Monthly Archives: September 2015

Florida Takes Center Stage at GOP Debate

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Editor’s Note: The following story by Jeffrey Rembert was posted by FORWARD Florida on its website as a Blog on September 21, 2015.

Was there anyone left in Florida last Wednesday night? Or, was the state’s entire population at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley for the second Republican primary debate? Ok, so that was an exaggeration. Only the 35% of the state’s voters, those registered as Republicans, attended. More on that soon enough.

With The Walking Dead television marathon unavailable, I devoted my Wednesday evening to the debate. And after more than four hours of watching 15 candidates squabble over issues while a 16th candidate, with an approval rating consisting of his wife and three fishing buddies, watched from his Virginia basement, I can attest little differs between the CNN “reality show” and a zombie apocalypse.

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#NationalSoWhatDay

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Editor’s Note: The following story by Jeffrey Rembert was posted by FORWARD Florida on its website as a Blog on September 16, 2015.

Social media applies grinding pressure to journalists accustomed to gazing out windows in search of inspiration. Now late-afternoon deadlines are mere follow-ups to the day-long deadlines imparted by posting, tweeting and pinning, and the need to treat each day as #NationalSomethingDay has made irrelevant the important days like the opening of the livestock show and publication of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.

Hashtags elevate importance. Anything following a hashtag has immediate prominence and relevance to our existence. Like getting approval from People. But more likely hashtags are coding designed to manipulate our minds. In fact, I made it halfway through the first Friday in June before thunder roared on an otherwise clear day. Lights flickered, wall decor shook, the art director’s cat actually moved. Did the deity of social media demand favor?

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Moving Woes: Packing Stuff

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Editor’s Note: The following story by Jeffrey Rembert was posted by Real Prospector on its website under Buyer on August 31, 2015.

While I’ve considered selling my home of nearly 20 years and upgrading, downsizing or simply relocating, something keeps me from calling a real estate broker, perhaps putting my own sign in the yard. Interest rates remain at generational lows, good deals are tucked away in great neighborhoods and credit is readily available. But those economic beacons fail to shed light on the one great and unavoidable obstacle. Packing.

Understand, I hate the idea of packing. Not for the packing itself but for the multiple steps involved in packing. The suddenly discovered gems are treasure-like but the realization that what once sounded like a good idea comes back to haunt you as your days in college or as a single journalist rise up to remind you “moron” has no limits.

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Act Now: Hurricanes & Tropical Storms Affect Real Estate

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Editor’s Note: The following story by Jeffrey Rembert was posted by ESTATIVIZE on its website under Agents on August 27, 2015.

With Tropical Storm Erika on a projected path toward the Southeast United States, prospective property owners– residential and commercial– should note a moratorium will exist on the binding or increasing of insurance coverage if the named storm crosses a specific geographic boundary, or enters a boundary box, somewhere off the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Another way of putting it, without bound insurance or with inadequate coverage, closings may be delayed, interest rates may be at risk and, in the case of a post-storm claim, insurance proceeds may fall short.

Why is a moratorium important to understand?

As a named storm enters the boundary box, as established by insurance carriers, the National Hurricane Center offers a calculated projection of its path. The margin of error can account for several hundred miles. But, as we know, insurance carriers and lenders are averse to risk. If a named storm is anywhere near – defined by entering the boundary box – owners can forget about binding coverage or increasing coverage over the short term even if the named storm is hundreds of miles away and unlikely to affect their property.

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