DESIGN-OMICS: MAKE EVERY DOLLAR COUNT

DESIGN-OMICS: MAKE EVERY DOLLAR COUNT

Thursday, August 19^th at 2 pm, hear and see the Robb & Stucky Design Team educate us about:

• Which design elements give your décor the most “bang for the buck”
• How to prioritize your choices to get as much impact as possible from each item on your list
• The dramatic effect of lighting
• Proper space planning
• The visual power of a “wow “ furniture accent.

Here is an opportunity to learn from “the pros.” This seminar will be held upstairs in the Boca Raton store in Mizner Park.  Reservations are requested as space is limited.  Please call 561-862-5597 to reserve.

FAU OPEN AIR 30,000-SEAT OWLS STADIUM

BACK ON TRACK

Florida Atlantic’s Board of Trustees have unanimously approved a plan for funding a new football stadium, the largest sports venue to be in Palm Beach County, and the State University’s Board of Governors is expected to give final approval in September with construction planned to start later that month. 

A loan of $44.6MM is expected from Regions Bank and application has been made for acceptance as a Build America Bond, for which the federal government pays 35% of the interest payments, as part of last year’s stimulus bill.  The loan will be paid off with stadium revenue, student athletic fees, sale of naming rights, fund raising and at least $1MM in funds each year from playing away games. 

While the lender cannot seize the property or go after the university to collect on the loan, it can take the operating revenue of FAU Finance Corp, a direct-support organization formed by the university, that is assuming the debt. After seven years, Regions Bank would have the right to call for full payment of the loans but FAU could reduce the outstanding debt on the stadium to $30MM in seven years and then perhaps refinance it as a bond. 

Total cost is $63.5MM, the balance after the loan coming from FAU and its fundraising foundation.   The construction project would employ 200 people and generate about 1000 jobs overall during the construction process.

Also included will be a team store, 1076 premium club seats, 4448 priority club seats, 16 air-conditioned boxes and 2 0 luxury suites for lease.  With palm trees at both southern ends zones the phrase used for scoring will be “Between the Palms.”

Read more: http://bocaratonhomesforsale.blogspot.com/#ixzz0uY7o76lM

NAR REPORTS EXISTING HOME SALES WERE UP 15% IN JUNE IN FLORIDA

It’s nice to hear good news. 

·        For 22 consecutive months sales activity has increased in the year to year comparison

·        Statewide sales in June were up 7.7% over May

·        Statewide existing-home median price of $143,400 was 2.1% higher than May’s $140,400

·        This is the 4^th month in a row that statewide existing-home median price has increased over previous month

·        16 metropolitan statistical areas showed higher sales for existing condos, many for 24 consecutive months.  

·        Condo price median was $181,300 in May nationally; Florida existing condo median sales price in June was $95,000.  In June 2009 it was $112,800, a 16% decrease.

None of us would disagree with National Association of Realtors (NAR) Economist Lawrence Yun, who said that as the employment rolls rise, so will home sales.

ANTIQUE RUGS – AN ACCESSORY YOU MAY WANT IN YOUR HOME

Unique antique rugs can add personality, character, versatility, style and interest to your home decor.  An antique is described as an item that is at least 80-100 years old, decorative and collectible.  The owner appreciates its age, beauty, rarity, warmth and. While rugs can be the most expensive decorative item in a home, antique carpets can be less expensive than brand new rugs.  You can purchase them at auction, often getting a wonderful buy. Rugs can also be displayed as wall hangings.

Traditional style carpets usually have intricate patterns and come in a wide array of colors from the jewel tones to light and airy, giving a real and elegant look. 

Tabriz rugs are Persian and sometimes have medallion designs and allover patterns that are precisely drawn and executed with care and of a high quality, therefore long -lasting. 

Kashan rugs include some of the best classical silk Persian rugs also with medallion and overall designs, in all colors.

Knorassan/Mashad rugs are available in similar formats but often have a softer, more decorative coloration.  Their weaving technique makes them durable.

Modern design tends to be simpler in taste and style, sometimes minimalist with subtle colors and an abstract look, e.g. arts and crafts or art deco.  Moroccan rugs can have simple tribal geometric or abstract patterns and add a sophisticated look to modern furniture and can have dynamic colors.  Architect Frank Lloyd Wright used Moroccan rugs in the homes he designed. 

THE GOOD NEWS

The Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards conducted a survey in early July with a statistically representative sample of more than 1000 households and found:

·        66% believe the economy will hold steady or improve over the next 6 months

·        83% believe their own personal finances will get better or at least hold their own

·        most consumers are hoping for gradual improvements in home sales and real estate as well as other major sectors of the economy

Their report also discusses the use of financial planners and it has stayed relatively stable for the last two years.

Major USTA National Championship Tournament at The Polo Club in Boca Raton

Major USTA National Championship Tournament at The Polo Club in Boca Raton

July 18 marks the 22nd year that The Polo Club of Boca Raton will host the USTA Girls' 12 Clay Court Championships. The competition has produced such tennis greats at Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati.

Championed by Tennis Director, Jean Mills, The Polo Club will host 128 of the top-ranked female tennis players ages 12 and younger from across the United States. This years' top seeded player is Sofia Kenin from Pembroke Pines, FL.

The Polo Club does more than just provide the facility. Its membership is the source of countless volunteers needed to help run the tournament; it hosts the opening ceremonies and extends its staff and facilities to assure complete coverage of the tournament's needs.

The Polo Club, at one time the residence of tennis greats such as Stephanie Graff and Chris Everett, prides itself as one of the finest tennis facilities in Southeast Florida, and has been host to big-name tennis events, such as the Andy Roddick Charity Event, Virginia Slims, Pro Celebrity and the ITF.

HOME APPRAISALS

HOME APPRAISALS

A GOOD START when you are putting your property on the market would be to get an appraisal.  Then you know the market value, and can price it for sale accordingly and mention in the listing information that appraisal is available to see.  Here are some hints on how to prepare for an appraisal.

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

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.

WHAT’S NEW IN THE CAT WORLD

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   

 or a more formal corner cat litter box 
in an attractive assortment of colors, referred to by the New York Times as the "I-POD of litter boxes."

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.

Click VOTE below which will take you

to MARILYN JACOBS' profile

and click on the hand to vote!

You can vote once a day.

VOTE

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.

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.

GOOD NEWS ON THE PROPERTY 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.