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Nov

29

Home Town Democracy - John Thraser or Times Lying ?

Filed Under Economy, Helpful Information | Leave a Comment

“Do you know what Home Town Democracy is ? It?s about Voters, yep you and me, having our say on what and how we want to Develop Florida. The initiative on the ballot concerning anti-growth that many of us signed. The Florida Hometown Democracy?s citizen initiative would amend Florida?s Constitution to allow Floridians to give themselves a vote on growth plans.”

This is an article that I wrote about back in September after having received a letter from a Florida Politician turned Lobbyist who calls him self Honorable. Yep I am referring to the lying lobbyist John Thraser.

The Home Town Democracy Issue has hit a stumbling point by a circuit Judge in Tallahassee. This Judge sided with the Developers. Of course you may have missed this in the morning fish wrapper yesterday as the St. Pete times conveniently buried this on page 1B. Oh yea it was the first page of the Local & State section. This should have been on page 1A instead of the lame article about Hulk Hogans divorce. But then again I guess that sells more News Papers and is more important than local democracy.

What is also interesting is that the original as written article by Times Reporter Alex Leary is no where to be found on the Times Web site.

The modified report even has the title changed to “Judge’s decision deals a blow to Hometown Democracy”

Seems that Alex original story may have touched a nerve. It was printed under the title: “Hometown Democracy loses round”

The Times really shows where it’s base is. Not with the local populace of Tampa that buys it’s newspapers. It is readily apparent that the Times is on the side of the Developers here. An earlier article that was posted online on the 27th on The BUZZ drew quite a few comments before the Times closed down comments to the entry.

So what is missing from the original article that has me in an uproar ?

For one thing I think the title changed because the original was too soft on us voters or someone from John Thrasers office called the Times ? Even if that was not the case the mere fact that Mr. Thraser and his organization have misrepresented who he works for and misguided many voters into thinking they were doing something good by retracting their petition is pure evil on his part.

For that John Thraser is a liar.

It is clear that the Developers think that typical home owners are idiots and cannot make choices for ourselves.

You can checkout the link above for the article in it’s rewrite form. Below is the article as it was printed in the paper.

Note the items hi-lit in red. These are missing from the re-write.

The basic issue here is that Big Business and Developers want to continue to make changes to land use laws and don’t want to allow Floridians to give themselves a vote on growth plans.

***********************************************

Hometown Democracy loses round

Signatures to put the issue on the state ballot can be revoked.

By ALEX LEARY, Times Staff Writer

TALLAHASSEE - Hometown Democracy, the petition drive aiming to slow growth in Florida, lost a court battle Tuesday that could seriously hurt its ability to collect enough signatures for the ballot.

A circuit judge in Tallahassee upheld a new law that gives voters 150 days to revoke their signatures from the petition - a tool opponents are eagerly employing. Lawmakers, urged by business interests, said the change was to protect people who feel pressure to sign petitions.

Lawmakers, urged by business interests, said the change was to protect people who feel pressured to sign petitions.

Lawyers for Hometown Democracy argued that the Legislature violated the state Constitution by passing a law that negates the rights of citizens to petition the government.

But Judge Charles A. Francis concluded: “The revocation provisions do not place any additional requirement or burden on the elector who intends to sign a petition, or to vote on the initiative once it is placed on the ballot. The revocation provisions do in fact grant the elector more power over his signature and decision to support the placement of an initiative on the ballot.”

Lesley Blackner, a Palm Beach lawyer and one of the Hometown Democracy leaders, called the decision a nightmare, and said it will be appealed.

If put on the ballot and then approved by 60 percent of voters, Hometown Democracy would slow growth by requiring voter approval for comprehensive-plan changes.

?The long knives are out to take Florida Hometown Democracy off the ballot?. Blackner said. ?I have heard from voters who signed the petition who are being bombarded with lies to get them to revoke. I wonder how anything to help the average person ever gets accomplished in Florida?.

The group has collected at least 394,000 signatures and needs 611,009.

Opponents would not reveal Tuesday how many they have had revoked, but claimed the response has been impressive.

?That is the most strategic information we have.? Said Barney Bishop, the chief executive of Associated Industries of Florida and head of anti-Hometown Democracy group called Save our Constitution.

