Although some churches in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area have become stagnant or even lost membership in recent years, one church, located on Morris Bridge Rd. a few miles south of the Pasco County line, has blossomed â Cypress Point Community Church!
The Reule family (l. to r., Annegrace, Mary, Emmy and pastors Hettie and Dean) invites your family to join the fun and worship at Cypress Point Community Church on Morris Bridge Rd., just north of Cross Creek Blvd.
Situated on 30 verdant acres just north of the corner of Cross Creek Blvd. on Morris Bridge Rd., this now-thriving nondenominational house of Christian worship started in 1998 with a handful of individuals who gathered for Bible study in the former Hunterâs Green Model & Visitor Center. Anxious to move from that choppy office space, which once served as the Hunterâs Green communityâs new home sales hub, the group had a novel idea for a more practical meeting place: the Muvico Starlight 20 movie theater on nearby Highwoods Preserve Pkwy.
Whether youâve just moved into the Wesley Chapel/New Tampa area or youâve been here for years, if youâve ever had the pleasure of either
Managing Broker Dennis Derbes (left), pictured with Lisa Townsend (center) and Kathie Khadij,âmanages both the Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills offices of Prudential Tropical Realty.
trying to sell your home or house hunting before sitting down at the closing table and signing and initialing mountains of documents, you understand how daunting the process can be â especially if you donât have the proper help to get the job done right.
Prudential Tropical Realty (PruTrop) is an independently-owned franchise, with 16 offices and nearly 500 agents in four counties (Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando), of the nationwide Prudential Real Estate. And, PruTropâs hugely successful location in the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza in Wesley Chapel (just south of the Shops at Wiregrass mall), can help you find the home of your dreams or sell the home youâve loved for years at the best possible price, with the least possible amount of hassle and aggravation.
Dennis Derbes, the Market President and Managing Broker for both the New Tampa and Zephyrhills offices of PruTrop, manages a staff of 64 agents, 52 in the New Tampa office and 12 in Zephyrhills, although the market for our local office includes New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and Land OâLakes.
One of the things Derbes says helped keep the local PruTrop office thriving the last few years, when many real estate offices in our area either closed or were absorbed into other agencies, is that Prudential Tropical Realty is truly a âone-stop shopâ for all of your real estate needs. While all of the services available arenât physically located at the New Tampa office, the PruTrop franchise and its divisions and affiliates can literally handle all of your real estate needs, including rentals, property management, relocation, title, mortgage and home warranty services, commercial real estate transactions and more.
The Power Of âThe Rock!â
Plus, PruTrop also is an independent part of the Prudential Real Estate network, one of the largest in the U.S., with 1,400 offices and more than 47,000 agents nationwide.
âThatâs the other thing that helps us in a down economy,ââDerbes says, âthe strength of the Prudential name. When people relocate to this area, they may not immediately find a small, local real estate office, but everyone can Google search âPrudentialâ and âTampaâ and find us.â
And now, for some more good news for anyone considering buying or selling a home in this market, in what some still call a lackluster economy.
âEvery statistic we have for this market is showing a lot of improvement since 2011, and especially, since last year.â
For example, when comparing the first six months of 2013 to the first six months of 2012, in zip codes 33647 (New Tampa), 33543, -44, and -45 (Wesley Chapel)âand 34638 and -39 (Land OâLakes), he says that, according to the Florida Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the average home sale price rose more than 14.5 percent, to $204K from $178K. Equity home sales were up in this New Tampa/ Wesley Chapel market about 34 percent, while short sales actually went down nearly 8 percent, and bank-owned sales were up more than 12 percent. Derbes adds that 85% of the business at the New Tampa office are homeowners in the six zip codes mentioned earlier.
The stats also show that the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel/Land OâLakes market is ahead of the average for Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas overall, where equity sales are up only 27 percent and average sales price is up only about 11 percent.
âWith both the number of sales going up and the average and median proces also rising, you can see why weâre encouraged about the future in this New Tampa/Wesley Chapel market,ââhe says.
AâLittle PruTrop History
Prudential Tropical Realty is one of the oldest and most successful Prudential franchises, and the only one with the same original owners: Dewey Mitchell and Allen Crumbley. Mitchell, a resident of the Trinity area of New Port Richey, and Crumbley, an Alabama native, met when both played football in the late-1970s for legendary Coach Paul âBearâ Bryant at the University of Alabama.
