Yesterday I greeted a couple who just arrived back at their home in Venice Florida, after a chilly summer in Oceanport, New Jersey. The salutations quickly turned to their tale of having a rear tire blow-out on their spanking new BMW just 12 miles from Venice Florida. They first called a BMW dealership in Sarasota and were surprised that they wanted a little more than a hundred dollars just to come out, so they then called their trusty AAA motor club and began their wait as the cars zipped by and by and by!
But, in just 5 minutes (repeat...5 minutes) a truck pulled up behind them; surprisingly fast for AAA, they mused. "HELLO, I AM A ROAD RANGER WITH THE FLORIDA TRANSPORTATION OF TRANSPORTATION, MAY I HELP YOU?"
Needless to say, my friends were both shocked and surprised that service would come so fast and from a ROAD RANGER, of whom they had never heard. The Ranger announced that his service was FREE and that he and others patrolled I-75 looking for distressed vehicles, as a Public Service of the Department of Transportation.
The Ranger proceeded to remove the blown tire, install the spare tire and wish them well on their way home!
This service is provided by D.O.T. on several of the Interstates and other major highways. Some highways have cameras that look for 'down' vehicles and signal the Rangers. The phone boxes at every mile on the Interstates also have a distressed button to push to signal the nearby Ranger.
Ever Heard of Road Ranger Service Patrols on Florida's Interstate Highways?
Now you have thanks to my friends who will probably give this program even more publicity than I as they tell their friendship-chain this wonderful and surprising story!
Have a CLICK to learn more about all the unsung services of D.O.T. in Florida.
The Associated Press and the Herald Tribune report this morning that the House of Representatives has followed the lead of the Senate and both extended and expanded the popular Home Buyer tax Credit! This is very good news for Venice Florida, Sarasota County and the entire US of A. I am calling your attention to this as it is a really good effort on the part of our Government to both encourage home buying and to boost the weak economy. President Obama is expected to sign the Home-Buyer Bills TODAY! Here are the highlight details:
FIRST-TIME-BUYER...$8000 Tax Credit, yes, $8000! If you have not had interest in a principal residence for 3 years prior to purchase, Uncle Sam will credit you with $8000 at tax time. You will be sent a refund for the difference between what you owe and the $8000. This is Terrific!
CURRENT-HOME-BUYER...$6500! Yes, as long as you have lived in the home being sold as a principal residence consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years, you are eligible for a $6500 Tax Credit. This is a new incentive and a good one!
The Associated Press and Los Angeles Times reported this AM what we have been "Toes and Fingers Crossed" over for the past month...that home buyers would be given further incentives. Yes, by a 98-0 vote the Senate has passed their Bill to:
So, armed with flash light and 80 full-sized candy bars, ranging from the ever-popular Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, to Almond Joys, Baby Ruths (remember them?), and Hershey's Dark Chocolates, I awaited the first customers at dark. Knowing that I have never been referred to as "Handsome" but a lot of other inhumane things that I no longer find derogatory, I took my colleagues advice and hid behind on of the overgrown shrubs at property's edge so that the oncoming customers would not see me head-on, be frightened and not want to hear my Plot Sale Presentation. Well, colleagues, that is the last advice I will ever take from you. "What do you know about Plot Sales on Halloween in Venice Florida?" The 80 full-sized candy bars disappeared in jig time, with some of the vultures, oops, customers tried to take two, like they had done at other "sales offices" where they offered those tiniest of tiny candy things, implying that times were tough. And, you guessed it, every time I jumped politely out from behind my over-grown shrub what looked and sounded like sheer panic and near-death prevailed, in every customer except the one colleague who told me how to Sell Plots in Venice Florida on Halloween Night! I did not get to give a single Plot Sale Presentation, and it was superbly prepared with vivid pictures of some of the "residents". In fact, I would say that the Full-sized Candy Bars were a distraction, for the customers quickly ran away as though I was going to take them back. I heard a few of the familiar names thrown my way, but having taken a number of those Motivational and Positive-Attitude Courses and being well ahead on my Continuing Education, they never entered my cranium or pierced my dermis. There is a silver lining in this seemingly down experience on Halloween Night in Venice Florida. It is obvious that I should have shook the over-grown shrub before I jumped out and that I should have released a signaling shriek or the like! No, really, I now know that with a little tweaking of my approach and a re-reading of my Lead-Capture and Property Staging course books, I will be a Top Producer in the sales of everything that Venice Florida has to offer. I will not let my innate talents go to waste, NO! Watch out colleagues, and thanks for the advice that led me to the tweaking exercise. I will gladly share my experiences in attempted Plot Sales on Halloween in Venice Florida with any and all of you at any time, for the mere price of a Full-Sized BABY RUTH!
My creative mind said "Take advantage of the Traffic on Halloween Night to sell some of the plots that have been plugging our inventory in Venice Florida years" and all of my colleagues thought that it was one of my most brilliant of ideas (and I have had MANY!).
Yes, CNN Reports that if the Senate, according to Republican and Democrat sources, votes as expected both 1st time Home Buyers who have not owned a home in last 3 years and all Home Buyers who have lived in their current home for at least 5 years will be eligible for $8,000 and $6,500 tax credits, respectively. WHOOPEE! These tax credits will be good on purchases closed before the end of April 2010.
The House is said to favor the $8,000 credit but has not staked a position on the $6,500 plan. More details will inevitably be added.
Stay tuned as this could be big news and a real stimulus for the real estate business and the economy, which is often said is the key to a healthy and prosperous economy! The 1st Quarter could be "smashing!"
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