Miami Real Estate Listings, Foreclosures & Short Sales ? What Is ...

Surprisingly?few?homes right now ? for sale?? in Miami ?? are short sales and/or foreclosures ???The numbers of ?distressed properties listed in?the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) have dropped.

In Pinecrest, of the?144?single family homes listed for sale in the MLS?(priced?from $278,000 to $5.3 million), only?8 are listed as short sales, and only?2 of them?are shown as foreclosures.

In Coral Gables, there are?276 single-family homes currently listed (priced from $259,000 and $18 million).? Out of those 276 properties,?7 of them are short sales and only?1?of them is a foreclosure.

And in Palmetto Bay, of the 96 single family homes listed for sale (with asking prices ranging from $189,000 to?just?below?$7 million?) 19 are short sales and there are ?no foreclosures.

If you would like to buy property, or list yours for sale, and are looking for? an experienced real estate team,?the Restivo?s?specialize in Pinecrest, Coral Gables and Palmetto Bay and we would love to talk with you.?? Vicki & Alexandra ? The Restivo Team? 305 793-1365 restivo.v@ewm.com??305 632-0164? Call us ? anytime!

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Introducing ?Approach Y?: A Better Lease-Accounting Model for ...

?

To date, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and the Boards? constituents have not reached a consensus on how lessees should account for leases. Several approaches to lessee accounting have been identified and debated, but so far none of them has been widely embraced as the clear solution to the problem that the Boards have been trying to solve. In this blog post, I will introduce ?Approach Y??a different approach to lessee accounting that has significant potential to break through the present impasse.

Major Issues

The FASB and the IASB face many challenges in developing improved lease-accounting standards for entities that are lessees. Three issues in particular have stood out:

  1. How should the lessee?s right-of-use (RoU) asset be measured?
  2. How should the effects of lease transactions and events on the lessee?s financial performance be presented/disclosed?
  3. Are multiple lease-accounting models needed for different types of leases?

The optimal lease-accounting model for lessees would address these issues better than alternative models would address them. Specifically, the optimal model would measure the lessee?s RoU assets and lease-payment liabilities in a manner that:

  • Faithfully represents the economics of lease arrangements
  • Is consistent with the Boards? Conceptual Frameworks
  • Is readily executed in practice by financial-statement preparers and auditors

The optimal model would also maximize:

  • The usefulness of information provided to users of the lessee?s financial statements
  • The number of users to whom the information is useful
  • The kinds of lease arrangements to which the model can be applied usefully

What Is Approach Y?

Approach Y is lease-accounting model for entities that are lessees. It combines traditional accounting concepts and methods in a novel, integrated way. And it is designed to serve as a key component of the improved lease-accounting standards that the FASB and the IASB are developing.

There are some similarities between Approach Y and other approaches that the Boards and their constituents have considered. But Approach Y differs from other approaches in several ways. One of the most significant differences is that Approach Y has greater explanatory value.

In short, Approach Y distinguishes itself by clearly conveying how and why it faithfully represents the economics of virtually all true leasing arrangements. It also readily conveys how and why it would be easy for financial-statement preparers to implement and auditors to audit. And serendipitously, Approach Y produces accounting outcomes that are well aligned with stakeholders? expectations for understandable, useful information. For all of these reasons, Approach Y is a compelling, unifying solution worth considering.

Working Papers

I am in the process of preparing a series of working papers to explain Approach Y and its advantages in detail. The first of the working papers, dealing specifically with the issue of measurement, is attached. Also attached is the Excel file to which the working paper refers.

Attachments

Approach Y ? Working Paper 1 (PDF)

Approach Y ? Measurement (Excel)

I welcome your feedback on the working paper and Excel file. I also invite you to watch for my additional working papers on presentation/disclosure and the scope of Approach Y?s applicability to different kinds of leases, which will follow shortly.

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Which upfront rental fees are illegal? | Real Estate | South Philly ...

Rent it Right

Janet Portman
Inman News?

Q: We've just moved into an apartment complex that charged us a nonrefundable "initiation fee" of $200, plus a security deposit (the maximum allowed by law). We knew about this fee, but it seemed cheesy for the landlord to be charging us for the routine duty of processing a new tenant. Is there any legal way to object to this fee? --Scot S.

