Is it February? Then property taxes are due…again!

Stamp prices up again to $0.45 effective January 22. Happy New Year.

PROMISSORY NOTES: Are you refinancing? Or perhaps you are thinking of lending money to someone? Or maybe you just want to know for knowledge’s sake, what are the basic facts about a Promissory Note?

If you look up “Note” in the dictionary you will find many meanings attached to this four letter word. In the real estate industry, however, the Note invariably is “a written promise to pay a debt”. In an escrow transaction, the Escrow Holder may be requested by parties to prepare the Note if the Lender is a private party who does not have the forms or the knowledge to make sure all the necessary ingredients are put in for it to be valid. Whether you are the Payor or the Payee on this Promissory Note, be sure you have at least a basic awareness of what constitutes a valid Note.

Please go to our full length article at our website with this link: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/notes

PAYING HOMEOWNERS TO SHORT SELL: There is no doubt that Sellers under a Short Sale scenario are very happy when, under the government’s HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) incentive, they are allowed to receive a certain amount of funds for “relocation”. Now, outside of HAFA, more banks are also willing to pay a certain sum to those homeowners who are on the brink of foreclosure to sell their property. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase have all offered incentives, using the premise that it is cheaper for them to pay that amount than to wait for the months (or years!) until the full foreclosure is completed and then sell it as an REO. According to this article, the programs were offered in Florida, but we have done a few Short Sales in our office in which it was offered here, too. How does the lucky Seller get it? I would think that it is up to the Real Estate Broker handling the short sale to negotiate with the Lender. What do you think?

If you negotiate Short Sales, would you give us some input on the above in our comment section to share with others? Thank you!

THE AWESOMELY CRAZY APPLE (STORE): Have stocks in Apple? Lucky you! As of the end of January, Apple has become the most valuable publicly traded company in the world, surpassing Exxon Mobil. It’s unbelievable to realize that the value of this company’s stock is greater than the GDP of many countries, including Greece, Austria, Argentina and South Africa. Remember when Microsoft was Number 1? No more! The value of their stock is now 60% of Apple’s. Isn’t this another example of making good on the American Dream? Bill Gates and Steve Jobs – representatives of what can be done at the right place, right time, and most importantly, with the right vision.

LEARNING CHINESE IS THE NEWEST FAD: Throughout Chinese communities in the nation and particularly in California, (think Arcadia and Saratoga), you will find many high schools that are now offering Chinese language classes and many Chinese language after-school programs. Being just a hop, skip and an 11 hour flight away from China, it is understandable that the effort to keep the culture and language going amongst the new generation is of major concern to Chinese parents. It seems this “fad” is now catching on in other parts of the U.S. in non-Chinese communities where high schools in the Midwest and South are also looking forward and offering Chinese as a second language, with help from the Chinese government. You can read a little about it here.

Smart! You want to give your child an advantage going into college and the employment roll thereafter, supply them with this opportunity and set them apart from the thousands upon thousands of other graduating students. Am I promoting this because I am Chinese? No, I am promoting it because of China’s billion people and rapidly rising economy. 30 some years ago in my first political science class in college the first page of my text book read something to this effect: The 19^th century belonged to the British, the 20^th century to the Americans and the 21^st century to the Chinese. This book was printed way before Nixon and the Open Door Policy when the thought of the curtain falling in the Middle Kingdom was a dream.

Look at it this way: if your child’s school offered the choice of learning Spanish, French and Chinese, which one would do the best good in the future?

P.S. It’s easy to pick up Spanish and French on the streets; try picking up Chinese!

IT’S ALL ABOUT LIVING HEALTHY: The article is called “The #1 Tool to Avoid Food Poisoning” and it caught my attention as it would for anyone who has had to remain within 2 feet of the bathroom for a prolonged period of time.  Just posting it makes me feel like I have done a community service!

DEALING WITH FRACTITIOUS APPLIANCES: Ever had your dryer or your refrigerator make funny noises? If you are like me, totally appliance impaired, you might want to read and bookmark this article which give you tips on troubleshooting the problems we encounter with big appliances from time to time. It tells you (1) what you can do yourself, (2) what needs a hand from a professional or, if worse comes to worse, (3) what can be dumped for a new one. The next time I notice a puddle of water near my dishwasher, I won’t freak out. I’ll just check if I put in too much soap.

