REPORT SAYS ALLOWING PETS IN CONDOS HAS POSITIVE RAMIFICATION ON PRICES

California enacted a law effective January 2001 that permits each owner in common interest developments, such as condos and mobile home parks, to keep at least one pet, subject to reasonable rules of the homeowners' association. Efforts are under way in Florida to adopt similar legislation, led by a group called Citizens for Pets in Condos.  On their site you can sign a petition to allow pets in condos.  Their Mission Statement: Citizens for Pets in Condos, Inc. educates the public on the health benefits of animal companionship and about responsible pet ownership in order to increase acceptance of companion animals in common interest ownership communities.  We believe that association rules should concentrate on irresponsible pet owners, allowing a win-win situation for responsible animal guardians and animals who would otherwise be needlessly euthanized. 

The idea is that pets generally provide emotional support for homeowners.  A recent report co-authored by Charles Carter, Ph.D., specialist in real estate analysis with many years of experience as a professor, real estate lawyer and appraiser and Tim Allen, professor and director of the Real Estate Center at the College of Charleston, which found allowing pets in condos has a positive effect on condominium prices in the South Florida condo market.

NEW SECURE COMMUNITIES PROGRAM ID’S CRIMINAL ALIENS IN FLORIDA TO REMOVE THEM FROM THE US

US Immigration/Customs (ICE) and Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement (FDLE) are using new fingerprinting method to identify legal and illegal criminal aliens and to remove them from the United States.  A “criminal alien” is defined as an alien convicted of a crime.  Fingerprints are used that are taken when these criminals entered prison and when they entered the US.  This enables local law enforcement partners to know as much as possible about the people in their custody by quickly and accurate identification.

The new SECURE COMMUNITIES program now checks fingerprints against both FBI criminal history records and a biometrics-based ID system maintained by the Department of Homeland Security.  The purpose of the program is to modernized identifying and removing the most dangerous criminal aliens from the US.  The Program has been activated statewide in Florida and is now being used in 392 jurisdictions in 23 states. It should be available nationwide by 2013. 

ICE is notified thru the fingerprinting process and places a priority on removing aliens convicted of the most serious Level 1 offenses first, for committing violent crimes such as major drug offenses, murder, rape and kidnapping.  The use of biometric technology has greatly improved the ID method.  Using this program, criminal aliens are not released back into our communities when they complete their sentences.

Since October 2008, 22,200 criminal aliens convicted of Level 1 crimes as described above have been removed from the United States, 1800 of them from Florida, and more than 22,200 criminal aliens convicted of Level 2 and 3 crimes have been removed, including burglary and serious property crimes which are the highest amount of crimes committed by aliens. 

Congress provided the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with funding in FY 2008 to “improve and modernize efforts to identify aliens convicted of a crime, sentenced to imprisonment, and who may be deportable, and remove them from the United States once they are judged deportable.”

HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT AND FLOOD INSURANCE EXTENSION PASSED BY SENATE AND HOUSE and SIGNED BY OBAMA

HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT AND FLOOD INSURANCE EXTENSION PASSED BY SENATE AND HOUSE and SIGNED BY OBAMA

HR5623, extending mandatory closing date to qualify for the homebuyer tax credit has extended closing deadline to September 30, 2010 for contracts signed by April 30, 2010.  National Association of Realtors estimates more than 14,000 closings will benefit.

The National Flood Insurance Program has been extended to September 30, 2010, retroactive to May 31, 2010.

BROWSE AND BUY DIRECT FROM ARTISTS, FARMERS, BAKERS on SATURDAYS in DELRAY BEACH

BROWSE AND BUY DIRECT FROM ARTISTS, FARMERS, BAKERS on SATURDAYS in DELRAY BEACH

Every Saturday at the parking lot on the corner of NE 1^st Street and NW 4th Avenue you will find the Village ArtsMart.  Come to the Village ArtsMart and purchase artwork, and recently added produce, bakery items and plants, directly from the vendors.  

Since February, Ann Fulton and Toni Donlan have hosted this event to bring reasonably priced art and food to Delray Beach in summertime.  Fulton’s small white cottage with turquoise trim is in the parking lot.  She has an art studio and creates works of art from antique plates, mirrors and other items.  It is a block from the Pineapple Grove Arts District, and is the central meeting point for artists at the market.  Artists pay $25 for a space and find this is another venue, low priced, for displaying and selling their wares.

