Judy and Nelson Horn, greater Palm Springs Realtors, blogging, provide their clients with the following advice.
Consumers across the country are reporting creditor calls on loans they never received or on amounts they do not owe, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC is warning consumers to be on alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. Continue reading
With the April 17 tax-filing deadline right around the corner, the most important tax deduction for tens of millions of middle-class families could be on the chopping block as early as next year’s tax season if some policymakers get their way. Continue reading
Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey ® (PMMS®) yesterday, showing average fixed mortgage rates declining for the third consecutive week on the heels of a weaker than expected employment report. The 30-year fixed averaged just above its record low while the 15-year fixed averaged a new all-time record low of 3.11 percent, breaking its previous low of 3.13 percent on March 8, 2012. Continue reading
Calif. median home price: February 2012: $266,660 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county February 2012: Marin, $732,140 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county February 2012: Tehama, $85,000 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: February 2012: 127.8, an increase from the revised 102.4 recorded in January.
Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Fourth quarter 2011: 55 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 4/5/2012 30-yr. fixed: 3.98% fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 3.21 fees/points: 0.7% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.78% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)
Asking prices rose 1.4 percent nationally in March compared with the previous quarter, according to Trulia’s Price Monitor. On a month-over-month comparison, asking prices increased 0.9 percent in March and 0.6 percent in February.
Throughout 2011, asking prices rose slightly in several months of the year, but never more than 0.2 percent in a month. Asking prices in March were 0.7 percent below their level one year earlier.
Asking rents rose over the past year in almost all large metro areas included in the Trulia Rent Monitor. In the largest metros, rents rose 6.2 percent in New York and 6.1 percent in Chicago, but only 0.6 percent in Los Angeles. Rents rose strongly in Miami (12.1 percent) and Denver (9.9 percent), which also experienced large asking price increases. Meanwhile, rental affordability declined in places where rents rose while prices fell, most notably in San Francisco (rents up 11.1 percent), Seattle (9.7 percent), San Jose (9.4 percent), and Boston (9.2 percent).
By Barbara Pronin, RISMedia Columnist
Sometimes it seems there is no end to the creativity of scam artists trying to enrich themselves by exploiting others. Often, senior citizens seem to be the targets of choice. But there are ways to protect against falling prey to scam artists. From Philippa James, a Senior Center manager in Ocala, Fla., here are six tips to help you do so:
Avoid having checks mailed to your home. To reduce the risk of mail fraud, have the checks you receive regularly deposited directly into your bank account.
Beware of direct mail offers. If you get a letter saying you won a contest or a vacation, comb the fine print for hidden costs or obligations. Before you consider the offer, ask for an opinion from someone you trust.
Beware of telemarketers. It can be hard to say no to a telemarketer. Reduce the number of calls you get by registering your land-line and cell phone numbers with the federal government’s Do Not Call Registry. You can do this by calling 1-888-382-1222. If you do receive unwanted calls, feel free to hang up immediately.
Do not disclose personal or financial information on the phone or by e-mail. A caller may say they are calling on behalf of your bank to verify account numbers because of a problem. If this happens, ask for a name and phone number you can call back, so you are certain you are dealing with a legitimate company. Better yet, if possible, pay a visit to the institution to be sure the inquiry is legitimate.
Watch out for Medicare drug discount scams. Drug discount cards offered by many companies can save you money. But they are a favorite ploy of scam artists. These cards cannot be sold by phone or door-to-door, and you should not need to provide proof of income because Medicare can access your records from the IRS. If you are asked to provide proof of income or account numbers, you may be dealing with a fraudulent company. You can get a list of approved companies from Medicare by calling 1-800-633-4227.
Assign a Power of Attorney now. If you become incapacitated, this will give someone you know and trust the power to make financial or medical decisions for you. Having someone you have legally empowered to make choices for you can keep you from being targeted later by perpetrators of senior scams.
More consumers may be looking to purchase homes with a shift in several key housing market indicators, according to Fannie Mae’s March 2012 consumer attitudinal National Housing Survey. More Americans now expect both home rental and home purchase prices to increase over the next year. Nearly half of consumers expect higher rental prices, the highest number recorded since monthly tracking began in June 2010. These trends may be providing Americans with an increased sense of urgency to buy a home as 73 percent of Americans now believe it is a good time to buy a home, up from 70 percent in February.
Highlights of the survey include:
• Thirty-three percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months, a five percentage point increase from last month, the highest level over the past 12 months.
• On average, Americans expect home prices to increase by 0.9 percent over the next 12 months (up slightly since last month).
• Thirty-nine percent of Americans say that mortgage rates will go up in the next 12 months, a five percentage point increase from last month.
• On average, respondents expect home rental prices to increase by 4.1 percent over the next 12 months, a significant increase since February, and the highest number recorded to date.
• Forty-eight percent of respondents think that home rental prices will go up, a three percentage point increase from last month and the highest number recorded to date.
• Sixty-six percent of respondents say they would buy their next home if they were going to move, up one point since last month, while 30 percent say they would rent, up one point versus last month.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller index of 20 American cities fell 1.1 percent from November to December and 4 percent from December 2010.
Inventories of homes listed for sale in January dropped by 6.6 percent from December to 1.77 million, the eighth straight month that listings have declined, according to data from Realtor.com.
A package of six bills designed to curb unfair foreclosure practices was unveiled this week.