Lehigh made the too of the worlds most eeriest places along with a deserted psychiatric hospital in Norway and a derelict amusement park in Tokyo. The picture that made it was a typical foreclosed home the likes of which has popped up all over the country with the housing bust of 2009. This is when this article first surfaced but has been reported by the Huffington Post just at the end of 2012.
What the heck is going on and where in the world are they getting their information and even better who could have even slightly have verified this to be true. I won't spend a lot of time on proving the specific allegations to be untrue as they are so off the wall and ridiculous that it doesn't deserve much specific response. I will however say that I have lived in Lehigh Acres for 13 years now. My 3 children go to public schools within Lehigh. I have two businesses in Lehigh and so I think I am in a pretty good position to make a professional legitimate assessment on Lehigh. Ready for a promise from me? You can take this statement to the bank and I stand behind the following statement. Lehigh Acres is not overrun with snakes and alligators.
There may be 110 square miles of land and yes there is plenty of undeveloped land but that is a temporary issue and one that is changing over time. The population almost tripled over the last few years and then spiked down for a short time while the foreclosure problem was at the highest rate. There is a very explainable reason for the high percentage of foreclosures in Lehigh. I will explain it for you. After I do, I only ask you to stop the next person you hear say some of the false nonsense about Lehigh. So here we go:
In 2004-2006 the explosion of growth in the housing market was mainly due to the ease of getting a mortgage for just about anyone. You could have been self employed, state your income and not have to prove it nd we used to say, if you have a pulse, you can own a home. Those that had been renters jumped on the wagon and those with homes bought more. Many who had homes refinanced to use the funds for other things. People were buying land for 40 times what they had cost just a year or two prior. It seamed like everyone was thriving. Builders were coming in from all over and setting up shop. Model homes were a dime a dozen.
Much of the new homeowners worked for the housing industry in some way or another. Things were rocking and rolling. Then the housing bust hit. Lehigh and the Cape were hit very hard because we were in the high growth due to all new building taking place as mentioned above. At the same time where many new home owners were enjoying the low interest rates given to them by the financial institutions as what we like to call a honeymoon rate, those times changed. The adjustable rates adjusted and rates skyrocketed. Building came to a halt. People were losing jobs that worked for the housing industry. People could not afford the homes and the homeowner felt that since they bought the home with really nothing down that they had nothing to lose if they just simply walk away. Many felt they had no choice.
This is what led to the temporary demise of Lehigh Acres. Then on top of that some of the lenders were caught using robo signers and other illegal means to make many loans and that caused a stop to a great deal of the foreclosures. Now they sat there until the legal system could work out the issues. We still today are dealing with some of the remnants of this mess. Mostly due to the large amount of vacant homes made us a big target for vandalism and theft. Vagrants and Some of the other places on the list are a deserted psychiatric hospital in Norway and a derelict amusement park in Tokyo. So many people living in Lehigh were shocked the area was even on the same list – saying foreclosed homes are just a sign of the times.
When you drive around Lehigh Acres today, it is a different place. Most of the vacant homes are rustling with activity and there are all kinds of plans to expand the infustructure of Lehigh as well as eventual plans for when we become a city and where the city limits will be and when and where all this will take place. This is exciting news for Lehigh Acres.
Next time you talk to someone that has something negative to say about Lehigh Acres, send them this link and let them see what the real story is. We hope you check out Lehigh Acres and consider making it your next place to call home.
Check us out on the web at http://www.aaarealtyllc.com
regards,
Tammy Rodriguez
Broker/Owner for AAA Realty LLC
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