CAVALCADE 2010 - RESERVE at POLOCLUB.net FOR SOME WONDERFUL EVENINGS AT POLO

WHAT’S NEW IN THE CAT WORLD

The U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook (2007 Edition), a source for pet statistics, announced in 2007 there were nearly 82MM pet cats and 72 MM pet dogs in the US.  In 2006 the average veterinary expenditure per household for all pets was $366.  In 2006 nearly half of pet owners (49.7%) considered their pets to be family members.

A RECENT New York Times article gave examples for cat owners of a new trend to safely bring their cats outdoors, “CATIOS.”  There are photos and stories about folks who build outdoor fenced areas onto their patios and backyards to give their cats room to roam outdoors.  They range from minimal to huge areas, especially when there is more than one cat.  Sometimes owners share the space, eating out among their cats in this environment that is safe from predators.

Cat beds include the Over-the-Door Hanging Cat Bed with Portholes, cat hammocks, Kitt-In Box, and

Contemporary Cat Towers.

Here is a new contemporary design award winning litter box idea   in an attractive assortment of colors, referred to by the New York Times as the "I-POD of litter boxes."

 or a more formal corner cat litter box .

Cat trees are very popular, including the Little Lotus Cat Tree - or consider the simple alternative above.   

 New and cat-friendly and comfortable hanging bed is the soft pillowed Trapeze Hanging Cat Bed.

For those of you among the readership who want to invent or design a new product, the cat world is a good place to start as cat owners are a dedicated bunch of folks who are looking for ways to enhance the lives of their “fur-babies.”

CITY OF BOCA EYES POSSIBLE NEW $2.5MM ANNUAL INCOME THRU ANNEXATION

CITY OF BOCA EYES POSSIBLE NEW $2.5MM ANNUAL INCOME THRU ANNEXATION

A formal study of annexation of nine Boca communities is being studied in order to bring county land into the Boca city limits, yielding additional revenue because providing services to largely residential areas is less costly than the income from property taxes.  The total annexation package under study contains $1.575BB in taxable property, 2018 acres, 4,319 population, 1,720 employed people, 2,478 homes and 48 commercial properties.

The addition in 2003 of Town Center mall, Via Verde, Coach Houses at Town Place, Santa Barbara and Fairfield Court was involuntary requiring approval by referendum vote that was almost unanimously in favor.  Voluntary annexation requires communities to be contiguous to Boca Raton city land, so if some of the communities drop out, others may be required to drop out that are not linked to the city.  Voluntary annexation only requires city council approval.

The areas being studied are Boca Grove, Boca Country Club, Costco, St. Andrews, Newport Bay, Fieldbrook, Boniello Acres, Polo Fields and Le Lac.  One positive aspect is that many Boca city services are not as expensive as county utilities.  One negative aspect is that Le Lac, on the north side of Clint Moore Road between Military Trail and Jog Road, has wells and septic tanks, which the city has been trying to eliminate for years, according to a Councilwoman. 

Estimates are that the Costco-Boca Country Club segment would generate a net gain of $268,000; the communities in the northwest would have a net revenue of $1.9MM; Boca Grove would have a net revenue of $332,000.  Commercial properties are included along Clint Moore approaching Mlitary Trail and on Powerline and Glades.   Upgrades would have to be made to bring road medians up to city standards, with an expense of $400,000 a year.

This proposal was a result of inquiries from St. Andrew’s Country Club and Boca Grove.

VOTE TO HELP !

PLEASE VOTE and help the 

BENGAL CAT RESCUE GROUP

Get a grant to help them enlarge 

the wonderful work they do

on behalf of unfortunate pets 

who have been abandoned

And cannot help themselves.

Bengal Cats have baby Asian Leopards

some generations back

are very tame from F4 (4th generation) on

and fun, faithful, loving and SMART.

Some have spots, some have rosettes on their backs.
They have wonderful dispositions and are playful.

THINK YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SPACE?

Enjoy the wonders of  this creation.

 

Amazing Tiny Apartment...very interesting... 

A Hong-Kong architect designed a 344 sq. ft. apartment that can change into

24 different rooms, all by just sliding panels and walls. This is worth watching.

 

  http://www.wservernews.com/3AQOO8/100503-Tiny-Apartment

HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE PALM BEACH ZOO LATELY?

HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE PALM BEACH ZOO LATELY?

• Oz is a Kaola who loves fresh Eucalyptus and requires six varieties for his diet, which the zoo has acquired.  The Zoo was approached to become a new facility for management and breeding of Queensland koalas, requiring staff training and construction of the new naturalistic habitat for koalas at the zoo costing over $100,000.  More construction is underway to accommodate these animals. 

• A newly constructed habitat for Wallabies allows you to watch for the baby joeys peeking out from mom’s pouch.  You can get wonderfully close views.

