South Charlotte schools top district, state test scores

South Charlotte schools top district, state test scores

FHA Bridal Registry

What a great idea! What could be a greater gift than help in getting your first home!

FHA designed the program for maximum flexibility and simplicity. It is recommended that the FHA Bridal Registry be created prior to sending out wedding invitations. Many couples create their registry about 6 months prior to their big day. A great way to inform your guests is through a wordpress bridal page. Many couples are creating these blogs to record all the memories leading up to their wedding. By including an insert with a link to your bridal page in you invitation, your guests can learn about your FHA Bridal Registry and dream of owning your own home in a subtle way.
In order to set up your FHA Bridal Registry:
1. Open an interest baring savings account at the bank of your choice
2. Your friends and relatives can make gift deposits directly into the account a great way to facilitate this is to post a printable deposit slip for your new account.
3. These gifted funds can be applied to your 3.5% deposit required by FHA.
4. FYI you do not have to wait until after the wedding to close on your new home
5. Also please note: anyone with an interest in the purchase cannot be party to the gift funds (i.e. seller, mortgage consultant, Realtor, etc.)
The FHA Bridal Registry will take the guesswork out of the gift selection while providing friends and relatives with the assurance they are giving the gift the wedding couple really want and need. The program provides a rare opportunity for newlyweds to own their dream home.
This program is not limited to couples intending to be marries. A similar account may be set up for any occasion where gifts are typically received. It is important to note, these funds belong to the recipient and may be used for anything of the recipients' choice.

The Importance of your Credit Report

The most important first step in the home buying process is to pull a credit report to see if there are any errors. If so they will need to be resolved prior to making an offer on a home. Errors can lower your credit score and cause you to have a higher interest rate.

Are you considering a purchase? Have you had your credit checked? Did you find any errors?

RISMEDIA, March 12, 2009-Over 70% of consumers identify errors on their credit report. Twenty-five percent of those are serious enough to deny consumers and business owners access to credit, preferred interest rates or even a job. With over 54 billion credit updates occurring each year, it’s very likely you-or your clients-may have errors that are negatively impacting the ability to get credit and/or causing you to pay unnecessary interest expenses.

Identifying a credit report error is only the first step. Most consumers don’t know they have an error on their report because they rarely, if ever, review it until they need to get a loan. By the time this occurs, a consumer typically has less than 45 days before they need their loan funded, and their ability to get a single, valid error corrected within this timeframe is marginal at best.

The need to proactively understand, evaluate and optimize your credit profile has never been greater. So what should a consumer do? Become educated and informed about how credit works. Your clients should continually review and evaluate their credit profile. When a questionable activity is identified, he/she should make sure they understand it and correct any valid errors. In most cases, consumers begin by filing a dispute with the applicable credit agency who is reporting the information. RE

Jeff Mandel is president and CEO of iQual and Marlin Brandt is COO of ApprovalGUARD. For more information, please visit www.iqual.com [2] or ApprovalGUARD.com [3].

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com [4].

How Sellers Value Their Homes

The latest HomeGain survey, however, underscores that while homeowners may be aware of falling home prices around the country, many believe that the slide doesn’t apply to their homes. Our survey shows that homebuyers and Realtors are telling homeowners their homes are worth considerably less than homeowners think they are.

Do you currently have your home on the market? Do you feel that your listing agent has suggested a price lower than you feel is correct? Did you list it higher anyway? Have you had much activity on your home?

The Plan to Slow Foreclosures - Just another Wall Street Bailout?

I agree with Mr. Roberts, it is unfair for taxpayers to continue to bail out banks and mortgage lenders who knew what was going on and used greed as their only determination whether to approve loans. How do you feel about the government plan for foreclosures?


RISMEDIA, February 23, 2009-After listening to and reading about President Obama’s plan to cure the foreclosure epidemic, I wish I could say, “It’s about time!” For far too long, the federal government has been focused on bailing out Wall Street rather than Main Street. I was hoping that Obama would reverse the trend. Unfortunately, his plan looks like more of the same to me.

Obama is setting aside $75 billion… of whose money? According to a treasury official, $50 billion will come from the remaining $350 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, and $25 billion will come from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is taxpayers’ money-Main Street money.

And where is that money ultimately ending up? To “subsidize” lenders and investors - that’s Wall Street - for doing what they need to be doing anyway - modifying loans.

