Fort Myers Housing Market Nearing Bottom, according to Zillow.com

We have great news that hit USA Today's front page today for Fort Myers Real Estate. According to the article in USA Today, Fort Myers Real Estate is one of six cities in America that have gone through the worst part of the foreclosure and mortgage crisis that took America by surprise in 2006 through today. The foreclosure filings in Lee County have dropped some 28% in a year and the inventory available to purchase has decreased by 52%, according to the article. What does that mean for Suzy Q HomeOwner and Joe Smith Home buyer? If Joe is an end user who will move into the property as his primary residence and stay in the home for years to come, then his choices for availability are limited. It used to be that Joe Smith Home Buyer could see 20 homes in a day and love 2 or 3 of them put an offer in and purchase it that day. Today if Joe Smith Home Buyer is able to see 5 homes a day or 10 in a month, because inventory is so low and one of them he sees hits 7 out of 10 wishes on his wish list, well then he better pick it up. If he doesn't he is likely to purchase something with only 6 out of 10 items on his wish list or worse yet, might only get 50% of his wishes. When searching for your dream house there are many things to consider so please buyer, visit my son's blog finding that Dream House. Now, if you are Suzy Q Home Seller, today's news couldn't be better!! For sellers who have tried to compete with the REO market only to learn that lenders hate real estate and they hate not selling it in under 30 days and they are motivated beyond all reason to lower the price to get it sold, well that price competition is moving out of the way for Suzy Q Home Seller. If you considered selling your home this past year but thought better to wait, I commend you and say your wait could soon be over. Does this mean Fort Myers Real Estate is going to rebound and recover in the next 12 months? I predict it will "recover" in that people who want to sell can sell and people who want to buy will still be out there, but in terms of gaining prices back that we say in the 2005, that will still be years down the road, in fact my son wrote a blog on that as well.

CAPE CORAL VETERANS INVESTMENT ZONE

Cape Coral is going to have a Veterans Investment Zone. (VIZ) The goal of this is to develop of symbiotic businesses to surround the new Regional VA Outpatient Clinic.

The Regional VA Clinic is opening in the spring of 2012 and is going to have 220,000 square feet. The 220,000 square feet VA Clinic will rank in the top 3 to 5 of the 800 clinics that exist nationwide. The clinic will employ a staff of nearly 300 and provide services to over 700 patients daily. The VA Clinic in Fort Myers will close and this one in Cape Coral will take its place. We are quite excited about it because it is going to have a lot more room and contain a lot more facilities that were available to the veterans at the Fort Myers clinic.

The VIS is located on Diplomat Parkway and Corbett Road in Northeast Cape Coral, with easy access from US 41 and I75. The VIS will have over 430 acres of undeveloped land within one mile of the VA clinic sight. The zoning is corridor and industrial which is optimal for business diversity. The VIS will also have 220,000 square of Patriot Plaza. This will be a mixed use development of medical offices, wellness and rehab components, hotel, and retail. It will also have 53,000 square feet of Hope Hospice which is presently in the area and is a palliative care facility. In addition to that it will have a 15 acre Army Reserve sight. This does not mean there will be tanks and halftracks driving around the area, because the Army is changing and it is going to be a technical facility and area.

For those of you who wish to take advantage of the economic development in Cape Coral, the opportunities at VIS are:

1. Medical Clinics and Offices

2. Wellness Providers

3. Assisted Living Facilities

4. Patient/Family Support Services

5. Hospitality/Entertainment

6. Hotel

7. Retail

8. Pharmacy

9. Medical Research

10. Life Science Facilities

11. Business Support Services

12. Call Centers

13. IT Industry/Data Processing

14. Green (Industries)

15. Light Industrial Enterprises

I am taking classes to receive my ACCRS designation which is “Accredited Cape Coral Residential Specialist”. If you have any questions or could use any help getting in touch with the correct people, please feel free to contact myself at Just Right Realty Company, and I will be more than happy to help you and put you in touch with the person that can help you the most. I am also a veteran who does use the VA clinic and will be more than happy to assist you any way I can if you need help getting in touch with or joining the VA Clinic.