THE ISSUES OF POSTING PHOTOS ON FACEBOOK: I will be the first to admit that I look to Facebook as a very valuable tool for my personal and business life. I always think before I post, and try to post things of value (including this newsletter) in a proper and acceptable way.  Last December I wanted to wish my sister a Happy Birthday on Facebook and picked a picture of her and her husband to tag along with it. I thought it was a good picture, but she was a bit upset because she felt the picture did not show the best of her. I was bummed that my fun intention was not as well received as I thought it would be, and realized that like everything else that infringes on the personal, I should have asked for permission first. Today, I picked this article regarding the etiquette of downloading photos on Facebook. In our enthusiasm to share our whole life with the whole world, we forget that there are others in it who may not feel the same way. This was a good lesson for me to learn.

2012 is the start of Election Year, not only for the U.S., but also for 59 out of 193 countries of the world. New regimes will go in, old ones will come out and there will definitely be many worldwide repercussions, economically and politically. Click here for an informative article about 2012 – the Year of the Elections. With that in mind, here is my quotation for the month of February of the year 2012:

“If you have integrity, nothing else matters.

If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters”

- Alan Simpson, Politician-

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

Happy New Year –2012 is the Chinese Year of the Dragon

TRUST CERTIFICATIONS – WHAT ARE THEY AND WHY ARE THEY NEEDED? When a third party, acting in good faith and for valuable consideration, has no actual knowledge of whether the Trustee of a Trust has the proper powers to act, a Trust Certification given to this third party will fully protected them in their dealings with this Trustee(s) even if no copy of the Trust is provided. (California’s Probate Code, Section 18100.5)

The Trust Certification gives the generalities of the Trust and is completed and signed by all acting Trustees in the presence of a Notary Public, under penalty of perjury.

Click here to go to the full article on our website: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/what-is-a-trust-cert.

Reminder to all – A Trust Agreement and its Amendments are important documents! Keep them in a safe place and, more importantly, alert your family as to its location.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION– Last year “People Power” was very effectively exercised in various situations – Netflix changes, Bank of America debit fees, and Verizon’s $2 “convenience charge” come to mind. This year, it’s time “We The People” remember these examples and remember that our voice counts! Make it a resolution this year to (1) read all the fine print before you sign up for something, this includes credit cards, cable service and especially mortgage documents. (2) question the fees; and (3) don’t pay stupid fees. What are some of the most outrageous fees that corporate companies impose on unsuspecting victims? Per Liz Weston of MSN Money and her article, they are:

• Debit card fees – People Power exercised and financial institutions backed down
• Boarding pass fees – extra charge for printing a boarding pass at the airline counter.
• Baggage fees – charge for baggage, particularly the first suitcase and the carryon!
• Early termination fees for cable service and phone service – do the homework and read the fine print before you sign up!
• Fees charged to deposit cash in bank – how ridiculous is that! Isn’t that what banks are for? Exercise People Power and transfer your accounts!
• Bank charges to use cards issued to pay unemployment – This is a case of adding insult to injury. You are already on unemployment and now the financial institution is charging you when you access your unemployment funds through the prepaid card issued by the government.

Do you have any fees you encountered that are outrageous? Let us know. Don’t take any of this meekly. Let your voice and actions be heard! There is a reason why Time Magazine’s 2011 Person of the Year is – The Protestor.

ON THE OTHER HAND, ASK AND YOU COULD RECEIVE: It’s a scary concept and most people are hesitant to follow this but don’t be afraid to ask. When it comes to issues involving your credit cards (and who doesn’t have those issues!) you have nothing to lose (except maybe a little time and effort) and the results might be quite beneficial. Look at this as a game and the name of this game is to get your credit card company to work for you – lower your rate, get late fees eliminated, reduce an annual fee, increase your credit limit. Negotiation, a little bit of acting, and a whole lot of confidence is all that is required to deal with them. Take charge and good luck!

