CASH FLASH: Bank of America May Pay $$$ to Short Sale Your Property (Until Dec 12th)

Hello Attractive and Intelligent Readers,

If you or someone you know is thinking of doing a short sale on a property they may be eligible to receive cash back for completing a short sale if their loan is with Bank of America.

There are currently 21 short sales on the market in Coral Gables….Black Jack!

The program is called a Cooperative Short Sale and seller’s could be eligible to receive $5,000-$20,000 in cash back if they fit the following requirements…If you think you may qualify give me a call at 305-283-4470 and I will be glad to discuss the details.

In the immortal words of Mel Brooks, if you can read this you don’t need glasses…

The Florida Enhanced Short Sale Relocation Assistance Program has been extended to Dec. 12, 2011. This program offers enhanced relocation assistance to help encourage homeowners to engage with Bank of America on a pre-offer short sale. Homeowners may be eligible for relocation assistance between $5,000 and $20,000.*Eligibility:

  • Homeowners with property in Florida
  • Short sales initiated without an offer between Sept. 26 and Dec. 12, 2011
  • The customer will have to be eligible for one of the without an offerprograms, such as the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program or Bank of America’s proprietary program (specific investor participation and eligibility criteria do apply to these programs)
  • Successful closing of the eligible short sale by Aug. 31, 2012

Exclusions:

  • Ginnie Mae, FHA, VA and USDA loans are ineligible for participation
  • Lot loans are ineligible for participation
  • Properties outside Florida are not eligible for participation
  • Short sales initiated with an offer are not currently eligible for the enhanced relocation assistance

Frequently Asked Questions:

How can I find out if my client/homeowner qualifies for this relocation assistance?
Call a Bank of America short sale specialist at 1.877.459.2852,
Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Eastern

Do I have to do anything different to initiate or complete the short sale?
No. If the homeowner’s short sale is initiated between Sept. 26 and Dec. 12, 2011, and the property closes by Aug. 31, 2012, the homeowner will be eligible.

Will the relocation assistance funds be reported on the HUD-1?
Yes, they will be documented on the HUD-1, and a 1099-MISC will be issued.

Can the relocation assistance funds be used to pay off existing liens?
Yes, if the investor approves it.

Will this enhanced relocation assistance waive the homeowner’s deficiency?
An additional benefit for these pre-offer programs, such as HAFA and Bank of America’s proprietary program, is that deficiency may be waived for homeowners who qualify.

Is the relocation assistance added to any other incentives, such as HAFA or Bank of America proprietary program incentives?
No. A homeowner will receive the $5,000 to $20,000 in place of the typical incentive paid out by these programs. The relocation assistance is essentially an enhancement to the standard payout offered on these programs.

Is the enhanced relocation assistance available for other programs?
The enhanced relocation assistance is currently available only to short sale programs initiated without an offer. However, as we gauge the success, we may extend this incentive to other programs.

Questions?
Homeowners and agents may call 1.877.459.2852 Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Eastern to speak to a Bank of America short sale specialist about this exciting relocation assistance offering.

* The relocation assistance payment is calculated based on the unpaid principal balance of the homeowner’s loan and the type of short sale that the homeowner completes, but will not be less than $5,000 or more than $20,000. The payment amount will be calculated based on the homeowner’s loan balance as of August 2011 and the short sale program in which the homeowner is eligible. The payment will be delivered at the time of closing if the homeowner complies with all terms and conditions of the Short Sale Agreement, including the satisfaction of all second liens and presentation of clear title for the property (the relocation assistance payment can be used to clear those liens). If the homeowner does not comply with all terms and conditions of the Short Sale Agreement, the homeowner will not receive the relocation assistance payment. Even if the homeowner receives relocation assistance, Bank of America, N.A., and their successors and assigns may reserve and retain the right to pursue collection of any deficiency following the completion of the short sale, unless otherwise prohibited by law. The amount of the deficiency and relocation assistance will be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on the appropriate 1099 Form or Forms.  We suggest that homeowners contact the IRS or their tax preparer to determine if they have any tax liability. This offer is for Florida properties only. To receive the relocation assistance, the property must close by Aug. 31, 2012.

———–HERE ENDS THE LEGAL MUMBO JUMBO BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED SHENANIGANS

Since I always like to include a photo…

What I tip my Concierge for ordering my Lobster Bisque from Morton's

 

My readers are the best and most attractive!  Thank you for your continued support but please stop camping outside my home!

Joshua T. Reich, P.A.
Broker-Associate
“Knowledge, Professionalism, Diligence”
RE/Max Advance Realty
305-283-4470
Josh@GreatCoralGablesHomes.com
www.GreatCoralGablesHomes.com
www.TheCoralGablesBlog.com

 

Published in: on December 1, 2011 at 8:25 pm  Leave a Comment  

(Almost) Free Insulation Installation Update

Greetings Readers,
Sorry for being away so long, the South Florida and Coral Gables real estate market is picking up and we are adjusting to the new flood of business!

