but for baby boomers coming to retire.''

To reduce inventory and jump-start the market, prices on builder- and bank-owned homes have been slashed. The strategy appears to be working: Adams Homes sold 55 new four-bedroom houses in June for as little as $128,900 and may start building again soon.

Such deals are especially enticing to Europeans, whose strong euro makes a $128,000 home cost the equivalent of $82,000. Word of foreclosure-driven bargains has spread so far that a German TV crew was recently in town to make a documentary.

Package deal

As foreclosures peaked in January, Marc Joseph Realty Inc. bought a 12-seat minibus wrapped in a green sign: Foreclosure Tours R US. Weekend tours of bank-owned homes for sale are so popular that all 12 seats are often taken.

"We realized that this is where our business would be,'' said Bill Mitchell, an agent who showed 14 houses to the Kenyons on a recent day.

Blu Kenyon, of Waterbury, Conn., has a freight delivery business so he likes Cape Coral's proximity to Interstate 75 and Southwest Florida International Airport. But the couple decided not to buy one house in Cape Coral.

Instead, they decided to buy three. Among them: an 1,800-square-foot home built two years ago for $314,500.

Today's price: $99,000.

227 SW 28th Terrace, Cape Coral Florida Luxury Pool Waterfront Home Just Reduced to $299,000.

Jim Gibson — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:15:00 GMT

The referenced home was built in 2006 by Paul Homes of Cape Coral. Lots of Tile, Granite, Glass Showers and all the perks you expect from a luxury homebuilder. Barrel Tile Roof. Large Pool Deck with Cage. Water views of intersecting canals. Concrete Sea Wall.

See the details on this home's personal website: http://227SW28thTerrace.JimGibson.BIZ

James R. Gibson, Realtor, MBA, E-Pro

Sellstate Advantage Realty Network, Inc.

Cell: 239-823-3469

Mailto: Jim@JimGibson.BIZ

Web: www.JimGibson.BIZ

About Cape Coral

Market Updates Link

Front Entrance for the Luxury Pool Waterfront Home in Cape Coral Florida

Price Reduced on 227 SW 28th Terrace in SouthCentral Cape Coral Florida $299,000. LUXURY HOME

Jim Gibson — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:13:00 GMT

Central Cape Coral - Near Veterans Blvd and Santa Barbara. Announcing a price reduction on 227 SW 28th Terrace, a 2,657 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story "Florida open style floorplan" on a beautiful freshwater canal, with seawall. Now MLS® $299,000 - lowest price Paul Home in Cape Coral. This is a LUXURY HOME with glass, granite, tile, upgrades galore.

Property information

Luxury Waterfront Home in Cape Coral Florida at New Low Price Zip 33914

Jim Gibson — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:01:00 GMT

227 SW 28th Terrace, Cape coral, Florida 33914 (edit/delete)

$325,000. for this Nearly New (2006) Luxury Waterfront Pool Home in Central Cape Coral, Florida.

1886 sq feet under air, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, POOL, Waterfront with a Seawall and Dock

In a quiet neighborhood near Santa Barbara Blvd and Veterans Parkway. Close to shopping, Restaurants, Services and the major route into Fort Myers and over to I-75.

This home has been rented for one year under the careful tutelage of a reputable Rental Management Firm. Nearly New in every respect. One of the finest examples of luxury homes in Cape Coral Florida Real Estate. Tile Roof, Automatic Lawn Sprinklers...City water, Irrigation and Sewer just run to this area.

Soaring ceilings, Upgraded Cabinets, Large Tile Floors, Gorgeous Master Bath Suite....

Heat Recovery System gets you Hot Water from the Air Conditioning System.
Generator Cutover Panel Built-In.... Pest Control System Built-In the exterior Walls.

Cape Coral Waterfront Homes are just wonderful!

Call me now to buy this home! More details on my website!

Jim Gibson, Realtor, MBA, E-PRO
cell       (239) 823-3469
email    Jim@JimGibson.BIZ
web       http://www.JimGibson.BIZ

Corner Waterfront Lot - Alligator Slough - Cape Coral Florida - Seller Financing or 1031 Exchange

Jim Gibson — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:36:00 GMT

$49,000.

