BRINY BREEZES

BRINY BREEZES

The developer’s plan for 60 units per acre in Briny Breezes is being contested by locals. Hottest issue is the density level. It was pointed out by Ocean Ridge Mayor Ken Kaleel that this complex will be built on “a fragile piece of land,”. The developer offered $514-MM for the 43 acres that includes 600’ of the Atlantic Ocean frontage. Right now there are 12 units per acre with the trailers on the land, and Boca Raton, as an example, has maximum density of 20 units per acre. Some of the issues mentioned include overburdening roads, stretching scarce natural resources, and insurance increases from overbuilding on vulnerable barrier islands. Figures were mentioned that there were 488 existing trailers, and plans are to build 1500 units, either condos, timeshares or hotel rooms. The developer describes that portion of A1A as an arterial road, but the FDOT classifies it as a collector road, which is subject to higher standards. The county is concerned about a bigger need for sufficient drinking and firewater as well as traffic concerns and environmental issues. The developer’s preliminary proposal is being reviewed and expected to be finished June 29^th, when further debate no doubt will begin. For comments on the proposal you can email Robert Dennis, Regional Planning Administrator at bob.dennis@dca.state.fl.us.

CORNELL MUSEUM’s 13th ALL-FLORIDA JURIED FINE ART EXHIBITION OPENS

The Cornell Museum of Art & History at Old School Square Cultural Arts Center is holding this event June 14 through Sept 8. Competition closed in March, open to all Florida artists. There were more than 200 entries. There will be 70 works by 59 artists displayed including watercolors, oils, acrylis, graphites, dollage, pen and ink, mixed media, stone, wood, digital and traditional photography.

On June 21 from 5:30 pm to 8 pm $2500 in cash prizes will be awarded at an awards reception. Prizes will include Best of Show, three Awards of Excellence, Special Recognition Awards and Merit Awards.. No cost to Old School Square members and exhibiting artists, $6 for others.

Museum’s summer hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10:30 am – 4:30 pm. $6 general admission, $4 students and seniors, children 13 and under are free. For more information call 561-243-7922.

FLORIDA’S HERITAGE TO BE SHOWN IN ART SHOW & THEATRE AT SUGAR SANDS PARK

Willow Theatre presents “The Life of Ivy Stranahan: A florida Pioneer, Saturday June 23^rd at 2 pm. Reknowned historical Chautauqa portrayal artist tells tales of old Florida, with Mrs. Stranahan trekking through knee-deep mud, championing the Seminole Indians cause and becoming Ft. Lauderdale’s first teacher, a portrait of achievement and courage. Tickets are $12. Purchase at box office (561-347-3948).

The Boca Historical Society exhibits will include”Herstory: Boca Raton’s Pioneer Women.”

Sugar Sands Park Community Center and the Willow Theatre are located at 300 S. Military Trail, B oca Raton (561-347-3900 or www.sugar-sandpark.org).

THIS FRIDAY STARTS A 12-DAY TAX FREE HOLIDAY ON STORM ITEMS

Save money on batteries, generators, flashlights, fans, portable radios and other storm-related supplies during this period when you won’t be paying sales tax on these items. Florida residents are expected to save about $25-MM in sales taxes during this period.

WEST PALM BEACH CREATES THREE NEW ZIP CODES

With the areas around Highway 441 growing in leaps and bounds with gated communities, strip malls and office parks where there used to be acres of farmland, the communities covering areas west of Boynton Beach, from Military Trail to the Loxachatchee National Wildlife Refuge, will soon have new zip codes, as pictured here. The change will be effective July 1^st. The 33437 ZIP code grew between 7 percent and 12 percent a year during the county's building boom, according to the U.S. Postal Service. Parts of Lake Worth, for example, will now have a Wellington address.

UPDATE FROM FLORIDA LEGISLATURE

PROPERTY TAX – “where it is” on 5-4-07

The Florida Legislature suspended negotiations on Save Our Homes portability, rollbacks and other property tax reform proposals until next month when lawmakers return to Tallahassee for a 10-day special session from June 12-June 22. Both sides have already agreed on two FAR-supported tax relief measures - $25,000 exemption on personal intangible property for small businesses and some form of Save Our Homes portability (terms not released). Sources say that so far there is agreement on cutting property taxes by about $20-$25-billion over 5 years; no sales tax increase; some form of Save our Homes portability.

To write your legislator send an email to http://floridarealtors.org - see Legislative Center.

Legislators made it easier for certain property owners to get insurance from Citizens which is now Florida’s largest insurer with 1.3 million policyholders. Property owners will be allowed into the Citizens pool if the only insurance they could obtain on the private market was 15% more expensive than what they would pay Citizens. Citizens rates would freeze through 2008. On Jan 1, 2009, Citizens would again be allowed to raise rates.

