South Florida Living

A Death In The Redland

September 1st, 2007 Categories: South Florida Living

He was alive two hours ago.  Now grief seems to be all that’s left behind.  He was an only child.  I cannot begin to imagine the pain his parents are going through.  Twenty-two years old.  He was just a kid.

I did not know Lloyd.  Now I can’t get his sneakers out of my head.  When the authorities covered his body, the feet were left out.  Why don’t they make blankets that are long enough?  His feet were visible from where I stood. 

My sister ran to the scene when she heard.  She did not know him either.  There was a party across the street and he was a guest.  We were in our  homes, heard the commotion and ran out. 

My sister stayed with him and spoke to him even though she couldn’t be sure he heard her.  His face was gone.  When the cops came and examined the scene they laid little pieces of police tape wherever they found pieces of his skull.  I counted 20 in horror and stopped counting.  The trail was like a sick Hansel and Gretel scene that travelled over 20 feet to where his body lay lifeless.  His feet a grim reminder.

He had been riding his Banchee on the dirt road.  We heard him before his accident.  He was going way too fast.  He wasn’t wearing a helmet either.  He lost control as the ATV bumped on the uneven road and was thrown from it violently. 

Is there anything we can say to the kids to make them realize that those things are dangerous?  At the very least to ride responsibly?  In the Redland not only do we have local kids riding them, but kids come from “the city” to ride them out here too.

If you think riding an ATV is cool please stop a moment and think of Lloyd.  Think of his 3 year-old son whose father is gone now.  Think of his parents who won’t be able to kiss his cheek or hear his voice.  Think of your own loved ones and please ride responsibly.

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Eliminating The Competition

August 30th, 2007 Categories: South Florida Living

One of my sellers contacted me yesterday. He was wondering why his sign was gone from the front of his house.

I called our sign installer and asked. They knew nothing about it.

My seller and I came to the conclusion that the competition didnt want to compete with his home which is priced to sell and decided to get rid of the sign.

Either that, or someones using my face for BB-gun practice.

Just lovely¦¦¦

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To Catch A Lizard

August 6th, 2007 Categories: Entertainment, South Florida Living

Ahhh¦.nothing like a little excitement added to your morning. Im on vacation in Ft. Myers Beach and when we went to bed last night, we noticed a little lizard was in the room. I was too tired to do anything about it last night but awoke fully charged and ready to tackle the little critter this morning.

Most Floridians wouldnt do anything about a little lizard in the room. Most Floridians would laugh at me for referring to them as Floridians. Although I call Miami Redland home, I grew up in New York City and still prefer the little reptiles outside, where I feel they belong.

My task this morning was made easier by the fact that the little guy was still hanging out on the ceiling. I have a super simple way of catching lizards that works almost 100% of the time. And I dont have to touch them. Although Ive gotten over the fear of them Im still a little squeamish about touching them. I owe this simple trick to my friend Rosemary Janssen. Thanks Romi!

This lizard was tiny, about 2 inches with tail and all. I went to the kitchen and got a glass. I ripped the box our fajita dinner started in so that I had a piece of cardboard big enough to slide under the glass after I cupped him. Ive discovered that most lizards will œplay dead when they notice you around them. Unless youre up in their space, then theyll try to make a run for it.

I put the glass over the cute little thing. Then I slipped the cardboard under the glass so that he was trapped. I got off the chair very carefully (everyone else was still sleeping so I had no one to help). And I went outside where I set him free. Of course the glass was washed after being used.

Mission accomplished!

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What’s A CDD And Why Should I Care?

July 23rd, 2007 Categories: For Buyers, South Florida Living

OK, first of all, you must be wondering what CDD stands for. In real estate, it stands for Community Development District.

Now that we have that out of the way, why should you care what a CDD is? Let me tell you so it doesn’t surprise you 8 months after you purchase your new home.

Some new homes are built in what is known as a Community Development District. The Miami Dade Property Appraiser has his own definition and a darn good one at that. It states… “The Community Development District – CDD” means a local unit of special-purpose government. A community development district may charge separate non-ad valorem special assessments for satisfying the debt obligations of the District related to financing, constructing, maintaining and servicing the District’s improvements and/or services.

If it still isn’t clear, I’ll spell it out real simply…it boils down to a larger tax bill. You will pay more money for property taxes than someone else with a home valued at the same amount but whose home is not within a CDD.

How much more? Well, that depends. It could be in the neighborhood of $800/yr to $1200/yr or more. It is totally based on the types of improvements and/or services that were constructed, financed and maintained and on the budget adopted annually by the CDD.

If you are buying a home that is part of a CDD it must be disclosed to you. However, you may have stars in your eyes as you check out that shiny new townhouse and completely gloss over the fact that this will be an additional expense on top of the mortgage, taxes, insurance and homeowners association, if any.

There are many new developments in Homestead, Cutler Bay and Miami which are in CDD’s and that impacts your monthly payment. Make sure you’re including the additional cost a CDD brings when you’re figuring out your numbers.