In the meantime, I’m just having another great day in “Paradise”.

Jerry Ruzicka, Broker

Just Right Realty Company

SPACESHIP DISCOVERY’S LAST RIDE

A few weeks ago, my wife and I decided to see the last take off of Discovery. We drove from Cape Coral, FL to Titusville, FL for this extremely eventful happening. It was definitely worth the trip. We arrived about 3 hours prior to the take off of Discovery and were fortunate in finding a parking spot in Titusville right off A1A right next to the water. It cost us $10.00 for parking and we had only a 1 ½ block walk to find a perfect spot on the water to view the take off. We were approximately 9 miles from the launch sight.

It is an incredible experience to watch our space program in action. Because this is the very last flight Discovery will ever make, it made it that much more important and exciting to see. We only have 2 more space flights prior to our government shutting down the space program as we know it.

I find it extremely distasteful and difficult to comprehend why our United States Government is dropping our space program and allowing the other countries to move ahead of us. It seems to me to be an extremely sad time in the history of our country that we are giving up such an important program and allowing other countries to move ahead of us. We, in fact, are going to pay other countries to shuttle our astronauts back and forth to the space station. It seems to me like we are going backwards in a very fast downward spiral. We are certainly having change in our government but none of this change appears to be progressive for the United States.
Back to the shuttle take off. The feeling and exhilaration of the ground shaking and the noise created by the incredible power of the space shuttle is something that everyone should see at least once. It makes you really feel great knowing that we were once the leader in the space program and at the same time it is extremely saddening to know that we are giving up.

One of the last two shuttles is supposed to be an evening blast off. My wife and I plan on making this trip because we have never seen one take off at night. To find out specific dates and times, check with NASA and follow your local and national news.

I highly recommend you take the time to see the next take off of the space shuttle.

Best regards,
Jerry Ruzicka, Broker

Property Management in Ft Myers FL

There is not many joys in the real estate career equal to that of telling a prospective tenant; They meet requirements to rent your property and you would be happy to have them as a tenant. The pure joy and often relief of finding the home they need for the next year, or maybe 2 years and sometimes just a few months is one reason I love my job. I am the head of the Property Management division within Just Right Realty Co. and today I had the joy of telling a tenant they made the cut. What a great way to end the week. I have made three families happy. First the homeowner who hired us on March 1, will be happy to know that within 3 weeks we found a tenant who is moving in April 1, so vacancy is null. Second a tenant who is in love with home and neighborhood that the house is located. Last but not least my family is grateful that we are able to have one more client added to our list of properties we manage successfully.

Now, lets talk about “successfully” managing property. This is where property manager earn their keep. This is where the stress and headaches come in that force many people out of the business. This is where paying 10% of the rent each month becomes a huge benefit to the homeowner. Yes, this is the part of the job I try to avoid at all costs. What are the items that create troubles for a property manager? For the most part it all deals with money, the money the tenant is required to pay for rent each month. This is where Life Happens, and rent often becomes the last bill paid. I think there is a different term for Life Happens but we will keep this PG rated. As life throws us the curve balls that it naturally does to each and every house hold we as property managers need to be clever in our ways to communicate the importance of making sure rent is paid on time, every time. However in the event it is not paid on time, as property managers we need to be understanding, compassionate, and very good problem solvers of problems we have no control over. There are some of my tenants that pay me on the 5th of every month. They get their paycheck that day and go and draw a check for rent immediately and like clockwork I can count on it. SO, do I charge them a late fee because the lease says I have the right to if not paid on the 1st? Do I hold it over on them because they are late every month? Absolutely NO to both of the previous questions, remember Life Happens, so we have to roll with the punches. The toughest times as a property manager is the times you have to go to the extreme and evict someone.

