Florida Real Estate Blog

The new Hope for Homeowners bill will come into effect Oct 1 of this year but it has a few gates you must pass through. They are 1. must have purchased your home before January 1, 2008 2. Your monthly payment including interest, taxes and insurance must be over 31% of your income.  But the biggest gate is the program is voluntary so your lender must be willing to participate. 

Additional help can be found at ACORN counselors can help over the phone 877-33ACORN.

Consumer Credit Counseling Services 407-895-8886

HANDS Housing and Neighborhood Development Services of Central Florida 407-447-5686 or www.cflhands.org.

HopeNow.com  goverment led alliance of lenders.

Under no circumstance do you move out of your home or let your home insurance expire. Both actions can cost you big time.

Good article today in the Orlando Sentinel by Anika Myers Palm. If you suffered any storm damage review your insurance policy to make sure you are covered. Wind related damage is covered where rising water is not unless you have a separate National Flood Insurance policy.

Next start the claims process quickly.

If its safe to go back into your home take photos of obvious damage and make a list of lost, destroyed or damaged items.

Make any minor repairs you can to protect your home from further damage.

Don’t discard anything until your insurer’s claims representative has had a chance to see the damage.

Get an independent repair estimate from a licensed contractor and beware of scam artists offering to do the work.

If you think your insurer isn’t handling your claim properly ask how the company handles disputes and follow those steps. Also consider contacting the Florida Insurance Consumer Advocates at fldfs.com/ica or 800=342-2762. Be safe and enjoy our beautiful State.

August 18, 2008 8AM Rock Springs Ridge Golf Club.

Today the field of competition will begin on the North course and our back nine will be on the South course. That is a track that only two of our competitors have ever played. We will also move to the White Tees to test the theory of playing from the tees that best represent your handicap.

Lou and JR tied on the 1^st hole and then a rare event occurred on the very next hole with all four of our competitors recording par. The third tee box conversation was had regarding the shorter tees and it was agreed to complete this round and then move back to the Blue tees for the remainder of the year at RSR. Our long bombers record 3 triple bogies on that hole and wonder why do we need to go longer? CW vaults into the lead with a bogie. He then chips one in on number 4 for a birdie to add to his lead. Lou records a par on the same hole but one gets the feeling it maybe CW’s day. But we have all heard of the PBFU well CW had one with a snow man on the next hole advantage swings to Lou as he is playing well tee to green and really rolling the ball well. CW settles down and plays well coming in to take the lead with a 44 on the front. Lou and Greg are 3 back and JR who has lost his driver and putter over the last 3 rounds trails them by 5.

Onto the South course. Long par 5 that sees JR and Lou double Greg makes bogie with CW who hit a great shot from 50 yards out to within 1 inch of the hole. Yes, he did make the put. Next hole sees Greg catching CW when he finds himself in all sorts of trouble after a great drive. So at this point it is any bodies for the taking. JR records a par on the next whole and starts to believe he may comeback. CW lags a great put to prevent a triple bogie on that same hole. The 13^th sees Lou nail a long drive to the middle of the fairway while Greg comes back to the field. Lou’s par places him in first by 1 over Greg which he gives back on the next hole. So we step up to the 15^th all tied with Greg and Lou looks like Houdine is going to do it again. A discussion was heard early in the back nine about CW and his machine having all 4 wheels working well. Time would tell if any of them would come off. That is what happened to the Mann as CW near and by the time we walked off the 16^th CW was in second by 2. Oh yeah, Lou has been playing well Tee to green and putting well (oh you heard that before) well he is a strong leader at this point leading CW by 2. JR is licking wounds and looking for another day in the sun. He is coaching CW as this competition is a total points at the end of the year and if you are going to lose you must try to limit the spread of points. If it ends right now JR gets 0, Greg 2 and CW 5 with the Champion Lou gathering his 2^nd win and a 10 point surge. So you know JR is pulling for CW.

