Highland Beach Condos, Boca Raton Homes, Boca Raton Real Estate Advice and Opinions

As many of you know I have spoken about a horrible experience concerning my daughter and her severe peanut allergy on a delta flight #1598 leaving from Fort Lauderdale expected to land in LaGuardia, New York.  We boarded the plane around 9:00 AM and we notified everyone involved that my daughter had a peanut allergy.  Their apparent policy concerning peanuts is that they will not serve peanuts 3 rows ahead and behind the passenger with that peanut allergy.  They say it is a buffer zone (unfortunately if you know anything about allergies this will not work).  Anyway, apparently the stewardess did not notify the rows behind me and a passenger was eating peanuts which when asked to please put it away he was very nice and did so.  He told me he did not know as the stewardess did not approach him.  As we are on this tarmac for a total of over 3 hours they were serving peanuts to passengers in the back of the plane and they were dropping them and bringing them to their seats.  We could not go to the back bathroom with my daughter or get a juice or snack for my 5 year old.  She started coughing and wheezing.  We had to give her 2 doses of the inhaler.  Luckily she did not have an anaphylatic reaction.  I approached the stewardess to get off the plane, but we were not allowed to do so as we were in the middle of the runway, and subsequently there after the plane was canceled.  The stewardess kept saying it is Delta's policy and we cant do anything.  On a side note, the return flight home when we notified the steward of my daughters peanut allergy, he said he would not serve any peanut products on the flight.  We did not ask him to do this, but he took it upon himself to do it.  We did the same thing as we did on the previous flight and just notified him. 

Well I was tweeting with @deltaairlines yesterday, and their response was:

DeltaAssist: FYI - Often times less people request peanuts on early morning flights. Your daughters well being is important to us. Thanks for flying.^BH

So let me get this straight, I was trapped on a plane for over 3 hours with my child on what was expected to be a 9:00 AM flight and my daughter started to cough and wheeze, and I guess it is my fault that the airplane never left the airport in the morning because of bad weather and besides there is much less peanuts served in the morning.  Did you know my daughter has a much less chance of getting sick in the morning?  I cannot even react appropriately to a just flat out stupid comment. 

I have never been treated as poorly through this whole process as I have with Delta Airlines.  I would recommend not flying Delta if you have a disability and/or an allergy. 

I am a reasonable person, but the service as a whole has been so poor, and they wonder why the airline industry is crashing.  Though JetBlue is not perfect I will be flying them much more. 

On another side note:  Did you know when you fly Delta that if your flight is canceled that you have to request your bags off of the plane in order to receive them.  So you can imagine with no direction from Delta employees, the 200 passengers or so waiting at the carousel at baggage claim waiting for our bags to come out.  We waited about 40 minutes before I go over to the Delta Baggage Center and ask is there a problem with the bags on flight 1598?  Very rudely the girl says "well did you request them".  Huuhhh.  Why would on a canceled flight I have to request my bags does Delta think I just want to give them my bags.  So here we are requesting our bags and 1 or 2 people at a time is going to the plane and retrieving 1 or 2 bags at a time and bringing them back.  Hmmm very efficient.  I waited an hour and a half for my 2 checked bags, and I was one of the first people.  I can only imagine how long the 200th passenger waited. 

 

RE/MAX AGENT DAVID SERLE EARNS

HALL OF FAME AWARD

 

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA - DAVID SERLE, with RE/MAX SERVICES, has recently been presented with the RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award, which honors successful agents who have earned more than $1 million in commissions during their careers with the company.

DAVID SERLE has been working in the real estate industry for more than 7 years and has extensive experience in SHORT SALES,S SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, GATED COMMUNITIES IN THE BOCA RATON AREA. Among SERLE'S achievements are CERTIFIED DISTRESS PROPERTY EXPERT & E-PRO.

"DAVID SERLE has been an integral member of our team and is more than deserving of this very prestigious award," said STEVEN SERLE, of RE/MAX SERVICES. "Winning this award is a tremendous accomplishment.  DAVID SERLE continues to raise the bar in real estate, making us, and this community proud."

In addition, DAVID SERLE actively supports FAAN (FOOD ALLERGY & ANAPHYLAXIS NETWORK), CMN (CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK), AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, & JAFCO (JEWISH ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE ORGANIZATION)

RE/MAX has nearly 100,000 agents in more than 75 countries who continue to out-produce the competition, averaging more sales than other real estate agents. With one of the most recognized brands in the world and one of the most trafficked web sites, www.remax.com, RE/MAX leads the industry with experienced, professional agents - agents who are trained and educated through the award-winning RE/MAX University.

