FINANCIAL PROTECTIONS FOR SERVICEMEMBERS

To protect our military forces with mortgage relief, termination of leases, protection from eviction, a 6% cap on interest rates and the right to reopen any default judgments made during their active duty, in 2003, President Bush signed into law the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.  This law applied only to obligations that originated before their military service and were still in effect.  “Servicemembers” includes all those on active duty in the military and includes National Guard members called up for active duty for more than 30 days.

All lenders should be immediately notified when you go on active duty, and they must receive a copy of your military orders.  When put on notice, all interest payments must be reduced to 6% and lender must forgive all pre-service debts exceeding the 6% cap.  Your monthly payment must be reduced.  This also applies only to debts that were initiated before active service began.

Leases entered into before active service began can be terminated before expiring, giving landlord 30 days advance notice of termination and rent must be paid up to termination date.  A private life insurance policy cannot lapse, terminate or be forfeited for nonpayment of premiums while insured is on active duty and for one year after duty ends.

 

Garnishments and attachments, requested by military personnel or a court, may be stayed or vacated during active service.  The court can appoint an attorney to represent the interests of a servicemember.

The Supreme Court ruled that the law must be read with “an eye friendly to those who dropped their affairs to answer their country’s call.”

HAPPY NEWS... TRADER JOE'S IS FINALLY COMING TO PALM BEACH GARDENS AND BOCA RATON!

The line forms to the right.

For years a popular topic of discussion has been, “I heard Trader Joe’s is coming to town, hooray!”  Now, it is true!  Scheduled to open in both Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens in 2014, with cedar covered walls and Hawaiian motifs and art celebrating the neighborhood, we will have our pick of a variety of domestic and imported foods and beverages – they promise: all at honest low prices!  Staff, known as “crew members,” will be easy to spot in their Hawaiian shirts.  Residents will receive by mail Trader Joe’s “Fearless Flyer,” known as a cross between Mad Magazine and Consumer Reports. 

A dozen new items will be added each week to the 1000+ private label items including fresh baked artisan breads, Arabica bean coffees, international  frozen entrees, 100% juices, fresh crop nuts, deli items, vitamins and supplements and basics like milk and eggs.  Vegan, vegetarian, kosher, gluten free, low sodium and fat free products will be included.  Antibiotic meats will include beef, steaks, roast beef, chicken, sliced turkey and ham, bacon and lamb loin chops.

The store specializes in high quality ingredients, great flavors and great prices.  Sometimes when they purchase from manufacturers they will take a brand name product, remove preservatives and artificial colors and ingredients, put their label on it and sell It at a real discount.  Boca location will be 855 South Federal Highway, approximately 12,500 sq ft, and wine and beer will be included for sale.  Palm Beach Gardens PGA Plaza will be the other location. Started in 1958 and thriving.

See you there!

 

CELBRATED ARCHITECT MAURICE FATIO’S 1928 ITALIAN ROMANESQUE HOUSE ON A1A ON PALM BEACH ISLAND SOLD FOR ABOUT $16MM

Located at 920 South Ocean, there are beautiful ocean views, a guest house, extensive landscaping and a private tunnel beneath A1A to the beach and ocean and a beachfront cabana

 

 

 



 

The front exterior has alternating bands of red brick and coquina limestone, which caused the property to be dubbed “The Ham and Cheese House,” but it was formally known as Casa Elada.

 

 

 

The 3-story house has been renovated by its various owners and has landmark protection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are 3 fireplaces. Included within the 22,253 living sq ft on an acre of land are 8 bedrooms plus a 2-bedroom staff apartment over the 4-car garage, a grand central courtyard with a pool, full basement and ornate ceilings with pecky-cypress beams, some hand painted, ornate stone carvings and other materials are used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maurice Fatio brought a new Italian style to Palm Beach that blended well with the Mediterranean architecture that already existed. He built many local homes for “high society” folks.



Are you sure the food you are eating is safe? 

The list on the link below provides information gathered from press releases and other public notices about certain recalls of FDA-regulated products.  

• FDA works with industry and our state partners to publish press releases and other public notices about recalls that may potentially present a significant or serious risk to the consumer or user of the product.  Not all recalls have press releases or are posted on this page.
• The posting of information on this page is separate from FDA's recall classification process. The weekly Enforcement Report lists all recalls after they have been classified by FDA.  For more information about FDA’s product recall authority, process and classification guidelines, see FDA 101: Product Recalls.
• For recall notices older than 60 days, see the Recall and Safety Alerts Archive.