• Wings Over Water is an interactive daily show featuring 20 trained majestic and sometimes comical birds – 11 am daily and also 2 pm on weekends.
• There are two new otter pups to ewwww and ahhhh over.
• Howl along with New Guinea Singing Dogs, Mic and Sydney, who star in the Wild Things Show at 1 pm weekdays and 12 pm weekends.

The Zoo offers more than 60 animal enrichment and encounters weekly with additional special events every month on Friday nights, 5:30-8pm during June and August, come over for Safari Nights with live entertainment, nature workshops, children’s games, interactive wildlife shows, up-close animal encounters and complementary carousel rides.  Winter in July brings snow to the zoo July 10-11.

See the Zoo’s state-of-the-art animal care complex.  The Zoo also has green certification and has received Green Nonprofit Certification and is a “Going Green” Sustainability Leader.

Location is Dreher Park in West Palm Beach where there are over 1400 animals within 23 lush tropical acres.  Stop by and have a wonderful day.

HOW TO HELP SELL YOUR HOUSE...

STAGING YOUR HOME BRINGS A FASTER SALE AND MORE DOLLARS

Put yourself in the buyers’ shoes to sell your house quickly and for the highest possible price.  You may soon be a buyer yourself, so you must think like a buyer! 

1.      De-clutter.  Put yourself in the Buyers shoes… clutter in a house will distract buyers from seeing what the house would look like with their furnishings in it.  Keep in mind that they don’t care about YOUR COLLECTIONS, they want to see how large the rooms are, including volume ceilings, what the views are, and how they will be happy living in this property.

2.      De-Personalize.  You are selling your house, not your family.  Pack up ALL FAMILY PICTURES as they will distract buyers from looking at the spaciousness of your home.  Your family pictures are a distraction.  Start packing now, it will save you time later.

3.      Deep clean.  House must be immaculate.  Take everything off kitchen counters (EVERYTHING!) and pack it up or put it away.  New cabinet knobs can make a difference in appeal too.  Get rid of ALL PILES OF PAPERS, newspapers and other paperwork.  Put it in a drawer where it won’t be seen.  Make sure floors shine, carpets are vacuumed, windows are sparkling and floorboards are wiped clean.  Remove carpet stains.  If you have pets, get rid of pet odors… that is a huge turnoff… and keep pets out of the house when buyers are looking.

4.      Lighten and brighten.  Keep all lights on when showing to give a warm welcoming feeling, particularly on dark or rainy days.  If your home has neutral backgrounds, all to the good, but add small splashes of color with throw pillows and real flowers or blooming plants.  Artwork can add color as well.  Remove any damaged furniture as buyers will think, “If they don’t take care of their furniture, do they take care of maintaining the home?”

5.      Keep traditional rooms traditional.  If your dining room is not set up as a dining room, buyers may think there IS NO DINING ROOM IN THE HOUSE.  Set it up like a dining room.   If you have an office in the house, have a sofa bed in there and show that it can be a bedroom instead or an office/guest room and KEEP YOUR DESK UNCLUTTERED.  Position furniture NOT TO GET IN THE WAY of the buyer seeing a spacious room.  Remove furniture if necessary: MINIMAL is the name of the game.

6.      Curb appeal.  NO CLUTTER on the exterior property.  Have trees pruned, add colorful plants, perhaps have a splash of color at the front door.  Be sure front door is cleaned and painted, and every day sweep away any leaves on the steps and path to the front door.

7.      Patio.  Every day sweep off leaves.  Position furniture so buyers can envision how they will use the patio.  No litter boxes or pet toys should be in sight.  Move them when you are having a showing; put them back afterwards.  Big turnoff to buyers.
8.   Outdated Wallpaper.  No buyer wants wallpaper on the walls that is outdated looking, nor wallpaper where seams are coming apart.  For minimal expense, have wallpaper removed and paint walls in a neutral color.  

SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIES

NEXT MOVIE

WILL BE SHOWN

SUNDAY, JULY 11th

due to due to 

summer facilities maintenance

COMMERCE ASSOCIATION SELECTS POLO CLUB FOR 2010 BEST OF BOCA RATON AWARD

Determining their Country Club leadership awards by quality, not quantity, the USCA “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses nationwide.  They find companies they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category.  

 Polo Club, a premier private member-owned residential community, provides world-class amenities and services to its members as well as being in a desirable location and sourroundings to promote a healthy lifestyle, and has a friendly and caring membership.   

 Polo Club was recognized for their exceptional service to their Members and Community.

WHAT IS BP DOING RE THE OIL SPILL?