For instance a CDD which imposes an assessment of $984 per year is costing you $82 per month. With an extra $82 per month on a 30 year fixed mortgage with 6.5% interest rate you could afford to purchase almost $13,000 worth of extra house in a community without the extra expense of a CDD.

Make sure you’re including all of your monthly expenses when figuring out how much home you can afford.

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Leaping Lizards!

July 12th, 2007 Categories: South Florida Living

The other day I heard a noise outside my window and took a peek. I found this little fella. Of course I took a peek through the closed window. I’m not a chicken but would rather not run the risk of having him come inside and get too comfy here.

When I moved to the Miami Redlands I knew it would be different than the Queens, NY neighborhood I grew up in. In Queens, we heard the ambulance outside. Let’s not forget the bus that whooshed by every 20 minutes or so. Except when someone needed to get off at the bustop right outside our window. Then it stopped and we could hear the hydraulics as it took off again. And that was our bedroom window. The kids were actually used to the noise and had a hard time adjusting to the quiet in our new Miami neighborhood.

I kid you not when I tell you that the first time I heard cats on our roof I totally freaked. They sounded so nearby that I was certain they were inside the attic. Actually, I was unaware that they were cats. In my wild imagination I thought they were rabid possums and was sure it would be only a matter of moments before they busted through the attic door and bit me. Strange thoughts can go through your mind in the middle of the night. I laugh about that now.

I love living out here. I often sit on the porch and listen to the birds. I once had a quaker land on my head and stay there as I called excitedly to the girls and walked towards the front door. Unfortunately when the door opened, the first one out was one of our cats and friendly Mr. Quaker took off. I called him and called him but he no longer wanted anything to do with me.

We saw a 3 foot iguana crossing the street once. We’ve never seen him again. But this little guy outside my window makes an appearance every couple of months or so. He’s not so little. He’s not our common lizards that, although pretty patterns adorn their backs sometimes, are a dime a dozen. He’s actually an Anolis equestris equestris - or Western Knight Anole, the largest of all Anolis species. Florida has only one true native anolis, the Anolis carolinensis, or Green Anole, which is usually 5-8 inches in length. The Western Knight Anole is usually 13 – 19 inches long. They were introduced to Florida from Cuba. This one on my window seemed to be about 14 inches long. His color is a bright green, not the dull browns, greys and slimy non-colors of some of the common lizards.

Anoles are great to have on your property. They eat up lots of bugs. One of our cats once brought one to us as a gift. Unfortunately it was too late to help the poor guy and we let our cat know we were not at all pleased. If you ever do get one inside the house, try to corner it so you can capture it and take it back ouside. They can’t live very long inside a house as it’s too cold for them and they would only last a few days. If you ever do have reason to capture one to release it outside, don’t worry when it tries to bite you. That’s one of their defense mechanisms. Their teeth are really tiny and the bite doesn’t hurt (so I’ve been told). UPDATE – this is only true for the smaller Green Anole. This larger Western Knight Anole bites and it hurts. The other defense mechanism is he’ll poop in your hand. As gross as that sounds, it’s a really tiny poop and not much to worry about. Just make sure you wash your hands afterwards!

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Miami Redlands Traffic Improvements

July 9th, 2007 Categories: South Florida Living

At first glance this picture may not excite you. It excites me. I’ll tell you why.

This is a brand new traffic light at the corner of SW 200 Street and 137 Avenue. It was sorely needed! It was fully functional sometime in May. There was only one STOP sign there before. The traffic on 200th had the right of way. I felt bad for everyone on 137th avenue trying to join the crowd.

When I first moved to Miami, I lived a little north of the Redlands, where I live now. I used this particular intersection every single day to drive my kids to school and get to work.

I quickly discovered that if you didn’t have an extra 20 minutes to spare and had to stop at this intersection, you were going to be late! It was impossible to get onto 200th Street from 137th Avenue during rush hour. They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, I needed to get where I was going on time and I invented a new route for myself. I had it down to a science. As I approached 200th street if I saw the cars were backed up I would turn before I got there and do a series of turns until I got to 200th street but at another avenue. This required that I go through a residential area. I wasn’t the only one doing it. I am sure those homeowners would have preferred the extra traffic stayed off their streets.

Where I used to make the turn onto 200th it got a little “hairy” sometimes to zoom onto the street. I even had a little cartoon car racing sound I made as I made the turn. The kids knew to be quiet when I did this. I needed to focus and make sure I zoomed out there at just the right moment. There was traffic going both ways on 200th and I did not want to become another accident statistic. Nobody should have to do this to get to work on time. I’m glad the powers that be realized this and did something about it. That turning lane wasn’t even there back then. It was one lane, one stop sign and every man (and woman) fending for himself!

It’s funny, I still use this intersection all the time but not from the avenue. So in essence the addition of the traffic light has slowed me down as I head east on 200th street. It’s still a good thing. I’m sure to the commuters trying to get onto the busy 200th street it is a very big and welcome deal.

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