On to a short par 3 Lou flirts with disaster when he drives a line drive into trees but it is his day as the ball kicks left into a bunker instead of OB. He and CW record bogies while JR and Greg get their pars. Greg is suffering from the heat but he sees CW just in front of him with a final hole to garner a tie. Greg and Lou hit great tee shots while JR and CW do not. CW hits a great 2^nd shot and looks like a lock for bogie, Greg is off the green in 3 while CW is on the front of the green with the same count. Both role puts and are in the same area of the green. Greg just outside of CW but on the same line, putts first and makes. Nothing worse, in golf than having the same line and the guy in front of you makes. The hole actually reduces to the size of a dime for your putt. It is only a vision in your mind. If you hit the putt to the back of the hole, you win. If you don’t your putt stops inches from going in. Yep that’s how our Creator/Inventor/Rule Maker/Grand Poobah ended his very fine round of golf today. He and Greg split 2^nd and 3^rd points. Steady Lou brought it home. He called it in the early morning dawn when he saw JR. Cocky as he always is. “I came here so you could buy me lunch”. Well stick that in your cigar and smoke it. JR did not buy Lou’s lunch today. He had to run off and show some properties, he will save that event for a later day. Enjoy, Lou you played well, but the Golf Gods will not be mocked. FYI – I have a cast iron driver for sale.

August 14, 2008 7:48AM Erroll Estates Golf Club

Heavy rains swept through the area early in the morning and provide a rather wet canvas for today’s competition. Greg and JR met at the practice facility to loosen up and refine shot making while Lou arrived JIT and all four where seen on the first fairway of the Highlands course at 7:55 this fine day.

Mr. Mann succeed in taking the first hole by 1 over JR. He has been very hot lately winning 5 out of the last 8 matches. Someone needs to step up and start playing or Greg will run away with this Cup in no time. On to the 2^nd hole and drivers where all well struck but CW found himself in jail yet he executed a great shot between trees and found his 2^nd in fine shape on the fairway. Greg’s 3^rd shot landed softly on the green within 10’ of the cup he would go on and make birdie to take that hole by one over Lou. The 3par had that number of pars recorded with CW hitting a great shot off a side hill lie to score bogie. The 4^th was pared again by Greg and Lou that put Greg at even par through 4. It seems that JR’s discussion on White verses Blue Tees really did make sense but we won’t go there in this blog. The long par 5 provided only one bogie and that would be CW. On to the 6^th where CW and Lou hammer drives with Lou on in regulation CW was OB on his second. JR and Lou would tie with bogies on that hole. The par 3, 7^th found Greg back on Par and in a strong position on the overall match. 8^th and 9^th where played evenly by Greg and Lou and as the turn was made it was Greg in the lead with a 43 followed by Lou 3 back JR 3 back of Lou and CW 4 back of JR.

The back nine today would be the Lake course and foul weather is predicted by our crack meteorologist Lou Buttice. Drives where well hit when a controversy occurs between carts on the actual score on the front 9. Seems a reversal of scores on the 5^th hole occurred between Greg and CW it was a tense period of time as no one wants to give or take a stroke in this very competitive field of play. Yet when the hole was completed all parties where chums again. For the record CW won the 10^th but we will not share the score. 11^th was tied with Greg and Lou it is clearly becoming a battle within carts on who will land in what position today. The 3par 12^th found Lou offering a ball to the neighbors yet his double bogie only found him falling back 1 stroke. This is where the weather turned foul. JR was on the tee when the Gail began to blow and hit drive into the weeds on the right he had to use his provisional and Lou opened up a big lead on JR with a par on the 13^th.

The wind and rains are upon us at this time yet no lighting. Greg is hoping that we can continue as we have a rule to be an official round we must complete 16. Weather gear is on and we play on. The server weather only lasted 3 holes and Greg and Lou played even from 12 to the 16^th. So now the match is official, no sun yet but the beaming smile on the Mann is bright enough for all. Still two to play but Greg is solid with a 6 stroke lead. In the other cart it is a battle as CW is tied with JR and playing quite well. It seems to be his day. Yet he must hit a drive on the 18^th. Yes this is the same hole where he used his broken driver to drop numerous shots into the hazard. Today is another day and he hits a stinger across the hazard no more than 6’ above the top of the cattails but it races up the hill in the center of the fairway, advantage CW. JR finds himself in a washout area and best he can do is advance to within 150 of the green. CW goes on to beat JR by 1 for third. Greg is our winner with a 90 Lou at 8 back. Our next competition will be held at Rock Springs Ridge this coming Monday as our boys are all headed out somewhere over the next couple of weeks. So limited play will be seen.

Jim & Maggie are so proud of their youngest daughter Maggie after she successfully passed her state exam. She has been engaged in the Real Estate business for the last 4 years but has become one of the youngest Licensed Realtors in the Orlando Area.

Jim feels that Maggie has always added an aggressive attitude in assisting young singles and families that are looking for a home. She understands the issues that young people are confronted with in acquiring a mortgage and covering the closing costs and down payments. She has a strong team of lenders that will assist her buyers in qualifying for a loan, if credit challenged developing a 6 month plan to help them get into a home.