Homes valued at over $750,000 and located in high-risk zones will be required to install opening protections as of July 1, 2008 if they seek a building permit for work estimated at $50,000 or more. By 1/1/2009, all homes valued at over $750,000 in high-risk zones must be fitted wit opening protections to remain eligible for Citizens coverage. This is to help reduce some of the risk in the event of a devastating storm. Free inspections of 400,000 single-family homes is called for and grants and loan are provided to certain homeowners to make improvements to strengthen their home against storms.

Home inspectors, mold remediators and mold assessors will be required to be licensed by the Dept. of Business and Professional Regulation as of July 1, 2010 IF SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR.

Landlords are limited to a financial penalty when a tenant breaks a lease of two months of rent for leases of less than a year. Effective at once IF THE GOVERNOR SIGNS IT.

Mortgage brokers and lenders will now have many disclosure and education requirements to help protect consumers during the mortgage loan application process. This bill includes additional enforcement and investigative tools for prosecuting mortgage fraud. The definition of “primary title services” and “related title services” will be amended and a civil court case codified that permits a portion of a title insurance premium to be rebated IF SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR.

FLORIDA HOUSE & SENATE VOTE TO DIVEST FL STATE PENSION FUND OF IRAN AND SUDAN PETROLEUM ENERGY INVESTMENTS

Florida has the 4^th largest pension fund in the US and is now the first state in the nation to legislate divestment of its pension fund holdings from Iran as well as from the government of Sudan. House Bill (HB) 703 and Senate Bill (SB) 2142 calls for the State Board of Administration and the Board of Trustees to leverage the approximately $150-billion in Florida’s pension fund by ending investment in companies doing business with the petroleum energy sector in Iran and the government of Sudan.

Governor Charlie Christ is expected to sign it into law, requiring review of holdings in companies invested in Iran’s energy sector or in companies with business ties to the government of Sudan and to divest these holdings with review as well of holdings in mutual and index funds or other commingled investments, and identify ways to create alternative funds without holdings in these companies. A quarterly compliance report of all state pension holdings and actions taken will be required to be submitted to the state legislature.

Senator Ted Deutch said, “Our colleagues here understood that Florida has the opportunity to bring all 50 states onboard to stop genocide and prevent terror.” He further said, “Not one Florida worker’s dollar should fund either Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons which will be trained on our nation and our troops, or the genocide of a people trapped in the turmoil of the Sudan.” House Deputy Majority Leader Adam Hausner said, “We cannot invest Floridians’ pension funds in companies that are propping up countries that support terrorist… Florida is sending more than a message – this will lead a nationwide effort.”

SPEEDING FINES INCREASED IN “Enhanced Penalty Zones”

The Florida DOT has designated 3 parts of highway as enhanced penalty zones. One is a 6-mile stretch on I-95. Signs are now up and the fines will be an additional $50, starting May 1^st. Lawmakers wanted to create a pilot program through FDOT for enhanced penalty zones on state roads in areas with higher than average crash rates related to speeding. Fifty percent of the additional $50 fine will be allocated to the Health Care Administration to provide an enhanced Medicaid payment to nursing homes for brain and spinal cord injury among Medicaid patients. The other 50 percent of the fine will be given for financial support to certified trauma centers in the counties where enhanced penalty zones are established.

RECORD PROFITS IN 2006 FOR NATION’S PROPERTY/CASUALTY INSURERS

Industry net income rose to $63.7-BB in 2006 from $44.2-BB in 2005, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Assn. Most of the improvement, they said, was because of fewer catastrophic storms in 2006 than in 2005. Profits were also boosted by stronger underwriting gains, which are premiums minus losses and admin expenses. While a highly active hurricane season was predicted for 2006, it gave insurers much-needed time to recover from the six 2005 catastrophic hurricanes. Chief Economist, of the PCIAA, Genio Staranczak, said that insurers need to worry about future storms. Increased property values, growing population and a threat of more frequent and severe storms in high risk areas of the US create a financial problem the nation must deal with. Colorado State U experts predict that the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season will be very active with 9 hurricanes.

LOTS DOING IN “TALLAHASSEE”

1000+ realtors are in Tallahassee for the FAR (FL Association of Realtors) convention, and meeting with local senators and representatives on property tax reform, affordable housing, property insurance and other housing issues.