PASADENA’S STRICT SMOKING REGULATIONS – Effective January 1, 2012 Pasadena’s no smoking ordinance disclosure will come into effect. That means that the property owners and managers of multi family buildings must post signs about it being unlawful to smoke in the common area, patio, balcony, or even inside the unit. Also, anytime a lease or rental agreement is put forward, as well as purchase agreements, disclosures have to be made as to the prohibition and a copy of the ordinance given to the prospective renter/lessee/purchaser. The actual ban and its enforcement will not take effect until January 1, 2013, however, and it will be the responsibility of the City’s Dept of Health to enforce. (Ordinance PMC 8.78.072)
Disclosure form: http://www.pfar.org/pdf/Nonsmoking_DisclosureForm.pdf.
Link to Code: http://www.cityofpasadena.net/CityClerk/MunicipalCode/ – PMC 8.78.072

TRADITIONAL BULBS ON ITS WAY OUT: Is it all about saving energy? Is the government messing too much with out private lives? Or is there some evil intent of consideration for extra profits involved? In case you did not know, those traditional incandescent light bulbs are on their way out, with the federal government banning them starting this year. Yes, we are talking those 100 watt light bulbs that we use in all our furniture lamps. So, if you really like them and prefer them over the energy efficient squiggly bulbs, you are out of luck. Better start getting used to reading and putting on makeup under the new bulbs. It will give you a new view!

TOP 1%? TOP 10%? TOP 30%? WHERE AM I? SHALL I OCCUPY WALL STREET? I know I am in the bottom 99%, but with all the hullabaloo from the Occupy-ers and the Republicans’ refusal to tax the wealthy, does it make you wonder what is your ranking and are you paying a disproportionate amount to the government? Kiplinger has a thought provoking article which gives general breakdown of what percent of the population make how much percent of income to pay how much percent of the taxes, based on 2009 figures. Here’s the breakdown in simple terms:

To be in the 1% you need to make adjusted gross income of $343,927 a year
There are 1.4 million of Americans in that 1%
This 1% reported 17% of all taxable income
This 1% paid 37% of all taxes to the IRS

The rest of us could be in the next 49% or the bottom 50%. There is a calculator in the article that we can use to figure out where we are and what we should be rooting for. More taxes? Less taxes? How about more INCOME and less TAXES. That should work!

SAMOANS CAN LOSE ONE DAY. WHY CAN’T I? Did you know that Samoa skipped Friday December 30th and went straight into Saturday December 31st? Here’s the article explaining why. I wish we could do the same every last Friday of the month.

DRAGON YEAR! For those of you who wonder what are the characteristics of a person born under the sign of a Dragon, Dragons symbolize such character traits as dominance and ambition. They prefer to live by their own rules and if left on their own, are usually successful. They are driven, unafraid of challenges, and willing to take risks. Everything they do is on a grand and flamboyant scale. They have colorful personalities and although they frequently help others, their pride rarely allows them to ask for help. They can be self assured but conceited, tactless and quick tempered.

Dragons are compatible with the Monkey or the Rat. They are incompatible with the Ox or the Goat.

You are a Dragon if you were born:

Feb. 16, 1904 – Feb. 3, 1905
Feb. 3, 1916 – Jan. 22, 1917
Jan 23, 1928 – Feb. 9, 1929
Feb. 8, 1940 – Jan. 26, 1941
Jan 27, 1952 – Feb. 13, 1953
Feb. 13, 1964 – Feb. 1, 1965
Jan. 31, 1976 – Feb. 17, 1977
Feb. 17, 1988 – Feb. 5, 1989
Feb. 5, 2000 – Jan. 23, 2001
Jan 23, 2012 – Feb. 9, 2013

The Dragon is the most preferred sign for the Chinese, and there is always a surge of pregnancies for dragon babies. Well, think about it, wouldn’t you rather be known as a “Dragon” instead of a “Rat” or a “Dog”? Just imagine, I have to say, “I am a SNAKE”, when asked, and that is so not complimentary to myself….

If your “will” power doesn’t work, try your “won’t” power
~ Author Unknown ~

Happy New Year and Happy Chinese New Year (January 23, 2012).

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI
Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

REMINDER! Property taxes have to be paid no later than December 10^th. If you have not received a bill, you can look up their website on ours at http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/other-links. You will need your Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) handy.

