F LOR I DA’S P R E M IE R C O M M U NIT Y MAY 2015
A publication of Quantum Marketing Communications, LLC
IN THIS ISSUE Meet Your Neighbors Did You Know Quick Reference Directory
CDD, HROA, HDC: OK, So How Does This CDD Work? 6 Biggest Mistakes When Choosing a Real Estate Agent Defend Yourself From IRS & Other Scams
VICTORY loves
COMPANY. HARMONY’S CLOSEST GYM
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May 2015 Bill Bokunic Publisher & President of Quantum Marketing Communications 321.331.6398 bbokunic@yahoo.com
from the
EDITOR Welcome I’m not sure if everyone is aware of the tremendous growth that is planned for Osceola County over the next 25 years. I know 25 years seems a long way off but it’s not all going to happen overnight, and we are seeing the beginning of it now. Current Osceola population is just under 300,000 but by 2040 that population is expected to be over 500,000. A large portion of that growth is right here in our own backyard in east Osceola. Like it or not, we live in one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Greater Orlando is exploding and listed on the Forbes’ Cities For Growth in 2014 (9th) and 2015 (13th). The problem is there isn’t any more land in Orange County, most of the available land is in Osceola, thus the prediction of massive future growth. Osceola County leaders have planned for this growth and are trying to direct many future employment opportunities to High tech sectors. This is a great attempt at trying to control our future in a very positive manner versus just letting it happen. Thanks to Don Fisher, Osceola County Manager for providing the data and information.
Cover photography by Christina Beasley Dalton
I have many great reports back from our advertisers regarding support they are receiving from our community. Thank you and please continue to mention this publication when contacting them. They help to bring it to you, and without them we would not exist. Thank you for supporting us as well! Bill Bokunic Publisher and President Quantum Marketing Communications 321-331-6398 bbokunic@yahoo.com
Contact Info For Residents CDD---www.harmonycdd.org, 407-566-1935, Steve, Ray, Mark, Kerul or David @Harmonycdd.org Sheriff non-emergency---407-348-2222 HROA—First Services Residential at 866-378-1099 or FSResidential.com
BrightHouse Cable / Internet---877-892-3279 Century Link Cable / Internet---866-314-4148 OUC Electric---407-957-7373 Waste Management Trash Pickup---407-843-7370
Condos HOA---Sentry Management, 407-846-6323
Osceola County---www.osceola.org “Citizen Action Center”
Townhomes HOA---TITAN Management, 407-705-2190
County Commissioner Fred Hawkins fhaw@osceola.org
Harmony Developer Office---407-891-8358 or www.HarmonyFL.com
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ON THE COVER
Here are a few questions answered from the Brocks:
Meet Your Neighbors
Where did you move from? Kentucky What do you miss most? We have 4 children, our 2 girls live here in FL, 1 of them lives in Harmony, and our 2 boys are still in KY, we miss them. One of them is moving here soon and we are working on the getting the other one down here! What is your background? Larry was a Linotype operator for 40 years in Cincinnati, OH at Brock Typesetting Co. Bonnie, after raising our children, went to work in retail at McAlpin’s for 20 years. What is a good early story about Harmony? It was nice to find friends to play The Brock Family golf and cards with. Larry and Bonnie Brock pictured here What is unusual or unique about Harwith their dog, Judi. mony, in comparison to your previous When did you move to Harmony? 2010 home? We didn’t have neighbors in KY, we lived out in the country on 5 acres. We What street do you live on? Beargrass What do you love most about Harmo- love the weather here!!! ny? Safe and secure feeling, the peace What is your favorite weekend activity? and quiet. Nice lakes and parks to walk Bonnie likes to work in the yard. and ride bikes around.
Is there a neighbor experience you are most proud of? Yes, we had a lot of help finding our 1st and 2nd homes in Harmony from our realtor, Jeanine Corcoran - she was great and made it very easy for us. What do you do for fun? Play golf, cards (Texas Holdem’), board games, and ride bikes. What is the last magazine that you have read? Harmony Life What is the last movie that you have seen in the theatre? Wolf of Wall Street Who is your role model and why? Bonnie says her mom, because she was always positive and very caring. What is your favorite TV Show? Judge Judy, SNL, Haves & Have What makes you laugh? Judi when she gives hugs to us every day. What else should we know about you or your family? We have 3 wonderful grandchildren, Scott 20, Miranda 14, and Adam 13, and not to forget 5 granddogs!
