Florida Home Buyers and Investors Blog

JUPITER — Council member Wendy Harrison was happy to hear about her town's selection as the country's No. 9 "Happiest Seaside Town" as ranked by Coastal Living Magazine.

In its June issue, the publication compiled its first-ever list of the country's happiest places to live on the coast based on a formula that includes editors' picks, the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index, sunny days, beach quality, low crime, commute time, education of residents and other factors.

"What people say to me is that they appreciate the beaches and the educational opportunities - the great schools for school-age kids - plus we have things like Lifelong Learning," said Harrison, who has lived in Jupiter for 11 years. "The arts and culture we're getting more of.

"What I'm always impressed with are the folks that live here and choose to relocate their businesses to Jupiter because they don't want to move, which is great. We have a few of those."

Jupiter, described as "easygoing and low-key" on the publication's website, was noted for its long, broad beaches, access to luxury amenities and proximity to spring training.

The town of 55,000 was slotted between No. 8 Chatham, Mass., and No. 10 Lahaina, Hawaii. It is one of two Florida cities on the list, with the other being No. 2 Naples.

In all, the list contains five California cities, four Massachusetts cities, two cities from Florida and one each from Illinois (on Lake Michigan), Hawaii, South Carolina and Maryland. The top five are Kiawah Island, S.C., Naples, Sausalito, Calif., Lake Bluff, Ill., and Tiburon, Calif.

To view the list, visit www.coastalliving.com.

We are pleased to announce the addition of Realty Elite - Lifestyles in Jupiter FL to the Realty Elite International family of companies.  Realty Elite Lifestyles is located on Maplewood Dr. East of I95, just South of Indiantown Road.  Craig Fialkowski is the Managing Partner who will be focusing on enhancing the Realty Elite brand in the Jupiter area and hiring experienced agents.  Craig Fialkowski has been highly successful, practicing Real Estate since 2004 in various brokerages throughout South Florida.  Realty Elite Lifestyles is a boutique Real Estate brokerage designed and developed to compete directly against the National Franchises.  Realty Elite Lifestyles has a loyal following and successful brand along with highly experiences agents representing all aspects of Real Estate including Luxury Residential and Commercial properties.  Agents have the highest level of office amenities including wireless internet, skype video calling to International Clients, private desks and much more!  Feel free to stop by and say hello! 

Republished from the Palm Beach Post:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – March 6, 2012 – Starting today, a service used by some real estate agents to list homes for sale will require that agents disclose whether a bank owns the property.

The change comes two days after The Palm Beach Post reported that some banks, including Wells Fargo, tell real estate agents not to disclose the bank’s ownership on the Multiple Listing Service. Until now, the MLS in that region did not require agents to describe a home as being “bank owned”; but in other parts of the country, the information is required. Some agents who sell bank-owned property privately said they feared losing business if they went against the wishes of the banks.

Last week, Tyler Smith, vice president of REO Community Development for Premier Asset services, a Wells Fargo division that sells bank-owned property, said the directive to agents was done so buyers would not avoid bank-owned real estate. Smith said Wells Fargo has been improving the condition of its properties.

Even though a home’s ownership can be obtained through public records, some agents say they would prefer to have the information disclosed on the MLS before they take a client to a home.

On Monday, Eric Sain, president of the Regional MLS, said the MLS has created a category field called REO (real estate owned) that agents will be required to fill out. Sain said the move had been in the works for months, as the regional MLS adapts to changes in the real estate market.

“We’re changing with the times,” said Sain, who hopes the rule will lead to more accurate home descriptions and less frustration for real estate agents and buyers. “We want to make the process easier for agents.”

The rule applies only to new listings to avoid interfering with agreements between banks and agents who sell bank-owned homes, Sain said.

Kevin Dickenson, a Prudential Florida Realty agent who first noticed the missing information on the MLS listings, called the REO field a “good move” and said it would help boost the sale of properties.

Some buyers specifically want bank-owned homes, Dickenson said, while others do not because many REO homes need major work.

Some real estate agents were surprised to learn that banks were directing agents to hide their ownership of homes. Sharon Harrington of Realty Elite Destination in Wellington said asking an agent to hide the information “goes against the rules of our profession” to disclose all known information about a property.

The state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation prohibits misrepresentation and concealment by real estate agents, but it does not specifically address bank-owned properties, said Sandi Copes Poreda, director of communications.

But Craig Fialkowski of Realty Elite of the Palm Beaches in Wellington called hiding ownership on the MLS “unconscionable. There is absolutely no reason a seller should authorize (an agent) not to disclose material facts pertinent to the buyer’s interest in the property.”

Fialkowski sells property owned by Regions Bank, which he said does not prevent him from disclosing that a home is bank owned.

© 2012 The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.) Distributed by MCT Information Services.

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Gadberry Group has rated the nations top 10 of Americas Richest ZIP codes and Palm Beach Florida 33480 is #1.

With approximately 5500 households, the average household income in Palm Beach FL 33480 is $370,136 and net worth of $1.4 million. Well that's for the poor folks on the swanky Island. I'm guessing the net worth is closer to $3-5 million but there are a number of not so wealthy condos on the Island that may skew the numbers a bit.

There are still condo available for under $200k with Ocean views! and beach access. Imagine that.

Palm Beach Florida 33480 is home to some of the wealthiest Americans including the Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh, James Patterson, Bill Koch, and many others.

Palm Beach Florida 33480 is a 16 mile barrier island off the coast of Palm Beach County that is also home to the largest concentration of Private Banks.

Beautiful Ocean, Worth Avenue Shopping, and Bentley's galore, are all part of the lifestyle.

Congratulations to Palm Beach for your #1 Richest ZIP code status