Realtors up to the same old game......Warning....Warning (Fort Myers: RV park, balloon payment) - Fort Myers - Cape Coral area - Florida (FL) -Lee County - City-Data Forum

bgcty1 · 10-12-2010, 07:33 PM

Well, I am glad to see that the southwest florida real estate professional have learned their lessons of the dangers of over-inflating property values. I moved here in the tail end of the boom, bought what I could, and got burned. These real estate people and the banks were never forced to account for what they did, forcing real estate, and creating a hysteria over property that was significantly over priced for the area.
Today, I looked at a piece of property that I was interested in, has been sitting on the market for almost two years, well surprise, surprise, the house was listed by a firm that did not learn its lesson, the asking price was 220,000 and the appraised value by the Lee county tax office is setting squarely at 115,000 dollars over 100,000 dollars over valued. Then they follow this fact up, with the fact, that there have been several offers, however, no buyer could get financing! Wow, imagine that, no bank wants to finance a property that is not worth the money.....
Well, my advice to all of you contemplating a move to Florida, do not buy real estate, let it crash and burn, these people have not learned their lessons, wait until the we truly hit the bottom, rent a year, and be keen and unscrupulous renter, these realtors helped create, and banks help create this mess both statewide, and nationally, let them squirm now as there is no business to be had........

seeriously · 10-12-2010, 08:00 PM

I never thought I'd publicly defend realtors but realtors never forced real estate on anyone and there's plenty of business to be had, so much in fact, that they can't keep up between foreclosures, short sales, and regular sales. If you want to blame anyone, blame the greedy flippers, the developers who over-developed, and the buyers who had no business buying in the first place.

justNancy · 10-12-2010, 08:09 PM

I brought up this subject in past discussions. I've seen many homes on the market with tax appraisals of $55,000 that are listed for over $100,000. I posted recently about a house listed for $179,000 that has a current tax appraisal of $122,000 and an estimated, preliminary appraisal of $88,000. Sometimes a home has been remodeled with granite and marble, has a new roof, tile, new A/C and is worth a lot more than the tax appraisal, but I agree that there's often quite a gap. People need to be careful and do their homework.

Don't blame all the real estate agents because of the unscrupulous acts of some greedy people including mortgage brokers, investors and developers. Many real estate agents invested in properties and are in the same boat as everyone else.

faithfulFrank · 10-13-2010, 06:09 AM

I agree with both Nancy and verobeach.
Blaming the Realtors is like blaming the conductor for the train wreck. A case of misplaced anger.

Frank

kroeran · 10-13-2010, 01:54 PM

one thought I had today, trying to figure an angle for why the county would under appraise dramatically, which is what happened on my condo (but boost mill rates), would be that if a recovery comes, all the homesteaders=voters would be locked in with low appraisals and the protection of the 3% cap - while everyone else will get creamed as appraisals go up without the homesteader limit !!!

hiknapster · 10-13-2010, 09:13 PM

Or maybe the assessments are based on what they think the properties are now worth. Sorry.

Yes, the assessors can't see inside improvements, but other than that, by law they have to do their best to give an accurate number. It is illegal to do otherwise. They are not trying to low ball for some ulterior motive. They have to follow the law.

People paid what the market could bear. From 2004 to 2009, homes were inflated, and depending on what curve you were on - say, 2004 to 2006, people were elbowing each other to pay that money. In their irrational exuberance they filled out liar loans (inflated their salaries), agreed to balloon payments and adjustable rates, because they were convinced that real estate was just going up, up, up, and they could sell in a year and make a mint to retire on.

I actually had someone tell me that real estate never goes down. Never.

And there was no talking those fools out of it.

If the assessment is $115,000 and the home is listed for $225,000, then make an offer for $115,000 or move on. The market did crash and burn. Find another. And bear in mind, the real estate agents are not running around telling people their homes are worth the sun, the moon and the stars. We daily deal with people that think that home that they owe $275,000 on is worth $300,000 when it is really worth $150,000. And we are suppose to magically find them a buyer for $300,000 or we are bums that do nothing.

Look at some of these people on this forum. They can't figure out that a Fort Myers condo bought in 2008 for $180,000 is now worth $55,000 less. Oh, that can't possibly be.

justNancy · 10-14-2010, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

I agree with both Nancy and verobeach.
Blaming the Realtors is like blaming the conductor for the train wreck. A case of misplaced anger.

Frank

Just to clarify, I didn't say all real estate people were blameless! However, I've been in sales and I know what it's like to be blamed for something over which you have no control.

justNancy · 10-14-2010, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hiknapster

If the assessment is $115,000 and the home is listed for $225,000, then make an offer for $115,000 or move on.

Although I agree to a point that the assessment has some bearing on the market value, I also know that each home is different inside. The appraiser doesn't go into the home, and there might be a lot of improvements and upgrades like marble floors or granite counters. A new pool cage can cost $5,000 or more. New HVAC can be anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000 depending on the required work. Even inexpensive tile will cost $2,000 or more if new flooring is required.

For example, I saw 2 houses on the same block. They both have pools. One house needs new electrical wiring and new flooring. (The owner died while remodeling it.) The other house, which I really like, has been completely remodeled with new tile, kitchen cabinets, appliances, low E windows, 2008 roof, new water heater, new garage door opener, and updated bathrooms. The HVAC unit is not new, so that is the only thing that might need replacement and I know that can run anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000 depending on the work required. An inspection, if my offer is accepted, will reveal any problems (I hope) that require attention.

On the one hand, I don't want to be a fool, but I can't find any decent house in a good neighborhood for the new tax assessment shown on the county web site. So I'm going to look at the most recent 20 or 30 sales in the general vicinity (not on canals) and use the average per s.f. price of houses that sold over the past 6 months. If the house didn't have a pool, then I'll add $10 to $15,000. I tried using comps in the past and they didn't help too much. They only seem to work in cookie cutter neighborhoods where there are similar homes. When you've got a 900 sf house built in 1978 on the same street from a 2,200 sf house built in 2006, it's very hard to determine what an average price is for the area.

One thing about many cities in Florida is that neighborhoods are often so diversified. In Bonita Springs, I rented half of a duplex and could walk to multi-million dollar homes in one direction and an RV park in the other. I'm currently in Port Charlotte and right up the road from me is a community called Lea Maria Island where homes are listed for $1 million and just down the road in the other direction there's an old house on the market for $34,000.

faithfulFrank · 10-14-2010, 12:32 PM

An appraiser doesn't go into homes down there? That is nuts!
They do a complete walkthrough up here, checking the plumbing, electrical panel box, basement, kitchen, everything.
Of course, it is not a home inspection, more of a check to see what type and Amp service you have, cabinets, copper or PVC plumbing, finished basement or not, etc...
There is no way an accurate assessment could be done without going inside a house.

Frank

Izmack · 10-14-2010, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

An appraiser doesn't go into homes down there? That is nuts!
They do a complete walkthrough up here, checking the plumbing, electrical panel box, basement, kitchen, everything.
Of course, it is not a home inspection, more of a check to see what type and Amp service you have, cabinets, copper or PVC plumbing, finished basement or not, etc...
There is no way an accurate assessment could be done without going inside a house.

Frank

Frank, any appraisal I've had for insurance or home equity purposes in PA or FL has been very high level. They just drive by, take photos, and do a comp analysis of the area to provide the appraisal. I can't think of a single instance where they came inside....