Those times you try to do everything humanly possible so you don’t have to go to the extreme but in my tenure with property management and the hundreds of tenants I have worked with on the properties we manage in Lee County, we have had to evict a few. I pride myself on that fact that over the time I have managed property that I can still count on my hands how many I have had to evict. Which for the home owner means less costs and less head aches in the long run. I hope your Friday is starting off great and I hope it carries over to a great weekend and an even better Monday morning that you could ever hope for. If you would like more information on Our Property Management Services in Fort Myers FL, Cape Coral, Estero, and Lehigh Acres, please send me an email. Jerry@jrrc1.com.

Real Estate Investor Round Table Discussion

The other night Entrust Freedom had a great after hours meeting at their new location 1520 Royal Palm Sq #320 Fort Myers FL. By the way, I must say; beautiful new offices in Fort Myers, congrats on the upgrade. Entrust had a half dozen real estate experts present reasons why now is a good time to buy and invest in Southwest Florida. Entrust Freedom offers a self-direct IRA which allow you to invest your IRA money into real estate essentially tax free. Opps, I better say, “I am not a tax advisor, nor is any info in my blog tax advice, you should consult your accountant.” However I am a client of Entrust Freedom and have been purchasing real estate with my IRA for a couple years now. What a growth in assets I have seen even in this difficult market we are in. The meeting was amazing, there were well over 30 folks around the conference table from a vast array of knowledge bases, in real estate. At the table there were investors, contractors, realtors, and financers all who are very successful in their own rights. What I thought was amazing, besides the presentations by Ravenwood Homes, Great job guys, was the articles Dave had printed off that night from WSJ.

One article, “Home Affordability Returns to Pre-Bubble Levels, if you want more, read my son’s opinion. The other article was “Cash Buyers Lift Housing.” It was amazing that Nationally all cash transactions hit 28% in 2010. This goes to say that people are out there buying and they have the ability to purchase like no other time before. Many of these cash buyers were taking money out of their stock portfolio and looking for gains from rents collected on real estate. Rent prices have not dropped too far in Cape Coral and Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres, so a purchaser can often get returns greater than 12%, for me that is great. I am one of the many baby boomers that have seen my stock portfolio take a huge hit, so I too have chosen real estate as a safer investment with a better ROI than I have seen in stocks. If you are considering like the 30 plus professionals in the room to invest in real estate in 2011 and want some good advice, good service, and someone with a keen eye on details email me today. My son and I are working as a team researching great foreclosure opportunities for rent and hold, and every now and then buy and flip. Long term the hold will prove to be more profitable is my opinion.

PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR SALE

With our market slowly coming out of its slump, it is time for you to start thinking about the preparation of your home if you wish to sell it without a short sale or foreclosure.

Hire an Agent.

Now is not the time to try to sell your home on your own. You need a real estate professional like Just Right Realty Company to help you price your house, do open houses; we hire the professional photographer for you and also for us for brochures.

Curb Appeal.

Make sure your house looks excellent from the outside as well as from the inside. Drive by your home a couple of times, stop and view it to make sure it looks excellent from the curb. Landscaping is a very cost effective way of making a property look fantastic from the curb. If your buyer does not like the looks of it from the outside, they will not even enter the inside to take a look at it.

Clean the Area.

One of the easiest ways to have your house looking great from the curb is to haul away all of the trash. The trash also includes any material left over from anything you built or whatever is lying around your yard. Get rid of all of the old swings etc. that you are not going to be using. In this same vein, get rid of all of the excess clutter in your house and make it as appealing as possible. A clean house sells.

Fix everything.

You need to repair any broken joints or cracks in the walls. If there is anything that needs fixing, be sure you have a handyman or you; yourself fix all that is necessary to be fixed. Painting is one of the least expensive and best ways to make a house look bright and shiny. If you are an excellent painter, you can do it yourself but if you are like me, it would be important for you to hire a professional to paint your home. Painting the interior will dramatically increase the value of your home and if the exterior needs it, it will be necessary to paint that as well.

Home Staging.

Last, but not least, maybe it’s time to hire a professional stager to really increase the value of your home. It is hard for the individual who has lived in that house a while to see it and they sometimes need a stranger to help them see it. This stranger should be a professional re-stager.