On tap:
…Senate is expected to release its property tax reform package shortly
…Senate Banking Committee and Insurance Committee Chairman rolled out property tax insurance reform bills (each of which have been approved during the proceedings)
…Another bill deals with hurricane mitigation
…Gov. Charlie Christ is supporting bill SB-2498 to allow homeowners to opt for coverage from the state-run insurer if they have an offer from a private insurer that’s 15% higher than the premium charged by Citizens. Homeowners would be allowed to stay with Citizens regardless of the rate offered by a private market insurance company & the bill will require the Office of Insurance Regulation to take into consideration the profits of parent companies when approving insurance rates
… The Senate Regulated Industries committee unanimously passed SB 2234 to provide licensure and regulation of home inspectors, mold assessors and remediators, but exempt from law: engineers, architects, building code administrators, real estate appraisers and fire safety inspectors. Licensure would be required for completion of a 120-hour course of study, and require 14 hours of continuing ed every 2 years.
…Gov. Christ signed legislation that could double the additional homestead exemption available to low-income seniors. HB333 implements a constitutional amendment approved by voters that increases the local option for the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $50,000 for individuals age 65 and older whose income does not exceed $23,414 in 2007.

REALTY TIMES SAYS SPRING HOUSING RESALES WERE STRONG IN MARCH IN SOME AREAS

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending 4-5-07 showed the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.17%, up slightly from the previous week average of 6.16%.
Last year the 30-year FRM averaged 6.43%.

GRADING SYSTEM COMING FOR EACH HOME’S ABILITY TO WITHSTAND SEVERE WIND DAMAGE FROM STORMS

During January’s special session to address the property insurance crisis in Florida, Senate Bill1980 and House Bill 1-A contained a rating system to score homes on a scale of 1 to 100 for their ability to withstand severe wind damage from storms. The Florida Insurance Commissioner said that “the adoption of a uniform scoring system for home safety is long overdue.” This plan is yet to be approved by lawmakers.

FIVE MAJOR HURRICANES FORECASTED FOR 2007

Forecasters from the Tropical Meteorology Project at Colorado State University say that with El Nino weakening, the 2007 hurricane season will be very active... and will include 17 named storms for the season between June 1 and November 30. Included, they predict, will be 9 hurricanes, 5 of which are expected to be major with sustained surface winds of at least 111 mph. However, the season, they say, will not be as active as 2004 and 2005 when hurricanes caused billions of dollars worth of damage in Florida, and days or weeks without power for millions of residents. They predict there is a 50% chance of at least one major hurricane hitting land along the east coast, including the Florida peninsula.

El Nino occurs when weak easterly trade winds allow warmer waters of the western Pacific to migrate east. The accompanying vertical wind shear stunts the formation of hurricanes. In the end of May this team will update their predictions.

Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Collector Car Event

3/28/2007 - 4/1/2007
South Florida Fairgrounds
9067 Southern Boulevard; West Palm Beach, FL 33411
Event Sponsor: Ford Motor Company

The Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Palm Beach , Fla. will take place over five days filled with spectacular cars, celebrities, special events and displays that offer something for everyone. The auction will feature more than 600 of the world's finest examples of collector and special interest automobiles being auctioned off at No Reserve, as well as daily automobilia auctions offering an exquisite array of the finest, one-of-a-kind automotive collectibles. With over 100 lifestyle vendors and celebrity-sightings galore, it's not to be missed! The event also includes auction coverage on SPEED and approximately 100 exhibitors.

8:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
3/28/07 Wednesday Gala Ticket $75.00 - The Gala benefits The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and The Darrell Gwynn Foundation. Invited guests and gala ticket holders only. Tickets at barrett-jackson.com. ; 3/29 and 3/30/07 Good Thursday and Friday only $12.00 $8.50 $5.50; 3/31/07 Good Saturday only $17.50 $15.00 $7.50; 4/1/07 Good Sunday only $12.00 $8.50 $5.50; 3/29 - 4/1/07 4 day pass $45.00 $35.00
http://www.barrett-jackson.com

480-421-6694

NAR OPTIMISTIC ABOUT 2007 HOUSING RECOVERY DESPITE SUBPRIME WOES

David Lereah, the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist, said, “Underlying trends point to a housing recovery in 2007, but it will take a couple of months for us to get a better handle on it. Existing-home sales are expected to slowly improve from what appears to be the cyclical low last fall.” Lereah believes that while subprime loan problems could inhibit future housing activity, they are likely to be contained and not spill over into the prime mortgage market. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that consumer spending slacked off, and this may be responsible for a stop market drop of over 200 points. In 4Q 2006, late mortgage payments met a 3 ½ year high or 4.95% of outstanding mortgage loans. Delinquency rates for subprime borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages was 14.44%, the highest rate in 4 years. The bad news drove up bond prices, lowering yields, to which long-term lending is tied. In other words, mortgage interests could lower further still, providing incentive for homebuyers to buy and ARM holders to refinance.

Freddie Mac is concerned about overstock of unsold homes, warning that the number of unsold new homes may be higher than reflected as sales and inventory figures are not revised to reflect cancelled contracts. Vacant existing homes for sale are another source of unrecorded inventories with condos the most affected sector. The sub-prime mortgage market remains of great concern as well and banks are tightening standards on mortgage loans, but there is no crunch in the prime mortgage market with rates remaining low.