 

# # #

 

About RE/MAX SERVICES

RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger.  From a single office in Denver, Colorado, it has grown into a global network of nearly 100,000 Sales Associates in more than 70 countries, an international presence greater than any of its competitors.  Today, all U.S. home listings in thousands of cities and towns can be found at www.remax.com.

RE/MAX International is proud of its Premier Community Citizenship, which has raised over $100 million for deserving organizations like Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, Children's Miracle Network and The Sentinels of Freedom Foundation.   

 

 

I have flown Delta a number of times, I had a flight on 07/13/2010 at 9:10 AM.  It was myself, my wife and my 1 year and 5 year old daughters traveling with me to NYC to see Dr. Sampson (one of the world's most recognized pediatric allergists at Mt. Sinai).  I notified delta about my 5 year old daughters severe peanut allergy when I made my reservation.  I then went to the gate and notified them as such.  I also notified the stewardess on the flight.  She mentioned that delta's policy for peanuts is not to serve them to the passengers 3 rows in front and 3 rows ahead.  She would also speak to all the passengers in those rows and tell them not to eat anything with peanut products.  We were getting ready to fly and still no announcement then something happened where we had to stay on the tarmac for an hour at that time i asked the stewardess if she made the announcement and she told me she had.  I then smelled something from the passenger behind me.  It was peanuts.  I politely asked him to not to eat them and he obliged and I asked him "by the way did the stewardess ask you not to eat peanuts" He said no.  Okay, I asked the stewardess again if she made the announcement and she told me she did.  Then we went back to the gate to gas up and waited on the tarmac another 2:30 hours because of bad weather in NYC.  During this time we were told to go get drinks and snacks in the back of the plane.  My wife takes my 5 year old daughter back there and there are peanuts everywhere.  Passengers are eating them, dropping them, and my wife immediately takes my daughter back to the seat. 

My child starts wheezing a little and coughing.  Now I am very angry as you can imagine it was my daughter who I am trying to protect so I ask the stewardess yet again did she make an announcement and she said yes.  I proceeded to tell her that she is lieing.  Apparently the first class cabin knew and they were not allowed to eat peanuts  (We were seated in row 5 bulk head), but the other people did not.  The stewardess kept telling me it is delta's policy and i am sorry.  I had to give my daughter 2 doses of the inhaler and I asked my daughter to get off the plane as my daughter has a severe peanut allergy she told me I could not and that she had not given peanuts to anyone around us, but that was not true they were going to the back of the plane and bringing them to their seats.  Luckily my daughter did not have an anaphylatic reaction.  Anyway shortly there after they cancelled the flight.  We waited over 3 hours on the plane.  Totally understanable considering the bad weather, but the above is not.  Strangely enough we flew flight 487 home to PBI on 07/20/2010 and the stewardess decided not to serve peanuts at all on the flight and they made several announcements.  Apparently this is not Delta's policy on peanuts, but the stewardess made a judgement call.  This was a horrible experience that got worse.  When we got off our cancelled flight there was no one to guide you where to go, and 1 announcement which we could not hear.  Everyone did not know what to do.  It was so unorganized. 

Waiting on long lines and them telling us we could not help you and so on.  Delta told us there were no flights for 2 days until Thursday.  I called my father and he called the priority number and he got us tickets to a flight 60 miles away.  So we originally were dropped off by a friend, but he could not pick us up so we had a friend drop our car off, and we drove another passenger on the cancelled flight to PBI.  We got on the flight and everything was great.  We however had to leave our car there for the 8 days.  The big problem is the service on the plane, and how and why would they continue to serve peanuts on a plane with a child who has an allergy. 

I really do believe it is horrible the way Delta reacts to people with allergies. 

 

Below you will find the article that Deutsche Bank published about the servicers and how they were ranked.  It seems to me after reading the article several times what Deutsche Bank published is not what I have been experiencing.  My rankings would be that Suntrust has been the worst bank to deal with in time frames and that the best was Citigroup or Citimortgage.  I also have not been seeing 8 and 10 month short sales.  They have sped up the process and I am seeing 3-6 months in most cases.  Take a look at the article and let me know what you have been experiencing with Short Sales.

Deutsche Bank ranked the top mortgage servicers in the US based on short sale timelines, and of all prime mortgage servicers, GMAC grabbed the top spot by completing the transactions in six months.

With short sales growing in demand from both distressed borrowers and banks, Deutsche Bank published a "recovery score" today, examining the speed at which the servicers conducted a short sale and the percentage these transactions take of overall property dispositions over the last year.

