Day: July 20, 2013

By Bonnie Mason

Tired of the same old look? Abby Harris, the owner of Bella Mia Hair Designs, and her team of stylists have the knowledge and experience to give you the best cut and style to complement your features and fit your lifestyle. Whether it’s a classic look like the “bob,” one of the latest outré styles or an ombre hair color technique (where hair is colored lighter at the bottom and darker at the top), the pro stylists at Bella Mia Hair Designs, conveniently located in the Publix-anchored New Tampa Center shopping plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., at BBD’s intersection with New Tampa/Cross Creek Blvd.

Abby Harris purchased Bella Mia Hair Designs nearly six years ago. The salon’s previous name was The Bostonian and Harris was a stylist there for 8 years.

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By Matt Wiley

There’s a cliche for getting in someone’s way, “You make a better door than a window.” However, when it comes to Custom Windows & Doors (CWD) in Port Richey, just a few miles west of Wesley Chapel, they’re good at making both.

For the past 21 years, since Bob Leggiere moved to Port Richey from Yonkers, NY, with his family and business that he began 20 years earlier, CWD has sat in the same location on U.S. 19, providing a number of services for both residential customers and area home builders in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.Continue reading

By Kathleen Schiop

Boss, Arrighi and Hoag, P.L, is a nine-year-old law firm with four locations in Florida — St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Vero Beach and the Tampa office, located in the Tampa Palms Professional Center off Commerce Park Blvd. (near the SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel).

The firm, which includes eight full-time attorneys, can handle a wide variety of cases in any part of Florida, including business law (Chapter 11s, business debt & even BP Oil claims), criminal defense (including DUIs and sealing and expunging records), as well as wealth preservation and asset protection (personal bankruptcies, estate planning, Power of Attorney, probate, trusts, wills, foreclosure defense, short sales, tax law, etc.), family law (including divorces and child custody cases), personal injury law, insurance claim disputes and insurance litigation, sinkhole problems and especially real estate law — one of the specialties at Boss, Arrighi & Hoag’s New Tampa office.

Statewide-Reach, Local Roots

Attorney Brian D. Arrighi is a co-owner of the firm and the managing attorney for the Tampa location. He earned his B.S. degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) law degree from the Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg. He is licensed to practice law in Florida and before the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida. He also is a member of the Florida and Hillsborough County Bar Associations. Arrighi has been living in and practicing law in New Tampa since 2005.

“I’ve always recognized the potential for growth (in New Tampa), and I feel the area has been underserved in the aspect of choices for legal counsel,” Arrighi explains. “Our firm also is a title company, and with all of the homes here, it was a good fit to try to expand our title services in this area.”

Also primarily serving at the firm’s Tampa office is associate attorney Matthew W. Kindel, who practices in all areas of family law and criminal defense. Prior to joining Boss, Arrighi & Hoag, Kindel was an Assistant State Attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit Court in Polk County, advocating on behalf of the people of the State of Florida for more than three years.

Kindel is a Polk County native and lifelong Floridian who received his B.S. in Political Science from Florida Southern College in Lakeland and his law degree from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville. He is a graduate of the Hillsborough County Bar Association Leadership Institute, and has served on the Institute’s Young Lawyer’s Division Events Committee and Youth Services Committee. Kindel also has been involved with Lawyers for Literacy and has spoken to students about the law and the legal process.

Recognizable Experience

As for the firm’s other partners, who are not based primarily at the Tampa office, Christopher W. Boss is the managing partner of Boss, Arrighi, & Hoag, who practices primarily out of the firm’s St. Petersburg office. Boss is a frequent lecturer on the areas of real estate and bankruptcy and he has spoken to numerous trade and industry organizations. He also is a periodic commentator and legal analyst on various real estate and bankruptcy matters, often interviewed by local media, including the WTVT-TV Fox Channel 13 and WTSP-TV Channel 10 news, WFLA-AM 970 (Fox News Radio)’s “Duncan Duo” radio show and numerous newspapers and magazines.

Boss received his undergraduate degree from Stetson University in DeLand, and his J.D. degree from Stetson University School of Law in St. Petersburg. Boss also teaches business law as an adjunct professor at the University of Tampa.

Brian M. Hoag joined Boss, Arrighi, & Hoag in January 2011 to lead the firm’s litigation department. He represents clients in personal injury claims and wrongful death claims stemming from automobile accidents, premises liability, products liability, sinkhole claims, first- and third-party insurance claims and disputes and commercial litigation. Hoag obtained his undergraduate degree in finance, from Florida State University in Tallahassee, and his J.D. degree from the Stetson University College of Law, where he and Arrighi attended at the same time. While at Stetson, Hoag also earned his Master’s of Business Administration degree.

Title Services

“Our firm is a title company, and a full-service legal firm, specializing in real estate — anything from development to residential home sales, we handle it,” Arrighi says. “I’m confident our short sale and foreclosure service is the best, but that’s not all we are. In Hillsborough and Pasco, the seller typically picks the title agency and pays for the services. We do the title work itself for the seller, for the same fee that everyone else does it for, but, in addition, we also give you a legal review of the contract. So, if any legal process comes up, you have an attorney right on hand.”