NEW CHANGES COMING TO PROPERTY TAXES AND HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE

State House leaders fast-track bill to reduce property taxes. In early March the House Efficiency & Accountability Council passed a controversial bill to sharply roll back local taxes, saving homeowners statewide as much as $5.8 billion. This is step #1 in a 2-phase plan – the 2^nd is a constitutional amendment to do away with all taxes on homesteaded property and replace this with a 2 ½% increase in the statewide sales tax.

The Florida legislature passed a bill that could lower premiums between 5% and 40% and provide other insurance relief to millions of property owners. Some of the new provisions might include that property owners may be able to exclude windstorm and contents coverage. The state may remove the new requirement that Citizens Property Insurance Corporation charge the highest premiums in the state. The Citizen’s Jan 1, 2007 rate increase might be frozen at the Dec. 31, 2006 level. They may eliminate the cap on deductibles so a homeowner can choose a deductible other than the standard 2%, 5% OR 10% in current law. All non-homestead properties would be eligible for Citizens coverage effective March 1, 2007. Insurance companies may be required to give at least 100 days written notice of non-renewal, cancellation or termination of a homeowners policy. Payment of claims might be expedited following a storm, e.g., within 90 days.

To read the entire bill go to http://snipurl.com/185co.

A WONDERFUL IDEA FOR LUNCH!

A Gilded Age Tea
1/1/2007 - 4/7/2007 - Flagler Museum, One Whitehall Way, Palm Beach, FL 33480.

The Pavilion Cafe will present a traditional Gilded Age style lunch featuring an array of delicacies and refreshments reminiscent of the elegance of entertaining during the Gilded Age.

Tuesday - Saturday: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.; Sunday: 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.$18 for museum members; $33 for non-members (includes museum admission).

http://www.flaglermuseum.us/

SUNFEST- West Palm Beach, May 3-6.

Mark your calendars now!

WHERE THE MUSIC HITS THE WATERFRONT… COME ON ALONG AND HAVE FUN!

SunFest is Florida’s largest music, art and waterfront festival. Held annually in downtown West Palm Beach the first week of May, SunFest attracts more than 275,000 visitors. Concerts, events, and featured art to be juried in mediums in cluding drawing, jewelry, painting, pottery & ceramics, photography, sculpture, wood, arts, crafts and more.

Go to http://www.sunfest.com/ for more information.

HOMES AND CONDOS SALES NUMBERS DOWN

2% less home sales and 23% less condo sales in the West Palm Beach/Boca area for 1Q 07 vs. 1Q06, 8% lower priced single family existing homes sales and 29% lower priced sales of condos. Source for this information is FAR (Florida Association of Realtors) and University of Florida Real Estate Research Center based on MLS survey of sales levels from Florida's Realtor boards/associations.

CLEVELAND CLINIC TO OPEN WEST PALM BEACH OFFICE

The Ohio-based clinic, one of the nation’s top hospitals and an international leader in clinical research and medical education will open the Cleveland Clinic Health & Wellness Center in early February at a temporary location in the Northbridge Center, 515 N. Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, and will expand to a permanent location in early 2008.

The Center will initially be staffed by one to two internal medicine physicians and other specialists and will rotate the specialists as need demands. Specialists could include neurologists who are in short supply in Palm Beach County. Consultants and evalutions will be provided and transfer to the Clinic’s Weston medial campus, a 150-bed hospital, outpatient clinic and providing educational facilities. About 120 physicians with 35 specialties will be available for Palm Beachers from this Weston campus. Patient demand will drive which specialties are chosen for Palm Beach.

The Cleveland Clinic is the only institution in Borward County that offers post-graduate medical education in internal medicine, cardiology, colorectal surgery and others. Some of these specialists may do rotations at the West Palm Beach Center.
A $70-MM donation from Sydell Miller of Palm Beach and Cleveland, who credits the Cleveland Clinic with saving her life by diagnosis and surgery in 1992, has been a major spark plug in getting the Cleveland Clinic to the Palm Beaches.

EVENING ON ANTIQUE ROW

Mark your calendars now to attend the 12th Annual Evening on South Dixie Antique Row in West Palm Beach, a Benefit for the Historical Society of Palm Beach County: Satruday, March 3rd, 5:30 – 9:30 pm.

Promenade down the finest antiques street in Florida enjoying food, wine and music. Held between the 3300 and 3900 blocks of South Dixie Highway between Southern and Greenwood.
Advance tickets are $30 each ;r $55 for 2 – or pay $35 each at the door. See www.historicalsocietypbc.org.