Bryant taught Mitchell and Crumbley not only the lessons of football, but also life lessons. Derbes explains that the two carried those tenets into their real estate business when they bought an existing real estate brokerage in 1984. It became Prudential Tropical Realty, a Prudential franchise brokerage in 1988, where their focus was (and still is) taking care of customers in âan appropriate, ethical and professional manner.â
While all PruTrop agents are individually licensed, by Florida law they must work under a supervising entity or âManaging Broker.â The Broker offers assistance and support to the agents, while also ensuring that each abides by Florida laws.
âFor example,ââDennis says, âalthough we handle short sales, our agents are not allowed to negotiate (short sales). We have licensed negotiators we refer short sale situations to when we receive those inquiries at our office.â The Broker also provides his or her agents with the necessary marketing materials in-house that are required to successfully complete their daily operations. Â Derbes explains his role, like other managing brokers, is to act as âa touchstone and a problem solver.â
While he âdabbled in residential and commercial real estateâ for 25 years, Derbes actually has a long history of automotive sales. Hailing from New Orleans and graduating from Tulane University with a degree in History and Economics, Derbes managed a shopping center in New Orleans before relocating to Tampa in 1973, where he spent years as the general sales manager at Reeves Import Motor Cars in North Tampa until the mid-1980s. Â He eventually met his wife, Vicki â now a Licensed Real Estate Agent in Dennisâ New Tampa office â while working at Reeves. Â Derbesâ sales and management experience has helped him successfully lead his team of agents, which prides itself on providing individualized attention for every client.
âYes, we have some agents who sell more houses than others,ââDennis admits, âbut service is the key for every member of my team, so it doesnât make sense for me to single out any of my agents.â
Committed To The Community &âThe Environment
As consumers now often prefer documents to be e-mailed to them â for not only convenience, but also as a commitment to the environment â Prudential Tropical Realty has pledged to go green. While some real estate documents still require hard copies, Dennis says PruTrop is working towards its goal of streamlining the business by becoming a paperless workplace, for the majority of the companyâs business documents, by the end of the year.
The entire PruTrop franchise also has demonstrated a responsibility to the local community by offering money and manpower to multiple charitable organizations throughout the past three decades.
One targeted organization included funding for former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back (also originally from Louisiana) Warrick Dunnâs âHomes for the Holidays,â which offers assistance to single parent families working towards first-time homeownership by providing down payment and closing costs, home furnishings and long-term support for financial stability.
The companyâs current charitable focus, âThe Sunshine Kids,â is a nationwide nonprofit foundation based in Houston, TX, dedicated to organizing positive activities, events and trips â as well as emotional support â for young children receiving cancer treatment across the country, including locally at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Treatment &âResearch Center on the USFâTampa campus.
The Prudential team provides volunteers to accompany the children and their nurses on trips to places like Universal Studios and Walt DisneyWorld in the Orlando area so they can relax and be ânormalâ kids for awhile. Derbes is humble when describing the contributions and also clearly humbled by the impact the children have made on him. âWe can learn a lot from those kids,â he asserts. Â âThey have a verve for life and a conviction to conquer it.â
The New Tampa office also has many plaques on the walls, thanking Derbes and his crew for sponsoring local Little League, football, soccer and other teams and schools. The office also participates in events like the Taste of New Tampa and others.
For more info about the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel Prudential Tropical Realty office (located at 1830 BBD in The Shoppes at New Tampa plaza), visit NewTampa.PrudentialTropical.com or call 907-8200. The hours of operation are Monday -Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday & 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday.
Abby Harris purchased Bella Mia Hair Designs nearly six years ago. The salonâs previous name was The Bostonian and Harris was a stylist there for 8 years.
Carole & Gary Leggiere of Custom Windows & Doors on U.S. 19 in Port Richey will help you outfit your house for a hurricane, or just to improve your home’s “curb appeal.”
Thereâs a cliche for getting in someoneâs way, âYou make a better door than a window.â However, when it comes to Custom Windows & Doors (CWD) in Port Richey, just a few miles west of Wesley Chapel, theyâre 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
New Tampa resident Brian Arrighi is the managing attorney at the Tampa office of Boss, Arrighi & Hoag, P.L., Tampa Palms.
