My New Blog

I was on a recent trip with the family to Disney. I had another agent fielding my calls and my broker managing my pending transactions; I had everything lined up......so I thought.

Standing in line at Buzz Lightyear so I could have a shoot out with my son, I heard a tone in my pocket. I picked up my phone and read an e-mail about a transaction going south, and it was supposed to close the day after I got back...The inspection report show a defect in the house. How could this be, the house looked perfect. What happened to the value of the property and with this on my mind, how was I going to shoot more space monsters than my son?

I closed the e-mail, called the client; let them know what was going on. Then I called the lender told them I would figure out the resolution by the end of the day. Then called the seller’s agent and told him about it. Then I strapped myself in to the little green ride car for the ride. With all this on my mind my son won the shootout. (I may have let him win….a little bit)

After a while it was lunch time, we were staying on the property at the Animal Kingdom lodge. We all went back to the room, my family freshened up they ordered lunch. I gabbed my laptop, drove down to the next hotel (Animal Kingdom Lodge didn't have a business room) I called the seller and asked him what he thought about the problem. He told me this is an issue he would like to fix and adjust the price for the repairs. I typed up the addendum and emailed it to him. Then I went back to my family.

By this time they were finishing up their lunch and it was back to the park. This time we went to Universal. Somewhere between the big hat and the tower of terror, I received another email. This time it was my client faxing the addendum back to me. I have a fax server that sends my faxes to my email…man I love technology. I grabbed my phone and forwarded it to the seller’s agent. A little while later I got it back on my phone. Then I forwarded the executed addendum to the lender, my broker, and the title company.

Disaster averted, happy seller, happy buyer, thirty minutes out of my vacation; but still had a happy family……..Life is good, the transaction closed on time.

When you choose an agent make sure they have the tools to deal with the issues when they arise, no matter where they are at.

Sanibel is an extremely safe place, thanks mostly to the dedicated professionals we have on this island. I am writing this entry because there was a suspicious person on they island a couple weeks ago, and I received an automated phone call about the person immediately; with a description of the person, a description of their vehicle as well as where they were spotted and time they were spotted. The Police department not only takes care of me and my family they let me know when something is wrong. The Police department has grown with the population, they are very diligent when is comes to traffic, enforcement as well as flow. They have regular community education workshops. A lot of the officers are involved in the community; such as coaching for youth sports programs. I know I never have to worry about my children on the island. We are in very capable hands.

Good Job Sanibel Police

Sanibel and Captiva are Barrier islands off the Fort Myers, Florida coast. The real estate markets are are semi-protected from the normal throws of a "standard" real estate market.

Why?? you ask.

There are many reasons they have held their value. From a supply and demand standpoint, Sanibel and Captiva are approximately 98% built out. The island doesn’t allow any structure larger than 45 feet on the island so the beaches are nice, not cluttered with High rises or Shops. Most beaches in Florida have way to many people on them at any given time, all you see are boardwalks, Shops and High rises. Sanibel and Captiva are different in the fact the whole community stresses nature. The beaches have trees, sea grass and sea shells. The streets don't have neon all over the place; the shopping districts have an island feel to them. People want this, and there are just not that many places in Florida like this.

Secondly, while our inventories creep up a little, and or sales creep down the people who buy on this island are Cash buyers, second home buyers, or financially secure people. We don't have the foreclosures many areas have seen, and the price point of the properties didn't lend itself to speculative buying. Our community is able to weather the storm because people were wise with their money; they have saved a lifetime to find "that perfect place" to retire.

While this market may go down a little, and no market lends itself to speculative buying. If you are looking for a safe place to buy a second home or vacation home, and are planning for a long term hold. Sanibel and Captiva are pretty safe bets.