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.

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]

On Deck.......ARM Recasts

The buzz in the mortgage industry is that the other shoe is expected to drop starting in April 2009. Here in Southwest Florida, we are truly living and breathing the havoc created by the subprime mortgage crisis. Rarely a day goes by without at least a single discussion about short sales, foreclosures, lis pendans and all the other challenges that exist in our market today.

The mortgage industry experts are predicting additional challenges early next year when a large percentage of adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) recast, or in layman's terms, adjust upward. It is expected that the upward adjusted monthly payments will be more than many of these owners can afford.

If you are a homeowner with an ARM that will recast in the near future, the Mortgage Bankers Association has a mortgage counseling hotline (888-995-HOPE) that can help. Hotline counselors help borrowers negotiate with banks and offer advice on refinancing options.

The Next Real Estate Crisis [Business Week]

Short Sales vs. Foreclosures

One of the big challenges in the SW Florida market right now are the ever increasing number of short sale listings hitting the market. Cape Coral short sales, account for over 1,800 listings on the market right now.

Many are very attractively priced and are also attracting offers. The issue is that the banks are not accepting many of these offers on short sale properties. There are a number of reasons why the offers are not being accepted including: bank workload; multiple mortgages on the property and the lack of true hardship situation for the owner.

Many buyers have submitted offers on these listings and wait and wait......and nothing happens. If you are looking to leverage the current market, a better option may be to target properties that have already been foreclosed. Transactions for foreclosed properties have been progressing at a much more normal pace.