Mother Mag is thrilled to see their daughter join the team and feels it is a great time to help all the young folks get into their first home. Call Maggie today to see how she can help you develop your dream.

August 8, 2008 Sweetwater County Club 8:15AM

Everyone can barely contain themselves in anticipation of the open of the Olympics this evening. That even includes our trusty band of competitors although for them this morning’s competition has far more interest. Who shall own the bragging rights for the next week?

The first hole is split by Greg and JR with bogies, then Lou putts on a golf exhibition on the 2^nd (hardest hole on the course from the blues) as he goes on to record a par. Outstanding ball striking tee to green in regulation. JR and Greg get one back on the 3^rd

with Greg winning the 4^th as JR 3 putts from 10’. The 5^th had Lou and JR in the trees while CW and Greg managed bogies. On to our favorite par 3 6^th where JR’s drive up the middle of the ladies aid offers him no more than a tie with Lou and Greg. The 7^th generated some big numbers for Lou and CW while JR bounced the ball around but made a long putt for a bogie to tie Greg. Onto the final par 3 of the front 9 (yep they have 3 par 3’s on the front) and what a mess this group of wanna be Tennis players made. CW and Lou find water off the tee while JR and Greg show their golfing wisdom by hitting layups only to put their 2^nd shots in the same water. These guys really need to find a new sport.

So when the dust settles CW wins the hole with a bogie. The 9^th provided all four competitors a different venue as each of them found unique lies all along the par 5. As they make the turn all 4 record 7’s. Greg is leading by 2 over Lou who is out in front of JR by two CW is 2 back of him.

Let it be noted one par on the front nine…. Tennis anyone…. The 10^th was won by JR but he cannot buy a par. The 2^nd hardest hole is number 11 and our boys played it just that way. Three 9’s where recorded and Greg opened up his lead recording only a bogie. 12 saw Lou recording his 2^nd par of the round and he is starting to believe he can catch the Mann. The 13^th provided CW with his opportunity in the sun and he rolled a great putt for par. 15^th Greg extended his lead with another bogie. JR won the 15^th onto the 16^th with thunderstorms rumbling the boys must get it in to register a win for Greg. It was played well by Lou and Greg for bogies and then the rains came on us. The group huddled under some trees on the 17^th tee box for 30 minutes until the rain passed and they played

on. At this time the winner has been set and all that remains is to decide who will be 2^nd and 3^rd. Lou was not to be denied today as his putter brought him home for 2^nd place just 2 back of Greg. Mr. Mann surely had a few anxious moments going from 17 to 18. JR was third and the very kind CW hosted Greg for lunch. Oh let it be noted that CW finished 4^th last week but did not host the winner JR for lunch. So JR is holding a LTBD card on CW which he will forego if we change the rules as Greg suggested today. I would also suggest we invoke the inside the rap rule we played with today to speed play. Remember it is not the Triumph but the Struggle.

Rolling Hills Golf Club 8/1/08 7:30 AM

The rains have been coming on a regular basis as of late and the course was rather moist when our Band of Competitors arrived today. Greg raced by to find JR on his favorite practice facility there at number 16 and all teed off on time.

JR continues to have issues (as CW would put it) with Driver and posts an 8 on the first with some very strange ball flight. Greg on the other hand nails a par followed by Lou and the CW. 2^nd both Greg and Lou bogie while JR and CW double. On to the 3^rd where drives find some rather interesting lies but 3 of the 4 record bogie. It seems that this day will be a battle of carts. Lou and Greg are pulling away from JR and CW yet by the time we walk of the 7^th green the entire match has flipped with JR and CW taking the lead but only by 1 stroke. What is with this competition anyway? All boogied 8 and they all played the 9^th well with Greg registering another par but it was our CEO/Founder that would make the turn in the lead by two over JR and Lou. Greg was but 3 back of them.

The 10^th was a challenge for all with JR taking the hole with a bogie. Greg had a root redirected ball hit the middle of the road and looked like it surely was headed out of bounds only to take another bounce and come back into play. That is why he has earned the name Houdini. So on we go to 11^th a lovely par 3 over water. CW found the Water and then hit his third shot into the hazard to join JR. While Greg an Lou looked solid with two shots around the green. So at the end of 11 the game is getting close. CW gave up the lead and JR and Lou are tied. The 12^th at RHGC has its place in history as they hole where more tournaments have been lost than any other hole on the course. What makes that even more interesting is it is only the 4^th hardest holes on the golf course. Be that as it may let’s get on with it.

