New, Simpler Closing Documents

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On August 1, things change across the USA for buyers and sellers of real estate. In short, consumers will have three closing documents reduced into two, the Loan Estimate and a Closing Disclosure. The idea is to simplify, making understanding the documentation easier for all.

Here is my short summary of what to expect:

1) The new documents now require for Buyers and Sellers to have 72 hours to review them, so no last minute rushes to the closing table.

2) It is very likely that when August 1 rolls around there will be delays with closings, as all parties, including title companies and lenders get used to the new rules and regulations.

3) I see the new forms as a tremendous positive for consumers. The layout and clarity of the information is vastly superior (in my mind) to the prior documents.

Incredible Resource for Business Owners

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FPL has licensed some pretty powerful business intelligence information and is giving it away for free during a trial period.

FPL's Director of Business Development External Affairs Lynn Pitts (center in photo) spoke to the Palmetto Bay Downtown Redevelopment Task Force today and explained how poweringflorida.com can show business owners incredible information about how their business stacks up against other like local, regional and statewide businesses.

You can also plan effective advertising campaigns, research competition and look at tons of demographic data points.

REMEMBER, you heard it here FIRST!  Try it out!

Miami-Dade County To Raise Trash Pick-Up Fee

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Each additional green container you have will cost $79.50 per year. A letter will go out to homes that outline to owners their option to retain or cancel additional waste cart service.

The County’s 311 Answer Center is taking customer service calls related to the program through a dedicated telephone line: 305-499-8773. Residents are encouraged to call this number or visit https://www.miamidade.gov/global/solidwaste/home.page for further information.

US Home Price Increases Slowing...

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U.S. home prices rose at a faster year-over-year pace in October than in September, snapping a seven-month slowdown.

Real estate data provider CoreLogic said Tuesday that prices increased 6.1 percent in October compared with 12 months earlier. That was up from September's year-over-year increase of 5.6 percent.

Still, home values are rising more slowly than they were earlier this year, when 12-month gains were averaging nearly double their current pace.

Global Luxury Home Price Stats

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According to Knight Frank, one Florida city, Miami, ranked seventh worldwide for its increase in luxury home prices. In the U.S., three other cities – Los Angeles (No. 2), San Francisco (No. 5) and New York (No. 11) also ranked high in the 33 markets studied.

In Miami, luxury home prices rose 16.3 percent year-to-year in September, though they fell 3.6 percent over six months and were down 4.1 percent year-to-year.

Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Town Hall Meeting

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How much is your property worth and why?

Miami-Dade County's Property Appraiser, Lazaro Solis, invites you to our October Town Hall Meeting.

TOWN HALL MEETING
Wednesday, October 29, 2014 at 6:00 pm
Arcola Lakes Library, Meeting Room
8240 NW 7 Avenue, Miami, FL 33150

We'll show you how we arrived at your property's value and your estimated property taxes. Staff from the Property Appraiser's Office will be available for one-on-one meetings to help answer any specific questions you may have. We hope to see you there!

Please note that our office hosts Town Hall Meetings on a monthly basis. You may check our webpage periodically (http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/calendar.asp) for future meetings. Thank you.

For more details, visit www.miamidade.gov/pa, facebook.com/MiamiDadePA, twitter.com/MiamiDadePA or
call (305) 375-4712.

Halloween in Palmetto Bay

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Come out to Coral Reef Park (SW 152 Street & 77 Avenue) on October 31 starting at 6PM to take part in a FREE safe and fun alternative to neighborhood trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Get your scary costume and crazy wig ready as dozens of community partners join with Palmetto Bay's elected officials to hand out candy and stickers for trick-or-treaters.

Kids and adults dressed in their best Halloween costume will be automatically eligible to receive a raffle ticket to win great prizes. The pros at the Coral Reef Tennis Center also are hosting games and activities on the tennis courts for all to enjoy -- with great prizes.

The evening's main event is a Movie Night showing (at about 7 pm.) of "Hotel Transylvania". MiamiHal will be handing out FREE popcorn sponsored by Regal Theaters. Last year I handed out over 400 bags. This year the goal is 500+.  See you there!

Palmetto Bay Fire House

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Late night debate about two sites for a new firehouse in the northeast section of the Village of Palmetto Bay. Final vote is for approving the Farmer Road location but also looking at the Presbyterian site across the street on October 20. According to M-D Fire/Rescue both the USDA and Chapman Field sites are not possible and the former FPL site is not currently available. So it's down to Farmer Road or the Presbyterian site. Both are under contract by Fire-Rescue.