Cape Coral Property Value (mortgage, equity, refinance)

[MCASTRO]

My husband and I purchased a lot last year for 100,000. I have read that property values in the CAPE are going down and that my property value has probably gone down about 50%. I live in NY and have not been able to keep up with the market trend, can anyone who lives in CAPE Coral shed some light on this situation?

[firemed]

Cape Coral is not a good place to own right now and things don't look good. Signs are all over and not much is moving. 100k for a Cape Coral lot is a thing you might not see for a long time. Lenders are prepared to do mass liquidation of properties all over the area and that will drop the price even more.”Sorry, but good luck.
The News-Press, news-press.com, Real Estate, Sellers turning to auctions to speed sale of properties

[paradiddle]

Is it on a canal? - waterfront is still valueable. I would call a RE agent and check for market value.

Did you plan on selling it right now? - if not, why panic. It is a terrible time to sell right now unless you need to.

[MCASTRO]

Thanks for the responses, however I am not looking to sell, rather refinance, I have a 5 year balloon payment which expires in 2011, although I have some time left my payments are too high and if the property value has gone down, the bank will only let us borrow the market value. The lot is not on a canal.

[deckardc]

Look at some of the current listings for lots similar to yours near where your lot is located or look at the tax assessors website to see how much similar lots have recently sold for. It will give you a rough idea of what the market value of your lot is. Market value is what people (the market) are willing to pay for your lot, not what a realtor tells you that you can get for it so recent sales will give you a better idea of value.

I'm confused. If your payments are too high, why borrow money against it, won't that just make your payments higher? I doubt there is any equity in a Cape Coral lot right now, the market there is worse than lousy.

[MCASTRO]

I am confused as well, we purchased this lot because we were told Cape Coral was the hottest thing in the market. We plan on building but in about 7 years once my husband retires, however we are looking for a fixed interest rate and the thought of paying a lump sum has become a scary thought, we purchased the land think we could refinance to extend the payments, not having to come up with the lump sum all in one shot, but at this rate it would probably take more than a 2 years for the market to get better if it does, who knows, I am a New Yorker and all of this is extremely stressful.

[121804]

It is going to take a lot longer than 2 years for Cape Coral to rebound.

Hopefully your land is in the SW or SE section & maybe it will not all be awash.

Right now, Cape Coral is rock bottom in real estate. It's not a good story.

[tallrick]

Why would anyone need to finance land with an adjustable rate mortgage? Isn't it a lot less hassle to just make a cash purchase? When I wanted to buy land no institution would lend me a penny, I just saved up my 8-10,000.00 and made an offer. The only concern for me now is overinflated property taxes.

[JohnVosilla]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Why would anyone need to finance land with an adjustable rate mortgage? Isn't it a lot less hassle to just make a cash purchase? When I wanted to buy land no institution would lend me a penny, I just saved up my 8-10,000.00 and made an offer. The only concern for me now is overinflated property taxes.

Seems like they lowered the 2007 assessments dramtically. Will probably do it again for 2008. Cape Coral lots in general are down 75%+ from the top and is something to consider if you payed too much but also have a big mortgage today.. Even some of the canalfront homes are now selling for less than what the lot was worth two years ago. Seems like the Florida land scam keeps resurfacing every generation.. This one was the worst by far since the 1920's..