My first night as a bartender at Ariani restaurant www.chefdario.com, my first guests at the bar, I meet a Realtor couple team on thier way to a showing.   We chatted a bit about the market and the changes it's been going through, they said I was brave to get in now.   So I told them my firm specalizes in negotiating short sales, foreclosure or pre-forclosures, and that most of our buyers are coming from other realtors.We created an excellent synergy as they, like many realtors, don't want to deal with short sales and would love to refer them to a specalist.   I in turn will keep them informed of our new offerings, many of which don't hit the MLS at all.Any one who would like to be added to my hotsheet list, please shoot me an email at mikeurbinato@gmail.com and I'll get you in the loop... 09/20/2007

 This should be a Fun day for all Dog Owners, come out and meet other area Dog / Animal Lovers, you never know, you just might make some Friends. There will be all kinds of Dogs to see. 1st Annual SWFL AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day. Saturday September 22nd at Jaycee Park 11:00 - 4:00 ALL FRIENDLY DOGS WELCOME!!! www.swfloridalabclub.com  09/19/2007

Century 21 Birchwood Realty Inc - will be having a Buyer / Seller Appreciation Day on Saturday September 22nd 2007 from 10 am - 3pm.Free Hot Dogs & Hamburgers Grilled by the Agents and Mgmt StaffFree Bounce House for the KidsFree Old Time Car Show with some very nice carsSnow Cones, Soda, Water ect also all Free.Would be a Great Place to stop for some Local Real Estate Information, or just to stop by for some free food and fun for all. For info or questions, Please call Jay LaGace 239-443-8795   09/19/2007

     Joe Kendall Realtor with Sandals Realty www.viewswflorida.com  or direct line 239-560-0726 writes;  Home builders in southwest Florida are offering great savings on home purchases of homes out of inventory or brand new construction homes on your own lot. The current prices for vacant land located on and off water in Lehigh acres and Cape Coral remain very attractive. Dry lots in Lehigh Acres are selling for around 9,000 to 12,000 for a very nice build-able lot! Cape Coral dry lots are in the high 20,000 to low 30,000 and waterfront lots starting around 50,000 and gulf access around 95,000 asking! Builders are adding lots of upgrades to their standard home packages! I strongly incourage you to give me a call or email me on referral to Quality Home Builder that I have worked with in ... 09/18/2007

New Florida Home - Breathtaking Views! Lowest Price Ever! Builder Short Sale - No delays on closing! Cape Coral, Fl. NEW 2007 Luxury Golf Course Home with Built-in Pool & 5 Jet Therapy Outdoor Spillover Built-in Spa offers breathtaking rear panoramic views on the Championship Coral Oaks 18-Hole Golf Course, overlooking the 4th Tee with 2000 ft. private nature views, without the fees! You will love the huge entertaining room sizes in this 3BR/2BA, built for master living throughout! Don't settle for low-level new construction upgrades. Reward yourself with the very best in this premium luxurious upgraded model home, showcased with fabulous model home features all included in this home. This stunning model home, built as a speculated model is loaded with top of the line everything! Origin... 09/17/2007

  Joe Kendall Realtor with Sandals Realty www.viewswflorida.com or Direct Line 239-560-0726 Writes there are all kinds of deals on property In southwest Florida On and off water, Foreclosure,Bank Short Sales or Resale Homes and new construction with sellers looking to sell! Waiting for your offer with solid letter of approval for a bank or mortgage company! Take a look at these offerings as a sample of what we have to offer here in southwest Florida!               1418 se 32 Street, Cape Coral Florida.  3 bed 2 bath 1575 sq. ft.  Located on extra wide gulf access canal! Asking $249,900 Handyman's special or real estate investor should be looking here!             1941 sw 4th Ave Cape Coral Florida, Bank Short Sale  Asking $199,900 Waiting on your offer!!  3 Bed 2 bath built in 2006 with... 09/17/2007

On Sunday September 16th, 2007 in the 6 o'clock PM hour a Tornado made landfall in the Southwest area in the City of Cape Coral.  The damage area spans from Cape Coral Parkway North to Mohawk Parkway, and from Chiquita Blvd to SW 12th Place, with heavy damage spanning the Skyline Bld area with extensive damage to to several apartment & condominium complexes.  Areas of Fort Myers Beach also sustained damage. The initial damage reports total destruction or damage to 59 homes.  Several commercial buildings in the area also sustained damage including the neighborhood walmart grocery store.  Almost 5,000 residents throughout Cape Coral and the surrounding Lee County area are still without power. As of the time of this blog luckily there has been no report of death. This storm brings to light... 09/16/2007

