Page 12 - Staurt Exposure - November '19

Page 12, Stuart Exposure

reaL eState

Treasure Coast Real Estate inventory of homes for sale, low mortgage rates, and a strong insist that all offers provide for a tight financing contingency.
When I do everything right, my sellers get the highest
Report economy are creating a perfect environment for sellers. price, a quick sale, and a seamless transaction. Then I get
I typically suggest that sellers price their home about five

to 10 percent above market value when first putting it on the reviews like this on Realtor.com:
All Bets Are Off In 2020, But 2019 Remains market. This gives them room for negotiating the price and Property: 5579 N.W North Crisona Cir., Port Saint Lucie, Fla.
Strong For Sellers any repair credits after the inspection. It also allows for a Overall rating: 5 star
By Jim Weix slight asking price reduction, if needed. Market expertise: 5 star
Although some people Although finding a buyer for the seller has gotten easier, Responsiveness: 5 star
are predicting a housing it is now even more important to make sure the buyer is Negotiation skills: 5 star
price correction in 2020, that qualified. There are many unqualified buyers trying their luck Professionalism & Communication: 5 star
certainly isn’t happening on at getting a mortgage. Just about any buyer can go online and Jim Weix is an excellent realtor! He answered every
the Treasure Coast in 2019. get a so-called “Pre-Approval Letter.” question we had and he sold our home in a day! Our closing
My last several listings have These look great, but sometimes are worthless. Many of went smooth and happened on the day and time it was
gone under contract between these pre-approval letters are issued based upon what the originally scheduled. I highly recommend Jim! You won’t
one and five days. buyer simply stated in their online application. Remember be sorry!
I have to give much credit “Liar Loans”? In reality, the actual approval is subject to Jim Weix is a Broker Associate with The Keyes Company.
to the incredible marketing conditions such as verification of income and employment. Jim has 24 years of experience selling real estate full time.
that the Keyes Company The last thing a seller wants to do in a hot market is to take If you have questions or want the services of an experienced
offers me, which is above and beyond the Multiple Listing their home off the market, only to find out 45 days later that expert, you can reach Jim at (772) 341-2941 or jimweix@
Service. However, factors like a strong buyer demand, low the buyer couldn’t get financing for a bicycle. This is why I jimweix.com.
gooD WorkS

Volunteers From Treasure that have not only accumulated relief supplies, building