The fact is that loan modification is a good business decision for lenders and investors. According to various estimates, lenders stand to lose an average of about $50,000 to $80,000 per foreclosure. A loan modification does not wipe out a lender’s profit. To the contrary, it helps lenders avoid taking a huge loss on foreclosure while at the same time allowing them to keep a performing asset on their books. As a result of a loan modification, the lender keeps collecting interest. The loan remains profitable, albeit less profitable than it would have been had the homeowner been able to afford the originally agreed-upon payments, but still profitable. So why are taxpayers going to subsidize lenders?

Last Sunday (February 15, 2009) 60 Minutes ran a segment entitled “World of Trouble,” in which investigative reporter Scott Pelley interviewed Paul Bishop, a former loan originator for World Savings Bank which, at the time, was the second largest savings and loan. Bishop reported witnessing rampant fraud throughout the organization in the origination and approval of mortgage loan. And as I have been reporting over the past two years, what was going on at World Savings Bank was the rule rather than the exception in the mortgage lending industry.

Everyone knew what was going on. The few people who tried to stop it were silenced and either demoted or fired.

Mortgage lenders were well aware that they were approving mortgage loans that never should have been approved in the first place. Loan originators and banks were raking in profits leading up to the mortgage meltdown, and they weren’t exactly spreading the wealth to American taxpayers. Now that the time has come for them to pay the price for irresponsible lending practices, they are calling on the American taxpayer to subsidize their losses? This is absurd.

Don’t get me wrong. I applaud President Obama for focusing efforts on bringing relief to Main Street, but the government shouldn’t be using Main Street money to do it. I think a more prudent move would be in the form of an executive order demanding that banks modify loans on their own and ending foreclosures until they have cleaned up the mess that they themselves have contributed so much to creating.

Ralph R. Roberts is a consumer advocate, spokesperson for Federal Loan Modification Law Center, host of KeepMyHouse.com, and author of numerous books, including Foreclosure Self-Defense For Dummies and Loan Modification For Dummies (Summer, 2009).

Charlotte named best place to live

Come join all those who are moving here and loving it! Reasonable homes, cheaper property taxes, mild climate what's not to love!! Have you been thinking of relocating?

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Apparently, there's just something about North Carolina. For the second year in a row, America's best city in which to live lies within its borders, according to Relocate-America.com's annual list.

This year, Charlotte, N.C., is in the top spot, the site announced this week. Last year's winner was Asheville, N.C., which slipped to No. 7 on this year's list.

"North Carolina is very active on our radar," said Steve Nickerson, president and CEO of HomeRoute. "It continues to get a flood of interest from all over."

HomeRoute is the real estate firm that operates Relocate-America.com, a source of community information and real-estate resources for those who are relocating. Each year, the site ranks the top 100 places to live in the country.

Areas need to be nominated on the site in order to be eligible for the list; more than 2,000 were nominated this year, Nickerson said. Special efforts are made to prevent spamming campaigns from influencing the results, he added.

But the site's editorial team also takes into account an area's growth, its educational and employment opportunities, crime rates and housing options before granting it a spot in the top 100. Environmental highlights also play a role, with a city gaining points for good air and water quality or the strength of its recycling efforts, Nickerson said.

Home-price appreciation does get some consideration, however it's only one piece of the analysis, Nickerson said -- explaining why some struggling real estate markets in California and Florida, for example, still made the top 100. Areas that offer a comfortable climate and economic opportunity tend to be the most sought-after communities on the site, he said.

Charlotte's diversity of housing options and home affordability were two of the reasons users nominated the city, Nickerson said. The city's strong economy, boosted largely by the banking industry, was another selling point.

Second on this year's list was San Antonio, Texas, which people praised for its cost of living, recreational opportunities and diversity, he said. Chattanooga, Tenn., came in third place, noted for its vibrant downtown and affordable home prices in the nominations.

Below are the top 10 cities in Relocate-America.com's 2008 list:

1. Charlotte, N.C.

2. San Antonio, Texas

3. Chattanooga, Tenn.

4. Greenville, S.C.

5. Tulsa, Okla.

6. Stevens Point, Wis.

7. Asheville, N.C.

8. Albuquerque, N.M.

9. Huntsville, Ala.

10. Seattle, Wash.

Home Staging

When you are ready to sell your home, it becomes a product. Think of a product in your favorite store. You may not need it, but when it is marketed at eye level with eye candy colors, you want to put it in your cart. Home staging is similar. Your home must be presented to attract the maximum number of buyers. When priced correctly, and staged for optimal appeal, your home is as good as sold!