A: Your question is quite timely. In November 2011, a federal district court judge in Boston faced a very similar question (at issue was an "amenity fee" that covered use of the pool, gym and grill). The judge decided that, under Massachusetts law, the fee was illegal. (Hermida v. Archstone, et al., No. 10-12083-WGY, D. Ct. Mass. 2011.) That's going to result in big refunds to Massachusetts tenants: According to the National Multi Housing Council, Archstone is the seventh-largest landlord in the nation, with close to 74,000 units spread across 12 states.

The federal judge's decision is quite clear and simple. Massachusetts allows landlords to collect upfront fees that "are not in excess of" the following: the first full month's rent; the last full month's rent; security equal to the first full month's rent; and the cost of buying and installing a lock and key. The term "amenity fee" isn't on this list.

But lawyers for Archstone argued that they could charge this fee as long as, when added to any other monies collected, the total did not exceed what Archstone could have collected in first and last month's rent, security, and lock and key charges. Because Archstone didn't charge these tenants for last month's rent, a security deposit, or the cost of rekeying ($50), the sum of all money collected (including the fee in question) was, in fact, lower than what Archstone could have collected.

In short, Archstone read the law as limiting only the amount of money collected; the tenants said it limits both the amount and the type of fee. The judge sided with the tenants.

Not all states insist that upfront, nonrefundable fees be counted toward the limit of permissible upfront payments. Many states apply limits only to money collected to guarantee performance under the lease (in other words, to cover damage and unpaid rent). In those states, nonrefundable fees like an amenity fee are outside of these categories and probably legal. But in states that strictly limit the amount of money collected at the start of the tenancy, tenants might have a shot at arguing that a landlord's imposition of any fee not on the approved list is illegal. (Tenants in California already won this fight.)

Q: I rent a single-family house to a tenant who wants to give music lessons in the home. It's legal as far as zoning is concerned, but I'm concerned about liability in case one of the students is hurt. Is there any way I can protect myself? --Martha S.

A: You're wise to be thinking of this possibility now. Although it's unlikely, it is possible that a student could trip, slip or otherwise become injured on your property. You don't want to be liable for the claim or lawsuit that could result. You can protect yourself in two ways.

First, consider placing an "indemnity clause" in the lease, which will make the tenant financially responsible for any injuries suffered by students while on your property, if the cause of the accident is the tenant's failure to maintain the property. The indemnity clause simply says that if you end up being sued by the injured tenant (which often happens, because the property owner is the "deep pocket"), any loss you suffer (such as attorney fees to defend yourself or a judgment against you) will be paid by the tenant.

Note that this might not work in many states if the cause of the accident is your faulty maintenance: Many states won't allow commercial landlords to off-load their liability, and they may not allow residential landlords to do it, either.

Another way to protect yourself is to insist that the tenant obtain a liability policy, just as you'd demand of a commercial tenant in a commercial space. The policy, called "commercial general liability" (or CGL), insures the tenant against claims by injured customers or clients, and you can be added to the policy as an "additional insured."

If a student sues, this means that the tenant's policy will cover both of you. (Make sure that the tenant's policy is described as "primary" to your own liability policy.) Demand proof of the policy (and your name on it) by asking the tenant for an "ACORD 25" form, which the insurance company will issue at no charge. The form will specify the type of insurance purchased, its coverage and limits, its expiration date, and that you're an additional insured. Make a note of the policy period and be sure that you ask for an updated form when it's time to renew the policy.

Janet Portman is an attorney and managing editor at Nolo. She specializes in landlord/tenant law and is co-author of "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" and "Every Tenant's Legal Guide." She can be reached at janet@inman.com.

Copyright 2012 Janet Portman

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    One way backlinks ? About three Viral ... - Honest Reviews Online

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    Verizon Ushers in New Era of Consumer Broadband; New FiOS ...

    ?Higher Speeds Cater to Rapid Growth in Video Streaming and Multiple Internet-Connected Devices in Homes.

    Responding to consumer demand for ultra-high-speed home broadband service, Verizon next month will more than double the speeds of several of its FiOS Internet tiers ? and introduce two new tiers with even faster speeds.

    ?

    Why Video Web Traffic Is Fueling the Need for Faster Bandwidth:

    ?Our top FiOS speed will be twice as fast as anything America has ever seen,? said Mike Ritter, chief marketing officer for Verizon?s consumer and mass market business unit. ?High-speed Internet no longer is just for techies, as more than half of our residential consumers already use at least a 20 Mbps Internet connection.? Streaming online video on an all-fiber-optic connection providing faster speeds is better and more reliable during peak Internet usage hours.?