THE “S.I.” – WHO, WHY AND WHAT? The S.I. is the acronym for the “Statement of Information”, that one page form that many clients, for one reason or another, dislike completing. Surprisingly, the most common reason they balk is that because the form has many blanks and lines, clients take one look and feel overwhelmed. The less common but more understandable reason is that the form asks for all sorts of personal information, including social security number, driver’s license, date of birth and residence and occupation for the last 10 years.

Whether you are a Buyer, Seller or a Borrower, as long as you are involved in a real estate or business purchase transaction, you will be requested to fill one of these out. The information that you give will actually protect you because it will differentiate you from others who have a name that is similar to yours.

Let’s say your name is “Juliana Tu”. Not a common name, right? Google it and you will find a number of other “Juliana Tu’s” pop up. Given the same name scenario, I can only hope that none of them have liens and judgments and other bad filings which might easily show up as my debts!

Due to the length of this article, you can  read the full article on our website here.

FILE THIS UNDER “WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?” It’s not like Nevada can afford any more hits to their depressed real estate market, but here is an article about two Title Officers, both residents of California, who were indicted in a robo-signing scheme. They directed employees who worked under them to forge signatures on notices of default, forged notarization of such signatures, and then they filed these documents to initiate fraudulent foreclosures. The questions I have are: What was their incentive? Were they tied to the lending institutions? And of course, “What were they thinking?”

GADGETS THAT WON’T MAKE IT INTO THE NEXT DECADE: Once the Smart phones and the Tablets hit the consumers, it was all over for the rest of the toys. Because of these 2 devices, the following everyday gadgets will become an exhibit at the Smithsonian in the near future or offered up on E-Bay for sale as an antique! So get ready everyone, it’s a matter of sooner or later for the following:

• Standalone GPS systems
• E-Readers – No! Not my Kindle!
• Feature phones – What are those now? How quickly we forget!
• Low End Digital Cameras
• DVD Players
• CD and DVD disks
• Video Game consoles

This is a technology jump that has everything to do with Steve Job’s vision of the future. So, “Thank you, Steve Jobs, for opening the doors to this strange new world”. Today’s toys are tomorrow’s discards.

GROCERY BILL OUT OF CONTROL? With gas prices at a rise, mortgage defaults at a high, and the general standard of living rising beyond our means, the four-letter word for what is happening to your everyday grocery bill is, according to this article, CORN. And WHEAT. When we think of these 2 staples, we usually think of yellow ears of corn, sitting in our market vegetable section, or acres upon acres of golden wheat waving under the sun. What we don’t realize is that corn is used for everything, not just to be consumed at a barbecue, but also to be harvested for ethanol, used as feed for animal consumption, and even as food for our household pets. Today, due to a combination of natural disasters, drought caused by global warming, crop disease and the production of ethanol, the supply of what is left of corn and wheat is not sufficient to meet the demands needed for our daily grocery foods – our cereals, pasta and breads.

My solution: we should all turn to tofu (made from soybean). Lots of protein, no carbs, eat healthier, lose weight, problem solved.

MORE THAN JUST AN ARTICLE: I can always use helpful hints for around the house, and it’s a gut reaction of mine to click on articles that deal with cleaning, household tips to make my life easier, or savings on time. I clicked on this article and definitely found interesting tips that I will try. What was even more surprising were the comments at the end of the article! Scroll down and look at all the tips and solutions posted by readers which, just like that, turned a bare article into one with a great deal more interest and value. Now that is what I call good blogging. My view is that if you don’t have something interesting to say, don’t say it at all. Just because you can post incognito does not mean you should leave idiotic comments that have absolutely no value. I enjoyed this article and commend all the readers who were willing to share their insights. Hope you will forward it along to your friends and who knows, I will check back in a month or so and there might be even more tips that I can use!

FAKE ATMS, REALLY. Everywhere you go in the big European cities you will find convenient ATMs at each corner, as it seems Europeans find this a quick and easy way to deposit and (particularly) withdraw funds. In the U.S. the ATM’s are mostly connected to a bank, normally situated outside of the banking building for easier customer access. I rarely use an ATM that is free standing with no actual bank in sight, but do you? If you do, you might want to read this article to protect yourself from identity theft because apparently, a crook can buy an ATM on E-bay and then just park it somewhere like at a gas station or convenience store to entice an unsuspecting victim. It might not cough up the money you asked for but after it gives you an error message it will already be too late – the machine will have already gotten your card and PIN and you will be another victim of identity theft. The point of the matter is that we should all be aware of possible theft or our identity at all times, wherever we are.

