With the House voting down the bail out Stocks plummeted on Wall Street even before the 228-205 vote to reject the bill was announced on the House floor.

Ample no votes came from both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle. More than two-thirds of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats opposed the bill.

Lets see what happens in the coming days if the Market will crash.

Here is part II. I want to thank Karen Ross for this information.

In 2003, Warren Buffet's Company, HomeServices of America, Inc., purchased EWM, making it an affiliated company of the Warren Buffet/Berkshires Hathaway Companies. Over the past thirty-five years, Warren Buffett has emerged as arguably the greatest investor in American history. An Investor, Businessperson, and Philanthropist, with an estimated current net worth of around US $52 Billion, Warren Buffet was ranked by Forbes as the third-richest person in the world as of September 2007.

Las Olas Realtor Abiud Montes
Is A Real Hometown Marine Hero
By: Kevin Lane

Abiud Montes has been a Marine Corp reservist for close to 20 years and he’s served two tours in Iraq. Last month, Abiud was chosen from among more than 200,000 Marines as one of a handful of Marines to be honored by the Marine Corps Times. He received an Honorable Mention in the 2008 Marine of the Year Awards. His ‘Las Olas Connection,’ is his work, along with his wife, Lina, at EWM Realty, located at 1700 East Las Olas.

Abiud was born in Long Branch, New Jersey and moved to Florida in 1980. He joined the Marines in North Miami Beach and went to Boot Camp on September 11, 1989 at Paris Island, SC. In 1991, he was deployed, along with 250 Marine Reserves from his unit, the 8th Tank Battalion; to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for Combat Operations in Operation Desert Storm and in 2003 he served 6 months in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. “People call me Ab or Abi,” Montes said. “In the Marines they call me GUNS or Gunny, which is short for my rank of Gunnery Sergeant.”

These days, Abi spends one weekend each month in Hialeah at the Navy & Marine Corps Reserve Center. “We are trained to be technically proficient with weapons, martial arts, and SASO (Support & Security Operations). As a SASO instructor, I instruct 140 Marines in classes that involve military forces providing support and security to friendly noncombatants while suppressing any threatening forces. The ultimate goal is to meet the immediate needs of designated groups and to transfer responsibility quickly and efficiently to appropriate civilian authorities. The purpose of SASO is saving lives; reduce suffering; recover essential infrastructure; and improve quality of life,” Abi said. He is a Career Retention Specialist, Company Gunny, Assistant Operations Chief, and President of the Marine Corps Committee of South Florida.

Outside Baghdad Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Picture taken by: Gunny Montes

Each summer, Abi and his unit spend 15 days at annual training. This summer they did their training in the desert at 29 Palms, California, where they lived in 2 man tents for 14 days. He was quick to point out that it was very hot!

Last year, Abi joined his wife Lina at EWM Realty. While most realtors are bemoaning the housing slump, Abiud is finding this to be a good time to be in the business “… because this is the time to ground yourself and really learn about the business,” he noted. Abiud met Lina on an airplane flying from Europe. The couple have a daughter, 3 year old Naia Maria Montes.

As if his Marine service, working at EWM and being a husband and father wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Abi is a 14 year veteran Firefighter/Paramedic for the City of Hollywood Fire Rescue Department. He is also a Lead Coordinator for the Honor Guard at the Department. Eleven years ago he instigated the Fire Department involvement with the Marines for the Toys for Tots toy drive. For the last 8 years he has been mentoring children at the local Elementary Schools for students who do not have fathers. He even finds time to speak at Career Days for all grades for local Dade and Broward Schools as well as outside the State of Florida.

Gunny Abi Montes speaking at a Local School

“I also talk to organizations, youth groups, after school programs and churches. I was the guest of honor speaker this year for the Navy League of South Florida. Most of the time, I share my experience in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. When I speak at schools I talk to the students about staying in school, saying ‘no to drugs’, and about the life of a Marine in combat.” He’s also very active in his community and church.

Caroline Carrara, Manager of the Las Olas EWM, shared highlights of several letters she had read in support of Abi’s recognition by the Marines with everyone in her office. “In 2007 in Aguadilla, Abi was swimming with his cousin and nephew when they were all caught in a riptide, on a beach with no lifeguards and in an heroic act, Abi saved both their lives”. Another letter was from a circuit judge who commends Abi for his quick thinking while he was on jury duty. It seems that Abi was stuck in the elevator with 10 jurors (one of which was an elderly lady). Cries for help and the elevator phone did not result in assistance. "...Mr. Montes used his knowledge as a firefighter. He pried open the doors, climbed to where there was a switch, triggered it and brought the elevator closer to the next floor, and then assisted all the passengers to climb out safely,” the Judge recounted.

EWM Manager

Caroline Carrara

“Who would have known, that this gentle, kind, funny, blogging, Real Estate Agent in my office was this bigger than life everyday hero? I am blown away and very proud to work with him and to know of his heroic acts, and to be able to share this with the rest of our EWM Family. Congratulations, Abi Montes, you are undoubtedly a Hero!” Ms. Carrara enthused.

Founded in 1964, EWM (Esslinger∙Wooten∙Maxwell) is one of the largest real estate services firms in America, with home sales totaling more than $3 billion in 2004. The full-service firm employs 950 associates and staff in its 13 offices in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. EWM offers residential and commercial real estate services, corporate relocation, and international services, as well as home mortgage, title closing services, and property insurance through subsidiary companies EWM Mortgage, EWM Title, and EWM Insurance. The Las Olas office phone is (954) 764-7171.

This weekend I had the opportunity to take the boat out to show some clients a beautiful Penthouse located at 121 Golden Isles Dr. PH #2 Hallandale Beach, FL 33009. This Penthouse has dock space available and breath-taking views of the Ocean and the Intracoastal.

After showing this Penthouse we continued our journey just 15 minutes north by boat on the Intracoastal and arrived at Las Palmas Tropical Grill located at 1318 North Ocean Drive, Hollywood, FL 33019.

Nestled on the Intracoastal Waterway, it is one of the only restaurants where you can find International fare such as crab cakes, pan-seared peppercorn-encrusted codfish, stuffed clams casino, grilled rib eye steak and sushi. We sat dockside as we watched the beautiful sunset and enjoyed our meal as luxurious boats passed by.

Diana our waitress suggested that we order the Sunset Dinner for two. She explained that it started with a choice of a bottle of red or white wine. Then you had an option of soup or three different types of salad, twelve different entrees to choose from, desert was key lime pie, cheese cake, chocolate cake, or apple pie with coffee or tea. All this for just $49.00 and they had a live DJ with a dance floor. Our clients just continued to say how they just felt like they were on vacation. Diana our waitress was outstanding and went above and beyond to make us and our clients very welcomed and the food was delicious.

Move to South Florida because you too can feel like you're on vacation every day.