Be sure to hire professionally licensed contractors etc. to help you make your home stand out. You can check with the Better Business Bureau and call references before hiring anyone to do any of the work in your home. Just Right Realty Company has a list of these contractors that we have used before and can help you with the hiring of anyone you need. We have an “in house” handyman who we guarantee his work and can get him to your property at the time you want him there. The timing certainly seems to be a factor in Southwest Florida. While you are getting the work done and re-staging the home for the sale, we can take a ride out on Revelry to catch fish, dive, or just have a great day of a beautiful boat ride.

Have a great day in Paradise!

Jerry Ruzicka, Broker

Southwest Florida Housing Market Has Bottomed Out!!

I have great news to share...Everywhere on national news you hear about the housing market taking another dip in the year 2011, as high as an additional 15%. That does not appear to be the case in Southwest Florida. The prices in our market have actually shown an increase for the last 1 ½ years. National articles show that prices in all the major markets are declining except in Southwest Florida. NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY! Our inventory of foreclosures and short sales is decreasing, therefore investors and first time homebuyers should be taking advantage of the existing inventory of homes for sale that are all below replacement cost. The actual median home prices rose 3.65% from 2009 to 2010. Unfortunately the area is perceived as still being depressed. This is because we were in the top 5 of foreclosure sales for such a long period of time. That number has risen from being in 4^th place to now being in 54^th place in foreclosure sales. This area is a HOT REAL ESTATE MARKET. Our single family housing permits increased by 23% in 2010. Another great showing of positive activity is that we have steadily decreasing unemployment rates in the area. Also, for January 2011 our foreclosure numbers fell significantly. Lee County has dropped to 19^th in the state for foreclosure filings. One home of every 428 borrowers were foreclosed, a decrease of 35.4% from December 2010 and a decrease of 71.74% when compared to January 2010. Collier County had a decrease of 37.99% compared to December 2010 and a decrease of 72.6% from January 2010.

You all come on down and take advantage of the existing inventory of low priced homes. After you get through looking for your dream home, or your second vacation home, we can take a ride on “Revelry” and catch some fish or do a great dive.

It’s a great day in “Paradise”.

CITY OF CAPE CORAL CODE ENFORCEMENT OVERVIEW

I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend a Code Enforcement overview given by Frank Cassidy. Frank has been the Division Manager for the City of Cape Coral’s Code Compliance Division since February 2007. Frank holds many certifications as well as being

a former law enforcement officer in Southern California and he also holds a Bachelors Degree with Honors from Florida Gulf Coast University. The meeting with Frank was held on Tuesday, February 15, 2011.

Code Enforcement stands for voluntary compliance to our rules and regulations. Code Enforcement does have the power to levy fines but it is non productive. Their entire purpose is to have the City of Cape Coral community work together so that we can all live in the “Paradise” that we have come to know as Cape Coral. The staff and organization of Code Enforcement today is 34 officers. Their goal is to have us work together for the betterment for the community. They have a huge task as a result of the short sales and foreclosures. There are 65,000 housing units in Cape Coral and thus far, 40,000 of them have been in foreclosure or short sale. Code Enforcement must strive to get the community to maintain these properties so we do not have blight overlooking our city.

The following are some of the common violations that can occur:

· You are allowed to store a boat in your back yard as long as it is licensed and operable. The boat must be stored between the end of your building structure and your lot line.

· If you own the vacant lot next to you and you strap that vacant lot to your property, you are allowed to use that vacant lot for storage as well.·

You are allowed to get a permit to park your RV for 3 days if you are the owner of the RV.

· You are allowed to get a permit for 10 days which is owned by an out of town guest.

· There are no costs for either of these permits.

· There are no rules or regulations regarding parked cars. Cars are allowed to be parked anywhere on your property.

· Utility trailers are not allowed to be parked anywhere on your property or on the vacant lots.

· A-Frame signs and realtor signs are allowed but there is a size limit.

· You are allowed to plant in right of ways as long as you contact the City of Cape Coral and get approval on what you wish to plant in that right of way.