One word of caution: Always, always check your bank and credit card statements when they come in. Question immediately line items that you have no recollection of. My credit card was accessed once, just last week, with an unauthorized purchase. We were on vacation in Costa Rica at the time.

WEBSITES THAT CAN SAVE YOU MONEY: Time to save money! A penny saved is a penny earned, as Ben liked to say, and this is the season to apply it. Here are some suggested websites that can help you save money, and I aim to try some of them out myself. I already have Amazon Prime and I highly recommend that to everyone. In particular, I want to try Plastic Jungle where I hope I can get gift cards for those hard to buy relatives that I have – my 2 fashion conscious teenage nephews!

*******************

To those of you who were affected by the windstorm that swept through the San Gabriel Valley area on December 1^st, my best wishes for a speedy recovery. We lost complete power for 2 whole days, not only at the office, but also at our residence. This is a disaster that paints a very painful picture of how little we can control Mother Nature, and how desperately dependent we are on technology. Without electricity, everything in my life came to an absolute standstill. I could not communicate with the outside world as land lines were down and cell phone service for many was sporadic and intermittent. I could not even charge my cell, except by running it through my car. How sad is that! But we survived and this disaster has bonded many neighborhoods and communities together.

A Happy Holiday wish to all, and let us give thanks for the many blessings that came our way this year of our Lord, 2011

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

WHAT IS THE PRELIMINARY CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP FORM? When an Escrow Officer prepares documents to finalize a closing, one of the forms which may not seem important is the “Preliminary Change of Ownership Report” or “PCOR” as we call it. In actuality, this is a particularly important form for a new owner of a property and it is getting more and more attention by the government agencies as time goes by.

First of all, the form is put forth by the State Board of Equalization, one of the collection arms for California’s Revenue and Taxation Code, under Section 480.3 of the Code. Its main function is to determine the taxation of real property (including mobilehomes) so that the proper tax is assessed by the Tax Assessor’s office and thereafter collected by the Tax Collector’s office. It is a form designed to find out 4 basic things from the property that is being transferred: (1) who are the parties (transferor and transferee), (2) what is the purported value of the transfer (per the purchase contract), (3) is there a Homeowners Exemption that the property qualifies for, and (4) if there should be no re-assessment of the existing property tax, the reason why.

For the full article and updates on changes to the penalties, please click on this link on our website: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/what-is-the-pcor

ARE E-SIGNINGS THE NEXT BEST THING? My client Cristina forwarded me the following article regarding “E-signings” and asked me, “Is this the wave of the future?” My answer is that, “Yes, sooner or later, we will have more and more financial institutions who will hop on to this particular train.” Before that happens though, the institutions will have to first and foremost reconcile their views on the traditional paper intensive process with this new non-traditional paperless procedure. And in this day and age of the Dodd Frank Act, they will also need to work with the new guidelines that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be issuing.

Back in 2009-2010, we had AmTrust Bank as the front runner of e-signings. They were bought out, however, and we have not really seen another institution take up the banner. We loved e-signings, and so did those clients of ours who were more technologically advanced. They could just sit in front of our computer and click, click, click. Voila! All done and the clients get a copy of what they signed electronically. Besides signing a hard copy of the Deed of Trust for recording purposes, there was nary a pen or paper involved. No signing until you got carpel tunnel syndrome and we didn’t need to cut down a whole tree either.

However, have there been issues regarding e-signings? Have there been problems selling the loans? Have there been cases of fraud involving e-signings? All these are questions I don’t have much information about, but feel should be answered before it goes further along.

The scenario today is that all the Lenders are coming down hard on Settlement Agents, making us responsible for many matters relating to their lending process that we may not have control over. With this observation, I can’t help but feel very ambivalent towards e-signing. Will e-signings be another facet which Lenders will hold us responsible for, particularly when the loan goes sour and/or when the clients come back and claim they were misinformed throughout the application process? Maybe the clients will claim that “they were not aware of what they were clicking!”

