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/

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!