He adds that, “We hold your hand throughout the home-selling process, versus the average title agency, who will tell you it’s time to find an attorney if something is beyond what they do. So we’re there offering it all in one nice little package for the same price.”

Outstanding References

One New Tampa resident named Tracy who utilized Boss, Arrighi & Hoag had this to say about the firm: “Brian – We closed on our house and I wanted to say ‘thank you’ to you and your team for an amazing job. With all the horror stories you hear about short sales, ours just seemed to be painless with the support of you and your staff.”

Sue, a divorce client of Arrighi’s, said that he was more than helpful in handling her unique case. “My situation was a little out of the ordinary in that my ex and I are older, have three teenage children, and were dealing with my ex’s substance abuse, squandering family assets, plus monthly government pension check and disability income as opposed to ‘normal’ job-related income, etc. But, if (Brian) was surprised at my circumstances, he didn’t show it.

“However,” Sue continued, “there were times when he didn’t have answers to my questions, but he always told me he’d research them…and then delivered. He analyzed everything, and he came up with an amazing, creative plan that protected my unique situation.

“He’s straightforward, but rest assured: if the law isn’t being followed or there’s any game playing by the other side, he’s quick to counteract. He’s a family man himself and has compassion in abundance. I can’t say enough about him. Picking the right attorney is crucial…Brian Arrighi is not an expense — he’s an investment!”

Arrighi also says that at the Tampa Palms office, “Two or three of us are here pretty much most of the time, but the other attorneys will rotate in to handle different clients, depending on what they need. I’m always here, and Matthew Kindel handles most of our family law services at this office. I handle most of the consumer protection and business transactions, buying and selling businesses, contracts, disputes, setting up the deals, forming the corporations. But if a client calls and says, ‘I want to set up a will,’ the attorney who handles that for our firm will be here and will see them here anytime they need to meet, so they never have to go outside their local area to work with us.”

Arrighi also notes that the local office has been handling “a lot” of foreclosures and short sales here in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel.

“Our standard client today is a homeowner who purchased in 2006, but then had a decrease in income and now, their home is underwater, they’re spending their retirement savings to keep up with the bills and they don’t know what to do,” he explains. “Hopefully, they come to us before their situation becomes a crisis.”

Another advantage of working with Boss, Arrighi and Hoag, Arrighi says, is that, “We have big- firm experience, but with small-firm customer service. The odds are that we can handle your case. If not, we’ll know someone who can and will point you in the right direction with a referral.”

The Tampa office also offers seminars for homeowners with distressed properties, as well as in the areas of family law and bankruptcy.

“We do the seminars right here, and we actually have one coming up on Saturday, August 10, 10:30 a.m. to noon,” Arrighi explains. “At that seminar, we will be addressing what your options are if your home is ‘underwater,’ and how detailed we get depends upon the number of people attending. We discuss the options different banks offer, likely outcomes, and generally heighten awareness about the situation.”

Arrighi adds that most people don’t know what they’re up against legally when it comes to a foreclosure or short sale.

“Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad information floating around,” he says. “For example, there’s a Debt Relief Act which is set to expire at the end of the year, which means that if you’re going to short sale, you’d better do it before January 1, 2014. In some New Tampa communities, like in Live Oak Preserve, if you’re, say, $100,000 upside down, and you short sale now, you can get out of the debt, and you’ll be fine. But, if you wait until January, that’ll be a $100,000 taxable gain. A lot of people don’t know that. We’re running out of time so we’ll be pushing that, saying if you’re going to short sale, and you’ve been on the fence about it, do it before January.”

Perhaps the most important thing Arrighi stresses is that, “We want more people to not be afraid to call us. We want to be known as your neighborhood firm. I give out a lot of information on the consultation side, so we encourage you to contact us for a free consultation today. More than anything, we’re a good firm. There are a lot of bad ones, out there, but we aren’t… and we’re local.”

Boss, Arrighi, & Hoag, P.L.’s New Tampa office is located at 5321 Primrose Lake Cir., off Commerce Park Blvd. For your free consultation about any legal issue, or for more info, call 251-2921 or visit ProtectYourFuture.com.

By Bonnie Mason

Real estate is a family matter for Missy Hileman. Her professionalism, communication skills and passion to help families find the perfect home in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area is what makes Hileman a top-producing residential Realtor for Century 21 Bill Nye Realty, located on S.R. 54, just east of Wesley Chapel in Zephyrfhills.

“I’m a hands-on Realtor,” Hileman says. “It’s important to me that I return every phone call or email I receive from current and potential clients.”

Hileman received her Realtor license when she was just out of high school, but she admits she learned about professionalism through her exposure to the real estate industry early in life — from her parents, Bill and Andrea Nye, who have owned and operated Century 21 Bill Nye Realty since 1977.