But I will not keep you on the edge of your seats any longer, I have completed the (Almost) Free Insulation Installation that was enabled by my $300 voucher from FPL.  For those of you who do not read this blog regularly (what is your problem?) you may not recall my previous article about getting a FREE FPL Home Energy Survey which has led me to the point of getting the aforementioned sweet deal.

So back to the lecture at hand, I had originally decided to copy a list of all of the insulation providers that FPL gave me with my notes on them and what price they charged.  Although most were very polite and reasonably priced, some were rude and outrageously priced.  So  instead of trashing half of the insulation companies on the list I have chosen the road to positivity and will only tell you that I chose “A Best Insulation Inc.” definitely not for their name, but for their price of $312 and because they were very polite.  I will tell you that if you want the list you can email me and I will be glad to provide it to you, and just a word of warning for my Coral Gable Blog Insiders: Don’t call All About Insulation Corp., what they are actually “All About” is getting your address undoubtedly for some nefarious endeavor and if you don’t give it to them they will hang up on you…sniff sniff smells like a scam to me.

So once again we return to the conclusion of this saga that started way back when with the A/C Duct Cleaning Scam which you can read about here.  This time the “A Best Insulation” guys arrived at 1pm which was at the end of the 11am-1pm timeframe but they still made it on time.  They were very business like and although one of them had a few more tattoos than I would like to see on someone that is working on my home, even he was very polite and professional.  They ran a hose with the insulation and one of the guys climbed up into the attic and started spraying.  It took about 30 minutes and they were done.  I gave them the certificate and the $12 cash and they even vacuumed up some of the insulation that had fallen on the floor during the process.

All in all I was very happy with their service and would highly recommend them, as far as the whole process of getting FPL to come do the home energy survey and the actual installation of the insulation it probably took up about 3 hours of my time max, now thats a deal!

Here is a pic of my new fully insulated attic, they sprayed pink yes it’s very girly but apparently heat does not like pink…

It snowed pink energy efficiency in my attic for only $12

The Coral Gables Blog has your back!

Joshua T. Reich, P.A.
Broker-Associate
“Knowledge, Professionalism, Diligence”
RE/Max Advance Realty
305-283-4470
Josh@GreatCoralGablesHomes.com
www.GreatCoralGablesHomes.com
www.TheCoralGablesBlog.com

Published in: on September 28, 2011 at 7:15 pm  Comments (3)  
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Free FPL Home Energy Survey can get you Free/Discounted Insulation for your house

Hi here is one that caught me by surprise.  Some of you may recall the “Beware A/C Duct Cleaning Scam” post from a few months ago.  Well the end result of that was the need to hire a couple of different A/C repair guys to come out and get the A/C working properly again.  The most recent A/C guys were great and they fixed us up so that we are nice and cool inside.  They also mentioned that we could call FPL and they would put insulation into the attic for “FREE”.  Immediately my ears perked up but I did not believe it at first.  And even if it was free I figured it would require the purchase of something else to offset the cost.

Well I am happy to report that I am once again…wrong.  I called FPL and they were happy to schedule an appointment for a FREE Home Energy Survey.  When the guy arrived he took a look in my attic and told me that I needed at least another 10 inches of insulation and that the 2-3 inches that I had up there was weak at best and a giant waste of money at worst.  So after he measured the square footage of the house he gave me  a voucher worth $300 and a list of FPL approved insulation installers.  He said that they may charge a little more than $300 but that it probably would not be much.  Then of course the idea is that because as he stated approximately 70-80% of a home’s energy goes to the A/C unit, if the house is better insulated then it will run more efficiently and save you $$$!

So I just called to schedule the appointment for the insulation installer and I will keep you posted as to what happens.

I was going to link you to the website on the FREE Home Energy Survey from FPL but they don’t appear to have one, aren’t you glad you read The Coral Gables Blog?  Here is a link to FPL you can call them and they will put you in touch with the secret department that handles this.

FREE Money!!!

Thanks for checking out The Coral Gables Blog, have a great weekend!

Joshua T. Reich, P.A.
Broker-Associate
“Knowledge, Professionalism, Diligence”
RE/Max Advance Realty
305-283-4470
Josh@GreatCoralGablesHomes.com
www.GreatCoralGablesHomes.com
www.TheCoralGablesBlog.com

Published in: on September 9, 2011 at 4:03 pm  Comments (2)  
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How to get rid of White Flies on your Trees and Shrubs

You know them, you hate them , you can’t get rid of them!  The dreaded White Fly has invaded South Florida and lives all over our beautiful trees.  And they don’t really care what kind of tree either, they will live on anything.  One of my favorite blog’s is the daily photo blog by Tog of Coral Gables, and Tog has documented cases of entire Ficus trees being brought down by the White Fly.  Here is a link to a post of his where the City of Coral Gables has had to cut down another Ficus because of this problem.

