History Of Veterans Day, How it became a Holiday of Remembrance   U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. In proclaiming the holiday, he said "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."[2]   The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting that President Calvin Coolidge issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies.[2] A Congressional Act (52 St... 11/09/2014

How to Max Out Your FHA Buying Power if You Are a W-2 Employee Wage earners, those that get a salary or hourly wage, are shooting themselves in the foot because of unreimbursed business expenses; and usually this major issue is one the bank takes the longest to find out about.   Yes -  Un-reimbursed Business Expense for your W2 Wage Earner....!!!! Yes, as crazy as that sounds.  Example of the problem: If your buyer is a nurse making $45,000 per year as stated on the W2, but claims $15,000 in unreimbursed business expenses (uniforms, supplies, etc.- believe me, I've seen huge unreimbursed expenses of all sorts) - the income would be reduced to $30,000.  How this affects their buying power:   $45,000 income = GMI of $3,750 = FHA prequalified purchase price of approx. $190,000.00 $30,000 ... 11/04/2014

  The beautiful city of Atlantis in Florida is an excellent choice of address for those who loves to play golf. The city boasts a number of golf courses, state of the art amenities and mesmerizing views of the scenic views of lakes, landscaping and wildlife. The neighborhood is near to a variety of fine dining, shopping, and entertainment options just minutes away from the club.   The town of Atlantis currently has 18 listings for sale that range in price from $135,000 to $1,195,000 with with floor plans ranging from two bedrooms to seven bedrooms. 11/03/2014

The Daily Hot Sheet of Palm Beach Real Estate & FL Realtor News Monday, November 3, 2014 TODAY'S TOP STORIES Top 10 reasons renters keep renting About 50% of renters want to own but think they won't qualify for a mortgage; another 20% never plan to buy, and marketing efforts probably won't change them. Read more. Builders don't try to compete with resales on price Fewer buyers wrestle with a resale-versus-new home decision as price difference hits $70K and builders opt to construct fewer homes at higher prices. Read more. Real estate funds needn't be riled by rising rates Investors have pulled money out of real estate funds, even though they remain among the year's best performers and pay bigger dividends than many stock funds. Read more.   HUD grants go to city revitalization efforts ... 11/03/2014

The Daily Hot Sheet of Palm Beach Real Estate &  FL Realtor News Monday, October 27, 2014 TODAY'S TOP STORIES NAR: Pending sales up for first time in 2014 In Oct., pending home sales rose marginally (0.3%) above Sept. pending sales, but they're 1% higher in the year-to-year comparison to Sept. 2013. Read more.   State Farm wants drones to check damage after storms The insurer hopes to experiment with drones, with an eye on using them post-disaster "to determine the nature and extent of damage to policyholders' property." Read more.   Not much boom yet in 'boomerang' buyers Experian says only a few post-foreclosure or short sale buyers have returned to the market so far – but they represent a huge pool of potential clients. Read more.   Guidelines coming for big single-family landlords ... 10/27/2014

Atlantis, of Palm Beach County, FL Market Stats & Facts for September 2014 Stats and facts about Atlantis, Florida, are out for the month of September 2014.  The report is packed with information about the county and the local city mentioned above. In a nut shell the inventory of single family homes available for sale are at a 3.2 month selling point which is down nearly 53.2%from a year ago. That’s a good sign things are loosening up and people are buying. Click on this LINK, for more graphs and stats. Whether you are buying or selling in this hot market of the County of Palm Beach, FL, choosing the right company will save you money, time and many sleepless nights. I not only have 30 years experience as a Realtor, construction was a passion of mine as well. This alone is worth so much... 10/26/2014

The Daily Hot Sheet of Palm Beach Real Estate & FL Realtor News Monday, October 20, 2014 TODAY'S TOP STORIES More owners now have modification option A new rule issued by FHFA will allow some seriously delinquent borrowers who haven't made a loan payment in two years to qualify for a mortgage modification. Read more.   New sinkhole standards a problem for some owners Some Fla. homeowners once claimed sinkhole damage against their insurance for even a small crack. But tightened rules hurt owners with legitimate problems. Read more.   Treatment centers can impact home prices More facilities that treat substance abuse are being located in residential communities. An MLS data study finds they cause an 8% reduction in nearby home values. Read more.   Foreclosure niche is a vanishing busines... 10/20/2014

First Time Home Buyers Program of Palm Beach, Co FL   The Florida Housing Finance Corporation has a program that few take advantage of. It offers 30 year, fixed rate first mortgages for eligible first–time home buyers with a few exceptions.  Florida Housing also offers down payment assistance which is only available to borrowers who utilize one of Florida Housing’s first mortgage programs.   Borrowers are required to complete a homebuyer education course, through an approved education provider, and must meet Florida Housing’s minimum FICO requirement. Read More, Click Here. 10/19/2014

Are you relentless to be noticed with a goal to win?     A couple of years ago, my wife and I bought this green pot at a yard sale. What was in it was a plant that you see from the picture below, but the ones from two years ago have since died off and was replaced by another plant that is hidden. This would go on from time to time where new sprouts would appear only to die off again. This time however, it has come back out of the blue with a vengeance.   The point of this story to take with you is this. Often times our businesses have the same results, with a lot of starts and stops. A consistent fight to show up and show yourself can and will make your- self known again in time. Just keep pressing through….     10/19/2014

How many offers are your listings attracting? Is it one, two or could it be more than 40?       I had to throw that question out there because of this email I received yesterday pertaining to an offer we had made on what I like to call a bread & butter property. UNFORTUNATELY THE SELLER HAS ACCEPTED ANOTHER OFFER.  I HAD OVER 50 OFFERS ON THIS SO YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW MUCH WORK IT HAS BEEN.  THANKS FOR YOUR OFFER AGAIN AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN DO A DEAL TOGETHER IN THE FUTURE.. I don’t know if this is an exaggeration or is the truth, what I do know it is highly competitive at certain price points, where you almost have the same chance of winning the Florida lottery. 10/19/2014

