Mandatory Meeting

Got a phone call yesterday from the secretary at our office that said there was a mandatory meeting at 1 pm. I asked what it was about she said the title company is doing a presentation on how "Sureclose" is going to work. Sureclose is through First Fidelity Title and they scan all the docs on the internet so your clients can view the progress of the closing. I had an inspection at 2 pm so I knew there was no way to do both and I hate meetings. Being the good realtor that I am I went to the office meeting. Drove 45 minutes in Traffic, meeting started 30 minutes late and lasted 5 minutes. We HAD to attend the 5 minute power point presentation so we could get our Login and Password....could not have just emailed it to me? Well standing in the room another realtor says don't you two (I was talking to someone else) work the Homestead Market. We both said yes. She said I am talking to this guy who wants to list his "flip" in the new development Waterstone and the sub-development is Portofino Lakes. She goes to say did you know the Turnpike runs right across his back yard? How do you deduct for this? Could not help but laugh and I asked her does he know about the Turnpike. She said no. He and his buddy investor bought it. The called the sales office and they faxed him the paper showing the lots. They picked this corner one looking at the lake. She said the Turnpike is no where shown on this map but it goes right over his back yard and lake! I asked if he had closed with the builder yet? She said he going to on Friday. I said find out how much he has down he may want to back out. I explained on top of the Turnpike does he know about the CDD? She said no what is that.... read on.

Long story short. I wake up this morning and this is in the paper.

Dozens sue; claim Lennar misled them
More than 35 Homestead homeowners have sued Lennar Corp., alleging that the Miami home builder hid their true tax burden. Lennar would not comment on the suit.
BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN
Dozens of homeowners in South Miami-Dade County sued Lennar Corp. on Wednesday, claiming that the home-building giant deliberately misled them about anticipated property taxes and homeownership costs they would have to pay.
The suit, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, was brought by 37 homeowners who purchased single-family homes and town homes at two Lennar developments in Homestead, called Floridian Bay Estates and Floridian Isle...
Amid South Florida's real estate boom, property taxes have jumped as real estate values skyrocketed. But these plaintiffs, who closed on their homes in 2003 and 2004, allege it was not a red-hot real estate market that caused higher-than-expected tax bills, but rather that Lennar misrepresented how high they would be...
One Floridian Bay Estates homeowner, told The Herald that Lennar projected her tax bill to be $3,200. Instead, it turned out to be more than $7,700.
The plaintiffs also allege Lennar asserted that community development district fees -- which pay for roads, utilities, and subdivision amenities like pools and parks -- would be a one-time fee. Instead, according to the suit, such assessments aggregated to $30,000 per homeowner and are to be paid out over 30 years. Further, such assessments can be increased by the community development district board, which is currently controlled by Lennar, according to the homeowners.
''I didn't know I was going to be taxed in Homestead,'' said xxxx, a plaintiff in the suit who owns a home in Floridian Bay Estates. ``And I didn't realize the CDD was going to cost me anything after I closed. You have to tell me what I am paying for when I buy it.''
Residents in the two Homestead subdivisions, which are located in a larger residential community called Waterstone, didn't receive their first full-year tax bills until November...

Investors beware..... check out what you are buying and ask LOCAL EXPERIENCED agents who work the market what is going on in the area before you buy. Go to www.myhomesteadtaxes.com
for info from the homeowners themselves.