Archive for the ‘Economy’ Category
As featured in BNet Business Network.
Holiday season shopping is underway, and with all the deals and “steals” how can you be the smartest shopper in this down economy? This season is expected to be the worst in 20 years. Some of the biggest trends this season, good and bad include:
- Increase in Online Shopping: Online shopping is expected to rise 33% this season, due to time and shipping savings this season. Online retailers are making it easier to shop for and return items purchased online by offering free shipping, easy returns and customer reviews. Rise in matching prices online. Online sales will decrease because returns are expected to be high. Watch out for privacy policies and sharing your personal information online.
- Decrease in Credit Card Spending: Store and bank credit cards are lowering credit card limits. Department stores like Nordstrom and Target are expecting to do a bigger credit card business due to penalties, limits and interest rates being charged by banks, but overall, spending on cards will be less. $30 fees will be charged if you go over the limit, in many cases.
- Stricter Return Policies: Keep your receipts and gift receipt, but ask about quick sale adjustments in advance of the holidays to get the best overall prices. Without a gift receipt most stores are giving refunds only to the gift giver.
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As featured on ABC7 Chicago.
As the mortgage market and economy continues to be weak, there is an increase in the number of mortgage fraud cases reported, and a 48% jump in foreclosures last month, alone.
Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, just filed a lawsuit against Countrywide, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, for issuing and marketing risky and expensive loans. We have some tips on how to avoid getting into this situation and what to do if you find yourself a victim of mortgage fraud.
HOW DID WE GET TO THIS POINT?
- Lenders qualifying people who didn’t have the income to buy the home, but encouraging them to inflate their income on their application.
- ARMs became popular as “affordability products”– get borrowers in at a low rate but soon after, bump up the rate by several percentage points-resulting in increased foreclosure rates. Borrowers fooled by low teaser rate.
- At Countrywide and other mortgage companies, Madigan is claiming, the lender often didn’t tell borrowers the loan’s true costs, risk and affordability factors. Told borrowers, simply, “there are no closing costs.” This was misleading to the borrower.
- Loan officer’s compensation at many of these places was tied to the volume of loans sold–the goal being to sell as many mortgages as possible within a short period of time. The belief is that employers encouraged employees to sell risky mortgages to unsuspecting victims.
SPOTTING MORTGAGE FRAUD
- Lender encourages you to provide false info about your income, assets or employment. You may sense that the lender just wants you to buy that home that you love, but can’t afford.
- Mortgage broker/lender encourages you to work with his or her appraiser, inflating the home’s value.
- Interest rate is 2-10% higher than market rates.
- True closing costs are hidden, but lender tells you that you won’t be able to get a mortgage elsewhere.
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As you prepare for the tax and moving season, you probably aren’t thinking about writing off things around your house, but it pays to go through the clutter—especially this month. But before taking these write-offs, there are some things you need to know or else you can forget about saving tax dollars.
WRITING OFF FURNITURE DONATIONS—BEWARE OF ASSEMBLING!
If, in the past year, in the process of moving, clearing out the clutter or trading up, you have donated any furniture to a charity organization, you are entitled to the value of the furniture for a write off. For 2007, make sure you have a copy of the receipt and declare it. BEWARE: Some charities refuse to accept any goods that have been assembled. Make sure to leave unopened furniture in the box! Ex: Salvation Army won’t take IKEA furniture because of legal issues arising over assembly and the fragility of the piece. Assembled furniture, believe it or not, poses a legal risk.
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Episode Title: A Non-Financial Person’s Current Economic Perspective
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:
October hit us like a storm. With the sudden stock market crash, inflation rising and fears about our future and whether or not we could whether this storm, we have been left hanging on, not knowing who to turn to or whom we could trust with our future. Most of us believe that those working with the government to fix the economy may not have the answers or even understand the full scope of the nation’s economic crisis. In this show, joining me will be astrologers and a well-known psychiatrist offering an alternative perspective about the economy, how we got into this global mess, and how we can turn the corner. Please join me for an entertaining hour.
THE GUESTS:
John Douglas is a Master Spiritual Healer, clairvoyant and telepathic, and is in contact with Master Angelic Beings. At the age of nine, John received a complete clairvoyant activation, allowing full vision of the energetic or spiritual dimension. John claims to be able to measure and identify various energetic frequencies within the body or spiritual realms. These remarkable tools have allowed John to practice extraordinary spiritual healing, or “spirit repair” , encompassing various precise techniques and processes that create positive change, healing and evolution in humans on many levels.The “secret healer” has been quietly evolving and refining with the help and love of his beloved Masters and is now considered at the cutting edge of spiritual healing evolution by many admirers. Many lives have been changed and touched by the love and devotion John expresses to people, the earth and his mission. www.spirit-repair.com.
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As Featured in the Arizona Local News
Nowadays, few home sellers – and especially those trying to avert foreclosure – have spare funds to hire a “stager,” a professional trained in the art of making a property look as beguiling as possible to prospective buyers.
Good stagers are skilled at making an ordinary property look extraordinary, often by removing excess furnishings, augmenting the remaining items and then rearranging the entire mix.
“A house that’s beautifully staged usually sells faster and for more money than a similar home in the same neighborhood that hasn’t been staged,” said Michelle Minch, a veteran in the field and an official of the Real Estate Staging Association.
But sellers in a financial pinch can gain many of the benefits of staging without the expense of hiring a professional, she said, by asking family and friends for help and bartering for their services.
For example, someone who is skilled at car mechanics could offer a free tuneup or oil change in exchange for staging help. Or you could barter baby-sitting services or gourmet dinners in exchange for assistance in upgrading your decor.
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