Politics and Potpourri November 2014

Councilman Bill Barnett

Today is October 4th, and as I write this Life in Naples article for its November publication I’m wondering just how good this next season in Naples is going to be. If I were to judge by what I see happening in the Naples Real Estate market by my personal experience three weeks ago then get ready for a sensational season.

We had sold our home this past May, as it was time for us to downsize. We found a nice little rental that would work just fine for us until my current City Council term will finish which will be February of 2016 and we will then decide where we are going to live.

We were not and are not actively looking for a home, but having lived in the city of Naples for the past 41 years. I have always paid close attention to Naples real estate and have found it has always served as a good crystal ball to foresee Naples trends. As fortune or in my case misfortune would happen I received a call from my good friend and realtor for many years advising us that we should go online and check out a relatively new listing that might be perfect for us. He knew our status and we knew he wouldn’t contact us for business purposes unless it were special. Well, it was special, and I was in New York at our summer home when he called and told us about this house. I was due back in Naples two days later and returned back in Naples on a Friday night.

He had already set up an appointment to see it on Sunday but I couldn’t wait and Saturday morning I went over to the house and took a lot of pictures of the outside (it was vacant) and e-mailed them to my wife.

Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m., I met our realtor and the agent who was showing the house. Long story short, the house was exactly what we wanted. I told my realtor I would meet him the next morning at 7:45 a.m. and make an offer, and in turn my realtor told the agent that was showing it to please contact him if any offers came in that day because we were serious players and an offer was forthcoming.

The agent agreed and the next morning the offer was made and we were very excited. An hour later my phone rang and my realtor’s voice was not a happy one. It seems as if the showing agent had received an offer that he presented to the seller on that Sunday afternoon. He never made any attempt to tell the seller that another offer was coming in the next day, and the seller accepted the offer.

I found out a few days later that the offer was for full asking price, cash, and no contingencies. I don’t blame the seller for accepting the offer, but I feel the realtor that represented the seller did them a huge disservice by not letting them know that there was another offer coming in. It was disingenuous plain and simple. How did he know that we wouldn’t have come back with a better offer? He didn’t.

The moral of this story is that real estate in Naples is smoking hot and is only going to get hotter. If you find something you like you need to act fast or it will be gone.

Although I know the firm that represented the seller is a fine firm with a good reputation, there is always going to be an experience like this that leaves a bad taste in your mouth that no amount of apologies can correct, the damage was done.

Although the next City Council election isn’t until February of 2016, and there will be three Council seats and the Mayor’s seat up for grabs, candidates are already starting
to position themselves for the race. I have no doubt that our Mayor John Sorey will run for another term, and he should. He is a hardworking Mayor and does a good job for our City.

I am constantly asked will I run for one more term, and my answer is a smile and a no. By the time this term is up I will have had 24 years of non-consecutive Mayor and City Council experience with a political career that started in 1984.

I still feel a tremendous amount of satisfaction and pride for being a member of the Naples City Council and although I am definitely not one of those who is never without an unspoken thought I do say what I need to when I feel it’s necessary. It’s definitely fun for me to take a trip down memory lane and reflect back on my first year as a rookie Council Member in 1984.

I was the youngest Council Member ever elected back then at the ripe old age of 44! Naples has come a long way, and it’s all good!

So gear up for a big Naples season, take a few deep breaths each morning, don’t let the traffic get to you, make your restaurant reservations in advance, and first and foremost
count your blessings and enjoy the many amenities that Naples has to offer you! Happy Thanksgiving!