Why spend your time cleaning? For all your travel dreams… It would be our pleasure to help you plan your Magical Disney Vacation, Destination Wedding, Honeymoon, Cruise, or Family Reunion. Call today!
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4
Biggest Mistakes When Choosing
by Jeanine Corcoran
A Real Estate Agent
Spring and summer can be the busiest time of the year for real estate agents. As the school year is coming to an end, a lot of home owners decide to make their move to sell their home. Selling your home is one of the biggest transactions you’ll ever make and one you shouldn’t do on your own without the help of a real estate professional. Don’t be the homeowner that makes any of the following mistakes: 1. Choosing an agent who doesn’t know or who isn’t the expert in your community It’s important to choose an agent who is familiar with and active in your community. An agent who is active, is constantly promoting your property to neighbors and visitors. An agent who believes in the community is the best agent to sell your home. 2. Choosing a friend or family member This is not always the wise choice and can make the situation awkward if you’re not happy with them. This can lead to long term friction which could have been prevented. 3. Number of years’ experience isn’t the most important Honestly, that large number of how many homes they sold in the past 25 years sounds impressive but more importantly is their success rate. An agent who listed 100 homes last year but only sold 25, has a success
rate of 25%. An agent who listed 15 homes and sold all 15 has a success rate of 100%. Success rate is important. 4. Flat Fee Service Companies The fact is, you get what you pay for. This is not the correct approach when you’re dealing with such a large transaction. Chances are you think you are saving money but in reality you are probably not getting the most money for your property. Penny wise and pound foolish comes to mind. 5. Choosing the agent who gives you the highest listing price It all sounds good at the time, but when your house is still on the market in six months, are you really accomplishing your goal of selling you home? Go with the facts given to you on what sold in your neighborhood, they don’t lie. Knowing up front what a realistic price is for your property will avoid disappointment at closing. 6. Choosing an agent who cares about one thing‌..commission The agent gives the best presentation but deep down you know they only care about their commission. That agent doesn’t care about getting you the most money for your home. The best agent is the one that listens and cares about your goals. Selling your home can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Don’t make the mistake of choosing an agent who isn’t an expert in your community, who is a friend, who has the most number of years in the business, who gives you the cheapest commission, who gives you the highest list price or the agent who only cares about one thing—making a commission. Making the right choice of who should sell your home will make your selling experience pleasant and profitable rather than a nightmare. Jeanine Corcoran is the Broker and Owner of The Corcoran Connection, LLC – A Real Estate and Property Management Company. Jeanine has been helping families with their Real Estate needs since 2005. Jeanine can be reached at 407.922.3308, email her at JeanineCorcoran@gmail.com, or visit TheCorcoranConnection.com or HarmonyResales.com
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Defend Y ourself From IRS & Other Scams O
ur office comes across various IRS scams inflicted upon taxpayers. Here are a few common scams we see followed by notable IRS facts so that you can spot a scam to defend your personal and financial information. We are contacted at least once a year by a taxpayer who received phone calls, along with messages, demanding some sort of payment together with threats of arrest by an IRS impersonator. They support their claims by giving fake names and badge numbers, reciting the last four digits of your social security number, sending emails, and impersonating the local police. When it comes to the IRS, know the following facts: 1. The IRS does not initiate contact by telephone or email; they use certified mail. 2. Legitimate government agencies have an 800 number. 3. The IRS will not request credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer. 4. The IRS will not arrest anyone over the phone or threaten a taxpayer with police arrest, deportation or license revocation if they don’t pay immediately. If an arrest is required by
the IRS, it will be after lengthy legal processes have been exhausted. Be aware of a new email phishing scam in which emails appear to be sent from the IRS relating to “update your IRS e-file immediately.” These emails contain a mock website link that intends to mirror the official IRS website. It mentions “USA.gov” and “IRSgov”, but notice the missing dot in the official IRS website address, IRS.gov. For the taxpayers who own a business, you may receive the “Annual Meeting Minutes” notice by mail. This notice is really a solicitation for a service of completing and filing a business’s Annual Corporate Meeting Minutes for a fee of $125 to avoid penalties. You are not required to file annual meeting minutes with the government unless specifically requested. Always remember, never give personal information such as bank account numbers, social security digits and credit card information to an unverified caller or website. If you still feel uneasy, it is best to hang-up and not open such emails. Call the IRS yourself, or us, for help with these situations.