The Daily Hot Sheet of Palm Beach Real Estate & FL Realtor News Monday, October 13, 2014 TODAY'S TOP STORIES Trend: Increased demand from very wary buyers Ten years ago, a buyer thought: "It's best to buy a home sooner rather than later, so I can start building equity." But they now know prices sometimes go down. Read more. Mortgage rates will rise - but when? Potential buyers aren't too worried about higher mortgage rates - they've been stable for weeks. But experts predict something above 5% by mid-2015. Read more. Study: Student debt costs housing $83B this year John Burns consulting says the problem will also get worse in years to come since overall U.S. college debt is increasing 6% annually. Read more.   Could 15-year mortgage product change lending? An experimental mortgage for ... 10/13/2014

On Patrol or just a bunch of Quacks???   We have seen this family of six from the time they were chicks. The exception is the lead duck which is the mother. The surviving five are two males and three females. This breed known as Muscovy Ducks are very plentiful to S. Florida and can be seen just about anywhere. Since we have this canal in the back of the property and we feed them daily, they are like our pets. The feeder not seen generally attracts other birds along with other breeds of ducks like Mallards & Wood ducks..      10/12/2014

A few shots from Rocky and the family   They come and go but we believe it is the same five. It looks to be the mother and four of her young. They were spotted in the back yard next to the canal and the tree line that runs the entire back of all the properties. One of the babies separated slightly from the pack by going up a different tree. The bottom line is they are cute but need to stand your distance.                                                                                                   10/12/2014

The Daily Hot Sheet of Palm Beach Real Estate & FL Realtor News Monday, October 6, 2014 TODAY'S TOP STORIES NAR wins rights to '.realestate' domain name While NAR has boasted of the ".realtor" domain name for some time, it will also assign ".realestate" soon, giving out website names such as "Miami.realestate." Read more. Survey: U.S. luxury investors to buy big in 2015 A poll finds that almost half of individuals worth $5M or more expect to buy luxury property within 12 months, including 81% of the millennials in that group. Read more. Chinese buyers may want a 'feng shui contingency' An upswing in Asian buyers may bring a new wrinkle to some transactions, as a few Chinese buyers want to study a home's "energy flow" before closing. Read more.   Millennials current on mortgage more tha... 10/06/2014

What to expect from a Buyers Broker on your next Palm Beach Purchase.   It is great fun for many Palm Beach county buyers to search for the perfect home in any of our great cities. Visiting open houses, calling around to different Realtors to see various properties on the Net. Many buyers will make this mistake as being in their best interest. But exactly who is that Realtor that they are calling loyal to?   You might just be surprised that their loyalty lies with the Seller unless you have a Buyer’s Broker Agreement with the Palm Beach county area Realtor. By obtaining this mutual Agreement you will find someone to represent your best interests and assist you with the purchase of a local area home.   And this is at no cost to you as it is customary that the Seller pays the commission. ... 10/05/2014

Fido Shot of the Day   Since pets and especially dogs are part of the American life , this was sent by a  friend of mine the other day. This was a sample of what dogs look like when they fetch balls under water. I thought it was genius who thought to capture this idea, when they look so harmless on land. It’s another term for putting your mean face on I guess….                             10/05/2014

Saturday shot of the day. Is our society still……..?   Many of you enjoyed the day with family, friends, the park etc. I on the other hand thought it wise to help a colleague clean someone else’s CRAP to remarket a property that they have. How is it in this day and age that certain people that no doubt cry poverty, receive food stamps, child welfare, school loans etc. live in such filth? The last time I checked bars of soap and liquid detergent are still a $1.00 at the dollar store. It sickens me to see that society continues to pay for such destructive behavior time after time, I also feel sorry for the landlord which rents their place to these folks. My last thought is our society remains broken and farm animals stay cleaner.   10/05/2014

What does Atlantis, Hypoluxo, Lantana, Lake Worth, & Manalapan all have in common?   The answer is they all share the same zip code of 33462. This LINK, has great information as to the home sales, home values, trends, income, schools, crime etc. It further shows the breakdown of ethnic groups, vehicles per household commute times and amount of rentals and much much more.  A really great site.   10/05/2014

The Daily Hot Sheet of Palm Beach Real Estate & FL Realtor News Monday, September 29, 2014 TODAY'S TOP STORIES Realtors remain confident in market's future Fla. is one of three states where Realtors expect a home price increase of 5%-6%, though overall U.S. confidence about the market remained mostly flat in Aug. Read more. Ark. Realtor disappearance sparks nationwide concern Beverly Carter's cellphone and car were found at a home after meeting a client. The story spread nationwide, and Realtors quickly offered prayers and support. Read more. NAR: Pending home sales fall slightly in Aug. While pending sales slowed modestly, Aug. contract signings were at their second-highest level over the past 12 months, says NAR. Read more.   Median age of a Fla. homebuyer: 55 years old NAR: The medi... 09/29/2014

Life's Little Challanges Message of the DayThink about how your life would bedifferent if you raised your standards for yourself just a little bit. It is all about changing your 'Shoulds' to 'MUSTs'. You Meet Your 'MUSTS' daily. You Rarely Do what you 'Should'. You always do what you 'MUST'. Make Success or a cetain Goal this weeka 'MUST'. In life we meet our 'MUST' regularly.  Good luck, I know You will do it!  Support a winning team atmosphere.  09/29/2014