The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

This offers useful tips on short sales: Dear Homeowner, For each short sale, there will be required paperwork that must be obtained from the Seller. We need to obtain this information as soon as possible. This will make your transaction run a lot smoother. See below the list of required short sale documents: o Listing Agreement with price included and comps to justify listing price. o Purchase Offer/Contract o Buyers Pre-Qualification Letter o Authorization to release information ~ This document gives permission to the agent to speak on the sellers behalf and to obtain information. o Financial form ~ List of itemized assets and liabilities. o Two year’s most recent tax returns. o Two months most recent paycheck stubs. o Two months most recent bank statements. o Hardship Letter explaining why the borrower fell behind/ can not afford to sell/ which documents may be missing from the package o Completed Hud1 or Seller’s Net Sheet ~ (Utilize your favorite title company o provide preliminary...

Sandy Allen has shared some useful numbers for homeowners seeking to discuss mortage terms or mitigate losses with their mortgage lenders: Washington Mutual – Loss Mitigation Phone: 800-496-9633 Phone: 904-281-3900 Collections Department Phone: 866-356-5789 Foreclosures Departments Fax: 818-775-2010 Chase – Loss Mitigation Phone: 510-652-0401 National City Mortgage – Loss Mitigation Phone: 937-910-3563 Bank of New York – Loss Mitigation Phone: 212-495-1784 Fax: 212-415-2035 Home Side – Loss Mitigation Phone: 904-281-3900 Wells Fargo – Loss Mitigation Phone: 888-231-0757 Loss Mitigation: 877-216-8448 Borrower Assistance: 800-551-9808 Homeowners in Foreclosure: 800-868-0043 or 800-352-7654 Whitney National Bank – Loss Mitigation Phone: 800-347-7272 American General – Loss Mitigation Phone: 770-614-6005 Citi Mortgage – Loss Mitigation Loss Mitigation: 800-682-2286 Foreclosure: 877-202-3846 Loss Mitigation: 866-357-6015 Loss Mitigation Fax: 248-488-7727 Workout Fax: 248-488-8357 Loss Mitig...

Hello Citizens of Sarasota County, As you know the Board of County Commissioners are faced with making some very difficult budget decisions in the upcoming months. A survey has been comprised covering several areas of service that are currently provided to the residents of Sarasota County. Your input is being gathered to give a better idea of the community's priorities for various services: If you would be so kind as to take 3-5 minutes and take a survey here. (http://www.scgov.net/GetOnBoard /default.asp ) We would be very interested to know what your thoughts are. Your name and address are optional but your zip code is required in order to complete the survey. Thank you in advance for taking time out of your busy day to complete the survey.

The following letter was sent to the LSCG solely to offer guidance to homeowners who might be anticipating housing-related difficulties. It is not an advertisement or commercial message: SunCoast Mortgage Partners 2477 Stickney Point Rd., #221-B Sarasota, FL 34231 Office: (941) 924-0044 Fax: (941) 924-0033 amysamsal@suncoastmortgagepartn ers.com http://www.suncoastmortgagepart ners.com In today’s turbulent times many homeowner’s are facing situations never before thought possible. Where is one to turn for solid, reliable information? Here are some basic things homeowner’s should know when dealing with the possibility of losing their home: Don’t ignore letters from your current lender. If possible, contact your lender before you begin to fall behind on any payments. When you call – ask to speak with someone in the Loss Mitigation Department. Be willing and prepared to provide them the information they need to determine a solution (i.e. current financi...

Incumbent Sheriff Bill Balkwill is not running again, but there is no shortage of folks seeking his job. The four announced candidates for Sarasota County Sheriff will debate who will make the best sheriff at CONA's Monday, June 9, 7:00 PM meeting. The meeting will be at The Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota (Corner of US 41 and Blvd of the Arts) at 7 PM on May 12. Please visit CONA's web site for detailed directions. Candidates Dave Gustafson, Tom Knight, and Curt Lavelle have so far accepted invitations to participate. The format at CONA candidates' nights is that each candidate has two minutes to introduce themselves and their views, followed by the panel answering questions from the audience and concluding with a one-minute summary by each candidate. CONA , the Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations, is a county-wide coalition of sixty-one neighborhood and condominium associations and individuals organized around making Sarasota ...

Due to a glitch, this was not posted in time for the first workshop, but two more workshops are coming:

Citizen's Patrol training on July 8th @ 6:30 (right before general meeting). Only a half hour and required before you can 'patrol'. One of two people in vehicle must be trained.

Those homes on Jarvis and Lago that were in the new water line plan can call the county for paperwork. The paperwork is the application for service at the home in question. When you call, the initial financing options (20 years fixed at 3% or lump sum) will be explained. You'll then need a plumber to do the connection. A permit will have to be pulled. Start the ball rolling by calling Sarasota County Utilities at 861-0629 or 861-0623.

The county is reportedly considering a petition from Lake Sarasota residents to install a sidewalk along the north side of Lago Way/Lago Road. This segment formed part of the original sidewalk project that accompanied the waterlines along Jarvis and Lago, but was taken out when a few homeowners objected to having the sidewalk on the North Lago side of the road, according to Pinky Pakalapati, the county's sidewalk manager for the project. The county looked at putting a sidewalk in along the south side of Lago, but it was decided that this would require a potentially dangerous crosswalk for children having to cross Lago before or after school, when the road is heavily trafficked. The reasons for the homeowners' objection to the northside sidewalk were never openly stated, and the discussion as to the merits of the issue never came up in an open meeting of the Lake Sarasota Community Group. Now a new petition calls for the county to install a sidewalk as originally planned that wo...

