Moving Day

Since I will be leaving Miami come Wednesday May 18th, I felt I needed to create a new blog: It can be seen at http://yourbestagent.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoy. I will miss my dear friends and associates in Miami.

Mr & Mrs Jerk

I just got in from Titusville. I finally closed on the house from Mr & Mrs Jerk aka Julie & Mark Amor. I was not going to use their names but since they breached the contract I really do not care at the moment. They were to leave the W/D at the house and they did not. When the other agent called them all they did was SCREAM REALLY LOUD AND B*TCH the other agent out which was not called for as it was not her problem and then told her they would not close and I could basically jump in a lake. ... well I went down with my money and signed and left. They then went down all "sweet and nice" and signed and left. I hope I NEVER run into Mr or Mrs Mark AMOR. She told me they were from Britian.. whatever. They were rude, ugly and no way anything but ugly. I told the agent for the seller "well... down south you'd be buying a w/d" she looked a bit freaked and I decided I was buying a house not a w/d. And let it go. (sort of) OH trust me.... it ain't over.

Just thankful the deal is done, I have a house to move to and I soooooooooo looking forward to moving back home. I just have to find a way to "bless" or do some incense or something rid the "bad karma" they may have left behind.

back to packing.....

Still NO Closing

Well my contract expired yesterday with Mr. Jerk and who knows what today will play out. I still do not have a loan. My lender tells me it is because I am a realtor and I have several other mortgages on my rental properties. Everytime I talk to with Valerie the Processor it is always something different. Lets see, the term arms length came into play... guess because I used WCI Mortgage and I work for Prudential FL WCI that some how we are family and Aunt Valerie can not do a no income no asset if there is some sort of arm in the way. I am very frustrated at the moment. I called Wells Fargo yesterday afternoon and by 6 pm I had a loan committment... all they want is a copy of Chuck's offer letter and a copy of the contract and they can close it. No brainer. This should have been a no brainer all along. Seems as if everytime I speak to Valerie or Elaine it is something different and everyone is "working on it." Yeah...right. This should have been done last week. On Thursday I was told everything was fine and they'd be mailing out docs...whooooaaa stop the FED EX guy.... Uncle Guido changed his mind.

On a good note. My friend Cindy got to bring her dog home from the hospital yesterday who had been hospitalized for over a week and he is doing much better!

I'll keep you posted. Fellow Buyers see the mortgage process is no different for us realtors as well.

Nothing Worse

There is nothing worse then being a realtor and trying to buy a roof over your head. State law requires realtors/brokers to disclose in the contract that we are a licensed real estate broker in the state of Florida buying for our own personal use. Well in that small sentence becomes a world of a mess. The seller already has a preconceived notion that the realtor is buying the house because he or she knows something that he does not. Like he is selling it to cheap or the property will be going up in value shortly due to something the city will be doing etc...

Realtors need a home just like everyone else in the country and for the most part I will tell you we are on the up and up. I am sure there are some unscrupulous individuals out there but in general we are all good human beings. Now with that said I am dealing with a 100% jerk on the house I am buying to occupy. According to his realtor he did not want to sell it to me the house in the first place because I was a realtor. Why should a Realtor be able to buy a house????

My lender said it would be no problem since we had the funds to close it prior to closing our house here. Well it got down to the wire and the underwriter said 7 mortgages is one too many and we would have to close here prior to closing the other one. I called the other realtor to let her know the situation and we would need to extend just for 10 days in order for our house here to close. Well guess what Mr. Jerk said. "NO. I knew she was up to something...blah blah blah blah, I am going sue her, blah blah blah" Spare me.

So. With no place to move I got with my lender and said the owner is a complete jerk and what other options can we pursue in order to close this transaction. The only option I had was to do a no income no asset loan pay a much higher interest rate because MR JERK would not give me 10 DAYS. So hopefully I will get the news today (closing day) that I was able to obtain financing this way to just be done with it. I hope I never run into MR. JERK in Titusville. Hopefully he is relocating out of the area. Titusville is such a nice area they don't need an individual like Mr. Jerk in town. I'll keep you posted.