If you were to put your home on the market, do you think staging would be worth the cost if your home sold quicker and for more money?

Have you personally experienced identity theft?

Learn how you can protect yourself from Identity Theft

By PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITER

A first-ever review of Secret Service files has found that only half of the cases of identity theft involved technological devices, such as computers, scanners and digital cameras, and only 10 percent were done exclusively through the Internet.

In a fifth of the other cases, thieves stole personal data the old-fashioned way.

Low-tech tactics included rerouting mail by sending change of address requests to institutions handling credit card and bank accounts, swiping items right from residents' mailboxes, and "Dumpster diving" -- going through trash for information used to produce counterfeit documents and to open credit accounts.

Researchers from Utica College's Center for Identity Management and Information Protection in New York analyzed 517 closed Secret Service cases of ID theft from 2000 to 2006. It was the first study of such files from the federal agency, which is responsible for investigating identity theft and fraud.

Among their findings:

• A fifth of the time, identity thieves stole personal data at their workplace. Of them, 60 percent were employed in the retail industry -- stores, car dealerships, gas stations, casinos, restaurants, hotels, hospitals and doctors' offices. Another 22 percent worked for financial services, such as banks and credit card companies, and 9 percent were in government.

• People were victimized by a family member or friend 16 percent of the time.

• Personal information was stolen from someone's home, car, wallet or pocketbook 12 percent of the time.

• Most of the thefts occurred in the Northeast and the South.

• The median loss was just over $31,000, although in one case a thief spent millions on luxury vehicles and established shell companies to defraud more victims.

The study follows a recent Consumer Reports poll that found Americans overwhelmingly believe they are more vulnerable to identity theft when a business has their Social Security number. Most respondents said they want companies to stop using the numbers to identify customers.

A Social Security number, coupled with your date of birth and address, is the Holy Grail for identity thieves. You should never give out personal information over the telephone or Internet unless you know whom you're dealing with.

In addition to shredding documents before discarding them, the Secret Service recommends not storing any passwords on your computer's hard drive. Hackers know how to retrieve them, she said.

Consumers have become more savvy to Internet scams meant to trick them into divulging account numbers, passwords and other personal information. They know all about the Nigerian advance-fee scheme.

They may have become less vigilant about other tactics, authorities say.

"What we get a lot are people who work in offices, maybe a doctor's office, or your credit card is getting swiped at the gas station," said Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Brian Lynch. "[Someone at] that doctor's office picks off your Social Security number and the next thing you know you've become the victim of a terrible identity theft," Lynch said.

Lynch urged people not to give their Social Security numbers when filling out any type of medical forms or applications.

"Just decline," he said. "They don't really need [it]."

Postal Inspector Douglas Bem said residents shouldn't use their home mailboxes for outgoing mail. And by no means, should they raise the flag on the box if they do.

"That's as much an indicator to a thief, as it would be to a letter carrier, that there's mail to be had," he said.

Anyone concerned about incoming mail should try to retrieve it as soon as it's delivered, and make sure to place a hold on it when they're away so it doesn't accumulate, Bem said.

Bem said there were few instances in which identity thieves rerouted mail by submitting a change of address card to the postal service. In the overwhelming majority of cases, he said, "the change of address was actually done directly with the bank or financial institution" that held the victim's personal information.

To prevent fraudulent rerouting of mail, Bem said, the postal service uses a dual verification procedure in which confirmation letters are sent to both the old and new addresses to verify the request is legitimate before any mail is forwarded.

In the FTC's 2003 survey of identity theft victims, 4 percent cited stolen mail as the source of their problems, he noted.

Although manufacturers offer a variety of lockable boxes to secure your mail, the postal service doesn't endorse any, Bem said.

Mail is more likely to be stolen at points along the distribution chain, he added.

"Many times we see mail that is stolen by organized groups who may have infiltrated airlines or private delivery companies or private mail rooms," Bem said. "It even occurs when couriers hired by the banks and financial institutions are picking up mail from post offices.

"It's not all residential mailboxes -- not by any stretch."

With the holiday season approaching, consumers need to be more watchful than ever, said J.R. Reagan, managing director of security and identity management for BearingPoint Inc., a McLean, Va.-based consultant.

"Certainly consumers are much more at risk now for having their information compromised than in the past, either by electronic, online or the low-tech means," said Reagan. "Just as in the real world, when you walk out of your house and you have to be watchful, careful and cognizant of your surroundings, that doesn't differ when it comes to your personal information. "It can become ruinous if it's in the wrong hands."