    See original here

    This entry was posted in Online Video and tagged Internet Connected, Mbps Internet, Mike Ritter, Video Streaming by zbutcher. Bookmark the permalink.

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    'Simple and effective' injection could offer hope for treatment of autoimmune disease

    ScienceDaily (May 31, 2012) ? Australian researchers have uncovered a potential new way to regulate the body's natural immune response, offering hope of a simple and effective treatment for auto-immune diseases.

    Auto-immune diseases result from an overactive immune response that causes the body to attack itself.

    The new approach involves increasing good regulating cells in the body, unlike most current research which focuses on stopping "bad" or "effector" cells, says lead researcher Dr Suzanne Hodgkinson, from UNSW's Faculty of Medicine and Liverpool Hospital.

    The researchers induced the body's T-cell front-line defences by injecting cell-signalling proteins called cytokines, in particular cytokine Interleukin-5 (II-5 cytokine).

    When T-regulatory cells are grown in a way to make them specific to a particular protein they develop receptors for the Il-5 cytokine. The Il-5 cytokine boost allows the body's immune system to better regulate its response to disease without going into overdrive.

    The team cloned II-5 cytokine and injected it into rats with the neurological condition Guillain-Barr? syndrome. These rats recovered much quicker and, if treated as a precaution, did not fall ill. The method has also shown promise in animals with multiple sclerosis, with kidney disease nephritis and trying to overcome organ transplantation rejection.

    "One of the nice things about this discovery is that it is one of the few treatments in the auto-immune world and in the transplantation world that works not by attacking the effector cells, but by increasing the good regulating cells. So it works in a very different way from almost every other treatment we've got available," Dr Hodgkinson says.

    Il-5 injections could be more palatable than inoculation by parasitic worms -- another approach in regulating auto-immune conditions, the researchers say.

    International research shows swallowing helminths parasites can regulate the immune system and boost T-cell production to combat illnesses such as celiac disease and multiple sclerosis. The absence of the worms in guts in the developed world has been cited as a possible cause for the sharp rise in auto-immune diseases in Western nations.

    "The process we've developed may be the same process that the helminths kick off. When you get a helminths infestation, one of the changes in your immune response is an increase in cells called eosinophils and these cells make the cytokine Interleukin-5," Dr Hodgkinson says.

    "In this new treatment, it's a matter of injecting the interleukin-5 and the body does the rest. It's both safe and effective and we think inducing the immune response by injection may be more attractive to people than swallowing parasitic worms."

    The next step is to take the treatment to human trials, which could be underway within two to five years, says Dr Hodgkinson, whose paper outlining the study has been published in the journal Blood.

    The research was supported by grants from Bob and Jack Ingham, Liverpool Australia; Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia; the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council; the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; Novatis; and funds from UNSW.

    Lead researcher was UNSW research fellow Dr Giang Tran. Dr Hodgkinson and co-author Professor Bruce Hall hold US patents related to the treatment.

    Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

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    Story Source:

    The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of New South Wales.

    Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


    Journal Reference:

    1. G. T. Tran, S. J. Hodgkinson, N. M. Carter, N. D. Verma, K. M. Plain, R. Boyd, C. M. Robinson, M. Nomura, M. Killingsworth, B. M. Hall. IL-5 promotes induction of antigen-specific CD4 CD25 T regulatory cells that suppress autoimmunity. Blood, 2012; 119 (19): 4441 DOI: 10.1182/blood-2011-12-396101

    Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

    Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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    European leaders should ready big steps: Zoellick

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    With 2 picks, Hornets eagerly await lottery fate

    (AP) ? There finally could be some good news for Hornets who suffered through a miserable season as part of the fallout from the Chris Paul trade.

    The deal that led to lots of losing in New Orleans also yielded two picks in Wednesday night's NBA draft lottery.

    With luck ? something that has been in short supply for the Hornets lately ? New Orleans could end up with two of the top overall picks in the June 28 draft.

    Or if the tough luck continues, the worst-case scenario is that they'll pick seventh and 13th overall.

    The Hornets finished the past season last in the Western Conference at 21-45, which was tied with Cleveland for the third worst overall record in the NBA. However, Cleveland won a coin flip to break the tie, meaning the Hornets, for the purposes of the lottery, are considered the league's fourth-worst team, slightly lowering their odds of one of the top overall picks.

    Trading Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers also brought New Orleans a first-round pick that originally belonged to Minnesota, which had the 10th-worst record in the league, meaning that pick could fall to no worse than 13th.