Proud to be Full Service

In reading Florida Realtor this afternoon because I was bored (see post below) I came across a letter to the editor written by David C. Wall Sr. I absolutely agree with his comments and thoughts and look forward to working with him up in Titusville. He has his license at ERA Showcase Properties in Cocoa.

His comments are:

""Service First, Money Second" how can you have service first if you're a limited service broker? The American Heritage Dictionary defines limited as: "1: Not attaining the highest goals or achievement." I'm a sales person with a full-service broker. The same dictionary defines full as "1: To a complete extend: entirely."

Full -service means just that, full service first -- not money first -- from the signing of the listing agreement to the last signature at the close. I'm proud to be a full-service agent.

When you sell a home listed at a higher commission from a full-service broker, do you cash the check? The times in real estate are changing only because there will always be those who are willing to do less for less. Is it all about the money? Not one sales associate makes a dime until the closing is completed and everyone is satisfied. Full-service agents work hard to make sure their buyers and seller are satisfied."

Limited service brokers generally collect their check prior to servicing the client.

Boredom

I need to learn to embrace moments of boredom. To rephrase the word and enjoy the moment of quietness and mellowness. (if those are actually words) I have begun to shut down my business here in Miami as I will be leaving by the end of May. I will continue to work my closing but no new business. I have cancelled my ads, google searches, lead generations etc. My cell phone is quieting down and so are my emails. I feel like I am melting. Although excited at the same time of a new beginning back home. Close to Family. Close to roots. Nothing sounds more soothing at the moment. I need to embrace boredom...as I know it won't last.

WaveRelief.org

Rella is the Sinhalese word for 'wave' and the name of a beautiful pendant created by fine jewelry designer Jane Taylor. Profits from its sale will go directly to fund vital efforts to help children in Sri Lanka who were affected by the December 26 tsunami.Go to www.waverelief.org for more info.

Yes, Rumor has it... and it is True!

We are Moving.