Both sides have accused the other of playing games. Bishop said Hometown Democracy was holding back on submitting signed petitions to offset the 150-day window. (The group denies that.) And Hometown Democracy has accused Save Our Constitution of dirty tricks. A letter the group sent recently warns people about being tricked into signing the petition.

It is signed by ?The Honorable John Thraser? former speaker of the Florida House. But nowhere does it list Thraser in his current job: paid lobbyist of Associated Industries.

So you be the judge. Why do yo think the Times changed the article and omitted the comments ?

Are you the Idiot Developers say you are ?

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Nov

27

Will rate resets spoil the New Year ?

Filed Under Economy, Finance, Mortgage, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

According to a WSJ article based upon Bank of America Data. The Real Crest of the ARM reset wave is yet to come.

Now the real crest of the reset wave is coming. This means more pain for borrowers, lenders and Wall Street. We have all observed the bad media over the last year and more specifically the last three months. Here in Florida, we have achieved all time records in a lot of areas we would rather not be mentioned for. Bad as it has been, most of the fall out hit the subprime markets where lenders focused on people with poor credit. The result is they went bust and people lost their homes. ARM Resets

The big banks and Wall Street also suffered losses, some in the Billions. This has added to layoffs as many Banks and Mortgage Companies ceased operations or curtailed operations. Once again this has hit Florida very hard. Even here in the Tampa Bay, both the Mortgage and Real Estate Markets as a whole have been given the one two punch.

According to Banc of America Securities, this quarter alone will see $85 billion in subprime mortgages resetting. The same amount will reset in the first quarter of 2008. However, that’s not yet the worst. It appears that we will hit a peak of around $101 billion in the 2nd quarter of 2008.

Just enough to spoil the New Year ? That remains to be seen.

If however this comes to pass. You can expect that the number of homes now on the market in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties that make up the Tampa Bay Area will likely double next year. According to the UnReal Estate guy at Tampabay.com, listings could shoot up to the high 40’s.

If you end up in a situation where foreclosure is involved you will be letting the house go for far lower than you ever imagined.

So, if you were planning on selling your home. Best get it on the market now before the flood comes. Just be sure that you take a realistic approach on pricing your home in the current market and consult with your real estate professional for advice.

How to avoid foreclosure

Florida Foreclosures Double from this time last year

How to sell your home fast - in 4 steps

How not to become a Florida Foreclosure Statistic

Nov

26

Is there an upside to real estate downturn ?

Filed Under Economy, Finance, Helpful Information | 3 Comments

The current situation here in the Tampa Real Estate Market has some would be homeowners downright frustrated. Wondering when the market will bottom out so buyers can buy at the best price or for sellers wondering when the buyers will get off the fence and buy what they are selling now.

If it’s not a good time to buy then it sure has gotten a lot better to renovate or build. This time a year ago if you could find the material for a renovation it was still at a pretty high market value. Then try to even get an appointment with an architect. According to a recent Wall-Street Journal article “The Upside to the Downturn Contractors Return Calls, Materials Cost Less.. It appears that it may be a good time to:

renovate
be shopping for an architect
shop for a builder

With a lot of folks from the housing industry short on work here in Florida, you can bet that you will have no problem finding a contractor to help with a home project.

Tampa home prices plummet

Nov

23

Newspaper ads for listings a dying breed

Filed Under Buyers Tips, Helpful Information, Listings, Seller Tips, Technology | 2 Comments

New Report by media experts Borrell Associates Inc.forecast the demise of newspaper advertising as one of the staples for Real Estate listings.

“Real estate brokers and agents will continue to devote more marketing budgets to online media. This year they will spend $2.6 billion on online media and by 2012 online will topple newspapers share“.

Real Estate Add Revenue Predictions

This is indeed interesting and backs- up what many of us in the NEW Media segment have been preaching to the old guard. There is a change in the wind and it is happening much sooner and faster than Real Estate Agents and Brokers will be happy with.

I have posted several articles over the last few weeks discussing the merits or the lack thereof, pertaining to Web 2.0 adoption by the Real Estate industry as a whole, and in particular how NAR has responded at their recent convention in Vegas. (NAR members with Ostrich syndrome on Web 2.0 ) (National Association of Realtors details 10 Year Plan)

Many in the Real Estate industry still fight this notion as one recent commenter said, “The Internet is a a powerful tool as we all know, but I don?t think we can completely discount the amount of buyers that search the newspapers still these days. The paper in my market has an excellent real estate section every Sunday. I generate a lot of calls from classified ads so I know they are still reading. You have to keep things diversified.”

