I cannot tell you enough how important it is to check your credit reports yearly for mistakes. Mistakes are easily made and they can wreak your credit score. If there are mistakes, you must work with the credit reporting agency to get them corrected. Don't trust anyone else to do this for you. Common mistakes that are easily identified are:
- Late payments - approximately 35% of your credit score is based on your timely payments of bills.
- Available Credit - make sure the credit limits reported on the credit reports match the actual limit you have on the credit card.
- Accounts you don't recognize - if there are any accounts showing open with balances on your credit report that you know you didn't open, call the account holder to notify it is a fraudulent account.
Make sure you are checking your credit report with all three of the major credit reporting agencies (Experion, TransUnion and Equifax). If one is showing all information is correct, another could have an error. In this tight credit market, it is nearly impossible to make a large purchase with a low credit score. Take the time to clean your credit reports up and it will pay off in the long run.
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Where there is potential money to be made, there is a crook out there to take advantage of it. As the foreclosure rate in Florida rises, predators posing as individuals who care are coming out the woodwork. These predators entice homeowners with schemes of how they will rescue them from foreclosure, but they could care less about getting anyone from under their mortgage. They are in the business of swindling the homeowners out of their money and in some cases the home they are alledgedly trying to save. The scam artists focus their schemes on homeowners who have considerable equity in their homes. They reach the homeowners via mailers, phone, email or through those signs you see in the right of way as you are driving down the road. A common scenario is a fictitious buyback or lease-back option that involves signing over the deed to your home. There is no reason why a person should need the deed to your home to get out from under your mortgage. The reality of the lease-back or buyback option is the criminal will retain possession of your home and its remaining equity.
Ever wonder why you are always tired? Do you work from home or in an office and find you haven't really moved all day? Are you stressed out with the never-ending list of things to do? How can you find relief from the hum-drum of everyday life and feel better? The answer is easily said, but not done. Exercise. Besides the obvious health benefits, exercise relieves stress and can help you to sleep better at night. Exercise will also improve stamina that will help keep you going all day. Feeling good is essential to a successful business. As a busy .jpg)
It is now November in Florida and the temperature is cooling a little, the humidity is better, mosquitos numbers are a little down. I find myself thinking more and more about what I have to be thankful for. With the economy in turmoil, I think back to how different things were a little over two years ago. The housing boom was in full swing and jobs were plentiful. The population, for the most part, was happy and worry-free. I was one of the worry-free people who was prospering and never thought the housing decline would affect the overall economy as badly as it has. We are constantly worried about whether or not we will have a job next week and have put all of our plans on hold. I used to worry constantly about having enough money to retire as early as possible and saved like crazy, but my thinking has shifted to day to day survival. I will say my attitude now is very different from my attitude two years ago. I find happiness in the small things in life and I am more aware and thankful of what I do have instead of what I don't have. I know things will eventually get better, but going through this time is definitely a learning experience of what is really important in life that I will not soon forget. Be Thankful!
five states with the highest foreclosure rate for a while. It just keeps getting worse. Of Florida's over four million mortgages, roughly 26% of those mortgages are in foreclosure. This statistic does not include all of the pre-foreclosure properties that are trying to get a short sale approved and if no short sale then it's on to foreclosure. If it is any consolation, we are no where near as bad off as Nevada where approximately half of the mortgages are in foreclosure. What is the answer to getting people and the economy back on track? I wish I had the answer. Chase announced todayt that they are going to place a 90 moratorium on foreclosures in order to give them time to work with customers and refinance. Geezzzz.....my mortgage is with Chase - can I take 3 months off? There is just a huge incentive today for people to walk away from their mortgage. They think that if everybody else is doing it, why shouldn't they? It may wreck their credit, but it will wreck 26% (to date) of Florida's population too. Almost everyone who purchased a home in the last 5 years is underwater in one way or another. Either it's foreclosure or market value decline. 
I have seen quite a few advertisements for reverse mortgages and often wonder if it's a good idea or not. A reverse mortgage is basically a loan using the house or its equity as collateral. It is intended for individuals who are 62+ years old who have paid off at least half of the mortgage on their home. It is a low-interest mortgage that only requires pay back when you move out of the home or you pass away. Once the house is vacated the owner or the estate will have 12 months to sell the house. The proceeds from the sale will go towards paying off the reverse mortgage loan with interest and any excess will go to the owner or the estate. If the sale of the home does not cover the reverse mortgage amount, the estate will not be responsible for the overrage. 
Most homeowners who purchased their homes from 2000 to 2006 over-paid. I was a victim of over-paying for my home. I bought at the peak of the housing market boom in 2006 and now find that my home is now worth over $100,000 less than what I paid for it. I made a clear and rational decision to buy the home back in 2006 and signed the dotted line for the mortgage thinking that a home will always retain its equity. Well we all know I was very wrong in this assumption!! My house will not regain its equity for a good 10+ years so what am I to do if I need or want to sell? Many homeowners in my situation are considering defaulting on their mortgage loans because this is aparantly the only way they will get any relief. I don't condone it at all, but what are people like me to do? Why are the people who didn't make good decisions getting all the help while I have to suck it up? 
I cannot believe an HOA got a local judge in Florida to sign a court order to arrest a 66 year old man for not maintaing his grass. What was this judge thinking when they signed the court order? Cinch bugs and lack of watering time are more than likely the cause of the brown grass, but this Florida man has more important things on his mind - like keeping his house. He is 2 months behind on his mortgage payment and fighting foreclosure. What is this world coming to? Arresting a man for brown grass is ludicrous when people are walking away from their homes everyday. I know the HOA is having a difficult time keeping order in the neighborhood, but they need to find a compromise in working with existing homeowners. The HOA should be happy the homeowner hasn't walked away and completely abandoned the home.