Well fellow citizens, after hundreds of dollars at Home Depot I finally found a treatment that was worked wonders in my own backyard .  It is by the Bayer company, yes the same one you get aspirin from, it is called Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Protect and Feed.  Don’t let the boring name fool you this stuff really works.  I test sprayed it at the base of one of my Bird of Paridise Palms and within a few weeks I could already see there were less White Flies.  About 2 months after there are no more white flies and the tree is VERY healthy is the treatment also has nutrients for the tree.

So then I sprayed it at the base of all of my trees and it has totally removed the White Fly from my property.  I was so happy and have seen so many people struggle with this that I decided to let you know.

See the images below for proof and a pic of the bottle.  The stuff goes for like $20 so it is not cheap but you only have to treat every 6 months, good luck!  Let me know how it works!

Before

After

The Bottle!

Think…Call Josh…and Grow Rich!

Joshua T. Reich, P.A.
Broker-Associate
“Knowledge, Professionalism, Diligence”
RE/Max Advance Realty
305-283-4470
Josh@GreatCoralGablesHomes.com
www.GreatCoralGablesHomes.com
www.TheCoralGablesBlog.com

 

Published in: on August 19, 2011 at 12:29 pm  Comments (2)  
Tags: , ,

Time to cut the trees!

It is about that time of the year.  With hurricane season approaching it is time to cut the trees, especially the ficus, that grows tremendous amounts in a year.

I went to war with the trees today, spiders falling all over me like rain but I tamed the forest.  And I even cut down a part of a tree that a bird was using as a nest.  Luckily the nest had no eggs in it and seems to have been abandoned, but it was cool to see the wide variety of materials that the modern bird uses to create a comfortable home.  There were twist ties, pieces of wire, snap locks, and of course all sorts of twigs.  The twigs were woven into the most intricate and comfortable looking nest I have ever seen.

I have including a couple of pics, including Sheika’s shock at the large amount of yard that I was decimating and a pic of the nest that I unfortunately brought down.

Sheika Wants to Save the Forest

 

Empty Bird Nest

Published in: on June 28, 2011 at 9:13 pm  Leave a Comment  

Beware the A/C Air Duct Cleaning Scam!

So at this point in my life having come across countless scams either personally or through friends and family, I figured my scam meter was pretty well tuned.  Oh how wrong I was.

Our A/C has been running great but we have seen the ads a few times in the Home Magazines that come in the mail for A/C duct cleaning.  We figured we it is probably mostly just an opportunity for the company to try and sell you the more expensive treatments or products.  Being in sales I felt confident that I could reject an offer they threw at me, no matter how good the offer or how dire my situation was claimed to be.  But for $19 (First clue that it was a scam) we figured why not get them cleaned and then just ignore whatever they tell me is wrong because it is probably just a lie.

Great plan and it worked perfectly for a time…The A/C guys arrived and immediately when through the whole routine of pointing our dirt on my A/C and telling me that the only way to clean it is to replace the ducts or to buy their U/V light machine that will eliminate all of the mold.  Wow, at this point I know this is a scam, but they hooked up a big machine to the vent and turned it on while they continued to try and sell me stuff by telling me that my whole family and anyone that encountered them would become infested with mold.  I said “That’s very nice but I am not interested” even after he offered to give me a “special deal”.  Oh but one more thing, they still had a trick up their sleeve: I should let them check the Freon level in the outside unit to make sure it is full…

Uh duh well I guess that is ok go ahead…and wouldn’t you know it the thing (according to them) was 2 lbs low, so they said it was $30 / lb, now my scam meter is really buzzing but like an idiot I say oh well its only $60 go ahead and do it.

When the guy was leaving he said “Your A/C will be cooler now”…more untrue words have never been spoken.

The day after the left the A/C would not hold its temperature and by the end of the day my house was at 80.  Not fun, so I called them back and read them the riot act, so they sent someone else out the next day.  And guess what they said?  I needed to either spend a few THOUSAND dollars replacing the outside unit or I could pay them $350 to clean the coils.  Those were my two options…I gave them a third option…the door.

So I finally called a couple people I know and we got a good A/C guy to come out, he says that Freon level should be at 70, so not only did they charge me for 2 lbs that I did not need but they should have taken some out to begin with.

So beware and don’t even bother getting your A/C ducts cleaned, the new good A/C guy says that its pointless, better just to wait until they get fully used and replace them.  Live and learn, here is the ad that I called make sure you do not make the same mistake!

The Little Girl Even Knows: This Company Stinks!

Published in: on June 23, 2011 at 5:14 pm  Comments (2)  
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