10
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Rick Wade - 407-468-1352
A CUT ABOVE
The Good News Handyman, a professional handyman service, serves the Greater Kissimmee/St. Cloud area. We can handle all of your home repair, replacement and light remodeling projects. drywall repair toilet repair small room painting pressure washing tile work odd jobs replace garbage gutters disposal deck building /repairs sprinkler repair custom carpentry work door interior/exterior kitchens bathrooms install door locks trim work screens for windows concrete, fencing ceiling fans Email: thegoodnewshandyman@yahoo.com Website: www.thegoodnewshandyman.com
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13
DID YOU
KNOW by Kerul Kassel, Ph.D.
?
DID YOU KNOW that Harmony was designed to promote the peaceful coexistence of human and animal residents within the community while striking a balance between the preservation, use and enjoyment of Harmony’s natural areas? Underlying these objectives are the values of fostering a respect for the land, the protection of wildlife and the sensible use and enjoyment of Harmony’s abundant natural and manmade amenities by its residents. Are you aware that we have (Ruby-throated) hummingbirds in Harmony? They are generally here during spring and summer, and if you plant flowers that attract them, you could see them regularly. We also have dozens and dozens of other birds species in the community, some of whom spend the entire year here, some who winter or summer here, and some who just pass through on their way north or south. Spring is the time of year when most birds are nesting and raising young. If you have had a bird attacking your glass doors, windows, car bumpers or side view mirrors, this is territorial behavior, and birds can exhaust and injure themselves in the process. If you can, cover these areas with towels, sheets, cardboard or some other camouflage so the birds can’t see their reflection. Speaking of reflection, birds striking the windows of buildings and dying from the impact is a sad occurrence that happens all too often. The American Bird Conservancy estimates that from 300 million to 1 billion birds per year die in this manner. The birds see the reflection of the surrounding habitat and can’t tell the difference. You can prevent this though screening, netting, decals, films, and temporary paint. See http://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/featured-stories/15-products-that-prevent-windowsstrikes/. As eggs hatch, bird parents are very active, making many trips to and from the nest to catch food to feed their nestlings. While it’s a myth that all birds can smell (only a very few species can), moving and disturbing nests or touching eggs or young can cause a bird parent to abandon its nest, meaning sure demise for the eggs or nestlings, so if you happen upon a nest, observe it from afar only. Mockingbirds may sometimes fly at people or
dogs that come near their nests, and it can be a bit scary, but they won’t actually hurt you or your dog or cat. Just try to avoid that area for a couple of days, if possible. If you put out a birdbath, do change it weekly or more often, as it will quickly become a mosquito breeding ground otherwise. If you put out a hummingbird feeder, the food must be changed every 24 – 28 hours because the Florida heat causes the liquid to ferment quickly, which is dangerous and even deadly to the hummingbirds. Putting out birdhouses and small amounts of nesting materials such as dead twigs, leaves, and grass, pine needs, human hair, and moss, for birds to use to build their nests is encouraged. (See http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=1144 for more information on attracting birds.) As our landscaping matures, we will have more birds around our homes. Chances are that you already have a bird nesting in a bush or tree in your yard or across the street. Get out there and observe the birds to see if they are building a nest, raising a family, or just visiting for lunch!
