Cape Coral Real Estate : August 2007

If you own property in Lee County, Florida you should have received your new trim notice.

If you do you would have noticed a pretty significant decrease in your taxes.

I think the biggest reductions are on vacant land.

FYI, vacant land in Cape Coral maxed out in 2005 about $90-100,000 & decreased in 2006/2007 to about $25,000 for the same lot worth $100,000 then. Mind you, vacant land in Cape Coral had values of $1,000-5,000 from the early 80s up until about 2002 when we watched them steadily increase up to those highs in 2005.

Here's a couple of samples:

Vacant lot - Cape Coral

Last year valued at $72,000 Taxes $1,292.43

This year valued at $30,000 Taxes $523.94 proposed or $554.44 with no budget change

True market value TODAY approximately $20,000

Tax savings: $737.99-$768.49 - I find that significant

Ok, on to a typical house in Cape Coral

Without SOH (save our homes/homestead exemption)

Value last year $191,890 taxes $3,000.52

This year: $177,080 taxes $2,660.67 proposed or $2,815.40 with no budget change

True market value TODAY approximately $140,000

Tax savings: $185.12-$339.85 - not huge but still a savings

By the way, I sat at a closing table with one of my buyers today & we were talking about the taxes in Cape Coral. I told him he should have saved money on his house here in Cape Coral this year & he said "only $300". To me that's something. This is the first time I've ever experienced taxes actually go down here.

If you have any questions feel free to contact us:

Cape Coral Real Estate professionals

www.MoveMeToCapeCoral.com

Susan Milner, e-PRO GRI REALTOR®

Sellstate Achievers Realty Network, Inc.

Are you facing Foreclosure? Are you in a hardship situation? Need to sell your house but don't think you can?

Whether it's medical or financial the lender may consider allowing you to sell your home - even if you owe much more than the current market.

We can assist you with speaking to your lender, what paperwork you'll need, what to do next, etc.

The-Extreme-Team.com understands that this is a very stressful time in your life & we will help to make this as pain & stress fee as possible.

We have experience with handling short sales. We can also help you move on with your life after the sale to find a rental home & directing you to find assistance in fixing up any damage done to your credit. Then, when you are ready & able to buy again we can assist you in finding the correct home to purchase.

* Please be careful when dealing with investors. There may be some out there helping people but from what I'm hearing from other home owners it can be very detrimental to you. Some investors are asking home owners to sign over their houses to them or requesting up front fees - both RED FLAGS. We do not charge you anything for our help. We get paid when your house sells - typically by the lender. We are licensed real estate sales associates & members of the National Association of REALTORS®.

If you've exhausted all other options & need some help with your house, call or email us for more information.

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner

of

The-Extreme-Team.com

We can help those in Cape Coral, Ft. Myers, Lehigh Acres & surrounding areas in & around Lee County. We also work with a network of other real estate professionals across the United States so if you need some advice please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you. The-Extreme-Team.com

My suggestion to the looming mortgage problems.....is seller financing.

Why? Soon many would-be home buyers will not be able to obtain financing to buy a house. Lenders are tightening up as investors are being more cautious with lending.

Would be home buyers will either be renting or buying with seller financing.

There are many options to seller financing.

You could offer part or all (depending upon your current mortgage) of the financing to the buyer.

You could offer to sell the home on a lease option or lease purchase. This could assist the buyer into fixing up their dinged credit, earning more income, saving a substantial down payment etc. in the next year or two.

Then they'll hopefully be qualified for a decent loan program.

If you have a property to sell & you would consider seller financing we should talk. We can list, market & sell your house while you sit back & relax!

We've all reviewed the scary closing documents that tell us we will be paying back over $500,000 for a $200,000 house. As a seller holding financing, wouldn't you like to sell your $200,000 house today, collect mortgage payments for 30 years & end up making $500,000? Obviously, we all know that the owner will most likely refinance or move before 30 years are up but in the meantime why not earn an extra 7-10% off the sale of your home?

Having this extra option will make your home much more desirable in this current market.

Cape Coral Homes for Sale