The distressed sales have declined to 62% of the total. 35% of the totals are short sales and foreclosures so far in 2011. This compares with 2009 where 73% were short sales and foreclosures. By

getting these properties sold and in the hands of owners, it helps Code Enforcement because the owners will take care of their properties.

Just Right Realty Company will be happy to help you with your short sales and foreclosures. We have a very good history of receiving waivers for judgment deficiencies on our client’s short sales. Please contact Jerry if we can be of any help to you in selling or buying real estate.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Jerry Ruzicka

jerry@jrrc1.com

239-337-7387

http://www.justrightrealtyco.com/

http://www.capecoral.net/

SCUBA DIVING IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

BARRACUDA!! LEMON AND BLACK TIP REEF SHARKS!! These were the two
interesting fish on the way down to the wreck. The wreck is laying in about 80 feet of water. It's a beautiful sight just on the way down to see the Barracuda's and Sharks. Such beautiful creatures of the sea. Once we're down on the wreck we now see Grouper, Hogfish, Snapper and all other types of colorful fish of the sea. It is summer time in the Gulf of Mexico and the water temperature is 88 degrees. It is extremely comfortable diving in that kind of water where you only need to use a skin, only if you want to. I always wear a skin only because it makes me feel more comfortable and if I'm spear fishing and have the fish hooked on next to me then I don't feel them on my bare skin. I really love watching the sharks which have inhabited the sea for well over 400 million years, and their appearance has remained the same up to today. The diving on the Gulf Coast of Florida is not as clear as it is on the East Coast. It is still extremely beautiful and we do have many days with 25 foot of visibility in the summer time. ln the winter time you do have some additional visibility because of less plankton in the water. Diving down with the sharks is really more beautiful than you can imagine and it is not dangerous as one would expect. There are shark attacks, but the shark experts state that the vast majority of attacks are most likely due to mistaken identity. Most of the shark bites are probably investigatory. I have not heard of a shark biting or attacking a diver. We have many man made reefs on the West Coast and these reefs tend to be full of fish and are exciting dives for all of us who do them. I had a friend who had a once in a lifetime experience of being able to dive with a whale shark who was as large as an l8 wheeler. They stayed togather in the water for over 20 minutes. This is truly a once in a lifetime occurrence. If you wish to come in to Cape Coral /fort Myers, Florida and look at real estate with Just Right Realty Company, we can go out for a 2 tank dive on different reefs.

Good diving to you all.
Your Dive Buddy and Broker
Just Right Realty Company
Jerry Ruzicka

Tarpon Fishing and Fun in the Sun in Southwest Florida

Tarpon Fishing Season is fast approaching!!! It will be starting up in April and we will be hunting for them. We call it hunting because we go to our spots and watch for them to "roll" before we stop and put or lines in the water. When we see a minimum of 3 rollers we will then put the hook down and throw our lines out. Rollers are when the fish comes to the surface and you see the fins “rolling” on top of the water. Imagine a bouncy ball rolling down the road…When you see those three rolls you know they are there! Using the correct bait for the area is very important. Some of our fishing areas require live bait swimming on the hook and others require bait lying on the bottom of the Gulf Floor. Whether it is live (which is obviously fresh) or cut bait on the bottom it should always be fresh or “fresh dead.” If you are an adrenalin junkie and want to get it flowing fast you need to experience the “Hook Up” with a 125lb Tarpon. The beauty and adrenalin combined makes me love the sport and love living in Southwest Florida. It is one of the main reason I choose to buy a house in Cape Coral on the water…I just love fishing so much. Back to my point…The beauty of the Tarpon Jumping and dancing on the water is something to behold. It is magical when the Tarpon come straight out of the water, and then dance on top with their tails. You really become one with the fish in this process. Now my favorite fish, HUGE HENRY, the uncatchable son of a gun, is much different. When you hook him he comes out of the water on his side. The last time I “hooked up” with Henry, he came out of the water three times and just before he spit the hook out, is swear; he winked at me just to remind me who rules the water. Huge Henry is 7 f