Quarter Acre Corner Building Site on an intersection of the Alligator Slough in NE Cape Coral.

Build your dream home on this corner of paradise and catch your dinner from your own dock!

The lot is offered at $49,000 with some seller financing available.

James R. Gibson, Realtor, MBA, E-Pro

Sellstate Advantage Realty Network, Inc.

Cell: 239-823-3469

Mailto: Jim@JimGibson.BIZ

Web: www.JimGibson.BIZ

About Cape Coral

Market Updates Link

Lot For Sale on Alligator Slough Cape Coral Florida $57,000. with Seller Financing

Jim Gibson — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:34:00 GMT

Corner ON the Alligator Slough!

• lot / land "Great Building Site!" - MLS® $57,000 - SELLER FINANCING AVAILABL

Alligator Slough, Cape Coral - SELLER FINANCING available on One of the nicest quarter acre corner lots on the Alligator Slough in NorthEast Cape Coral Florida. The lot is clear except for brush along the waters edge, which will be removed by the construction crew when you have your seawall built. Just one lot away is a nice clear lot on the Albion Canal which has a seawall in place; it demonstrates how this lot will look. Newer home close by has electric lines in place. The Alligator Slough is clear and deep and is GREAT fishing! The City of Cape Coral has recently opened streets from this area to access Del Prado Boulevard, which has a large new shopping center just one mile away. This is also the quick access (FREE) into Fort Myers and I-75.

Property information

Price Reduced on 1615 NE 40th Street in Alligator Slough $57,000 with Seller Financing

Jim Gibson — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:34:00 GMT

Alligator Slough, Cape Coral - Announcing a price reduction on 1615 NE 40th Street, a lot / land "Great Building Site!". Now MLS® $57,000 - SELLER FINANCING AVAILABLE.

Property information

Buckingham model homes for sale (REO) followup to yesterday's BLOG (PICTURES)

Jim Gibson — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:02:00 GMT

Buckingham Model Homes for Sale followup 3/2 with Den (edit/delete)

We have a followup to yesterdays listing announcement for these fine Buckingham Model homes in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres Florida. These are the remaining homes and are subject to prior sale. All of the homes are NEVER LIVED-IN, 1785 sq ft with no pool unless otherwise noted. No appliances unless otherwise noted. Go to our previous BLOG for floorplans and interior pictures from the model home. Three full bedrooms plus a large den and two full bathrooms. Split floorplan, Florida Style.

As dicussed under "Financing" on my website, you will need either a bank-issued pre-approval letter or proof of cash funds available for immediate purchase. http://www.JimGibson.BIZ
Call me to discuss or contact David Hoke, First Capital Lending, cell 239-292-5460 ref: jim Gibson's Buckingham Homes

These are bank-owned, ready to go. The foreclosure process is complete.

430 NW 1st Avenue, Cape Coral Florida $135,000

3313 72nd Street West Lehigh Acres Florida $127,000

415 NW 4th Terrace Cape Coral Florida $135,000

1022 SW 9th Court Cape Coral Florida $135,000

733 Fuller Avenue South Lehigh Acres Florida $180,650
POOL....Upgrades galore.....

Also..... 2818 NW 24th Avenue, Cape Coral $152,900. (no picture available)

Contact:

James R. Gibson, Realtor, MBA, E-Pro

Sellstate Advantage Realty Network, Inc.

Cell: 239-823-3469

Mailto: Jim@JimGibson.BIZ

Web: www.JimGibson.BIZ

About Cape Coral

Owner Financing Available on Cape coral and Lehigh Acres Building Sites (Platted Lots)

Jim Gibson — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:58:00 GMT

We have several building lots in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres (Florida), for which the Seller is willing to finance at terms consistant with the Buyer's Credit Standing. The Lehigh lots start at $9900. and the Cape Coral Lots start at $15,000.

All of these lots are platted, meaning that they have been drawn up and approved for residential building by the city or county authorities. Building Permits are still required to show that your new home will conform to building codes.

