Miami Dade Real Estate Scoop

Are you a Pinecrest resident wanting a tree on the swale outside your property?  Although the right-of-way property is not legally the homeowner's, the public swale is to be maintained by the homeowner.  And who doesn't want to keep their surroundings looking pretty?

Pinecrest has an Adopt-a-Tree program which provides trees at low-bid prices for interested homeowners.  Pinecrest has been designated as a Tree City, USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for their commitment to community forestry. The Village of Pinecrest has planted over 10,000 trees since 1997.  Not shabby at all.

If you'd like more information about the Pinecrest Adopt-a-Tree program, click on the link.

And remember that Miami-Dade County still has it's own program where they give two trees per year to homeowners of single family or townhome properties in the county.

Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay residents who use Old Cutler Road please note that it will be shut down at the end of July for construction.  The South Florida Water Management District will be installing a flow-way tunnel beneath Old Cutler Road and this will impact the stretch between SW 156th Street and SW 162nd Street.

The road will be open to local traffic only.  If you don’t live in the area, make plans for a different route during construction.  SFWMD has stated that the project will take two weeks only and it is slated to begin no earlier than July 26th.  Utility services and the popular bike path on Old Cutler may be impacted as well so plan accordingly.  Click here for more information.

A citizen is fighting the Village of Pinecrest for improper seizure of her home.  Or should I clarify and say, her property, as she does not live in the Pinecrest house.

I just read an interesting legal article about the case involving Zenaida Gomez and the Village of Pinecrest.  Apparently Ms. Gomez purchased the Pinecrest home in 2006, in 2007 leased it to someone and in 2008 the Pinecrest police were called in to investigate some goings on in the home.

The police found that the Pinecrest home was being used for an illegal hydroponics lab (proving that the Redland doesn't have that market cornered and that upper scale neighborhoods are not immune to criminal activity, but I digress).  Due to the activities going on at the home, the Village of Pinecrest proceeded to seize the home, through legal means.

The article is full of legalese and I have to admit that I couldn't finish it.  It appears that the seizing authority (the Village of Pinecrest) has to prove that the owner of the house knew or had reasonable cause to know that the Pinecrest house was being used for criminal activity.  They claim she leased the home without even so much as checking whether the driver's license presented by the tenant was valid.

I checked the home's history in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and found the sale in there.  The home is in a great north Pinecrest location with multimillion dollar homes around.  The home itself was move-in ready but needing updating according to the MLS remarks when it sold.  It sold back in 2006 for $1,075,000 and according to a desktop appraisal I quickly did on it, might be worth in the neighborhood of $717K today, although that doesn't take into account the damage that is done to a home when it is used as a hydroponics facility.
In any event, I find the case interesting.  Be cautious when renting your home and make sure you do background checks!

Are you a buyer looking for a home in Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, South Miami or the surrounding Miami area?

Would you like to have an upper hand while searching for homes on the internet?

Would you like to make your home search easier?

You can do this by downloading the Blog That Ate Miami Real Estate Toolbar.  It's a small, little download that gives you a way to contact me on any home you find for sale on the internet, regardless of where you find it!

Imagine, one click and the information is sent to me so I can follow up on it for you.  There's no need to keep a running list of homes to send me.  Just click the Property Inquiry button when you find a home that interests you and the toolbar sends me the request.  No matter what site you found the home listing at.

It's also a great portal to start your home Miami home search.    Just click on the Homes for Sale button and search to your heart's delight, specifying your criteria, for your specific needs.

The toolbar also has a built-in search, local weather and a one-click Facebook log-in

It doesn't get any easier than that!

Click on the Free Download button to quickly install this great tool and make your home search easier today!

If you’ve been looking to buy a home in Miami and still haven’t found the one, I have some good news for you.  This weekend marks the Florida Realtors’ Open House Weekend.

The association has coordinated for many homes to be held open this weekend throughout the state of Florida.  You should be able to look around in your neighborhood of choice and find more homes than usual being held open.  Look for the bright blue balloons like the ones in the picture above.

This is our last ditch effort to get those buyers looking to make the $8,000 home buyers credit into a contract before the deadline of April 30^th.

I’ll be holding this Homestead beauty open on Saturday, April 10^th, from Noon – 2:00pm.

Click on the picture below to see a tour of the home.  It’s a winner!

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Over the weekend I accepted a Google Wave invitation from a friend.  I visited for a while and became increasingly overwhelmed the more I read.

I commented on my FaceBook profile this past weekend that I was "teched" out and just wanted a hammock, a breeze and a book (not on Kindle).  I then got off the computer and went fruit picking with the family, in our yard.

Sunday night I attended a Tweet Chat local Miami real estate professionals have been hosting and just minutes into it my internet connection started acting up.  I will not lie and say I was upset.  I welcomed the chance to get off the computer.

