The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper



Vol. 17 No. 31 - May 17, 2017

BUSINESS

Pets are tops at Beach Veterinary Clinic

LaPensee Plumbing Pools Air

Submitted

From left, Dr. Nicole Corning, Dr. Jade Kafer, Joey Knudstrup
and Dr. Crit Holland at Beach Veterinary Clinic.

BY LOUISE BOLGER | SUN STAFF WRITER

It doesn't take long for a new pet to become an important member of the family, and like all members of the family, we want them to have the very best medical care. Beach Veterinary Clinic in Cortez has it all covered from nose to tail and everything in between for the care of the furry members of your family.

Beach Veterinary Clinic is conveniently located for both on Island and off island pet owners just on the east side of the Cortez Bridge in the historic Cortez fishing village. In 2015, the long-time clinic changed hands and is currently managed by Dr. Jade Kafer who is the managing DVM and Joey Knudstrup who is the hospital manger.

Currently there are two doctors in addition to Dr. Kafer, Dr. Nicole Corning and Dr. Crit Holland. The doctors have more than 30 years combined experience. They are also actively looking for a fourth doctor in order to provide better service to their clients and longer hours. Also, Beach Vet has an additional 12 members on its staff, including a full-time groomer.

According to Knudstrup, who has worked at Beach Veterinary Clinic for 16 years, they offer full service soft tissue veterinary services including boarding and grooming. In addition to general medical services like shots, check-ups, dental services, heartworm and flea and tick exams, they can perform bone surgeries and have the ability to call in surgeons to come to their facility for more complicated procedures. This is a wonderful service for both human and animal clients, the humans can be nearby their pets and the animals don't have to be moved. Beach Vet also offers digital X-rays, and endoscopy to get those accidentally swallowed items removed from the throat and stomach.

Beach Vet has a large boarding facility where 19 large animals, 12 cats and 25 small dogs can be accomodated. They make sure the animals are attended to on weekends and holidays. Grooming is also a busy service at Beach Vet, handling five or six pets per day.

One of Beach Veterinary Clinic's new and exciting services is Telemedicine where your pet can have a virtual visit with the doctor right from your electronic device or computer. This will be up and running very shortly and will ultimately be offered to established clients. Basically, it will be used for follow-up visits for previous procedures – another great service that will help keep you out of traffic during the busy winter season.

Beach Vet offers a full pharmacy both on line and in its clinic as well as monthly promotions. Discounts are offered every month geared toward specific monthly events and posted on their website. Also, the first time you visit Beach Veterinary Clinic, it is free – a really nice perk for vacationers and seasonal visitors.

And finally, in the spirit of community service, Beach Veterinary Clinic will be hosting an open house on Saturday, June 3, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. called "Paws At The Beach." The open house will benefit two pet rescue agencies and will include giveaways, hospital tours, raffles, doctor dunks and, of course, pet adoption.

Beach Veterinary Clinic says it is"contemporary medicine with old fashion care," and certainly virtual office visits are as contemporary as it gets, – full service from nose to tail.

BEACH VETERINARY CLINIC

4404 124 St. Ct. W., Cortez

941-792-2838

Monday-Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Saturday: 7:30 a.m. – noon

All major credit cards accepted

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Reverse mortgages worth another look

Investment Corner By Tom Breiter

I have written about reverse mortgages over the years, at least twice here in the Sun. My advice was that reverse mortgages were expensive for the borrower, but in the case where a retired person or couple had run out of assets, using the equity in their home through a reverse mortgage wasn't the worst idea in the world.

I'm bringing the topic back one more time because some changes in federal guidelines have made the reverse mortgage a more attractive option for those who are over age 62, that own their home free and clear of another mortgage and who are concerned about the possibility of running low on retirement income during their lifetime

Space limitations don't' allow us to go into a full primer on reverse mortgages, but let's hit some of the highlights.

• Fees are down: The up front mortgage insurance premium applied to all reverse mortgages was reduced from 2.5 percent of the loan amount to 0.5 percent by the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013, as long as the borrower doesn't tap more than 60 percent of the available credit balance in the first year. Other fees have been standardized and are roughly in line with a traditional home mortgage, but often lenders will issue credits to offset some or all of these other expenses.

• Education: Borrowers are required to attend a consumer counseling session to make sure they understand the nature of the reverse mortgage. The cost of this session is $125

• Borrowing limit: The limit for reverse mortgage credit lines depends on the age of the youngest borrower, current interest rates and the lenders margin. Generally, you can access about half of the value of your principal resident, up to a current maximum value of $625,000.

• Payments: You don't need to make payment on a reverse mortgage. The money you borrow and accrued interest must be repaid when you no longer live in the home. This can be through a move to another location, or if you pass away. The home will then be sold, the reverse mortgage paid off and any excess above that can be left to heirs.

In the past, advice was generally to take out the reverse mortgage as a last resort when it was obvious additional funds may be needed. Under current guidelines, that advice is outdated. Reverse mortgage lines of credit actually grow over time, giving the borrower the ability to borrow more. So, the current advice in most situations is to establish the line of credit in your mid-60s, when eligible, and instead of borrowing, just let the line of credit rest with a zero balance.

A line of credit for about $125,000 will grow to about $190,000 in 10 years, 290,000 in 20 years and over $440,000 in 30 years. Establishing, but not accessing the line of credit until later in retirement gives the retiree a lot of flexibility. The exact loan characteristics are influenced by the age(s) of the borrowers as well as the current level of interest rates.

In summary, for those who may find themselves real estate rich and liquid asset challenged, a reverse mortgage may be a good option.

Tom Breiter is president of Breiter Capital Management, Inc., an Anna Maria based investment advisor. He can be reached at 778-1900. Some of the investment concepts highlighted in this column may carry the risk of loss of principal, and investors should determine appropriateness for their personal situation before investing. Visit www.breitercapital.com.

 


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