Diana Perez, BS Realtor® Property Manager Miami Florida

About a year ago, me and my friend spontaneously decided to go for a ride to Naples, Florida which is on the west coast of the peninsula. After doing some driving around and getting a bite to eat off of 5th Avenue, we decided to head towards the beach.

Upon returning from walking around I notice that there was a handbag hanging from a parking meter. It was probably invasion of privacy, but me and my friend decided after minutes of debating whether to look inside the handbag or not to look for the person's picture ID and decided to go ahead and do it. We then walked around the beach and started calling out the woman's name to every woman that resembled her - nothing.

All that time we kept talking about how this woman might be desperate looking for her purse, wondering and retracking her steps - she might even not have realized yet that her handbag was missing. We also kept thinking, "Is this the right thing to do?" but we did it anyway. I know I will would be very happy if someone took the time to do the same thing.

We also decided to call someone off of her cell phone contact names and called 'dad' but no answer - we left a message. After about 10 minutes, we see a woman get out of her car looking desperate - we knew it was her. We called her by her name - she didn't look too happy and didn't even say thank you after we explained to her the measures that we had personally taken to 'look' for her. Not that it was such a big deal - you could only feel violated when you find out that your personal things and identity has been stolen when you lose your wallet or handbag - mind you she had a lot of money in there. We didn't touch it or count it but she had a few hundred - the money was scattered.

We felt uncomfortable with the way that she reacted but felt good at the same time because deep down we felt that we did a good deed. Instead of the woman thanking us and being grateful that some caring people had found her purse and took the time to return it to her, her reaction made us feel uncomfortable but someone else might not have been so ‘nice' and actually walked away - and she would have to make appointments to get an ID at the DMV, lost money, credit cards, she might have lost a lot more than money, her identity, and the list goes on.

We don't know if her negative reaction was due to the shock that she was in of 'losing' her purse more than actually 'finding' it but we were at least relieved and glad that she got her handbag back and intact.

Four days ago I went outside of my house to get my mail. A man across the street doing some work called out my name and said that he found my wallet. My wallet? Yes, it must have fallen out of your handbag when you checked your mail yesterday. I could not believe it! My money and everything was intact! I gave the man a hug and was almost in tears because it was Christmas money in there, personal and company credit card and my identity as well. I was with the same friend that went with me to Naples and we looked at each other in disbelief but with relief. We immediately remembered the lady with the handbag at Naples beach and laughed! The moral of the story - it pays to be nice and honest.

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Related Article: NYT by Brad Stone 4/7/09

Lost in the Real World, Found in Cyberspace

Miami Beach's City National Bank has received a 5 Star rating with it's over $1 billion in assets from Bauer Financial and Bankrate.com and was given an A+ rating from Street.com in it's 3^rd Quarter for 2008 according to MSN Money Central and PR Newswire.

According to a recent article by The Miami Herald - Nine Banks in Miami-Dade & Broward Counties Earn Top Ratings. Among them are Coral Gables based First Bank, Coconut Grove Bank (Miami), Flagler Bank (Davie) and Floridian Community Bank (Ft. Lauderdale).

What gives banks an A+ or 5 Star rating? How important should the rating of your bank be to you? Should you care?

Banks are financial intermediaries - a depository institution which accepts deposits from the public and then lends those deposits to borrowers. The profits that come from a bank are from lending out these funds. The banks charge an interest on those loans, and from charging for services such as ATM fees, and check-printing charges.

Banks are not for just depositing money, having a checking account and writing checks. The bank's must have $5 million in real estate banking value and have by law in required reserves $2 million in the vault and $8 million in accounts with the Federal Reserve.

Banks earn their revenue by lending out their deposits. For example, a bank which has too many bankruptcies or home foreclosures - its total assets are less than its total liabilities - is when banks become insolvent, weak, and get a poor rating, even close.

Bank ratings are as follows:

A - Excellent 5 Stars - Superior
B - Good 4 Stars - Sound
C - Fair 3 Stars - Performing
D - Weak 2 Stars - Below Peer Group
E - Very Weak 1 Star - Lowest Rated

Top rated bank's success spared sub-prime loans. Did your bank suffer from the sub-prime crisis that our nation is facing today? Is your bank a top or weak rated bank?

Find out if your bank, thrift, or credit union is safe. How safe is your bank?

Bank failure: What to do next? By: Laura Bruce - Bankrate.com

Most importantly, even if you do not want to change your bank to a higher rated bank, make sure that your bank is FDIC insured.

When a tenant abandons an apartment and leaves personal property behind, what are the proper steps to take of disposing of the tenant's abandoned personal property?

As a property manager, I witnessed a landlord removing a tenant's abandoned personal property as I went to visit my friend at the apartment complex where she resides. The tenant's were late in paying their rent and God knows what causes lie on the reasons for abandoning the rental unit.

