Fourth of July 2009

If you do not see the slide show above visit the Slide Show on Flickr.

See You at The Parade & Laser Light Show

Bonita Springs 4th of July Parade & Laser Show Schedule

The Parade: The 51st annual Bonita Springs parade, titled “Support Our Troops,” begins at 9 a.m. The parade route will travel south on Old 41 Road, turn right onto Hampton Street, turn right again onto Front Street, and will end with an awards ceremony at Riverside Park immediately following the parade.

The Laser Show: Instead of fireworks, At 6 p.m., the festivities will reconvene at Riverside Park with food vendors, live music, games and rides. A laser light show will begin at 9 p.m. and is expected to last for 20 to 30 minutes. There is no admission fee for entrance to the park.

Help Put Food on a Bonita Springs Table

The Bonita Springs Assistance Office food pantry is experiencing tremendous demand for food and as a result, the pantry shelves are extremely low!  Please help us help those less fortunate in our community by participating in a food drive.  Items specifically needed are: Rice 16oz. ,Cereal (Big boxes),Mashed potatoes – Dry, Tuna, Tuna helper, ,Coffee, Apple Sauce, Cans of: Chili, Spaghetti, Ravioli, Juice (all kinds), Jelly, Raisins, Toilet Paper, Soap (bar),Dishwashing (liquid), Baby diapers

Time is of the essence, so please consider donating items as soon as possible.  We are also asking you to please forward this message via email to a minimum of ten people in your contact list and asking that they then do the same!  We have the power to create an email chain that will reach hundreds of area residents quickly and in return, generate much needed food supplies. 

Synovus Bank, Bonita branch, is acting as a drop off point at 9200 Cockleshell Ct, off Old 41.  AdSource is also acting as a drop off point.  AdSource offices are located on US 41 in Bonita Springs, directly south the of the “big ship.”  The address is 3440 Renaissance Blvd. This food drive runs through July 10, 2009.

Thank you in advance for helping fellow Bonita Springs residents.

Protecting The Consumer To Death

One of the many protective measures that have evolved from the housing downturn is the HVCC – Home Valuation Code of Conduct. It was developed to protect consumers purchasing or refinancing homes by eliminating fraud and inflated appraisals. An effort looked upon by some as little more than closing the barn door after the horses got out.

In a nutshell, mortgage brokers may no longer communicate with appraisers. The communication with appraisers is done strictly with the lender/bank though an “appraisal management company”. This new code may sound great in theory but the ramifications since May 1, 2009 have already started to be felt.

Gone are the days when mortgage brokers can choose an appraiser on the basis of experience, professionalism or quality of their work. Appraisals are now awarded to whoever will work for the cheapest and fastest.

Here’s how it works: A consumer goes to a bank to get a loan. The bank collects $390 for an appraisal. Yes, the price for an appraisal has now gone up because the bank pays an “appraisal management company” about half of the $390 and the appraiser gets the rest. The best, most qualified appraisers can’t afford to work at such a discount. The consumer has no idea that they’re appraiser is probably less experienced, working at a discount and has often been hired just because they’re the cheapest and the fastest appraiser on the list.

Wait, there’s more. If you’re a consumer in the process of getting a loan with “Bank A” and your mortgage broker finds a better program or you are turned down for a loan with “Bank A” your appraisal is owned by “Bank A” and not transferrable. You’ve just thrown 390 bucks into the wind. Another appraisal has to be ordered for your second lender.

This is affecting the consumers trying to refinance their homes, too. In the past mortgage brokers could contact an appraiser and get an estimate on whether a home would be close to the appraisal price before spending money on a full appraisal. Now, a consumer that would like to refinance will have to go through the appraisal process and pay for it regardless of the outcome of the appraisal.

What was meant to protect the home buyers and refinancing home owners is now hurting them by costing them more and dragging out the time to fund loans. It also means rate lock extensions or longer rate locks which results in higher interest rates.

There were and still are good, honest and reputable appraisers that didn’t rip anybody off during the housing boom. They’re now being punished and driven out of the business by a system full of flaws including lack of transparency. Instead of being rewarded for years of experience and professional conduct appraisers are being undermined by the Wal-Mart effect caused by HVCC.