Servicers received a higher recovery score the more they increased the amount of principal recovered from the disposition of the property while decreasing the amount of time it took to do so. According to Deutsche Bank, a short sale generated a higher recovery score than an REO sale.

The servicers are broken down into four categories based on loan type.

Prime

For prime mortgage servicers, GMAC conducted short sales the fastest, averaging roughly six months per transaction. Also, 53% of their dispositions were short sales. It had a recovery score of 59.3.

The next fastest servicer was Citigroup's servicing arm CitiMortgage, which did a short sale in about seven and a half months, and 56% of dispositions were short sales for a recovery score of 54.4.

Third, was Wells Fargo, conducting short sales in roughly eight months for 34% of its total dispositions. It had a higher recovery score than Citi, however, at 55.6.

Countrywide, acquired by Bank of America, had the slowest short sale timeline. It took more than 13 months on average to conduct a short sale there. BofA took more than 11 months, but 59% of its dispositions were short sales. BofA had the lowest recovery score at 45.5.

Subprime

For subprime mortgage servicers, Wells Fargo had the shortest short sale timeline at more than 15 months. It conducted short sales, though, on 14% of these loans for a 29.2 recovery score.

HomEq Servicing followed Wells, conducting short sales in 16 months for 22% of its dispositions and a score of 27.4.

Saxon Mortgage Services, the servicing arm of Morgan Stanley, had the third shortest timeline at a little more than 17 months. Saxon conducted short sales 18% of its properties for a recovery score of 23.8.

The slowest was Equicredit, which took an average of more than 29 months to complete a short sale on 41% of its dispositions for a 19.4 recovery score. Ocwen was close behind, also average more than 29 months per short sale. But Ocwen had the highest recovery score of the top subprime servicers at 31.

Option-ARM

Of the top option-adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) servicers, EMC Mortgage, owned by JPMorgan Chase, had the lowest short sale time line at just over eight months on 43% of its dispositions. However, it did not recovery as much of the principal and had the lowest recovery score at 32.1.

The next fastest short sale timeline was Aurora Loan Services, at 10 months on 30% of its dispositions for a 35.1 recovery score.

GMAC was third, taking a bit more than 10 months for short sales on 33% of its dispositions of Option-ARM loans. Its recovery score was 34.9.

Countrywide, again, had the longest short sale timeline at almost 14 months on 22% of its dispositions. But it recovered more principal and held a higher recovery score at 38.7.

Alt-A

For companies servicing Alternative-A mortgage loans, First Horizon had the quickest short sale time line at just over nine months on 35% of its dispositions. They also had the highest recovery score of the top Alt-A servicers at 43.1.

Both Wells Fargo and Aurora took around 11 months on short sales for Alt-A loans. Wells did them on 17% of its disposition with a recovery score of 42. Aurora did short sales on 16% of its dispositions for a 37.2 recovery score.

Countrywide, again, took the longest at more than 13 months per short sale on 24% of its dispositions. Its recovery score, however, ranked fifth of the top Alt-A servicers at 39.7

 

 

When I first dove into blogging I never knew what to write or how to write it, but like with everything as you practice you start to get it.  I have now been blogging for about 4 years and I love it.  It gives me the opportunity to say what I want when I want to and without being interrupted. 

What I never realized was that so many people would read my blog posts. 

What I also never realized was that on occassion I would be interviewed. 

Yes Interviewed all from Blog Posts on Active Rain!! 

I have been interviewed by the Daily Business Review and the Associated Press and many more outlets.

This is not a post to boast, but the advantages of blogging keep coming. 

I saw an article the other day and it basically said that blogging and social networking was here to stay and that the reasons why people do not do it is because it takes so much time or they do not know how to get into it and the last thing it said was:

"If Burger King is is spending 25% of its marketing dollars on social networking and Ford is announcing its new cars on twitter how can you afford not to be doing Social Networking"

We all tend to have our pre-conceived judgements about twitter and facebook and linkedin, but why not try these outlets.  You may ust find that your success may be based on how well you utilize social networking.  Who knows you may even be Interviewed.

As I was writing this I was just interviewed by www.SlamOnline.com for a post on twitter about the www.WeWantWade.com campaign that the Miami Heat is doing.  I guess it does work. 

Marci Shatzman mshatzman@tribune.com

12:10 p.m. EDT, May 5, 2010

It was inevitable. Parking meters and timed parking zones are coming to parts of downtown and the beaches after City Council approved the city's first paid parking program and revamped its parking laws.