Yes, the rumors that have been floating around are true. We are moving to Titusville. My old stomping grounds. We are both very excited about the move back "home." Our youngest boy and his wife live there and so do our folks. This is a small move but very excited about being back home. Titusville is located in Brevard County where the shuttle is launched. So at this time I am not taking on any more clients in the Miami Dade Area. Should you need a realtor feel free to contact me and I will put you in contact with an excellent realtor to assist you. Stay posted to moving details and info on Brevard County!!

~~~~ Break out my Surf Board ~~~~~~~~~

It must be safer in Iraq....this is horrible.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/11566455.htm

please read.

Developer Plans World's Tallest Condo In Miami

MIAMI -- It's only on the drawing boards, but a developer is proposing to build the world's tallest condominium tower in downtown Miami.

Leon Cohen bought the property Monday for $31.7 million and is preparing to submit plans for a 110-story tower that would be 1,200 feet tall. A companion tower of the same height would be a combination hotel-apartment building.

But it may not be easy to get approval for his Empire World Towers. The Federal Aviation Administration limits the height of downtown buildings because of overflights from Miami International Airport jets.

Developer Pedro Martin, who plans to build two nearby condo towers, said his building heights were limited to 649 feet.

The proposal by Cohen's Maclee Development would include 1,000 condo units and 500 apartments and hotel rooms. The project also would be the tallest concrete structure in the world.

"This is due to the hurricane weather in South Florida," Cohen said Wednesday.
The world's tallest residential building, the 21st Century Tower, stands 883 feet tall in Dubai. Florida's tallest high rise is the 789-foot Four Seasons Hotel & Tower in downtown Miami.

by The Associated Press.

Sky Rockets in Flight...

I got this email from a friend of mine who's nephew is a pilot for US Air. I found it interesting and thought you might enjoy it as well!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Everyone,
We took off out of Miami bound for Charlotte last Fri night a little after 8PM and as we approached Orlando there was some discussion on the air traffic frequency about a possible launch at the Cape. The air traffic controller said the NASA advisory was for a 9PM satillite launch, and our on board computer was telling us we would be abeam the Cape at 8:45, so we figured we'd be too far north (by about 100 miles) at launch time to see anything. So abeam the Cape at 8:45ish, level at 29,000 feet, we saw a very bright glow out by the lanuch pads intensify strongly, then diminish and dissappear. The Captian and I agreed that it looked like a scrubbed launch. A few minutes later, about 8:50, with the Cape now slightly behind us in our 4 o'clock position, something caught my eye, and I looked back to see this 500 foot long trail of fire out of about 1000 feet. "Holy $&*%! There it goes!"

I professionally advised my Captian. This rocket then proceeded on a northeasterly course, paralleling our course, about 20 miles away. It climed at a very steep angle until slightly above us, then seemed to flatten its climb a bit and proceed to slowly overtake us, flame bright as ever. Due to the clear night, the brightness of the rocket, and its close proximity, it looked as though it might climb over us (there was kind of a "fish-bowl" effect to the whole scene, due to the intense flame combined with our altitude), but it continued to pass slowly along side us, and head off shore. The trail was now diminished, more of a phosphorus glow, but still very visible.

Then the two solid rocket boosters fell away, visible now as only bright points of light, and the rocket pressed on with only its engine as a single point of light showing its location. There was now some speculation on the radio from other aircraft that this was possibly a secret Shuttle launch, probably military, but we learned later that it was indeed a Delta rocket, used commonly for satillites.
Then something strange happened. A bright, bluish-green aura seemed to envelop the rocket's location (the engine now a small point of light), and grow larger for perhaps a minute. Then the cloud faded away, and it and the rocket were gone. We later learned that this was the point at which the rocket had gone through the speed of sound.
In 18 years of flying up and down the Florida coast, that is only the second launch I've seen from the air, and the first one at night.

Regards,

Stop Higher Doc Stamps

Stop higher doc stamp taxes NOW

Among the last-minute proposals being floated at the state Capitol is one to increase documentary stamp taxes.

Increasing Florida's doc stamp taxes -- already the highest in the nation -- is an ill-conceived solution to the state's growth management problems.

Contact your legislator IMMEDIATELY and tell them:

* Higher doc stamp taxes mean higher closing costs. For every $100 increase in closing costs, 1,750 families will be unable to realize the American Dream of Homeownership.

* A healthy housing market is crucial to Florida's economy and to its future economic development. As stewards of economic growth, legislators must guard against restricting the housing market by imposing excessive costs on homebuyers.

* Paying for growth is the responsibility of all Floridians, not just homeowners.

* There are more equitable ways to pay for growth: Sales taxes. Gas taxes. Bonds. Incentives for growth and redevelopment.

Any growth management solution currently being considered must not include a TAX INCREASE.

Click below to send an IMMEDIATE message to your legislator:http://www.votervoice.net/groups/FLAR/frameset.asp

Florida State University

Graduation!

My boy graduates! My little Charlie.... I am a very proud parent at the moment. My son graduated from FSU Friday night. He did it with 2 degrees one in Computers and one in Math. We had a wonderful weekend with him and his girlfriend and her mom. I remember the day that 10 1/2 pound child came into this world I was all of 19 years old. I swore that day he'd have everything. (Which he did!) This weekend was about him. And we loved it. He has been offered a position in San Rafael CA and the movers are there now loading up what little he has and moving it to CA. The company he is going to work for is VC Entertainment his name will show in the credits on the games... HOW exciting. He starts on Friday. For now it is back to work for me...

New Condo Development

Cielo

Prices from the $700's to over $1M
Thirty-six exclusive residences by the bay; developed by Egozy Development and designed by Luis Revuelta, residences range in size from 1,830 SF to 1,915 SF and feature flow-through floor plans; oversized terraces; designer cabinets and appliances and much more.

It's Time to be a Conservative Real Estate Investor

Excellent article. Click here.