JR hits a short drive while Greg and Chuck find themselves on the left side of the fairway under a big oak. No way can they reach the green. Lou is solid in the middle. JR hits a lay up 110 yards from the green while Greg attempts to fly the creek. Which he just barely does but in a sever lie. CW hits a great shot to with 30 ft of the Green and Lou launches a high flyer but it is cutting left and misses the green. JRs 3^rd is solid on the green while Greg’s looks well struck but does not carry the hazard. He is forced to hit the ball back down the hazard to get enough room to chip on to the green, which he does and records only a 7 which is tied by Lou. JR and CW 5’s move them into the lead. The 13^th found CW with a par to take sole possession of the lead. Much talk was had on the 14^th about the future history to be written on CW’s exploits of this day. But alas talk is talk, we play on.

Lou, CW and Greg all find their drives out by the bunker. JR on the other hand dinks a drive past the ladies tee in to very high rough. His second goes no more than 9’ and it seems that CW is assured a win on this fine day. Lou is in the bunker and dinks one out while Greg and CW hit strong 2^nd shots. They and JR are 124 out, they in two JR in 4 while Lou is 3 but under a tree. Opps a rhyme. The remainder will stay within our tight group. Let it be recorded Greg with a 5 Chuck 6 JR 7 and Lou 8. Funny how we find different ways to manufacture extra shots. On to 15 Greg is closing and we all know this is the end of the Mann corner, so we must all hang on. To the tee strolls the Mann with new equipment. Buy the way it was rumored that CW was unwrapping his new wardrobe during this 25^th match. Let it be known it did not occur. Seems he was concerned about SWEAT. Anyway Greg has invested in a new 3metal for this hole and hits a fine shot. CW in control by two shots hits one to the left. Lou steps up with his crusty old 3 iron and flys all three drives. He is the man. 2^nd shots from around 100 yards resulted in Greg left of green, Lou bunker front CW in rough right and JR 1^st cut back. So if you’re the betting sort surely it’s JR for par right? That is why I don’t bet. Lou hits perfect sand shot within inches of the hole. Go figure how does he do that just a day over 50? Yet JR does move into first place as CW records a 6. It is amazing how these 4 players with so diverse golf skills can consistently score so close.

On to 16^th JR in the lead by 2 over CW Greg is one back and Lou is two back. Given these three closing holes this is anyone’s match. Lou decides it is his day and attempts to fly the tree but his ball hooks left, still a good shot at the 150. Greg and CW hit strong drives through the fairway into very thin lie. We discuss Greg’s lie as it is hittable but could cause injury and decide as a team to allow a slight movement to an area that has no visible roots. He and CW hit short shots to get out from the trees. JR is beyond the trap on an uphill lie and hits a lay up. CW has a Chilli Dipper Attack at the worst possible time. Score the hole JR & Greg 5, Lou 6 CW 7.

Remember back on the 14^th tee box about the much talk. The Mann is a subtle mind player where Lou is an in your face mind player. They where both working their magic this day and CW was under their spell. If our CEO is ever to have his name etched upon that great big Belt Buckle he must find a way to tune them out and stay in the present. Oh yeah he must learn the rules also. Ok, instead CW have a label made and you can stick it on the belt for a photo opp before you had it off to the next Champion.

On the 17^th everyone still believes they can win this one. Even if you don’t win there are points to be acquired. JR hits into the hazard while Lou finds bunker and the rest of the boys are on the fairway. All eyes are on JR as his ball sits deep in the hazard. Yep the same hazard CW registered two penalty strokes a few matches ago. JR hits a strong shot onto the green to remove the expectation of coming back to field at large. Lou does as he did earlier in the round hit a great sand shot and makes the putt for par. To the 18^th, JR leading by 2 then CW Greg 1 back and Lou 1 back of Greg. So it is anyone’s match. Some how you get the feeling that we are about to see the amateur Greg Norman implode.

On the Tee box JR and Greg hit solid shots. Lou catches a tree but he is delivered back into the fairway. CW sets his ball, take his position and then bumps the ball off the tee. Much talk is had about this infraction and Greg produces the rule book to show that he incurs a 1 stroke penalty. CW in turn hits his 2^nd shot off the tee box. And proceeds to record a 9. (yes water was in the picture). Lou caught a tree on the right then a bunker to record a 7. Greg pushed his 2^nd right, and recorded a 6. JR hit 3^rd into the same bunker as Lou. He got up and down in 3 for the win. Greg played consistently down the final holes to finish 2^nd followed by Lou. CW had issues, you must maintain focus as you bring it home. He played well today for 13 holes. Alas it is an 18 hole competition.