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Jeanine Corcoran - Broker | Owner | The Corcoran Connection 407-922-3308 - cell | JeanineCorcoran@gmail.com HarmonyResales.com | TheCorcoranConnection.com Real Estate and Property Management
15
CDD, HROA, HDC: OK, so how DOES this CDD work?? by Steve Berube, Chairman, Harmony CDD
Part 2 Following street lighting is Landscaping costs. DAVEY Commercial Grounds is our nearly-exclusive landscape contractor and their contracted services amount to about $400,000 per year. That contract is at its final renewal year this October; the Board just negotiated future renewals with DAVEY at a ZERO increase. As prior years carried 2% increases, that 3-year no-increase agreement amounts to a more than $25,000 savings. So, between streetlights and landscaping, nearly 50% of the O&M budget is accounted for; and both of these major line items will remain stable or decrease over the near future. Next comes Field Services budgeted at $210,000 which includes salaries, benefits and miscellaneous costs for 4 full-time Field Services Staffers who work under a leasing contract with Florida Resource Management. Staffers provide a host of services including maintaining swim facilities, cleaning restrooms, maintaining the irrigation system which is a LOT bigger than you
might expect, grinding of and other repairs on lifted sidewalks, emptying trash cans and doggie-pots, releasing & receiving boaters, painting of buildings and a host of other duties too numerous to list here. All of these tasks were previously carried out by contractors, but as Harmony has grown, it has become more financially efficient to do it in-house. Plus, much of the time, resident service-requests can be carried out very expeditiously. Finally, there are numerous smaller costs that we have to pay each year such as insurance, auditing and management costs. Each gets fairly scrutinized, and we are not hesitant to make changes as appropriate for both operational efficiency as well as cost savings. Next month: CDD rules and operations. As always, please patronize the advertisers of this fine publication and tell them you saw their ad here. Without them, this would not be possible.
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Quick Reference Directory ACCOUNTANTS
Larry Herring CPA, PA 611 N. Wymore Rd Winter Park, Florida 32789 407-647-7777 www.herringcpa.com
CARPET CLEANING
Best Care Carpet Cleaning 407-891-9635 www.carpetcleaningfl.com
CHURCH’S
Church at Harmony Meeting 10am Sundays at Harmony High School (844) 444-FBCH http://www.churchatharmony.com/ Life Church Meeting at Narcoossee Middle School 10:10am Sundays 217-827-7986 http://lifechurchcfl.com/
DANCE INSTRUCTION Learn Argentine Tango 407-844-6564
DJ SERVICES
HPE House Party Entertainment 407-738-3409 www.hpemusic.com
GYM
Anytime Fitness 3380 Canoe Creek Rd. Saint Cloud, Florida 34772 407-891-9111 www.Anytimefitness.com
HAIR
Victor Russell Salon 105 East 13th Street Saint Cloud, Florida 407-892-1005 www.victorrussell.com
HANDYMAN
The Good News Handyman Rick Wade 407-468-1352
HOSPITAL
Health First-Holmes Regional Health Care 1350 South Hickory Street Melbourne, Florida 32901 321-434-7000
INSURANCE
PEST CONTROL
Luv A Lawn & Pest Control 407- 908-9139 Rapid Response Pest Management Stephen Richards 407-891-pest
Farm Bureau Blair Harris, Michael Long, Jimmy Lake 407-847-5189 www.floridafarmbureau.com
PHOTOGRAPHER
LAWN CARE
POOL TABLES
Triple Palm Lawns 407-957-3489 Triplepalmlawn@aim.com
REAL ESTATE
Luv A Lawn 407- 908-9139
Weed Man 4417 13th St. Suite 182 - St. Cloud, FL 34769 (407) 979-4623
MORTGAGE
Butler Mortgage Charlene Sims 407-931-3800 X109 csims@butlermortgage.com
MOVIE THEATERS
Cinema World East of 95. On 192 next to Sam’s club. Melbourne, FL CWTheaterts.com
PAINTING
William “Joe” Murray 407-766-5051
PARTY
Kristin Madden 407-744-8387 Facebook.com/KristinMaddenPhoto Florida Game Rooms 9350 S. Orange Blossom Trail tr #12 407-859-4400 www.myfloridagamerooms.com The Corcoran Connection, LLC Jeanine Corcoran Owner/Broker Selling/Buying/Renting/Property Management Now serving international clients with Portuguese/Brazilian and Spanish speaking team members 407-922-3308 Jeaninecorcoran @gmail.com http://www.thecorcoranconnection.com
RESTAURANTS
Stone Bridge Tavern The Royal Crest Room 5530 Michigan Ave Saint Cloud, Florida 34772 407-891-0903 www.stonebridgetavernandgrill.com
TIRES
NTA National Tire and Auto 304 13th Street Saint Cloud, FL 34769 407- 593-2136
TRAVEL
Meisner Cruise and Travel Harmony resident 407-738-7088 Meissnertravel.com
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