While this may be true today, the statistics show a rapidly declining market for newspapers and an incremental rise in-online advertising. As the Baby Boom generation completes their last home purchases, the next generation, X, Y and ?? will be accustomed to using the Internet.

Borrell’s report also forecasts; that online advertising revenue will grow by 12.4 % in 2008 and print ad spending will continue to decline at an accelerated pace. The print advertising medium is expected to shrink by as much as 16% in 2009 increasing to 13% in 2010. Online real estate advertising will have surpassed print by 2011.

The writing is on the wall and as Zillow makes agreements with Newspaper companies for add sharing revenue it is apparent they know this too is coming.

So if you are one of the ones still sitting on the fence and wondering why you should even bother with taking your advertising online, or investing the time to learn about blogs ? I think this is your call. If this pans out, that means that you would have about 3 years to get up to speed. Meantime the early adopters will be taking valuable market share that you knowingly gave away.

Technology can be daunting, but their is a lot of help in the market with more on the horizon. If you approach the inevitable change with openness and embrace it, you will find yourself much better able to handle the questions you will surely get from prospective clients inquiring about your approach to media advertising and your online presence.

I think the days are fast approaching when simply being an expert in your area of the Real Estate community is not enough. You also have to know how to market yourself and your expertise in the new medium. Not because I or any other media pundit says you should. The real drivers for adoption will be your customers, who will demand it.

Are Florida Realtors up for the challenging time ahead ?

National Association of Realtors details 10 Year Plan

Zillow Newspaper advertising alliance - So What ?

NAR members with Ostrich syndrome on Web 2.0

Nov

22

Thanksgiving in Tampa - Home & Holiday Traditions

Filed Under First Time Home Buyers, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Thanksgiving Tampa 2007 Not sure how many folks will even turn on their computer today. But thought in the event that a few were scouring around looking for Holiday gift ideas, I thought I might take a moment to reflect on Thanksgiving here in Tampa Florida.

This is typically a day where most of us take the time to reflect on what we have to be thankful for and not about what we are trying to do to stay afloat or even get ahead, in this hectic life and times that we find ourselves in.

Today is no exception at the Townsend house hold. While the news continues to deluge us with all the housing woes, I find it ironic that what this entire housing thing is really about, is what we are celebrating today.

Oh it is about investments, but not the kind you often associate with home-ownership. It’s not about property or land when you really get down to it. It is about investments in our children’s and our families future and its about having a home to create and share family memories.

We have two small children and so our main focus is setting the family traditions that we hope will foster and nurture our children as they grow older. Some day they also will be home owners and will be sharing Thanksgiving memories with mom and dad and hopefully some grand children of our own.

Tampa Florida is a Great Place to be for Thanksgiving. Guess we could start a new tradition and celebrate with a Beach Picnic as today’s forecast is 80 degrees. Nah… think we will stick to the basics. It is nice to be able to open the window and enjoy the nice weather though.

I don’t want to droll on here, but I cannot end this without at least asking everyone to say a prayer for our Military serving abroad for our freedom here at home. Put aside your opinions and feelings for this one day about the war in the Middle East and just be Thankful that we have so many men and women that have volunteered to be away from their families and loved ones at this time, so that you and I can share this day in peace and tranquility.

While most of the press talks about the men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan, don’t forget we have military missions around the globe in far off places where these brave troops have gone in the name of democracy and freedom for all of us here at home in the U.S. They won’t have the great meal you will be enjoying today and many won’t have warm cozy beds to fall into at the end of the days celebrations. Some of them have some very meager living conditions, however they don’t complain. They do this for all of us, so we can continue to enjoy and pass down our family traditions. Remember that most of them also are sacrificing in the name of Tradition

This little sermon of mine is not for any political reason. It is because I have been there and know first hand what the men and women have sacrificed. I am blessed today to be able to share my Thanksgiving here in my Home in Tampa with Friends and Family, because of them.

We wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving and want to remind friends and family members that are not with us today, that we are thinking about you. We still have many memories of past Thanksgivings with our Mom and Dad and Brothers and Sisters, that will be part of the passing of the traditions today.

God-bless