To discuss details, call me or send an email:

James R. Gibson, Realtor, MBA, E-Pro

Sellstate Advantage Realty Network, Inc.

Cell: 239-823-3469

Mailto: Jim@JimGibson.BIZ

Web: www.JimGibson.BIZ

About Cape Coral

Market Updates Link

MY BLOG

Just Listed Bank-Owned (New) Homes in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres Florida $135,000.

Jim Gibson — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:48:00 GMT

My agency just listed a bunch of REOs (bank-owned properties) in Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral, Florida. This is just a sampling of one model, the Buckingham. Prices vary somewhat, but most are at $135,000. Most homes are NEW, never lived-in. I will not give an address because we have eight of them all alike.....call me for addresses of whatever is left. These homes were given back to the bank by Deed-In-Lieu of Foreclosure (DIL), so there is none of the "Short Sale Stall" or "The Asset Manager is on Vacation" stuff. Once the bank owns the property, they suddenly take an interest in getting rid of it. That said, these homes turn over pretty fast, with good offers subject to acceptance. I don't know where the newspaper gets their numbers, but these REOs are selling like Hot Cakes! We get a new batch of these homes about monthly (43 this month), so if your "dream home" sells before you get around to making an offer, just get on my Listing Book account to see the new listings come up. Some, but not all, of these homes have new appliance packages for delivery on closing day.

By the way, if you would like to join an agency that has a good resource for listing and selling REOs, give me a call.....If you are going to be in the business, you might as well have something to sell!

As you can see, this model is generously appointed, with plenty of room for your family. The large den can accomodate extra sleepers in a pinch. We presentyly have one Buckingham model with a pool (in Lehigh) at $180,650.

If you are not familiar with Cape Coral, Florida, go to my main website for more city information.

http://www.JimGibson.BIZ

I have other listings in Cape Coral, Florida, including a very nice waterfront condominium and a luxury golf course home. Call me and tell me what you are looking for!

Dreams Come True in SW Florida!

James R. Gibson, Realtor, MBA, E-Pro

Sellstate Advantage Realty Network, Inc.

Cell: 239-823-3469

Mailto: Jim@JimGibson.BIZ

Web: www.JimGibson.BIZ

AR: http://activerain.com/blogs/foxgator

CONDO, Cape coral Florida, Saltwater Direct Access $139,000

Jim Gibson — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:01:00 GMT

We recently listed a very nice 55+ CONDO (2/2) just off the Bimini Basin in Cape Coral, Florida. On sailbaoat access SALTWATER, with temporary dockage just outside your back door. Deep water, good fishing from the dock! This unit is in excellent condition, as are the building and grounds. Recent roof and re-piping.

55+ Sailboat Access Ground-Floor Condo just off the Bimini Basin. Great Location close to shopping, convenience store and restaurants. Very large living/dining area. Large kitchen with pass-thru and lots of Granite counter space. Master suite has 6x8 walkin closet plus dressing area. Screened lanai overlooks water. Well-maintained complex with newer roof, gorgeous pool. Covered (deeded) parking. Outside storage closet.

This unit is just waiting for your entertainment schedule! Lots of room, easy living!

See the VIRTUAL TOUR at www.JimGibson.BIZ .

Look for "Cape Coral Area Listings" and find the Tudor Drive address.
Have a brochure emailed direct to you.

Jim Gibson, Florida Realtor, MBA, E-Pro
cell 239-823-3469

Owner Financing - Lehigh Acres Building Lot - $9900.

Jim Gibson — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:20:00 GMT

Buy this nice building site in SW Lehigh Acres for just $9900., with OWNER FINANCING!

$2000. down, 7.5% interest, $125/mo for 36 months then balloon the balance. Either pay it off or refinance the balloon with the bank or credit card.

Zoned Residential (RS-1); EPA Soil Type 11; Purchased on a General Warranty Deed with Title Insurance.

Now is the time to buy building lots before they go up again!

More information at: http://390320thstreetsw.jimgibson.biz