 Some 387 free parking spaces may soon cost $1.50 an hour, and $2 in the evenings on the streets in Mizner Park, if those provisions are passed at the May 10 meeting. The locations and rate of the meters and other specifics will be discussed and voted on at that time.

 Parking tickets now cost $35 with a $25 late fee after 15 days. That is already the law.

 The City Council's aye votes April 27 carried Ordinance 5132. It revamps the city's parking codes, puts new regulations in place, and provides for citations and violations. In layman's language it means scofflaws will get the boot, literally, or be towed if they have three prior violations and unpaid fines, and the city manager will keep a list of offenders.

  The proposed meter program includes: 165 along the curbs in Mizner Park; 93 in the parking lot across from Red Reef Park, except for golfers; 32 east of the Intracoastal Waterway on Spanish River Boulevard and 77 on East Palmetto Park Road, and 20 in the parking on Second Street and Federal Highway. The city plans to use multi-space parking meters that accept bills, coins and debit and credit cards, if the program passes.

  Mizner Park garages will still be free, according to General Growth Properties, owners of Mizner Park.

  The meters are expected to bring in $600,000 to $700,000 of revenue a year, according to a staff report presented at the council meeting.

  "If you look at the neighboring communities, we're the only one," who still doesn't charge for some parking, said Assistant City Manager Mike Woika.

  There also are now timed parking areas and no-parking zones.

  The new ordinance sets out what it means to be legally and illegally parked. Anyone who exceeds 12 inches from the curb for parallel spots, overhangs the next space, sticks out in the aisle impeding traffic, exceeds the posted time limit or fails to pay the fees is now illegally parked, since the ordinance was effective immediately.

Parking on right-of-ways will be prohibited, with exceptions that include emergencies and breakdowns, deliveries, lawn maintenance or trade activity, as long if there's enough room for their vehicles and trailers.

  The city is also prepared to give the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, "a listing of persons who have three or more unpaid fines" so the DMV can withhold a license tag.  There's an appeals process within 15 days, with a hearing.

  There's also a provision for a single-event parking rate.

  The parking program is costing $322,000 for the meters and installation and $140,000 for other costs. Staffing will include two new full-time employees and the work of six or seven part-timers, according to the staff report.

 

I love active rain because it is a happy medium to rant, rave, and complain.  So, I have a buyer who is looking for a home that it needs to be 3500 square feet or more, a pool, and a 1 story.  My buyer also is in a wheelchair so he has specific needs and probably will have to do work on anything he buys. 

We have been looking for over a year off and on, and we come across this bank owned property that is listed for $574,900 in a gated community and is 5572 square feet and the bank just put in about $75,000 to upgrade it.  It has granite kitchen with cherry cabinets, and they redid the flooring as well as painted the home inside.  My buyer becomes increasingly excited about this home so we go to see it at 9:00 PM that night.  We go in and it was absolutely amazing.  It had ramps and the doors were wider than normal and the master bath shower was perfect as my buyer could just roll right into the shower.  No steps at all.  The pool was green and the landscaping needs work, and the a/c probably needed to be replaced, but at 103$ a sq. ft when everything else in there was selling $175 a square foot it was a no brainer.  So we hurry up and offer $575,000.  We get it accepted.  Then I start looking at the square footage as it really did not feel like a 5500 square foot home so I decided to research it.  It shows a sketch of living area of 4208.  Wow almost a 30% misrepresentation.  Ouch.  I ask the listing agent about this, and he said well even if it was 4200 square feet it is still a good deal. 

Are you kidding me.  A 30% misrepresentation and it is still a  good deal.  Is he right?  yes, but my buyer is furious with myself and the listing agent.  Now I know what many of you will say and that is I should have looked at the square footage prior to the offer.  I did and the adjusted gross living area was 5572, but when you looked further that included the pool patio and porches. 

I started looking at other listings that were bank owned not by the same listing agent, and to my surprise there was 2 more 30% misrepresentations.  Is this a trend?  Just because banks say they have not owned the property and that there are no warranties or representations, can they continue to do this?  I guess they can, but it really stinks.  It goes back to the accuracy of the MLS.  Garbage in and Garbage out.  The MLS is only as accurate as the information being put into it.  We all need to do a better job in representing the correct information on the MLS. 

This is the best short sale video I have come across. It really explains who is elgible for HAFA and what the anticipated problems may be. I find that we are all scambling to find out how HAFA will effect our business and the short sale process and this video touches on a lot of it. Thanks for watching and let me know what you think.