In the end those who are affected the most are consumers who are shelling out more money for less service and the local, small business owners which include independent appraisers and mortgage brokers who are being micro-managed out of business.

It’s quite obvious that there were considerable problems with the way that appraisals were done during the boom but the way that the system is functioning right now just isn’t working.

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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area.  Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor.  If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.

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The Mysore Fig Tree

Right off of Sandy Lane in Estero is a community called The Groves in Estero, Florida.  It was once an orange grove, hence the name.  I drove down Sandy Lane to take pictures of the goats at a ranchette but the goats weren’t cooperating.  I continued north until I got to the intersection at Broadway and came to the Mysore Fig Tree. 

I’ve driven by it a thousand times.  My cousin Dee Dee use to live in The Groves, back in the day.    This day I stopped and took a few pictures.  The shame of the pictures are, I didn’t have a subject in front of the tree to give it perspective.  It’s not as big as the Banyan Tree at the Thomas Edison Estate but it is large and unusual and on of my favorite Wizard of Oz trees.

The owner was picking up the leaves and figs that had dropped when I drove by.  She and her son make jelly with the figs. They offered me some but I’ve been having sugar issues lately so I passed on the offer.

If you’re curious to learn more about this 100+ year old tree visit the website www.MysoreFigTree.com.

If you’re looking for driving directions to see this monster:

Yes, Gulf Access Can Look This Pretty

City Cows

Here’s a little known fact – there are cows in Bonita Springs.  Right there beside shopping centers, schools or whatever.  These cows are very special.  They’ll probably never end up on a bun because they’re Bonita Bovine. 

Bonita Bovine are a special type of cow, that once placed on commercial real estate with a few of their friends, help it get repurposed as agricultural land and taxed as such.  Bonita Bovine earn their weigh in gold every year.  How do you know the difference between a Bonita Bovine and just your regular, run of the mill moo cow?  Well, here are some little known facts:

They’re curious creatures with high respect for learning.  These Bonita Bovine were in the pasture beside the Bonita Springs Charter School on Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs, Florida.  See the Charter School above the black cow’s ear?

Bonita Bovine are usually well mannered.  Well, not this one.  He apparently *really* had to go.  He’s not the least bit ashamed, either.  He said, “Deal with it lady.”

They’re notoriously sticking their cloved hooves or runny noses in everybody’s business.  They can’t keep a secret either.  Your “business” will be all over town the minute the pick up the phone.

Mabel, quick, come over.  Do I have the dirt on that Griffith broad.  What a piece of work.  Did you catch a load of that car she’s driving?  She *must* be loaded.  I hear she married for money – I hear it was Paul Newman or Brad Pitt.  I’m not sure I just know it was someone *like* that.  (See what I mean, they’re ruthless worse than the Real Housewives!)

This is Mabel.  She has her own sordid past but still keeps throwing stones from her glass house.  Pity.

Alas, even Bonita Bovine have mannerless, brute husbands to deal with.  My alleged husband, Paul Newman/Brad Pitt is an angel compared to Ralph Angus.  … and you worry about your kids picking their nose in public.  Here’s talent for ya.

This is Ralph’s wife.  She’s thrilled that this was caught on camera.

Oh no he didn’t!

Bonita Springs Absorption Rates Are Broken

I’m super late getting the Bonita Springs, Estero, Florida May statistics to you because I’ve just been swamped with work.  It’s like the movie Ground Hogs Day; sun up, sun down, sun up, same stuff, sun down.

I’ve had them done for a day or so and it just didn’t make sense to post the absorption rate.  The numbers are skewed because there are so many pending sale and active with contingencies that it adds years to the inventory.  I was shocked at the amount of pending real estate sales so instead of showing the absorption rate that is off by years in many sectors I will show you the entire breakdown by building style and you can judge for yourself.  We’ve mostly been running at about 24 months of inventory, give or take so I assume when these little rascals close we can get a more accurate count.

Bonita Springs  Estero Pending Sales Numbers

Bonita Springs Estero Units Sold Numbers

As usual I do three years of real estate sales in a row so you can see the trend over a series of a few years.

All this information is deemed accurate, not guaranteed, yada, yada.