FYI for the HARD OF HEARING

CAPTIONED PHONE SERVICE COMING ON COMPUTER, PDA OR OTHER WIRELESS DEVICE FOR HEARING IMPAIRED

FCC approves Internet Protocol captioned telephone service for reimbursement from the telecommunications relay fund. Now captioned telephone will be brought into the broadband world. This will enable Americans with hearing loss who have up to now been served by relay services to have full communications access.

A computer, PDA or wireless device will be used to make a call without having to purchase special telephone equipment and will be particularly helpful in the workplace. In addition, people with low vision will be accommodated because they can take advantage of the large text, variable fonts and colors available.

A consumer can make a voice-to-voice phone call and then both listen to the other party, to the extent that they can hear what is said, and read on a screen what they have said, giving clarity. The Commission said that it expects that, as with captioned telephone service, the service will be provided in a way that is automated and invisible to both parties to the call, and will be fast enough to keep up with the speed of the other party’s speech.
The Commission conditioned its approval of the October 2005 petition from the Hearing Loss Association of America, which was widely supported by more than 30 organizations in the disability community. All providers must be licensed at reasonable rates. IP CTS calls will be compensated, on an interim basis, at the IP Relay compensation rate. Providers seeking to offer this service and be compensated from the Fund may seek certification from the Commission as an eligible provider. This is an interim measure and the Commission intends to revisit the cost recovery methodology for this service in the future, including jurisdictional separation of costs.

Florida Leads the way in Luxury Golf Course Real Estate

UNIQUE HOMES: Stateside, Florida Leads the Way in luxury golf course real estate with 545 golf-course communities. Since 2001, 1764 new golf holes have been added, which would equal 98 new 18-hole golf courses. In 2006, 153 new holes appeared through August.

PORTABILITY PETITION (re property taxes)

TO SIGN and WHERE TO MAIL PORTABILITY PETITION (re property taxes) go to:

http://www.co.palm-beach.fl..us/papa/

and click on link to portability petition - get address to mail petition to, print it out and sign and mail it.

"The Florida Legislature could add the issue of Portability to its January special session agenda and adopt our ballot language," said Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits, a member of the Board that sponsors the petition drive. "That would save us the work of gathering the nearly 750,000 signatures needed to place the issue on the ballot," he added.

MARILYN FARBER JACOBS

STATE OF FLORIDA MANDATES HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMEN MUST CHOOSE A MAJOR

HIGH SCHOOL WAS DIFFERENT IN OUR DAY… A new state law mandates that incoming high school freshmen must choose a major. Palm Beach County School Board members recently approved the Florida Department of Education’s high school major areas of interest, including: Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources; Architecture & Construction; Arts; A/V Technology and Communicaions; Business Management and Administration; Education & Training; Finance; Government & Public Administration; Health Science; Hospitality & Tourism; Human Services; information Technology; Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security; Manufacturing; Marketing; Sales & Service; Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics; and Transportation, Distribution and Logistics. Students must take for of 8 credits in their field of interest in addition to 16 core curriculum credits, to graduate. Majors can be changed during the registration process.

COUNTY OFFERS FREE AMPLIFIED PHONES FOR PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS

All Palm Beach County residents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing are offered specialized telephone equipment, at no charge, provided by the Deaf Service Center in West Palm Beach and Florida Telecommunications Relay.

According to the Deaf Center, there are more than 170,000 residents who are entitled to use this equipment and the proper training to use it. Requirements are proof of Florida residency and hearing loss.

For those with a moderate hearing loss, telephones with volume and tone control are provided, easily operated by both the hard-of-hearing individual and anyone else living in the same household. For those with a severe to profound hearing loss, and who also have intelligible speech the Center can provide a CapTel telephone which uses relay operator assistance to communicate messages. The relay operation captions everything said and it appears on the phone display screen. The telephone also has amplification, so the hard-of-hearing person can both listen to the conversation and read the captions.

A text telephone (“TTY”) is offered to deaf clients. The message is either directly typed to another TTY user, or to a person using a standard telephone through a third party relay service.

Proper training and instructions on how to operate the phones are provided.
Those eligible can call for an appointment at the Delray Beach office at 561-278-6444.

CRA OFFERS HELP TO HOMEOWNERS

The Community Redevelopment Agency has a new grant program oferring up to $20,000 to some of the 3,193 residence in the Heart of Boynton, a long-neglected area targeted for redevelopment stretching from Boynton Beach Boulevard north to the Boynton Canal and from I95 East to Federal Highway.

$440,000 has been set aside for the fiscal year that began October 1. The CRA's old grant program, which covered exterior upgrades only and required matching money, was not used by a single homeowner during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

The new program allows owners to apply for outright grants to improve their homes both inside and out. Eligible projects include but are not limited to interior and exterior painting, hurricane shutters, landscaping, roof repair or replacement, electrical and plumbing upgrades, appliance replacement, removal of debris and correction of code violations.

TRUTH or FICTION in the headlines?