Coast Launch New materials, but also need volunteers to facilitate identified
priorities.”
Organization For Hurricane the hangar with supplies before they take off to the Bahamas
Volunteers are asking neighbors from all over to help fill
Dorian Relief in a few days. The hangar will be open Monday through
Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All donations are welcome.
For people with big hearts on the Treasure Coast, it’s time For anyone who physically cannot make it to the hangar,
to continue something they started nearly two months ago. there are other ways to help. The group set up an Amazon
In September, Category Five Hurricane Dorian brought wish list where donors can buy food and any other relief
unimaginable heavy wind and rain to the Abaco Islands, and items. People can also make monetary donations through
other parts of the Bahamas. Dozens were killed, thousands the two foundations.
are still unaccounted for, and survivors are still struggling. For anyone interested in making trips, volunteers say
After spending days and weeks at a time on the ground to stop by the hangar to learn how to get involved. You
of a disaster zone, volunteers came together to find a way can also follow along the organization’s Facebook page. After spending days and weeks at a time on the ground of
to continue their relief efforts. As a result, 25united was Any additional questions or inquiries can be emailed to a disaster zone, volunteers came together to find a way to
born. twentyfiveunited@gmail.com. continue their relief efforts. As a result, 25united was born.
Partnering with nonprofit organizations like the
Community Foundation of Martin and St. Lucie counties,
as well as Treasure Cay Community Foundation, volunteers Wealth ManageMent
will be collecting donations from inside Hangar Three at the
Stuart Airport. These efforts are a spin-off of what Operation
300 out of Stuart has done for the past two months, led by iPlanning: Estate Planning in the Digital World
Stephen Leighton, a board member for the organization and
chief of staff for Congressman Brian Mast.
With society fi1mly
“This work will cover all Bahamian businesses, entrenched in the digital world, can take to help ensure that digital assets will be administered
according to your wishes:
Bahamian homes, and Bahamian schools,” said Leighton just about everyone has digital 1. Prepare a complete inventory of digital assets. Included in
on a public Facebook post. “We will continue working with assets. There are currently 1.59 this inventory should be infmmation regarding the location
current and new nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) billion active monthly Facebook of each digital asset, as well as usernames, passwords, and
users, 900 million Gmail users, answers to security questions. This inventory should be
307 million active monthly held in a secure location with your other estate planning
Twitter users, and 10 million documents to minimize the risk of this information falling
active Bitcoin wallets. What into the hands of a non-authorized individual. Stifel’s “Final
happens to all of these digital Thoughts and Information to Loved Ones” may be a useful
assets when the owner dies? tool when compiling this inventory. Contact your Stifel
Applicable Law Financial Advisor for a copy of this piece.
The legal waters governing 2. Research whether certain websites allow a user to appoint
the administration of digital an individual to manage accounts after the user’s passing.
assets after the owner’s Many websites, including Facebook and Google, now permit
death are murky. The Stored users to designate an individual to access their account after
Communications Act (“SCA”) death. Taking advantage of this opportunity can help ensure
generally prohibits providers of public communications to that one’s fiduciary is not in violation of the website’s TOS.
the general public from disclosing the contents of a user’s 3. Appoint a fiduciary for all digital assets. When working
communication without the lawful consent of the sender or with an estate planning attorney to create a last will and
recipient. Accordingly, family members may not be allowed testament, revocable living trust, and general durable power
to access a decedent’s digital assets involving electronic of attorney, you should verify that the attorney includes
communications unless the decedent expressly consented to such provisions expressly granting your fiduciary the authority
assets prior to death. to access all digital assets.
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) outlaws 4. Provide instructions governing the administration of your
unauthorized access to computers and the data contained therein. digital assets. When working with an estate planning attorney
Even if a decedent properly authorized computer access by a to create a last will and testament, revocable living trust, and
family member, the family member may still be in violation of general durable power of attorney, you should verify that the
the CFAA by using the computer to access digital assets not stored attorney includes provisions providing detailed instructions
locally (e.g., logging into Facebook). regarding the administration of all digital assets.
As if these laws don’t complicate things enough, the custodians Article provided by Bob Sander, Senior Vice President/
of digital assets may have provisions in their Terms of Service Investments, with the Stumi branch of Stifel, who has attained
agreements (“TOS”) that impact the administration of digital assets the Ce1iified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) designation and the
after an owner’s death. Some of these TOSs may restrict any third Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) certification. He can
party’s access to a decedent’s digital asset. be reached at (772) 403-8305 or sanderb@stifel.com. Stifel,
In hopes of providing clarity on the issue, the Uniform Law Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated Member SIPC & NYSE
Commission has created the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access Stifel does not provide legal advice. You should consult with
to Digital Assets Act (“RUFADAA”). This act is designed to help your estate planning attorney regarding your particular situation.
facilitate authorized third-party access to a decedent’s digital
assets. In doing so, the Uniform Law Commission hopes to allow 1 Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida,
owners of digital assets to control their disposition as they are able Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland,
to do with tangible, real, and financial assets. As of early 2018, 39 Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
1
states have adopted the RUFADAA. Six states and the District Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
of Columbia have introduced an RUFADAA bill but have not yet Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont,
enacted the bill into law. 2 Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming
2
Digital Estate Planning Solutions Georgia, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Rhode
While we wait for the legal waters governing the administration Island
of a decedent’s digital assets to clear, there are certain steps you