Wow, what an unexpected event tonight in Cape Coral. A Tornado hit in SW Cape Coral tonight around Skyline Blvd. According to the news there was only 1 minor injury & no deaths.But 59 homes were damaged or destroyed. Many cars were destroyed as well as power lines down & carports mutilated.There was also damage on Ft. Myers Beach, FL as well. The funnel cloud moved through quickly knocking out power & damaging structures.Most of Cape Coral now has power & they expect to restore power to the remaining homes by tomorrow morning. I live about 2 miles away from the hardest hit areas & luckily we have no damage in my neighborhood or house.Just a reminder to take these warnings seriously. A hardhat like the one to the right is not enough - make sure you head warnings & get into an interior ro... 09/16/2007

                          Joe Kendall Realtor with Sandals Realty 239-560-0726 writes, Local Home builders are trying to reduce spec home inventory before the winter season in southwest Florida with Huge price reductions. Brand new 3-4 bedroom 2-3 bath homes with 3 car garage are starting at $199,900 up to 3,000 total square feet, There are also a lot of resale homes, with lots of uprades, pools on the market  250,000 to 365,00   Call Joe Kendall Realtor with Sandals Realty 239-560-0726 or visit www.ViewSWFlorida.com  for more information!  09/13/2007

            3 bed 2 bath built in 2006 1618 sq. ft.               Freshwater Pool Home! Reduced 40,000! Asking $225,000Joe Kendall Realtor with Sandals Realty phone 239-560-0726  writes, The Cape Coral Florida Real Estate Market is showing that banks and lenders are serious about reducing there inventory and working toward selling homes in the Foreclosure Processand Working thru the Short Sales without increasing their inventory of foreclosure property.  New construction spec homes, waterfront property and condos offer home buyers in Cape Coral, Fort Myers and thru-out southwest Florida unbelievable choices for a seasonal , year around home or investment property. Call me today at 239-560-0726  or email Joek4realestate@aol.com for more information !  09/12/2007

Joe Kendall Realtor with Sandals Realty Phone 239-560-0726 writes, Todays real estate market in Cape Coral Florida offers Home buyers that have not been able to afford a waterfront home in the past? Their time has come! There are several great well maintained homes are currently in the foreclosure process and can be purchased at unbelieveable prices! Many times the general thoughts from teh public is that foreclosure homes are homes that have not been maintained and need work done to them before yiou can even move in. Well that is not always the case! Here is an example of a home in the Pre-foreclosure process like many others seeing is believing! Some the the best deals today, are home under in the foreclosure process! ClassifiedFlyerAds.com Real Estate Flyer - free real estate classi... 09/09/2007

                                                         Builders out of inventory reductions continue. All Homes Reduced $40,000 More Today!Joe Kendall, Realtor with Sandals Realty  239-560-0726 writes: The Foreclosures and Short Sales continue to drive home prices in southwest Florida.Looking at the real estate market today, I am seeing homes selling in southwest Florida and new price values are being established, Realtors, and Home Builders are adjusting to the market almost daily. Today, I received a phone call from a sales agent for a local builder that told me for a limited time, they are taking off $40,000 of out of inventory homes. I just personally feel this is just a quick reaction to create some sales this weekend for this home builder as the "Current Home Buyers" are focusin... 09/07/2007

With so many families and investors facing the reality of Foreclosure in Cape Coral and Fort Myers Florida, you may be asking yourself exactly what is a Short Sale? The good news is that you are in the right spot to find the information necessary to answer a wide variety of questions you may have regarding performing a Short Sale on your own property. If you are in financial distress and have thought about selling you home as a Short Sale to avoid foreclosure, follow this link for assistance.  We can help you and your family.  We are a proven leader in our community when it comes to listing, negotiating, and closing short sale properties for our customers. WHAT IS A SHORT SALE?  A "Short Sale" or "negotiated settlement" or "short pay" occurs when a Lender agrees to accept less than the ... 09/04/2007

         Joe Kendall Realtor Waterfront Specialist with Sandals Realty writes, Cape Coral Florida current real estate market has several sailboat access homes current priced 40% to 60% below 2004 prices. The local real estate market has currently a large amount of Cape Coral Florida Waterfront real estate homes that are in Pre-Foreclosure, Bank approved short sales or currently Bank Owned property that  are starting at $295,000 and are waiting for your offer! Your best value is a sailboat access pool home with a dock & Boat lift! The home owners or investors that can no longer can afford these homes have forced these huge reductions in prices in the currect real estate market. Call or email me today for more information and a complete list of Homes for sale. Joe Kendall email address ju... 09/04/2007

Active 02/08/07Listing # 2007111951323 SE 33rd St Cape Coral, FL 33904-4221Listing Price: $159,000County: Lee Prop TypeResidentialProp Subtype(s)Single FamilyGEO AreaCC12 - cape cSubdivisionCape CoralBeds3Living Area1119 SellerBaths(FH)2 (2 0)Price/Sq Ft151.83WaterfrontNoYear Built1977Lot Sq Ft (approx)10019 ((Tax Data))PID064524C2005020610Lot Acres (approx)0.230DOM206 Directions  Del Prado to west on SE 32nd Ter to left on SE 15th PL to right on SE 33rd StProperty Information  Come see this impeccably maintained home in a great location with assesments in and paid. Home features great room, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and large lanai for entertaining. Sit back and relax in the picturesque back yard with pond. Home has been recently updated with newer roof, newer hurricane resistant garage doo... 09/02/2007

Listing # 2007562544720 SW 25th Pl Cape Coral, FL 33914-6143Listing Price: $259,500County: Lee Prop TypeResidentialProp Subtype(s)Single FamilyGEO AreaCC22 - cape cSubdivisionCape CoralBeds3Living Area1956 SellerBaths(FH)2 (2 0)Price/Sq Ft143.10WaterfrontNoYear Built1993Lot Sq Ft (approx)10585 ((Tax Data))PID084523C3049880490Lot Acres (approx)0.243DOM182TRS45 23 8 Directions  West on Cape Coral Prky to North on SW 25th Pl, home third house on the left.Property Information  Beautiful SW Cape Coral pool home; 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage with mature landscaping. This former model home is located on a quiet street and has a large lanai and pool with fenced in yard surrounded by privacy hedges and trees. Featured in this immaculate home are cathedral ceilings, new stainless steel applian... 09/01/2007

Mike Welch, national sales trainer, media business broker and real estate investor is sharing his secrets of closing more sales tonight in Cape Coral. You do not want to miss this! He blew away the crowd at the Naples area board of realtors on Tuesday night, come see and listen to one of the top sales people of our time. Mike Welch has been in the top 2% of any sales position he has been in, I learn something new from him everytime I talk to him, he is the best sales person I have ever met. He is here to educate, he has no books or tapes to sell. Cape Coral Yacht Club (Grand Ballroom)5819 Driftwood PkwyCape Coral, FL 33904Thursday, August 23rd, 20076:00pm Networking, Meeting 6:30-8:30pmNo Door fee for Forever Wealth Club Members; Cost for Non-Members is $10 or free if you bring a guest!... 08/23/2007

Lee County, Florida Property Taxes <!-- body,td,th { font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; color: #003399; } --> If you own property in Lee County, Florida you should have received your new trim notice. If you do you would have noticed a pretty significant decrease in your taxes. I think the biggest reductions are on vacant land. FYI, vacant land in Cape Coral maxed out in 2005 about $90-100,000 & decreased in 2006/2007 to about $25,000 for the same lot worth $100,000 then. Mind you, vacant land in Cape Coral had values of $1,000-5,000 from the early 80s up until about 2002 when we watched them steadily increase up to those highs in 2005. Here's a couple of samples:   Vacant lot - Cape Coral Last year valued at $72,000 Taxes $1,292.43 This year valued... 08/22/2007

         Joe Kendall Realtor with Sandals Realty a Waterfront and Foreclosure Specialist writes, Home owners should always look at all options before losing their home back to the bank from a hardship, maybe it's a health issue or a work related/financial problem. I have several years of experience in dealing in Pre-foreclosures and short sales in Michigan and Florida. The future could get even harder to buy a home with possible higher interest rates as the Sub Prime Mortgage Market continues to tighten their restrictions. This should give you even more motivation to keep your house! Save your credit and get out of your situation the best you can.  I can help you with the questions to ask your bank? The forms you need to fill out and allow me to help you work toward selling your home an... 08/21/2007

Just Listed! 1205 NE 18th Ter Cape Coral, FL 33909 August 13th, 2007 11:09 AM $235,000.001205 NE 18th TerCape Coral, FL 33909Beds: 3.0Rooms: 0Baths: 2.00Sq. Ft.: 1816.00Garage: 2.0Built: 2005 Lovely home with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths plus a bonus room that can be used as a fourth bedroom, extended lanai,security system, stainless steel appliances, raised panel, and wood cabinets.master bath features dual sinks,tub and shower with tile. This house is conveniently located behind Diplomat Middle & Elementary Schools. MUST SEE! ****BRING ALL OFFERS***---This is a new listing thatI thought you might beinterested in. Visit thislisting online to see morephotos of the property,Google Earth satelliteimages, and much more. If you have any questionsabout this property orrequire more information,plea... 08/17/2007