How did the FDA know to recall these products? People got sick!  Use this link each week to see the report.  Two popular local grocery outlets have products on this week’s list that were recalled.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm

DRONES FOR GOOD COMMERCIAL USAGE

 

 

The Federal Aviation Administration may open the nation’s airspace to drone photography of real estate properties. Other countries are allowing this method. A drone, says Wikipedia, is and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) without a human pilot on board. A computer can control it or a remote control from another vehicle. FAA rules are expected to be finalized by 2015 and Congress instructed FAA to open drone use to the nation’s airspace for commercial use and permit issuing. The results can be less expensive than aerial photography. Issues may come up about invasion of privacy.

 

 

FLORIDA REALTORS ASSOCIATION SAYS THAT FORECLOSURES EQUAL ABOUT 7% OF THE CURRENT RESALE MARKET.

A foreclosure freeze slowed the number of defaults initiated against borrowers between October and December 2010 due to the “robo-signer” issues.  In the second half of 2010 the legality of thousands of bank repossessions slowed foreclosure efforts. Between 2007 and 2013 almost 365,000 notices of default were filed against Southeast Florida borrowers, overwhelming the state court system.

In 1Q/2013, foreclosure repossession totals, since the 2007 start of the real estate crash, surpassed 200,000 in southeast Florida (Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade), according to Condo Vultures.  From January to March of this year, an analysis based of Clerk of the Court records showed nearly 9200 properties were repossessed, or state courts were used to force foreclosure sales.  That is about 100 properties per calendar day.

In 1Q/2013 foreclosures have decreased 10% on a year-over-year basis – 1Q/2012 had nearly 10,200 repossessions.  Nearly 1250 bank-owned condo and townhouse units are on the resale market as of April 14, 2013 at about $84/ per sq ft.  About 1400 units are now short sales at a median asking price of about $83/per sq ft.  This information comes from the Southeast Florida MLXchange.

GOT A COMPLAINT? Read on...



How to handle complains about

BANK ACCOUNT OR SERVICE

CREDIT CARD

CREDIT REPORTING

MONEY TRANSFER

MORTGAGE

 

STUDENT LOAN

VEHICLE OR CONSUMER LOAN

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/

UPDATE: Foreclosure Filings Spiked By 34% In South Florida Region In Q1 2103

Nearly 13,700 foreclosure actions were filed in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach in the first quarter of 2013, representing a 34 percent increase in notices of default initiated on a year-over-year basis compared to the same January through March period in 2012, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

.FORECLOSURE LEGISLATION UNDER DISCUSSION IN TALLAHASSEE

Lawmakers and consumer advocates are currently seeking to change Florida’s status as one of the few states in the country that is still seeing an increase in foreclosure activity. There are multiple proposals currently floating around in the Florida legislature that have people on all ends of the issue debating.

“Fair Foreclosure Act”

House Bill 87, also known as the “Fair Foreclosure Act,” is currently moving through committees in the House. Supporters of the bill argue that the bill protects borrowers by requiring banks and lenders to prove they own a mortgage before filing any action towards foreclosure. If passed, the bill would also allow third-party lien holders, such as condo or homeowner associations, to push foreclosures through a faster process rather than through the usual court proceeding with the lender. Borrowers would then be allowed 20 days to provide defense against the foreclosure action. After a final judgment in foreclosure is reached, the bill would give banks and lenders one year instead of the present five years to go after borrowers for losses from a foreclosure.

HB 87 has generated the most discussion of all proposed measures. Critics claim that the legislature seems more concerned with processing foreclosures as fast as they can and less concerned about protecting the well-being and rights of homeowners. They also say that 20 days is not enough time for homeowners to seek out attorneys and provide reasonable foreclosure defenses. On the contrary, supporters claim Florida’s judicial-foreclosure process is too drawn out, creating misery among those involved. Supporters say accelerating the process would also be beneficial for the future of Florida’s real estate, as homes in foreclosure limbo are sometimes eyesores that push surrounding property values down.

Senate Bill (SB) 1666

Senate Bill 1666 would allow retired justices or judges to consent to temporary duty to help go through the backlog of foreclosure cases in Florida. The legislation would also allow second publication of the notice of sale of a home to be published on a publicly accessible website of the clerk of court in lieu of being published in any other form of media.  This changes the requirement that a second notice of pending foreclosure occur in a print newspaper advertisement, a move some say is unfair to low income homeowners who could only find out about a potential foreclosure sale through a print newspaper notice.