    The NBA uses a weighted lottery based on the order of finish, meaning the worst teams still have the best chances of picking at the top. In New Orleans' case, the two lottery picks combined give the Hornets a 14.8 percent chance of landing the first overall pick, a 15.46 percent chance of picking second and 16.04 percent chance of picking third.

    Regardless of how the odds pan out, Hornets executives are optimistic about the direction of the franchise in recent weeks.

    In mid-April, the NBA announced that Tom Benson, owner of the NFL's New Orleans Saints, had agreed to buy the Hornets for $338 million and as part of the deal agreed to a lease extension at the New Orleans Arena that would keep the team in the Big Easy at least through 2024.

    The hope is that more certainty about the franchise's future, not to mention a local owner with deep pockets, will help the Hornets compete for top free agents and return the franchise to playoff contention, regardless of where the lottery picks fall.

    Of course, a couple of top picks in this year's draft wouldn't hurt.

    "This continues to be an exciting time for our organization, on the heels of the lease extension with the state and the securing of local ownership," Hornets president Hugh Weber said. "Having the ability to improve our on-court product through two lottery ? and potential top-10 ? picks in the upcoming NBA Draft is another positive step toward the future of this franchise."

    Kentucky 6-foot-10 forward-center Anthony Davis, an exceptional shot-blocker with a smooth and accurate midrange jump shot for a big man, appears to be the best choice for the Hornets should they win the lottery. However, general manager Dell Demps isn't showing his hand, saying Tuesday that he would hold off on any draft-related comments until after the draft order was certain on Wednesday night.

    Other top draft prospects include Kentucky 6-7 forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kansas 6-10 power forward Thomas Robinson, Connecticut 6-11 center Andre Drummond, North Carolina 6-8 forward Harrison Barnes and Florida 6-5 shooting guard Bradley Beal.

    Odds are at least one of those players will end up in New Orleans as the chances of the Hornets' top overall pick dropping all the way to seventh are pretty slim, at 1.27 percent.

    Once the Hornets know where they'll be picking, they can start inviting players in for workouts and see which ones they like best.

    Associated Press

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    'Fifty Shades Of Grey': Stephenie Meyer Speaks Out

    'Twilight' author tells MTV News that E L James' fan fiction bestseller is 'really not my genre, not my thing.'
    By Fallon Prinzivalli, with reporting by Josh Horowitz


    Photo: The Writer's Coffee Shop

    "Fifty Shades of Grey" seems to be on everyone's mind lately. How will they make NC-17 reading material into an R-rated film? Who will take on the role of the timid Ana Steele? And, most importantly, who will be cast as Christian Grey, the sexy leading man? Those all are important questions, but the one query we were itching to have answered is: What does "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer think of the book? E L James' trilogy started out as "Twilight" fan fiction, after all.

    When MTV News caught up with the writer on the set of "The Host," she told us she doesn't know much about "Fifty Shades," but she supports James in her endeavor.

    "I haven't read it. I mean, that's really not my genre, not my thing," she said with a laugh. "I've heard about it; I haven't really gotten into it that much. Good on her — she's doing well. That's great!"

    "Fifty Shades" follows the sadomasochistic affair of college graduate Ana Steele and dominant billionaire Christian Grey. Their relationship begins as a purely physical attraction, but as they become engrossed in each other and start to fall in love, Ana realizes Christian's past might not be something she wants to uncover. Christian represents Edward Cullen, a brooding, self-deprecating and impossibly good-looking man with a few secrets, while Ana is an adaptation of the clumsy and shy Bella Swan. Without Meyer's novel, "Fifty Shades" might not exist.

    "It might not exist in the exact form that it's in," Meyer said. "Obviously, [James] had a story in her, and so it would've come out in some other way."

    But James isn't the only writer who gained Meyer's support. "The Host" author mentioned being a "super fan" of Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games."

    "I'm just excited for anything that they do," she said. "I was really excited they were turning it into a movie. Of course, then you have that, 'Are they gonna screw it up?' 'cause it's so awesome, but they didn't; it's awesome. I'm really looking forward to the next one. I have fingers crossed for a couple of casting choices."

    Once she revealed she had actors in mind, we had to ask her pick for the beloved District 4 tribute, Finnick Odair: "Taylor Kitsch," she said, stating her choice. "Is there another option?"

    When our correspondent Josh Horowitz mentioned he spoke to Kitsch, and the actor said he's not interested in the role, Meyer was more than a little disappointed, saying, "You're breaking my heart."

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