Boss, Arrighi and Hoag, P.L, is a nine-year-old law firm with four locations in Florida â 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 â one of the specialties at Boss, Arrighi &âHoagâs 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.
âIâve 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,â Arrighi explains. âOur 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.â
Also primarily serving at the firmâs Tampa office is associate attorney Matthew W. Kindel, who practices in all areas of family law and criminal defense. Prior to joining Boss, Arrighi &âHoag, 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 Instituteâs Young Lawyerâs 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 firmâs 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 firmâs 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-TVâFox Channel 13 and WTSP-TV Channel 10 news, WFLA-AMâ970 (Fox News Radio)âs âDuncan Duoâ 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 firmâs 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 Masterâs of Business Administration degree.
Title Services
âOur firm is a title company, and a full-service legal firm, specializing in real estate â anything from development to residential home sales, we handle it,â Arrighi says. âIâm confident our short sale and foreclosure service is the best, but thatâs 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.â
He adds that, âWe hold your hand throughout the home-selling process, versus the average title agency, who will tell you itâs time to find an attorney if something is beyond what they do. So weâre there offering it all in one nice little package for the same price.â
Outstanding References
One New Tampa resident named Tracy who utilized Boss, Arrighi &âHoag had this to say about the firm: âBrian – We closed on our house and I wanted to say âthank youâ 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.â
Sue, a divorce client of Arrighiâs, said that he was more than helpful in handling her unique case. âMy 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 exâs substance abuse, squandering family assets, plus monthly government pension check and disability income as opposed to ânormalâ job-related income, etc. But, if (Brian) was surprised at my circumstances, he didnât show it.
âHowever,ââSue continued, âthere were times when he didnât have answers to my questions, but he always told me heâd research them…and then delivered. He analyzed everything, and he came up with an amazing, creative plan that protected my unique situation.
âHeâs straightforward, but rest assured: if the law isn’t being followed or thereâs any game playing by the other side, heâs quick to counteract. Heâs a family man himself and has compassion in abundance. I canât say enough about him. Picking the right attorney is crucial…Brian Arrighi is not an expense â heâs an investment!â
Arrighi also says that at the Tampa Palms office, âTwo 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. Iâm 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, âI want to set up a will,â 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.â
Arrighi also notes that the local office has been handling âa lotâ of foreclosures and short sales here in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel.
âOur standard client today is a homeowner who purchased in 2006, but then had a decrease in income and now, their home is underwater, theyâre spending their retirement savings to keep up with the bills and they donât know what to do,â he explains. âHopefully, they come to us before their situation becomes a crisis.â
Another advantage of working with Boss, Arrighi and Hoag, Arrighi says, is that, âWe have big- firm experience, but with small-firm customer service. The odds are that we can handle your case. If not, weâll know someone who can and will point you in the right direction with a referral.â
The Tampa office also offers seminars for homeowners with distressed properties, as well as in the areas of family law and bankruptcy.
âWe do the seminars right here, and we actually have one coming up on Saturday, August 10, 10:30 a.m. to noon,â Arrighi explains. âAt that seminar, we will be addressing what your options are if your home is âunderwater,â 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.â
Arrighi adds that most people donât know what theyâre up against legally when it comes to a foreclosure or short sale.
âUnfortunately, there is a lot of bad information floating around,ââhe says. âFor example, thereâs a Debt Relief Act which is set to expire at the end of the year, which means that if youâre going to short sale, youâd better do it before January 1, 2014. In some New Tampa communities, like in Live Oak Preserve, if youâre, say, $100,000 upside down, and you short sale now, you can get out of the debt, and youâll be fine. But, if you wait until January, thatâll be a $100,000 taxable gain. A lot of people donât know that. Weâre running out of time so weâll be pushing that, saying if youâre going to short sale, and youâve been on the fence about it, do it before January.â
Perhaps the most important thing Arrighi stresses is that, âWe 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, weâre a good firm. There are a lot of bad ones, out there, but we arenât… and weâre local.â
Boss, Arrighi, & Hoag, P.L.âs 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.
