The fact that Miami-Dade County Public Schools won the nationally coveted Broad Prize is great news for the county as a whole. Items that businesses consider when relocating are labor/workforce and quality of life issues, both of which include education. Congratulations to MDCPS’ students, teachers, school board, and especially to the talented superintendent, Alberto Carvalho. His vision for the future has resulted in innovated programs to help students and teachers succeed and in improving the overall quality of education in this county. He and the school board have managed to achieve this while over $290 million have been cut from the budget over the last three years.
I have written several posts about short sales and the benefits of short selling versus a foreclosure. An article in the Miami Herald last month stated that a short sale can cause a person’s FICO score to drop by 150 points or more, thereby making it difficult for the seller to borrow in the future. This is true, but the hit of a foreclosure is even higher.
The Peacock Garden Cafe in Coconut Grove is the answer to Where’s J Wo September 29 outing. The whimsical decor and beautiful gardens make it feel like you are eating at a friend’s house instead of at a restaurant. It is the perfect place for outdoor dining, especially when our cooler weather arrives!
The lush, gated entrance to these 18 single family homes, is located just off of 77 Avenue in Pinecrest. The Hollub-built homes were constructed between 1988 and 1993 and range from between 3,000 to just under 4,000 square feet. Located in northwest Pinecrest, Arabasque has wonderful access to U.S. 1 and the Palmetto, and is walking distance to parks, Miami Palmetto Senior High School, shops and restaurants. The quarter acre lots make these homes some of the most affordable single family homes in a gated community. The last home sold in Arabesque sold in May of 2012 for $652,000 or $174 per square foot. The annual maintenance for homes in this gated community is $1700.
I saw an interesting report on Christopher Columbus that basically described him as a great explorer who, though he did not land in America, has a national holiday celebrating him. Given his treatment of Native Americans and the fact that many explorers before him did land in America, there has been a small movement to rename Columbus Day Exploration Day in honor of all explorers. What do you think?
South Florida doesn’t have fall leaves to indicate our move into fall, but October is when we start getting occasional cool days. October is also Miami Attractions Month, which is offering Buy-One-Get-One-Free deals to many of our local attractions. There are also other free events going on throughout the month. So get out and enjoy South Florida!
A green corridor comprised of Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Coral Gables, Miami and Miami Shores has been formed to assist in financing energy related improvements to property. Formaly named The Property Assessed Clean Energy District (PACE), this new corridor will enable businesses and residents to finance energy related improvements to their properties through a special assessment on their property. This program is strictly voluntary and provides a list of contractors as well as energy efficiency assessments. If you can save money on your electric bill, would you take advantage of this program?
I want to preface this blog with the statement that I did not wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. As a matter of fact, I had a perfect morning. Woke up before the sun was up, had coffee, read the paper, had a nice long walk with the dog, chatted with other neighborhood walkers and came back home to start work. While I was leafing through my daily Google alerts, I came across a listing in Pinecrest. I clicked on the link and was immediately familiar with one of Josie Wang’s listings. It happens to be a modern home in Pinecrest at 9500 SW 60 Ct., and is just around the corner from my house.
9500 SW 60 Ct., Pinecrest
As I scrolled through the link, I did not see anything that mentioned Josie or AVATAR, her broker. I know that a lot of agents and brokers have a myriad of websites, blogs, and aggregators (such as Trulia and Zillow) in order to promote their listings and maximize a seller’s internet exposure. However, I also know that most agents and brokers clearly advertise themselves on these pages as well, so I immediately realized that this was someone hijacking Josie’s listing as their own. Sure enough, when I scrolled to the very bottom of the page, the last line read that the listing was AVATAR’s. I can assure you, I am going to be one of the few who reads that very last line. I immediately sent an e-mail to Josie and contacted leaders in the Miami Realtors Association. This is an increasingly common occurrence that needs to be stopped.
This exact thing happened to Carole Smith, a Realtor in my same EWM office. Carole took action on the hijacking of her listing and I applaud her and urge all Realtors and sellers do the same. Even though she is extremely busy, she took the time out to file a complaint, blog about the issue and post the blog on her Facebook page. The feedback and frustration she heard back from other agents and individuals shows how rapidly this unscrupulous practice is spreading.
Why should you care?
1) If you are a Realtor, it should be obvious. As a listing agent, we spend hundreds to thousands of dollars to develop a marketing strategy as unique as each property. This includes pictures, videos, and verbiage to highlight the property. We also take time to get to know other features about the property and the neighborhood it is in. When someone takes that information and passes it off as their own, it should be the same as plagiarism or copyright infringement.
2) If you are a seller, number one above applies to you as does the following: the listing agent has information that may need to be shared with a buyer or buyer’s agent but that isn’t specified in the marketing literature. If the hijacker is passing your property off as being their listing, you have no control over what they are saying to hook the buyer. The listing agent also has spent the time getting to know you, your home, neighborhood and the specific properties that make your home special. This added knowledge helps you get the most money for your home and allows for disclosure of issues that may affect the buyer upon their purchase, thereby avoiding potential problems after the sale.
3) If you are a buyer BEWARE. The main reason these agents/brokers hijack other agent/broker listings is to find you! Some of them may be new in the business, focus on buyer representation vs listings, or simply not have enough of their own listings. If they clearly acknowledge that this listing is another agent’s/broker’s, most agent’s have no problem with the practice of having their listings posted on another agent’s website or blog. Most of us want the maximum exposure for our listings and are happy to “share” (that is basically what IDX is about) our listings to get them sold faster and at market price, which is the price you and the seller agree to.
If these hijackers act unethically with their own peers, is this someone you want representing you in your purchase, when your money is on the line?
The fact that Miami-Dade County Public Schools won the nationally coveted Broad Prize is great news for the county as a whole. Items that businesses consider when relocating are labor/workforce and quality of life issues, both of which include education. Congratulations to MDCPS’ students, teachers, school board, and especially to the talented superintendent, Alberto Carvalho. His vision for the future has resulted in innovated programs to help students and teachers succeed and in improving the overall quality of education in this county. He and the school board have managed to achieve this while over $290 million have been cut from the budget over the last three years.