 

Detailed Information on Tax Credit

Here are details on the extension and expansion of the U.S. tax credit for homebuyers signed into law on November 6, 2009 by President Obama:

Deadline Extended Into 2010
The tax credit was originally to end November 30, 2009. It has now been extended into 2010. If you have a signed purchase agreement by April 30, and close the transaction before July 1, you're eligible for the credit.

Most Other Buyers Now Eligible
First-time homebuyers are eligible for a credit of 10 percent of the price of the home, up to $8,000. (Married couples filing individually can receive $4,000 each.) You are considered a first-time buyer if you haven't owned a principal home in the U.S. in the last three years.

The tax credit has also been expanded to buyers who have owned a home at some period during the last three years and used it as their principal residence for five consecutive years in the last eight. They can receive up to $6,500 - or $3,250 for couples filing as individuals.

No Repayment if You Stay in Home for Three Years
The buyer does not need to repay the tax credit, if he/she occupies the home for three years or more. However, if the property is sold during this three-year period, the full amount of the credit will be recouped on the sale.

Caps on Income, Home Price
Individuals who earn up to $125,000, and couples who earn up to $225,000, are eligible for the full credit. Individuals who earn between $125,000 and $145,000 - and couples who earn between $225,000 and $245,000 - can receive a percentage of the full credit.

The maximum purchase price is $800,000. Any home selling for more than that makes the buyer ineligible for the credit.

Taking Advantage of the Credit
You can claim the credit on your 2009 or 2010 tax return. There are also programs in place to enable you to use the funds to help with the down payment.

Applying the Credit to Your 2009 Taxes
You will need to do three things to claim the credit on your 2009 tax return:

•·         Fill out the applicable IRS form to determine the amount of your available credit.

•·         Apply the credit when you file your 2009 tax return or an amended return.

•·         Attach documentation of purchase to your return or amended return.

If You Purchase in 2010
Buyers purchasing in 2010 will have the option to:

•·         Claim the credit on their 2009 return, even if the purchase is completed after December 31, 2009.

•·         File an amended return for 2009 if their purchase is completed after April 15, 2010.

•·         Claim the credit on their 2010 tax return.

Contribution to the Economy
National Association of REALTORS® economists estimate that the tax credit has contributed more than $22 billion to the economy, and that 2 million people will take advantage of it this year.

Short Sales we all have an opinion on them.  One thing is for sure however, and that is:

• We all want Banks to give us an answer sooner. 
• We all want banks to give us some guidelines as to how they make a decision.
• We all want Banks to order BPO's from people who know the area so that the BPO's come in at a more accurate value.
• We all want Banks to not lose our files more than once.
• We all want Banks to have a better plan in process to weed out those with real hardships and those that do not.

So is the new HAFA program going to do that?

Short answer is NO.

I went to the RE/MAX Convention in Orlando a couple weeks ago, and was listening to Matt Vernon, President and in charge of all the short sales and REO's for Bank of America-Countrywide.  What I got out of it was they are going to adhere to those guidelines, and in theory the HAFA program looks good, but what he said may surprise you. 

I am paraphrasing, but basically "Bank of America is working towards shortening the process, and may be able to give 10 day turnaround times.  We at Bank of America, and I can guarantee this that we will say NO a lot quicker."

So yes the banks are going to adhere to these policies, but they are just going to say NO a lot more often, and a lot quicker.  What is the consequence of this?

Well there is going to be more inventory staying on the market as people will resubmit the same file over and over again. 

There will be more frustrated sellers, buyers, real estate agents, settlement companies because many of the files they say no to would have gone through if they did not have to adhere to the 10 day decision turnaround.

I think most of us really do not expect a 10 day turnaround we just do not want the 6 month turnaround.  If banks got back to us with in 30-45 days we would be estatic. 

With the HAFA policy, we yet again tried to do something for everyone, and we make that blanket policy for everyone you end up doing it for no one. 

Personally, I do not believe the government has the right to step in and give a policy for banks to use for the loss mitigation products.  That would be like the government coming in and saying to all real estate agents, you must now cut your commission to 1% because we believe this is the best way to alleviate the stress on the housing market. 

Private business and private thinkers and private decision makers are always the best way to go.  Government should be a referee not an owner of the team. 

We need to think about what we are doing before implementing these type of programs.  HVCC appraisals have not worked, mandatory loan modifications did not work.  The new GFE programs have not worked.  Now we expect the governement to suddenly come up with a plan to work.

In theory all of these programs looked great.  When you look at the consequences however, that is when you find the real problems.

Short sales are here to stay, and we do need to work them to the best of our abilities so we will have to deal with the policies that are in front of us I just hope this program has a better outcome than the previous "blanket" policies.