eet long and hundreds of pounds, truly a wonderful fish to hunt. The Big Boys will wear you out so you should have your arms in good condition to fight these pre-historic monsters. I love living in Cape Coral and Fishing year round. I fish Sailfish, Marlin, Mahi-Mahi, Tuna and other game fish. Fighting these guys is as good as it gets in Southwest Florida. We are home to world renown Boca Grande Pass which is headquarters for Tarpon Fishing in Lee County Florida. If you are coming down to buy Real Estate in Florida, look no further than Just Right Realty Company. It is a company I own with my son, Justin Ruzicka, and through the Tarpon Season we are offering a Bonus when you buy with us. A FREE DAY ON THE WATER “HOOKING UP.” Oh, and not to mention some excellent waterfront knowledge about the real estate market. Come to Florida and have some fun in the sun!!

Ya’ll come down!! Jerry Ruzicka Broker, Just Right Realty Co. 239-337-7387

Family First, Enjoy the little time we have with each other

There are few things in life more important than family.  I love this time of year when the Northerners including my extended family start flying south.  My relatives are only here for a week or so at a time, which is perfect because our home become a very quaint bed and breakfast for the month of February and March, but we love seeing everyone.  The other night my nephew who is down staying with his in-laws at their vacation rental was over for dinner.  It was wonderful, my son his wife and two children coupled with my nephew his wife and two children then the in-laws too.  A house full of laughter, stories, memories and lies, since we all know once we get to talking our stories somehow work off a multiplier effect.  “I caught a 10 footer the other day in the Gulf of Mexico” really means; I cough a 30 pounder but saw a guy at the dock with the catch of the day and I am taking credit since nobody knows…LOL.   As a grandpa it brings me great joy to see the smiling faces of my grandkids every chance I get.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t spoil them, but I do embrace them often with love and affection.    The story of my family is similar to the story of my business as well.  I have never been one to sit on a high horse and demand this or demand that of my employees and now subcontractors for the realtors working for Just Right Realty.  Rather, I chose to place myself as an equal to my hard working staff.  As an equal it allows my staff to feel more comfortable asking questions and not worried about being judged.  As an equal it allows me to keep an open mind when a team member makes a suggestion that might not have been otherwise spoken if they didn’t see me as an equal.  We all have our roles, we all need to work hard and thoughtful in those roles, but we need to consider those around us are just as smart as we are and often can solve a problem in a different manner and yet have a successful result.  If you haven’t spent a minute or two lately with your family, then I suggest you take a day off soon and make them the spotlight for the day.  After all the reason we work so hard and tirelessly is for them in the end.   If you want to listen to some fishing stories or have a talk about anything else, feel free to drop me a line.

Jerry Ruzicka 

Lee County Real Estate Statistics Improve

According to a recently published article in the New-Press this morning, “Real Estate Stats Improve,” we see foreclosure filings decreasing while, building permits are up.   This is good news for many who have faced the trauma of losing their home and those who are still in the think of it, our hearts reach out to you. As we have helped dozens of Lee County Residents save their credit through the Short Sale of their home, we know how tiresome the process can be.  We also know that communication during the entire process is what you need and expect, and we provide that with weekly updates on progress of the file.  Now, lets get back to our news article.  ONLY, 10,669 Foreclosure filings were filed in 2010.   I emphasis only because 10,000+ homes is a tough number to stomach.  However, with a rate of 12,000 homes sold in 2010, we could suspect to go through this inventory in 2011. As the banks have been able to do some creative accounting they are able to hold these non-performing assets much longer so they are able to allocate them into the system as if they are stacks of cereal boxes in a warehouse.  “Hey Jonny, we sold one today, can you scan the next house to go on the market.”   The silver lining, because of the banks ability to hold this “assets” and trickle them into the system the prices are not dropping out of the sky.  Just imagine, if our inventory went from 11,000 units to 15,000 because of the “shadow inventory” just in Lee County prices would drop 10% that month, so thank you to creative minds in the banking industry for your accounting abilities.  OH, and if you could do my books this year, I might be able to show a profit too…LOL.

What does a realtor need from a Real Estate Broker?