House Bill (HB) 1777

HB 1777 would establish a homeowner bill of rights, like a similar measure enacted in California early this year, in the event of late mortgage payments. California’s law is meant to protect homeowners from predatory lenders and further regulate lending practices. California has already seen a steady decrease in the amount of foreclosure filings since it went into effect on January 1, CNNMoney reports.

Senate Bills 1236, 1226, 371 and 1228

Four bills, proposed and sponsored by Senator Darren Soto (D-Orlando), seek to remedy homeowners’ distress. SB 1226 and 371 would mandate that lenders can only file a deficiency judgment one year after a final foreclosure judgment, and would only have two years to collect outstanding debt. Presently, collectors are legally allowed to contact borrowers about debts for up to two decades. SB 1236, also known as the “Mortgage Principal Reduction Act,” would require the Florida Housing Finance Corporation to apply for $100 million of the federal government’s Hardest-Hit Program in order to begin a mortgage principal reduction program for Florida residents with properties are in foreclosure. Soto’s final proposed bill, the “Short Sale Debt Relief Act,” would make deficiency judgments unenforceable on a short sale if the original debt was 20 percent or greater than fair market value.

Based on all of the proposals presented, Floridians will likely see changes to the foreclosure process soon.  Everyone who has an opinion on what needs to be done most likely wants to see more improvement in the housing market.

Sarah Parr is a Florida writer who blogs about Florida foreclosure issues.

THE OPERATIVE WORD IS "TRANSPARENCY"

State governments contract for goods and services amounting to tens of billions of dollars, and offer subsidies to encourage economic development, grants and other spending issues.  To insure that the funds are well spent, accountability and public scrutiny are required.

Right now all 50 states provide state spending information on the internet, and for all except CA and VT the info is searchable.  “Transparency 20” refers to meeting the standards.

Take a look at TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA, and see how our state spends its money.  The U.S. Public Interest Research Group gave Florida an A- grade for the Transparency Florida website, and ranked it third in the US for state government transparency.  You may want to subscribe to Florida’s CFO Jeff Atwater’s weekly DOLLARS AND SENSE newsletter to keep apprised of what is happening in our state.

 

 

Watch and listen to how drones work....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdpcSpLHu-8

 

 

EVER WONDERED HOW THE INTERNET WORKS?

 

http://www.wimp.com/internetworks/

FINDING AN UNCLAIMED PENSION

You, or someone you know, may be owed a pension. Below are options for searching PBGC's list of pensions that have been earned, but are unclaimed.
PLEASE NOTE: The lists you can search here do not include all people for whom PBGC is holding pensions or information about their pensions. It includes only those people whom PBGC has not yet been able to contact directly.
Search here for unclaimed pensions by the participant's or beneficiary's last name, the name of the company that provided the pension, or the state of the company's location.

Search by Name - either exact match or contains, Company or State.

http://search.pbgc.gov/mp/mp.aspx

 

 

GOOD NEWS AND NOT SO GOOD NEWS!

A SELLERS MARKET
IS STARTING TO DEVELOP
IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA...

good news for sellers, not so good news for buyers
as prices ARE starting to go UP !!

 

 

CATCH SOME HISTORY RIGHT HERE

FLAGLER MUSEUM’S WHITEHALL LECTURE SERIES – PRESIDENTS OF THE GILDED AGE

Presidents to be discussed include Grant, McKinley, Garfield, Cleveland and Hayes.  Here is an opportunity to listen to the lectures, watch the presentations and ask the lecturer questions.  Authors of books about these men will be present and a book signing with the author will follow each lecture. 

It can also be seen online. For first time users of the Flagler Museum's on-line room, you need to install a small, safe plug-in. When prompted please provide your first name and leave the password field blank. At the welcome page, click on the "Download Here" link. This will open a "File Download" dialogue box. Within that box, click on the "Run" button. Please be sure to configure your firewall to allow the Talking Communities software access to your computer and please disable your screen saver. No charge for online attendance.

Flagler Museum Members at Sustaining and higher levels can attend for free.  Individual, Family and Life Members cost $10/each.  Non-members costs $28 per lecture of $125 for a Series ticket and includes Museum Admission.  More information here.  The Museum is located at 1 Whitehall Way in Palm Beach.  Call 561-655-2833 for further information.

You just might hear some similarities to our times right now.  The more things change the more they remain the same?