There are situations where a bank, greedy listing agent or FSBO seller may be offering no or very little commission to the buyer's agent. In those cases, a buyer may need to make up the difference to their agent. Tacking on a blatant junk fee, no matter what it is called, on a deal where reasonable commission is being paid shouldn't be tolerated. One of the national franchises in Cocoa Beach used to pressure their agents to tack a $495 "regulatory compliance fee" on all their clients, both sellers and buyers. Many people paid the legitimate-sounding junk fee not knowing they were being blatantly ripped off. Clients who questioned the fee didn't have to pay it. Those who didn't question had their pockets picked. Ignorance is often costly.
The big (20 to 40 pounds) bull redfish are schooled up just outside Port Canaveral and are feeding voraciously. Anglers have been catching and releasing these monsters during the perfect windless conditions this week. Anyone who'd like to catch a redfish of a lifetime can do a half-day charter out of the Port right now and check that item off their bucket list.
Gas prices in Cocoa Beach retreated below $3 per gallon at several stations this week. Motorists buying premium gasoline continue to be gouged by the stations at the north and south forks in A1A. Premium at these stations hovers around 40 cents more per gallon than at the Sunoco at 1st St. South. As long as people pay those prices, they will continue the gouging. Please don't.
"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." ___George W. Bush