Many people think that all it takes to be a good realtor is to go to a week of school, learn the laws regulating real estate, pass a test, and hang your license with ABC Brokerage and the next day business starts rolling in.  I wish it was as easy as HGTV makes it appear.  Show a loving couple three homes from $300,000-$400,000 and they pick one of the homes in just a 1hr TV show, and you get $12,000 for “all your hard work.”  If it were that easy then why is the average income for a realtor $11,000 in 2010?  The average number of homes sold by a realtor was less than 10.  Yikes, but Jonny said he sold 30 homes last year and made $150,000 while doing it.  This may be the case, but “Jonny” is not a new comer to the game and has mastered many of the skills needed to close real estate sales.  “Jonny” has been given the many skills and tools needed by his broker to make him this successful.  What are some of the skills needed?  I will just scratch the surface with the answer to this question because the truth is to be a master in the real estate industry there are hundreds of skills and “tools” you will need.  One skill that is often overlooked is  MONEY, or a Budget.  You know the same thing you do with your family’s money every month.  Figure out how much is coming in and how much is going out and hopefully less of the later.  If you do not have a good understanding of a budget you will get swamped in the real estate field.   Every business has something to offer Realtors that will help them close more sales, get more buyers, be seen more times on the internet, get your website to the first page of google(if only for 30 seconds) which in the internet world equates to ONE DAY!!  Anyway, my point is you could spend $50,000/year and have not received one good customer from the expense.  Your budget needs projections of income, figure $25,000 for your first year and you will be 200% higher than the average agent, none the less it is a good place to start.  From the $25,000 in income, you will need to pay for advertising, postage, vehicle expenses, signs, associations dues, office fees, faxes, photo copies, website, SEO(search engine optimization) to make your site on the first page of google, client gifts, your household expenses, which include but not limited to: food, clothing, rent, child care.  Now how much is portioned to each section, the master agent spend 40% of their expenses on advertising…for a newer agent, I would suggest $5000 of the $25,000 in income.  Of course you could spend less, but that just leads to longer times between sales.  Oh and since your income is averaged, you need to remember there may be a month or two where you don’t make anything but still have the expenses you need to pay for, that’s where your savings will be really helpful.  Since master agents spend 40% of their expenses on advertising, lets talk about good the numerous ways to advertise.  You have newspapers or other print media, website & SEO, facebook or other social media, direct mail, indirect mail, blogs, cable tv, radio, seminars, tradeshows, to name a few of the many forms of advertising.   In Fort Myers, I would suggest you stay away from Newspaper, TV, Radio, and Billboard ads if you are just starting out.  They are the most costly per “lead” that is generated from the income spent on the ad.  Direct mail, Websites, and Blogging are were you will get your best ROI.  Direct mail can be done as cheap as $.217 per piece of mail for postage, and Websites as low as $25/mth and Blogging is free just takes a lot of time.  For direct mail you need something catchy, but of value so the reader doesn’t treat it like junk mail.  If you get 1%-3% response on direct mail you are doing great.  That means you need to send 250 pieces every week, or 1000/mth and you should get 10-30 calls a month, of that you hope to get 50% closing ratio, and actually speak face to face with 5-15 people.   There are hundreds of Realty Websites out there with thousands of deign templates.  I have tried many of them, as most I was paying $99/mth until I found a great company out of the East Coast of Florida, who actually cares about good quality customer service!!! AND he was the least expensive at $25/mth!!! Amazing!  If you want email my webmaster at justin@jrrc1.com, he will be happy to give you the contact info of that company.  Again I have just scratched the surface of the many skills needed to be a master in the world of real estate.  If you would like to learn more feel free to ask, that is why I am here.  Kindly, Gerald Ruzicka, Broker/Owner of Just Right Realty Company.  Oh by the way, the average agent working for Just Right Realty Company Closes 20 transactions a year and makes $57,000 doing it.  A realtor needs many guidance from their broker as they master the skills and tools needed for real estate.  This guidance comes in many shapes and sizes, it can come from monthly office trainings, it can come from one on one time with the broker, it can come from the broker mentoring you.  A good brokerage, takes care of the realtors first!