This morning I read an Inman article about a new social media tool.  While reading it, I thought to myself, "another one?" 

I have been fighting all these advances by just ignoring most of them.  Or at least, not seeking them out.  If someone lets me know about something they're finding really useful, I usually check it out though. 

I know my life is different today because of technology.  My real estate business is handled a certain way because of it as well.  I like Active Rain and plan on using it a long time.  But just, how much is enough? 

It's never going to end.  Developers will continue coming up with new things. 

If we jump to check all these things out and invest a good amount of time in the evaluation, when do we have time for everything?

In the last week alone, I have heard about 6 or 7 platforms I wasn't familair with previously.  The onslaught is constant.  How do you handle it?

Wishing everyone a joyous holy-day filled with the Promise of new beginnings.

A Happy and Blessed Easter to all!

Yesterday I posted about the thanks I received from my sellers when their short sale finally closed. 

Today I wanted to share the letter I sent the bank regarding the assigned loss mitigator.

We are always so quick to point out flaws.  But it's much harder to make time for showing our appreciation. 

Today I made time for such a thing.  I believe that when I live my life being grateful for the good that happens, I live a better life.

I also think that those who do a job well, should be told, not just paid.  And sometimes, their bosses should be told too.

Here is the email I sent to the bank today:

Dear Mr. XYZ,  

I am writing to congratulate you on your employee, Emily ABC.  I believe she is a tremendous asset to your department and the entire ABC Bank organization.  

I have had the pleasure of working with Emily for the last 3 months.  We worked together on the Mr. Seller loan, address 1234 NE 56th Drive, Miami, FL 12345  I was the listing agent for this short sale.  

Prior to working with Emily, ABC Bank had me working with many different Loss Mitigators.  I was never able to accomplish anything with any of them as most of my calls and emails went unreturned.  Getting just the slightest bit of information, such as confirming that a document we had submitted had been received required the biggest of efforts and repeated attempts.  It seems easy enough to tell someone that a paper was received, but when I tried to do it, I got nowhere.  

Then along came Emily.  She was friendly, polite, courteous and above all else, helpful and professional.  If I called and left Emily a message, I could bet my bottom dollar that she would respond within hours.  But usually, this wasn't even necessary as she picked up the phone most of the time!   

If I emailed Emily, she got back to me with a prompt response.  I am sure this kept each of us more productive than having to chase the other down.  

There were times when you needed something and Emily would call me for it.  This simple courtesy is almost unheard of in all my other short sale negotiations.  I have never had a bank call me to tell me they need something.  They usually wait until I call, track the LM down and then they bring it up.  It certainly makes no sense to work this way, but that is what I am experiencing.  

The bottom line is that it was a sheer pleasure working with Emily on this transaction.  I wish all my transactions were handled so expeditiously and almost stress free.   She deserves acknowledgement for a job extremely well done and you for having such a fine employee on your team. 

Kudos to you both.  

Sincerely,

Maggie Dokic

No, this is not my latest listing in Pinecrest.  This is one of the cutest dog houses I've ever seen!  I was driving west on 152^nd Street and had to do a 180 so I could appreciate these little homes closer.  They impressed me to no end.

The luxury dog houses are created by Ricardo and Janeth.  He is a master carpenter who specializes in custom yacht carpentry.  As the luxury market had dwindled a bit, so did the amenities associated with it.  In a moment of inspiration they decided to make custom homes for our furry friends. 

My precious Fifi and Lola would love to live in any one of these homes.  There's the little red shingled barn, a boat house with its crisp white paint, chimney stack and shiny golden anchor (and look at those porthole windows!), and the stone villa, with its textured walls, and windowed gable.  Sooooo cute!

The attention to detail in these homes is impressive.  To order your own custom home for your furry best friend, you can contact Ricardo or Janeth at 786.285.9431

The Village of Pinecrest was one of only six cities in the U.S.  hosting this guest.  The guest?  A rare original print of the United States Declaration of Independence that is on a traveling tour.

The visit was made possible by the students at Palmetto Senior High School, who were top participants in mock elections held across the nation's schools.  The mock elections were put together by organizations wanting to foster an appreciation of the democratic process in students throughout America. 

The students at Palmetto Sr. High embraced the event and in the process earned themselves the opportunity to have the rare document come for a visit.  Way to go Palmetto!

Over 1500 people, including Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner and members of the Village Council, had the chance to see the document at the Pinecrest Branch Library.  The document was also displayed at Palmetto Senior High School where hundreds of students were able to view it.

This is another fine example of the strong commitment of Pinecrest area educators.  It's not without reason that the Pinecrest schools are tops in the county and beyond.  Thank you teachers.