An article in the Wall St Journal on September 12, 2006, stated that home sales have "plunged over the past year in many areas where prices had soard over the preceding five years." The full story is that prices only went down 1.7% although the number of home sales did plummet 12.6% in August 2006 vs. August 2005. More accurately, sales have EASED. Not a huge plunging change! Although not the case in 2004 and 2005, there is a slowdown in home sales during most summers in home sales in Florida!

SOME COURT DOCS GOING ONLINE Oct 17, 2006

30 years of criminal and traffic court records will begin being converted to a modernized computer system that the public will be able to access online at http://pbcountyclerk.com/.

Included will be traffic citations (which can be paid online), court dates and other information docketed in a court file, e.g., listing of filings and activity. The ability to view the individual documents in a particular case is not yet available, but is slated for the future.

From 5 pm this coming Friday until Oct. 9, court filings will be done the old-fashioned way, by hand while all the records are being transferred. The information will be entered into the new system once it is up and running.

The vendor, Affiliated Computer Systems, signed a contract in 1999 for $4.9 million to convert the civil and juvenile records, which went online in 2002. That same year, the county signed contracts totaling $6.9 million to do the same thing for criminal and traffic records.

With 7,000 hits per day, the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court's Web site -- www.pbcountyclerk.com -- already competes with the property appraiser's site as the county's busiest. That number is expected to double when criminal and traffic records are added.

NEWSPAPERS HAVE LOST MANY REAL ESTATE ADS TO THE INTERNET

Newspapers will face a huge loss of real estate ads to the Internet, according to Borrell Associates, a national consulting and research firm that tracks local internet advertising and crafts strategies for media and websites. See http://www.borrellassociates.com/product.cfm?prodID=55 .

"Toward the end of 2005, the Internet became the most-used method of selling a home -- beating out even the old-faithful yard sign," says Borrell. “The $11 billion spent on total real estate advertising stagnated, growing less than 4% over the past four years, while the available advertising inventory -- the number of existing homes for sale on the market -- rose 41 percent in the last 12 months. That metric alone is enough to stop a real estate advertising executive dead in his or her tracks."

The Newspaper Association of America reports that classified ad revenue amounted to $16.6 billion in 2004 -- down from $19.6 billion from 2000. Corrected for inflation the situation is far worse: Newspapers would have to have taken in $21.5 billion in 2005 to equal their 2000 classified revenues. See http://www.naa.org/thesource/20.asp .

Will INTEREST RATES GO FARTHER DOWN NOW?

September 18, 2006 - Says David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, "Mortgage rates are one of the bright spots in the economy right now, with an unexpected decline recently in the 30-year fixed rate to a narrow range around six-and-a-half percent. This should encourage some of the nearly 4 million people who’ve found newly created jobs over the last two years.”

CITIZEN's DEFICIT to cost ALL FL HOMEOWNERS

CITIZEN’s DEFICIT to cost ALL FL HOMEOWNERS

A one-time charge of $20.70 for every $1000 of annual homeowner insurance premiums due for Florida homeowners with their next renewal bills, added to rate hikes that have already appeared. This is to HELP cover Citizen’s Property Insurance Corp’s $1.7-Billion deficit from 2005, to shore up the state’s home insurer of last resort and now its biggest property insurer.

This is the second time in 2 years that all Florida home insurance policyholders are being forced to bail out Citizens, which has been drained by hurricane-related claims.

Once the assessment gets the go-ahead from the state Office of Insurance Regulation, homeowner insurance companies will pay Citizens and pass the charge on to their customers when the policies are renewed.

This assessment, already approved, is expected to raise $163-MM, and combined with $715-MM in sales tax money already set aside, plus the assessment Citizens is to consider next month which is expected to raise $822-MM.

This information is from the 9-17-06 issue of the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.

COMMUNITIES TAKE NOTE: DEVELOPERS ARE WOOING FAMILIES

9-1-06: Today’s Wall St Journal has an article about the ways developers are wooing families to their properties, and the ideas may have merit everywhere.

Developers tout fancy gyms, pools just for children, water parks, fake “fossil digs”, couture designer romper rooms, playgrounds with slides and climbing equipment, “kids-only” activity rooms, child-sized “Wild West” sets with saloons and teepees, squirt-gun shootout areas, plastic monkey bars, tunnel labyrinths, and on-call “nanny” staff.

According to Packaged Facts, a New York-based consumer-research company, it costs a middle-income family $191,000 to raise a child to age 18.

County Authorizes Limited Debris Clean-up in Gated Communities

“To create safe passage” of vehicles on roadways upon declaration of a disaster, within a gated community, a new ordinance has been adopted to collect and remove debris from private gated communities and/or private roads, with FEMA “more likely” providing reimbursement for the debris removal. Up to now, FEMA has denied any application for debris removal reimbursement involving private communities.

