New from Regler Real Estate...

With over 400 miles of freshwater and saltwater canals to explore, and multiple near-by beaches and preserves to enjoy, Cape Coral is an ideal home for boating enthusiasts of all kinds. The best part? Like everything else in sunny Southwest Florida, it can be enjoyed year round!   Kayak or canoe the Great Calusa Blueway that extends from Pine Island Sound to Estero Bay, then up the Caloosahatchee River and through its tributaries. Stay closer to home and explore the Four Mile Ecological Preserve. Or just putter around the canals that run through the city. From tiny Bluegills to enormous Tarpon, the fresh and salt waterways of Cape Coral are teaming with a wide variety of fish. To the south, those same waterways open up into passes, preserves, and reefs. You can even book a charter boat with a knowledgeable captain who will take you out into open water to the best sea fishing locations. For a more casual experience, take a leisurely ride through the canals to Cape Harbour where you ...

Scammers, it seems, grow more creative every year.  I think we've all received phone calls from dishonest people claiming to be with the IRS or Social Security*, trying to obtain our personal and financial information. Certainly most of us have received emails from "Amazon" or "Paypal" with alarming messages prompting us to call them "right away!" But even as new ways to defraud strangers are dreamt up by unscrupulous people, some of the older scams are still being practiced. Thankfully, Lee County, Florida has created a pilot program to address and prevent one of the oldest scams - property fraud. You can now sign up to receive alerts from the county whenever a mortgage, deed, or other land document is filed with the county in your name.  In the interest of providing full and detailed information, I'm including the explanations and information found on the   Clerk of the Court website . I strongly encourage you to   sign up for these alerts . This...

During the fourth   quarter of last year, many housing experts predicted home prices were going to crash this year. Here are a few of those forecasts: “I expect housing prices fall 10% to 15%, and the housing prices are accelerating on the downside.” - Jeremy Siegel , Russell E. Palmer Professor Emeritus of Finance at the  Wharton School of Business "Buckle in. Assuming rates remain near their current 6.5% and the economy skirts recession, then national house prices will fall almost 10% peak-to-trough. Most of those declines will happen sooner rather than later. And house prices will fall 20% if there is a typical recession.”   - Mark Zandi , Chief Economist at  Moody’s Analytics “Housing is already cooling in the U.S., according to July data that was reported last week. As interest rates climb steadily higher, Goldman Sachs Research’s G-10 home price model suggests  home prices will decline by around 5% to 10% from the peak in the U.S.  . . . Economists at...

Once upon a time, in far away Cape Coral, three little burrowing owls were preparing to sell their burrows.  Each owl diligently cleaned and prepared his burrow for sale.  They dragged egg shells and mouse pellets out to the curb, pushed back roots that had intruded into their space, and pulled away weeds and grass that had grown over the entrances to their tiny homes.  At last the time had come to place (adorable) little signs outside their burrows, announcing that they were ready to sell. But... how much should they sell their burrows for?  Do  you  know the best asking price for a two-tunnel burrow on a salt water canal?  A one-tunnel backing up against a preserve?  An extended-tunnel with a second entrance and beach access?  Our owls didn't know.  They weren't, after all, marketing strategists.  They were owls.  But, still, they did their best. The first little owl priced his burrow high... The first little owl thought very...

Why Buying a Vacation Home Beats Renting One This Summer For many of us, visiting the same vacation spot every year is a summer tradition that’s fun, relaxing, and restful. If that sounds like you, now’s the time to think about your plans and determine if  buying  a vacation home this year makes more sense than renting one again. According to  Forbes :  “. . . if the idea of vacationing at the same place every year makes you feel instantaneously relaxed,  buying a vacation home might be a wise move .”    To help you decide if making a move like this is right for you, let’s explore why you may want to consider purchasing a vacation home today.  Benefits of Owning Your Vacation Home You don’t have to worry about finding a place to stay.  It can be a challenge to find a rental where you want, when you want. Some summer vacation destinations are more popular than others, meaning your favorite place may be booked up in advance. Bankrate  expl...

...by choosing a  condominum  for your next home!     Spend Less Condominiums can be significantly less expensive than comparable single family homes in the same area. If you are considering buying a vacation home, that lower pricetag will allow you to make and enjoy that purchase years earlier. If you are ready to downsize, choosing a condo will leave much more in your bank account to be spent on travel and hobbies. And if you are looking for your first home, condominiums are the perfect "starter" purchase that will allow you to begin accruing equity without taking on the much larger financial commitment of a pricier single family home. Condominiums are also less expensive to insure, less expensive to heat and cool, and often allow residents to bundle the purchase of services like internet and cable packages or even utilities at reduced rates.   Work Less Mow the grass. Clean the gutters. Fix the siding. Powerwash the driveway. Weed the garden. Rake the le...

  Did you know… …Southwest Florida is a nesting ground for five of the seven species of sea turtles?  It’s true! Every year our beaches are visited by gigantic leatherback turtles and iconic loggerhead turtles, as well as hawksbill turtles, green turtles, and Kemp’s Ridley turtles. Beginning in late April, and continuing through October, we play host to thousands of nesting mothers and then to tens of thousands of adorable babies! Sea turtles are all about balance… …with each species filling a vital role in maintaining healthy, robust beaches and fishing areas.  Southwest Florida is beautiful, and these native species help keep it that way. Leatherbacks feast on jelly fish, who feed on larval fish and would otherwise quickly decimate local fish populations. Loggerheads, named for their enormous and powerful jaws, leave behind a trail of crustacean shells cracked into tiny pieces that will quickly breakdown and enrich the ocean floor. Hawksbills prefer the taste of fast gr...

Advice on raising the sale value of your home is not hard to find. It leaps out at you from social media and grocery store magazines and well-meaning relatives. Everyone has an opinion to offer. Still, the quality of that advice can be… mixed. Reminders to “mow the lawn” or “clean up pet toys” or “wipe down the kitchen counters” are basic and unnecessary. Suggestions that you take on major projects like landscaping, interior renovations, or HVAC and electrical upgrades are simply unrealistic. You are willing to put in a reasonable amount of work, but you want to know that it will pay off. So what can you do? Cleaning I know, I  just  said cleaning advice was basic and unnecessary. But let’s talk about finishing touches. We often do not prioritize them in daily or weekly cleaning. Things like wiping down baseboards and trim, gently washing kitchen and bathroom walls, or renting a steam cleaner and rediscovering the original color of the playroom carpet don’t just make your home...

Many sellers consider a pre-listing home inspection to be borrowing trouble. They imagine that "what they don't know can't hurt them." However, when a prospective buyer’s inspection turns up unpleasant surprises - surprises that could cause a confirmed sale to fall through - these same sellers reconsider their pre-listing decision. What does a home inspection include? A licensed home inspector will search your home for signs of common problems and safety hazards. They will look over the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems for items and areas of concern. They will search for evidence of pests, water damage, or structural weaknesses. What if my home inspection reveals a problem? As a seller, you want to net as much money as possible at closing. The truth is, as a result of natural wear and tear, building and design quirks, or undisclosed damage from previous owners, every home has room for improvement. That’s ok! A pre-listing inspection makes you aware of these conc...