“Obviously, it’s in my blood,” says Hileman.

The leadership skills, confidence and determination she gained through her role as Captain of her Division I collegiate soccer team at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, where Hileman played for four years, resonates with her clients.

Dawn, a Lutz resident and satisfied Hileman client, says, “Missy is amazing at making sure all bases are covered. She will exhaust all resources until a resolution is achieved. We would never have closed on our house without the persistence Missy displayed. We were blessed to have her on our side!”

Hileman says she is diligent throughout the entire process of purchasing or selling a home — and her clients say that diligence shows.

Kellie, an Arbor Greene resident, says, “Missy is an absolute miracle worker! Through her, we bought a new home and sold our home within 45 days!” Hileman says she stays abreast of all homes newly listed in the area and notes that because houses are not staying on the market very long, home buyers need to be one of the first few to view a home that’s newly listed on the market.

Hileman is optimistic about the future of real estate. Currently, in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area, she says, the housing market is trending upward with a low inventory.

“Houses are appraising higher and selling quickly, which is great for anyone selling a home,” Hileman says, adding that pricing a house to sell is a key factor in a quick sale.

“If a house stays on the market for more than three weeks right now, then the house is not priced right for the area,” she says.

Hileman also says that potential clients should not be scared off by the Zephyrhills address of the Century 21 Bill Nye regional office.

“When I decided to go full force into real estate more than five years ago, I wanted to stay close to my home and family, so we branched out to the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area,” Hileman says. “It just made sense to stay in my own community where I know so many families.”

Hileman is a Realtor who knows her community and has a keen sense of what a family is looking for in a home.

“Missy is like a bulldog with a smile,” says Christy, a Hunter’s Green resident. “She used her vast knowledge of real estate and her own experience as a mother, wife and active professional to help our family begin a new life and realize a dream, (and can do the same for you), whether you’re buyers or sellers.”

More Than Just A Realtor

In addition to being one of the top producers at the Century 21 Bill Nye Realty office, Hileman also is a licensed physical therapist who works with rehabbing patients at the new Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC). Born and raised in the Tampa Bay area, Hileman has a Master’s degree in physical therapy from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale and is passionate about children and their families. Missy and her husband Scott have three children of their own and are active members in the New Tampa community.

Scott also works in the family business — on the commercial side, where he specializes in land brokerage and development at Nye Commercial Advisors in Wesley Chapel. Formerly a professional indoor soccer player for nine years, Scott continued to play the last few years of his career while obtaining his MBA in Finance from the Loyola University Sellinger School of Business & Management in Baltimore, MD.

Scott is one of three Certified Commercial Investment Members at Nye Commercial Advisors and also an Accredited Land Consultant through Realtors Land Institute since 2006. Plus, he was a member of the 2012 Class of Leadership Tampa Bay. He has been involved in Rotary since 2004, and is a past president of the New Tampa Noon Rotary Club, where he is still a member of the Board and has participated in and has organized many events to support local, regional and national charities.

Nye Commercial Advisors is a full service commercial real estate brokerage firm owned by Missy’s father, Bill Nye. Nye Commercial offers a wide range of services including: land brokerage, investment sales, buyer representation, tenant representation, leasing, property management and development services.

Truly a family business, Hileman’s brother, Brent Nye, also works at Nye Commercial Advisors, and her sister Molly is the office manager for Century 21 Bill Nye Realty in Zephyrhills.

Missy and Scott and the entire Nye family pride themselves on family and community involvement. She stays active with running, and clients often will see her at Flatwoods Park, and the entire family has participated in local road races.

Missy has volunteered as a soccer coach through the New Tampa Family YMCA, has helped with local clean-up details with the New Tampa Noon Rotary, and often can be seen using her physical therapy skills as a service to local kids in need. She has been a member of St. James United Methodist Church in Tampa Palms with her family since she was in college.

So, if you’re considering selling your home, call Missy Hileman, who will provide a free market analysis. Or, if you’re looking for a new home in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area, she is ready to help you find the perfect home to fit your family’s lifestyle.

Call Missy Hileman, licensed Realtor, at 833-6804 or send her an email at Missy.Hileman@century21.com. Century 21 Bill Nye Realty is located at 34619 S.R. 54 in Zephyrhills. For Nye Commercial Advisors, located at 2800 Windguard Cir., Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel, call 973-0214 or visit NyeCommercial.com.

By Camille Gillies

Scott Bakay, Psy.D., knows that one of the biggest hurdles to seeking professional help for a personal problem is making the initial call to the therapist’s office.

“I know it can be difficult to make that first call,” concedes Dr. Bakay, a psychologist whose office is on E. Fowler Ave. in Temple Terrace. “That’s probably the hardest part about going to therapy.”

Most of Dr. Bakay’s patients, however, don’t make that breakthrough phone call, themselves — their parents do. That’s because this soft-spoken psychologist specializes in treating children and adolescents ages six through 19. Continue reading