FEMA’s early targeting of debris removal is to make highways and roads safe for travel and to remove debris if it constitutes a health or safety hazard. Hurricane debris removal costs are shared 75/25 between FEMA and the state with removal, storage and disposal performed by local governments or by contractors selected by those governmental entities. Pheasant Walk on the east side of Military Trail above Clint Moore had incurred more than $20,000 in removal costs using their landscape contractor, but the County was only offering $15,000 in repayment “because that’s what it would have cost the county to do the job,” but Commissioner Burt Aronson said that if Pheasant Walk was reimbursed, “then I want other communities included.”
Last week’s action to permit country debris removal in general from gated community roads at least now gives the county a statutory basis to argue that health and safety were at issue and therefore the county should be reimbursed, and permits residents in gated communities to receive the same road clearing treatment as those along public roadways.

Have You Read About CarePages?

CarePages.com is a free secure private internet space for families and invited friends to form an online support community around a patient. This space can be used to post get-well wishes, upload photos and share info about the loved one’s illness, recovery and/or rehab. Patients can respond online, and family members can communicate with staff.

One family member is designated to be in charge of the space. CarePages currently manages over 50,000 individual CarePages communities with over 5-MM members in 190 countries around the world. Over 500 hospital and health care facilities across the US and Canada are offering their own customized versions of CarePages.

Go to www.carepages.com for a visit.

CONDO INSURANCE RATES MAY FALL

CONDO INSURANCE RATES MAY FALL
There has been a change in how association’s policies are handled by Citizens Property Insurance Company. Previously one policy would group condo buildings together, and now Citizen’s board decided they will treat the buildings separately. A stricter criteria will still apply to individual condo buildings that cost $10-MM or more to replace. This change could save associations thousands of dollars on their insurance premiums. Depending on how the associations decide to use the refunds, either homeowners could receive refunds or the funds could be held in reserve by the association. Rate reductions could be 20% to 30%, but that will still be more than associations paid to Poe Financial Group previously. Change will apply retroactively to any policies issued on or after May 15, which is when Citizens first issued condo association policies using the stricter standards. About 2000 associations are affected. It will take 60-90 days for Citizens to process the refunds.

SINGLE WOMEN HOME BUYERS: A Market Segment to Consider

The Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies’ report states that unmarried women (2/3 were previously married) have become a large segment of the home buying population, with 63% of buyers being married couples, 17% being unmarried men, and 20% being single women. Many of the women have children.

While single women average 11% less median income than single men, at $37,000, and while at first the single women do not purchase single family homes, they tend to move up by building their net worth by buying low, selling when the market grows and moving into a larger, more expensive dwelling.
The Women’s Mortgage Industry Network was launched four years ago to help women in their quest for home ownership, and is sponsored by Freddie Mac.

PB COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION TARGETS LEGISLATURE

The South County Partnership, a 3-year old group, is an umbrella community association organization. It recently assessed its influence on legistlators during this year’s session and outlined a plan for 2007.

The partnership comprises the Alliance of Delray Residential Associations, the West Boca Community Council and the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations and plans to reach out and invite similar organizations in northwest Broward County to join. The group represents nearly 300 communities and about 500,000 residents. The West Boca council, which has 115 members, was formed in 1980, and a year later came the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations, which has 79 members representing about 100,000 people. In 1994, the areas west of Delray Beach organized into The Alliance of Delray Residential Associations, which represents communities that are home to 70,000 people.Community leaders hope those numbers, along with memberships to larger organizations such as the Florida Coalition of Community Associations, pull weight with legislators.

Rob Schulbaum, president of Alliance of Delray Residential Associations, said, “We had some influence in keeping the bills with punitive actions against condo and HOAs from being passed.”

Introductions of bills limiting the powers of condo and HOAs since 2004 included several restricting the power associations have to enforce many of their laws, including collecting past dues or fining homeowners for violations. Schulbaum said, “Our fear is that these bills will pass next year.” A big current issue is over insurance not being renewed for communities.

HOA and CONDO laws

FL OFFICIALS DECIDE CONDOS MUST HAVE GENERATORS and HOAS CAN CONTINUE OPERATING WITHOUT RESERVE FUND TO PAY EMERGENCY CLEANUP AND OTHER EXPENSES
While the lack of reserves last year forced many association to impose huge special assessments on owners, the mandatory HOAs can continue operating without a reserve fund to pay emergency cleanup and other expenses.

High-rise condos must install sprinklers in hallways and lobbies by 2013, and associations must provide a generator for at least one elevator in each building by 2007 for at least 5 days after a disaster, so that the elderly and infirm residents won’t again get trapped on upper floors.

The length of time a condo owner or association can file suit against the buildrer for construction defects has been reduced from 15 years to 10 years.
State condo law is 93 pages, compared with 30 pages for the homeowner law. Governor Jeb Bush has ordered the state Department of Business & Professional Regulation to recommend by October 1st whether the state should consider combining laws for all “common interest communities,” include HOAs, condos, co-ops and timeshares.

Palm Beach County studies slightly larger cut in property taxes

Palm Beach County studies slightly larger cut in property taxes

A proposal to cut property taxes by 2% has been upped to a proposal to cut by 3% bby Commissioner Mary McCarty, with residents with homestead exemptions having no change in their county tax bills. The 3% tax rate cut would offset the rise in property values, with homeowners paying $4.30 for every $1000 in assessed values instead of the current $4.45.

Public hearings on the budget are set for July with voting in September. The 2006 budget was $3.9-billion; the 2007 budget calls for a $4.3-billion spending plan.
With a 21% spike in property values, about $100-million in extra revenues was created, even after McCarty’s proposed tax rate cut. Property value growth is expected to slow in 2007 due to a softened real estate market.

The Economic Council of Palm Beach County submitted a letter saying the tax rate reductions being discussed aren’t enough, considering the county has benefited from a soaring real estate market in recent years.
A 9% property tax cut was voted on for Broward County, although new projects proposed there might eat deeply into that tax cut.

Grants Received for Planting New Trees

Four Boynton Beach areas have received grant money to replace trees destroyed in hurricanes Frances, Jeanne and Wilma. A contractor hired by the non-profit environmental grant group, Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful, Inc., will do the planting, and recipients will maintain the trees.

Brighton Lakes, a 124-home development on Military Trail north of Woolbright, lost pines, oaks and palms, and received nearly $10,000 from the 30 new trees will be planted at it’s Military Trail entrance. As a result of recent hurricanes this community has borne a heavy price for tree loss. Hurricane Wilma resulted in loss of new trees that had been planted after previous hurricanes.

Boynton Beach High School received 21 new trees in early 2004 from the group,
Some of which were lost in the hurricanes, so the school applied for a $10,000 reforestation grant to put new trees throughout the campus.

Forty-one trees will be planted at a passive 2 ½ acre park under construction at State Road A1A and Woolbright Road in Ocean Ridge where Hurricane Wilma destroyed or damaged strangler figs and palm trees.

Funds were also received for new trees along the Federal Highway medians in Boynton Beach. The City, as well, is contributing $11,970 for 31 new trees along the medians.

Glenda Hall, forestry and grounds manager for Boynton Beach, said the planting must go on. "You have to continue forward like it's OK," said Hall, who added that trees aren't only for looks. They clean and cool the air and break up wind so that it doesn't hit buildings with full force, she said. "People don't realize that trees are a benefit when it comes to hurricanes," Hall said.As part of its $150,000 Hurricane Reforestation Program, to provide 460 new storm-tolerant trees in publicly visible areas of the county, the group chose 16 locations throughout Palm Beach County to receive money to restore tree canopy. Each project will total $10,000 or less.

Pets Get Shelter from Hurricanes in Palm Beach County

County officials on Thursday said the West Boynton Recreation Center on Jog Road would be the safe haven for 300 people, 240 dogs, 400 cats, 250 birds and small "pocket pets" (e.g., gerbils) during a storm. The county's original plan was to pair owners and their pets at schools, which serve as hurricane shelters, but the School Board rejected it because of concerns about sanitation and sickness. Pets and their owners would stay in separate areas of the 22,000-square-foot recreation center. Estimates show there are about 450,000 pets in the county.

The shelter will be available primarily to county residents who live in mandatory evacuation zones or mobile homes. Pet owners living outside evacuation zones would be allowed to stay if there were space.

The county is spending about $170,000 for shutters, a generator and other supplies for the recreation center, said Vince Bonvento, assistant county administrator. It should be ready sometime in July, but it is not considered a long-term solution. County officials, plan to prove how smoothly a pet shelter can be run. The county is ordering cages in case owners show up without them, or bring the wrong size for their pets, Bonvento said.

County Commissioner Addie Greene, herself a dog owner, was pleased the county found a facility just as hurricane season revs up. "It's perfect timing," she said. "I'm really thinking about senior citizens. They can't just pick up and leave like younger people can. They don't know where to go and have enough on their minds than to worry about their only friend."Plans call for owners and pets to leave the shelter after the storm passes. People whose homes are uninhabitable would be given some consideration."We'll take a look on a case-by-case basis," she said.

NEW DOWNTOWN AREA

The new downtown area will offer a yachting marina, outdoor performance square and exhibit of kinetic art sculptures. Promenade Park, a natural preserve, will provide scenic walking and jogging trails bordering the ICW and Pedestrian Promenade, and interconnecting walkway, and will link the city's 40-acre Mangrove Nature Walk and RiverWalk with the marina and performance square.