Fort Myers REO Auction

An auction of of 51 REO-owned properties is being held at 7 p.m. August 5, 2008, at the Ambassador Riverfront Hotel located at 2500 Edwards Drive in Fort Myers, Florida. The auctioneer for this event is Rick Levin & Associates, Inc.

The properties being auctioned off are primarily single-family homes located in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres, with a few in Fort Myers and Alva. Bidding starts at $55,000 and 10 are absolute auction. In a quick read of the prospectus, it doesn't appear that the absolute properties are clearly identified.

Craigs List Rental Scam

A company scamming potential renters was recently busted in the NY area. The company posted bogus "to good to be true" rental advertisements. They often copied rental listings from legitimate sites, so the properties were actually for rent....... just not from this company. When applicants inquired, they were charged fees including $200 for credit checks that were never processed.

I have found Craig's List to be a very effective location on the web to advertise. The economics associated with Craig's List are truly disruptive in the classified advertising space. It would be a shame to see the incredibly effective Craig's List suffer from unscrupulous operators like this NY company.

If you are looking for an annual rental, drop us a note and we can point you in the right direction.

Busted in Craig's List apartment swindle [NY Daily News]

Harbour Isles Yacht and Racquet Club

Tucked away between the Caloosahatchee River and Iona Road in Peppertree Pointe, is Harbour Isles Yacht and Racquet Club, one of the shining jewel communities of Southwest Florida. Harbour Isle delivers first-class amenities in a deep-water marina setting at attractive price points.

This Carlton-Naumann Homes development offers condos, attached villas, mid-rises, high rises and single-family homes in a riverfront gated setting. Specific Harbour Isle neighborhoods include Harbour Isle Estates and the Ports of Iona. Harbour Isles amenities include: three pools; fitness center; four HarTru clay tennis courts; jogging trail; volleyball; riverfront pier and a lagoon front boardwalk.

Affordable boating rules the day at Harbour Isles. Freshwater slips are available for owners upon request and boats up to 26 ft, can be lifted (at no cost!) to the gulf access marina. Deep-water gulf access slips are also available for purchase at the 82 slip marina.

Housing prices at Harbour Isles range from $319,000 for an attached villa to $4.395M for a riverfront home in Harbour Isle Estates.

Lee County Housing Prices

The buzz at the still open Starbucks around Lee County is that the real estate market is on its way back. Customers are buying and banks are even approving a few short sales these days. Yes, it is clear to everyone that pricing adjustments are fueling this market pulse.

The question on every buyers mind is, "are prices going to drop some more, is this a good time to buy?" I wish I could gaze into the giant crystal ball and answer that one for you, but unfortunately I lost my crystal ball on a vacant half-acre in Lehigh.

This weeks report on Loan Performance Home Price Index released by First American CoreLogic quantifies the obvious and reveals that we experienced the third largest decline price decline in the country over the last year.

12-Month Change by Top CBSAs 12 Mo.
Core Based Statistical Areas) as of April 2008 Change

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA -24.59%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale CA -23.75%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers FL -22.87%
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward CA -22.29%
Las Vegas-Paradise NV -21.01%
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos CA -20.54%
Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Bch-Deerfield Bch FL -19.70%
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale AZ -19.26%
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall FL -18.82%
Orlando-Kissimmee FL -17.71%

Source: First American CoreLogic, LoanPerformance HPI,

Single Family Detached Series as of April 2008

If you are a homeowner that purchased in the 2003-20006 timeframe, this is a tough statistic to stomach. Very differnet story for someone entering the market now, we are the land of opportunity. Many years ago, a wise old sage investor told me "in real estate, you make your profit when you buy, not when you sell." This is very good advice for anyone currently in the market.

First American CoreLogic Releases April 2008 LoanPerformance House Price Index [Market Watch]

Fort Myers Foreclosures

Even the wealthy are not imune from the growing wave of foreclosure activity. Business Week touches on some high profile celebrity foreclosures including Evander Holyfield, Jose Canseco and Ed McMahon. I am sure everyone will sleep better tonight knowing that Michael Jackson was saved from foreclosure on the Neverland Ranch because distressed debt investor Tom Barrack bought the $24 million loan.


Locally, the pricest bank-owned property is a home in the upscale Shadow Wood Preserve community listed for $699,000. This home sold for $1.53M back in 2006. Shadow Wood Preserve is a 440-acre gated golfing community of 300 homes ranging in price from $206,900 to $1.59M. Shadow Wood Preserve is located in Fort Myers on US 41, 2 miles south of Alico Road.


At the other end of the spectrum is a bank-owned home in the School View Homes Subdivision off Martin Luther King Blvd listed for $15,000.


It's Not Just Ed McMahon [Business Week]