Here is a good illustration of the methods being used to stop the flow of oil from the well.  It runs about 13 minutes, well worth watching to understand what is happening right now.

LAURELS

7 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 6, 2010

=================================

GOOD NEWS ON THE HOME SALE FRONT JUST IN...

"The upswing in April sales was expected because of the tax credit inducement, and no doubt there will be some temporary fallback" ahead,” says National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. He further states that  “Not only do consumers have growing confidence in the economy and their own incomes, but home buyers no longer fear further price declines -- and that's a crucial turning point in the cycle.”

THINKING ABOUT SELLING YOUR HOME?

THINKING ABOUT SELLING YOUR HOME?

Have you heard that STAGING can make a difference and may help sell your home?

Learn all about it at Robb & Stucky by attending one of their seminars, “Staging to Sell”.  Robb & Stucky Design Consultant Ron Hammond will tell you how to “prep” your home for a faster sale and make it stand out from other homes on the market.   

Your real estate agent can also be helpful, e.g. convincing you to remove clutter, open up spaces… after all, “it is all about the buyer,” and they are not interested in the sellers collections nor family photos, but rather, how their collections and furniture will fit in your home if they buy it.  It may be hard for sellers to understand that, but can make the difference for a faster sale.

The seminars will be held in the Boca Raton store in Mizner Park on May 27^th and June 24^th at 2 pm.  Reserve by calling 561-862-5597.

5-28-2010 WSJ: LUXURY MARKET BOUNCES BACK

SEE ARTICLE

JUNE HAPPENINGS TO ENJOY

Old School Square members have lots of goodies in store.  You and the family can visit 17 museums, attractions and cultural centers free during June 2010. 

This includes the BAMM program which gives free June entry to 20 organizations including the Boca Raton Children’s Museum, Cornell Museum, Cinema Paradiso, Flamingo Gardens, IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame, International Swimming Hall of Fame Museum, and many other interesting facilities.

The Cornell Museum of Art has developed a reciprocal partnership with the Boca Raton Museum of Art, allowing OSS members complimentary admission from June 22 through August 8, 2010 to the Boca Museum of Art 59^th Annual All Florida Juried Exhibition and the Boca Museum Artist’ Guild Exhibition and permanent collection.

Collectors should head over to the Cornell Museum for their STUFF II: The  Joy of Collecting exhibit.  Treasured items have been loaned by local collectors including glass, vintage household items, comic books, antique tools, women’s accessories, photographs, baseball cards, duck decoys and home décor which have wonderful stories accompanying the collections. 

Old School Square Membership starts at $30 for up to 2 adults and children under 18 in same household.

NO MOVIE THIS SUNDAY - NEXT MOVIE IS SUNDAY, JUNE 6TH

WALL ST JOURNAL RE FAMILY MANAGERS and MANAGEMENT FIRMS

Focusing on Oprah Winfrey’s starting a family office by hiring a Family Manager who is with a full investment organization, recommended by her law firm, for her estimated $2.4BB net worth holdings, the WSJ states that, “Wealthy investors typically hire mangers at banks and brokerage firms to handle their financial affairs.  A family office is considered a step up from such an arrangement, with a team of advisers working exclusively, and directly, for the client.” 

The article also mentions that Michael Dell, with more than $10BB worth of personal assets, has a team of 80 people working on Money Management for him at a Family Management Firm.  WSJ further states that, “the billionaire Bass brothers in Fort Worth TX created an operation that became a model for family-office investment vehicles around the US.”  

SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE AT POLO CLUB

The Laurels at 7:00 pm 

on Sunday, May 23rd 

 "Nine"

Starring 

Daniel Day-Lewis

Marion Cotillard

Penelope Cruz

BOCA RATON TO GIVE INCENTIVE DOLLARS TO BUSINESSES

 City Council, recognizing that other local and state governments are giving out funds and other assistance to attract businesses, has approved $1,000,000 to provide local matching dollars to business receiving state money or moving to the city, or to expanding local businesses that are creating jobs.  Some state, city and county grants require a local dollar match. The amount may increase to $5,000,000.  The City Council’s focus is to create jobs and expand the tax base.

Under the plan, a local business could receive between $1000 and $500,000 to create a certain number of jobs, provide a salary level that is 120% of the average county salary, and have the potential to create significant economic growth in the city.  The target is office-based and industrial businesses, not restaurants or retail businesses.

Eleven programs include workforce training assistance and grants, low-interest loans to start up small businesses, façade improvement grants and building renovations that will make energy use more efficient.  Economic development funds have also been created in Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens.