subject: Are Short Sales Bad For My Community In Fort Myers? [print this page] This is via a phone call from a disturbed homeowner of a property located in Fort Myers.
It was a civilized conversation and good debate. This person is in no way in default or looking to do a short sale. They are upside down on the mortgage, however they can and will maintain their payments...
We directly market communities in which we know people are upside down and may / may not be able to afford their payments. Some of which have lost value of over 60%.
Here is the question from that homeowner:
"Steve, don't you think you are assisting to the reduction to values of real estate further down in our community of Fort Myers by promotion of short sales?"
I think this is a very valid concern on his part. We are aggressively moving properties for individuals who need to short sale their property and selling them at discounted "foreclosure pricing."
However...
My question to him was -
Do you think a foreclosureis better for your community??
He was unsure how to respond...
My points to him:
There are many people who are affected by this market and are unable to keep up with their mortgages. We are being proactive by marketing our short sale services in Lee and Collier counties to provide, I think, the reverse outcome of his initial question.
If certain individuals do not decide to short sale and rather just foreclose then the property can be subject to high grass, vandalism, squatters, etc and a possible long duration of it being vacant. ** Also keep in mind some banks are holding a lot of inventory before it goes to market.
Prices still diminish and sometimes even further due to condition of the property (Some owners have even stripped everything including appliances, cabinets, vanities, floors, etc).
For example, one property I dealt with had the kitchen completely gutted, with stains on all the walls. Parts of the A/C system were completely missing. Basically, the house was uninhabitable.
Now, this guy specifically lives in an association which an abandoned or foreclosure in turn may be even worse for him. In Fort Myers and many areas of southwest Florida there are communities with mandatory monthly or quarterly fees. When people walk from their properties they will tend to not pay their dues to the association. This in turn can increase their neighbor's fees to make up for delinquencies.
With a short sale, we try to be proactive to those that need our help and sell the property as quickly as possible in the Southwest Florida areas.
This is beneficial not just for the person that was relieved of foreclosure but also his neighbor.
