Okay, so you don’t really think of country music when you think of Miami. We are more well known for the house and trans music played by DJs at our great clubs or at Ultra and the Winter Music Festival. However, if you are a country music fan or just want to try a different scene, head to the Round Up Country and Western Bar in Davie. They have a large dance floor and their stage gets the live performers literally in with the crowd.
If you did not wait in line for early voting or request an absentee ballot, make sure you take the time to vote today. My daughter was so excited to be able to vote for her first time, I hope all registered voters feel the same!
1. Movie screening of “Last of the Haussmans” at Coral Gables Art Cinema [youtube width=”425″ height=”344″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGM-1bh-HN0&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
2. Early voting starts Saturday. The ballot is long, so know how you are going to vote on everything before you go so you don’t add to long lines. Pack your patience!
3. Deering Estate’s Wine On Harvest Moon is Saturday night.
4. South Florida’s Jazz Orchestra’s, Great American Songbook is at Pinecrest Gardens on Saturday night
5. Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is going on Friday-Monday. Fireworks and flyover scheduled for Sunday.
6. Gables Bike Day is on Sunday from 10 a.m to 4 p.m
1. Movie screening of “Last of the Haussmans” at Coral Gables Art Cinema [youtube width=”425″ height=”344″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGM-1bh-HN0&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
2. Early voting starts Saturday. The ballot is long, so know how you are going to vote on everything before you go so you don’t add to long lines. Pack your patience!
3. Deering Estate’s Wine On Harvest Moon is Saturday night.
4. South Florida’s Jazz Orchestra’s, Great American Songbook is at Pinecrest Gardens on Saturday night
5. Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is going on Friday-Monday. Fireworks and flyover scheduled for Sunday.
6. Gables Bike Day is on Sunday from 10 a.m to 4 p.m
I attended a very informative windstorm insurance session at the Miami Realtors Association this afternoon. The presentation by Lee Gorodetsky, The Home Insurance Guru and President of L & S Insurance, was my third insurance update of the year because that is how much of a moving target Florida insurance has become.
So why is property insurance a more important issue than taxes in South Florida? It is not because hurricane Sandy is churning off the coast of our neighbors in the Bahamas. It is because we only have a sales tax and property tax, no state income tax and Citizens, what has been the major insurer in Florida, is so grossly overexposed that it is changing all of the rules to minimize it’s exposure if The Big One hits.
In Miami, property insurance prices for a primary or secondary home range from 1-3% of the replacement cost of the home, calculated by multiplying the living area square footage by $135 for an average standard home. Luxury homes would use a higher dollar amount. The 1% is for homes built after 2006 that receive all of the current wind mitigation credits. Most homes are closer to the 3% range. Property insurance runs at about 2% of the purchase price and as long as you have homestead exemptions, it cannot go up more than 3% or CPI per year, whichever is lower.
The rates on Citizens insurance are expected to increase dramatically next year to raise money to try to close the gap they have between their reserves and their risk exposure. They will also be dropping an estimated 300,000 policies, mostly in south Florida.
There are three amendments relating to property taxes on this November’s ballot and not one amendment addressing insurance.
Related Post: Hurricane Insurance: Will It Be The Next Shoe To Drop In The Recovering Real Estate Market
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.
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!
HistoryMiami Wine Down Wednesdays
Okay, this one is probably too easy!
Okay, this one is probably too easy!