The landlord kept ranting about irresponsible tenants and how they had left personal things behind from the silverware to furniture, TV, DVD player and some clothing. Out of curiosity, I asked the landlord how long had the unit been abandoned. The landlord said that the tenant had just called and was going to pick up their ‘stuff'.

But the landlord said that they were entering the unit and taking the tenant's ‘stuff' as collateral for the rent owed. And they did. When the tenants came back they found that their apartment was empty. Apparently, the landlord had not changed the door lock. Big mistake! The tenants then called authorities to file a burglary report.

Immediately, the police came by and asked the landlord to return the tenant's personal property as it is against the law for a landlord to enter a unit and take tenants' ‘abandoned' personal property regardless if they owe rent or not.

The proper procedure was for the landlord to evict the tenant's with the proper eviction documents. Evictions are a process but when done properly, they will save the landlord from getting sued or actually going to jail for theft.

Even if the tenant's do not pay rent and leave the premises, there are steps to take to avoid any legal action against the landlord. Not fair, but laws are laws and guidelines are guidelines.

Alas, both landlord and tenants have a procedure to go by of the right way of disposing of abandoned personal property might the tenants moved out whether they owed rent or not.

The following link is a general guideline (California State) to go by.

U.S. Landlord.com

For Florida Landlords:

Florida Landlord/Tenant Act - Division of Consumer Services

REAL-ity Bites - As long as homeowners continue to overprice their homes in the market for sale, the longer it will take for the real estate housing market to recuperate.

If you are a homeowner and NEED to sell your home then by all means SELL IT but do yourself a favor price it at the right price - which means if your home is not in foreclosure, you would still need to price your home according to the comparable in your block - short sale, foreclosure or not.

I just received a phone call from a friend of a friend who wants to sell their condo because they want out. The condo is not a foreclosure, however, if they wanted to sell right now, in this market, in this very current market, they would have to sell very low, which means that according to the comparable in the same building and even the one next door, they would have to sacrifice $50K, maybe even more or double that amount, depending on how long the property sits on the market and how low the other comparable keep lowering their prices until they find a buyer or buyers, (a bid or bids).

I talked the sellers out of placing their property out of the market and even convincing them through an hour of consultation NOT to sell For Sale By Owner. They are better off holding on to the property than to sell it now.

So if you are in need of selling, do so, if not, hold on to your property until the market picks back up again...in the meantime, save yourself the time, trouble and energy on putting your home on the market, especially if your home is not in foreclosure...hold on, the right time will come along...

To end the story in a sweet note, 'sellers' thanked me and are willing to wait - and they gained real estate market knowledge...

Homeowners' Perception of Home Values Not Grounded in Reality - South Florida Business Journal 10/29/08

©2008 Diana Pѐrez

"The fog that thickens the mirror habitually prevents us from seeing beyond ourselves". Diana Perez Rivera

When was the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror? No, not that mirror, the mirror of your soul.

Too many of us focus on our exterior looks yet fail to look from within. You get up in the morning and go about your morning routines. Before you leave your home you do a quick glance in the mirror to double check that you hair is combed, your shirt collar is neatly tucked in place, your teeth are clean and your breath is fresh.

But have you checked yourself lately? You know, the one that has been screaming at you for your undivided attention but you demisely ignore?

We all fall victims of our hurried worlds, trying to get things done, meeting deadlines, going to work, dealing with the kids, our family, friends, our bosses or employees even our collegues. When do we ever stop to enjoy a few minutes to take an actual break? Yet we continue to try to be the best worker, the fastest and highest closer at our jobs. We have to be the one with the biggest homes and fanciest cars - the ones with the most money in the bank, the best golf course memberships - yet we discriminate our spouses, our family, friends, and peers, even ourselves.

Well, what's wrong with obtaining the best things if life? That is why I work my butt off! I am a good father/mother, son/daughter, boss/employee, I work hard and deserve the best and treat myself.

Congratulations! But let's go back a minute here. Does the money that you make really make you happy and give you joy and peace within yourself? Uh-huh. Stop for a second and ask yourself, "When was the last time I actually appreciated and thanked God for the things that I have and for the things that I don't have?

No matter what your religion is, give thanks for the riches of your material possessions for not many are as fortunate as you, especially in today's real estate market and financial crisis. But most importantly give thanks for the richness of your soul, for they truly are the most significant possessions that any human can ever possess, the one's that we can't see, the gem that is so hard to polish and preserve.

Dedicate some time during the day to reflect and meditate; shut your mind off and 'be' in the moment. You are a wonderful human being! By looking within, you will be able to see beyond Your Mirrored Self.

© 2008 Diana Pѐrez