Home mortgage stress? In the next LSCG newsletter, look for information about foreclosures and short sales work, and consider whether it might be worthwhile to discuss the problems facing many Florida residents and look for solutions. It's possible help might be able to be found within your own neighborhood. What do you think? Would you like to hear a presentation on the best way to address the mortgage crisis at a future meeting? Let us know!

Beach parking fees may be coming County officials to solicit bids for program By Zac Anderson Published Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 4:30 a.m. SARASOTA COUNTY — A plan to charge people up to $2 an hour to park at all of Sarasota County's beaches moved ahead Wednesday, with a final County Commission decision expected later this year. Contact your County Commissioners and weigh in.

Highlights of tonight's general meeting of the Lake Sarasota Community Group (LSCG): 1. The treasury currently has $689.69. The group voted unanimously to thank all those who have contributed to the LSCG, including recent donors Linda B., Dennis W., Barbara P. and Rose D. To these and all who have sent checks to our mailing address, our sincere thanks. Additional moneys were raised through sale of LSCG T-shirts. The mailing address is: Lake Sarasota Community Group PO Box 21983 Sarasota, FL 34276 2. A resident asked about the current sidewalk project. He says he remembers original plans called for a sidewalk to run along Lago, connecting Mauna Loa with the sidewalk crossing at Hand Road. He asked why that plan was changed. If anyone has any information, please let us know - or leave a comment below. 3. If anyone knows of a home in foreclosure that is not being properly maintained, please let us know . Renee is keeping track of these and forwarding unresolved cases to Code ...

The sidewalk part of the Lake Sarasota project is 75-80% done, according to Pinky Pakalapati in Public Works. The sidewalk construction has been completed on many streets, including Friendship, Brentford, Middlesex, Wake and others, he said, adding that progress was "a little bit ahead of plans." Along with the sidewalks, the stormwater work is mostly done. A few sidewalks remain to be completed: Jarvis and Berkshire are almost done, Palau, part of Jarvis and Hina remain to be done. For information on the water connections, call Sarasota County Utilities at 861-0629 or 861-0623.

Dear Neighbors, We hope to see you and get your input tomorrow night. Will be doing another newsletter soon and need your ideas. Besides our usual updates and Yard of the Month winners, we'll have a brainstorming session: What else can we be doing to make Lake Sarasota a better place to live? Also…. Would you like to make phone calls for Citizen's Patrol scheduling? Would you like to take some water to our thirsty plants at entrances? The latest letter sent by our Traffic/Safety Committee to the Traffic Advisory Council is here. How to get to our meeting: Sarasota Baptist Church is across the street from Lakeview Elementary (Hand Rd from Lago) Go to the end across from the Worship Center and enter via the Admin Offices entrance. (You'll see the names on the buildings once you're on that end in the parking lot.) It's in Room #100, which is straight ahead down the hallway when you enter. Real easy to find. Thank You :) Laura Mathis

May 5, 2008 D.J. Galloway and Traffic Advisory Council Members Manager Traffic Operations 1001 Sarasota Center Blvd. Sarasota, Fla. 34240 To All: As residents of Lake Sarasota neighborhood, located on Bee Ridge Road east of I-75, we would once again like to request some stop signs to be placed at the following intersections in our community. We were granted one sign by the Traffic Advisory Council in November that was placed at the intersection of Mauna Loa and Friendship Drive. The people residing in that area feel that the sign has indeed helped to slow speeding cars. But there is seven tenths of a mile between that sign and the next one, on Mauna Loa and Luawana. Speeding is still a problem for the residents living on the section of Mauna Loa between these two stop signs. The cross streets located between these two signs are: Mauna Loa and Luzon Mauna Loa and Suva Mauna Loa and Fiji A stop sign placed on both the north and south side of Mauna Loa at one or...

The regular monthly meeting of the Community Group takes place at the Sarasota Baptist Church, 7 p.m. Come out, meet your neighbors.

The water lines along Jarvis and Lago are all installed, according to Rodney Jones Sarasota County Utilities. The lines were certified last week as "drinkable," he added. Notices with information about hook-ups should be arriving in residents' mailboxes by the 19th of May, Jone said. For additional info: 861-0506. We have a call in to the county sidewalk supervisor and will update when possible. Click to expand the image for information from the county regarding the various fees, which we received in December.

From the County's Website: Sarasota County seeks to jump start local economy with stimulus program On Tuesday , May 6, Sarasota County will seek voter approval to issue a series of bonds up to $300 million to help fast track several surtax infrastructure projects approved by voters in November 2007. Sarasota County residents have already demonstrated their commitment to the penny investment in roads, parks and libraries. Providing the county with access to this funding now through bonds is an efficient and financially secure way to begin projects earlier than originally scheduled, thereby creating jobs and supporting local industries that are vital to our community. This is not a new tax. These are penny surtax dollars you've already approved. Now we're putting them to work to create local jobs and to jump start our economy. The Sarasota...