So, the jury is still out, Cristina!

STUDENT LOANS – THE NEXT DEBT CRISIS: With one daughter in grad school, 1 niece and 1 nephew in college and 1 going into college next year, you can imagine what we talk about at our family get-togethers. Time Magazine had this eye-opening article called “I Owe U” in their October 31^st issue in which I am taking the liberty of breaking down and quoting some of their main (shocking!) points:

• Student loan debt will reach $1 trillion this year. 2/3^rd of students borrow to go to school.
• Cost of college has jumped 538% the last 30 years yet starting wages have not increased in the last 10 years. The return on investment is just not there.
• Graduating from a top tier undergraduate school may generate over $100,000 in student loan debt.
• Many are generating the debt in the liberal arts field in which employment is hard to find. Our schools are not producing enough science and math majors so those high paying jobs are going to foreigners.
• Unemployment for the 2011 graduating class is 13.2%.
• Repayment of the student loan starts after a 6 months grace period, regardless of whether the student has actually received a degree and/or finds a job.
• You can’t walk away from these loans. Bankruptcy does not clear student loans and defaulting means you won’t be able to qualify for credit cards, home mortgages or car loans later in life.
• The government can garnish up to 15% of wages and deny security clearance if loans are not paid.
• 41% of borrowers who entered repayment in 2005 became delinquent or defaulted within 5 years.
• How can you continue to graduate school if you are overburdened by loans in undergrad?

I didn’t realize how huge this issue has become and now and I am very much afraid that the student loan crisis will surpass the mortgage debt crisis that hit us in 2007, especially as it is coming one right after the other.

Some things for your college or grad school bound kids to think about:

• Start at a more affordable state or community college and transfer to a more impressive school to get the final diploma.
• Look into little things like alternative housing and reduced meal plans when budgeting.
• Seriously consider your major. Is it one that can land you a job when you graduate?
• Don’t stretch the attendance years. Every additional year you stay in school over the standard 4 years will be more expense and less income.
• Look for all possible resources for help.

Here are links to articles for a more in-depth analysis of the looming crisis.

Student Loans: A crisis in waiting?

8 ways to pay down student loans.

Obama’s Student Loan Plan

Big changes come to student loans

SPEND LESS AND SAVE MORE! What a concept!

• Don’t buy if you can get it free (free phone apps!)
• Holiday shop throughout the year (not just on Black Friday)
• Check for online coupons
• Bring food and drink from home (healthy, wealthy and wise)
• Use generic brands
• Don’t shop when you are hungry or sad……and 24 more tips right here.

STRATEGIZING YOUR 2011 TAX LIABILITIES NOW: November is the month to think about what you can do to decrease the tax liability you have for this year.  Forget December with all its holidays and scrambling for year end deadlines. November is the month to recap for the year. You will know how you stand for the year and what your potential tax liability will look like. If you think you made too much this year there are some things you might be able to do as suggested by this article:

• Pay your January 1 mortgage payment in December so that you can deduct that interest this year
• Pay both sets of property taxes now
• Make that high end purchase now for the sales tax deduction
• Make that next semester’s college tuition payment now

And if none of the above work and you still made too much money…

• Meet with your tax or financial planner NOW!

FOLLOW UP TO THOSE ISSUES OF CONCERN BROUGHT UP IN MY PAST NEWSLETTERS:

• The USPS will be raising their first class mail cost by 1 cent.

• Social Security will be raising benefits by 3.5%.

• And Congress is tying to pass a bill in which for an investment of $500,000.00 in a home here in the U.S., foreign nationals get the opportunity to live here legally for 3 years.

• Bank of America backtracked on the $5.00 debit card fee. Pulled a “Netflix” on them! Yes! Consumer Power hits again!

“There are two ways of exerting one’s strength:

one is pushing down, the other is pulling up”

~ Booker T Washington (1856-1915) ~

I will be on vacation this Thanksgiving so let me wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving and lots of good deals on Black Friday!

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

Have you checked out the QR (Quick Response) Code? Mine is at the bottom of this newsletter. I have it on my business cards, my signature block, and my envelopes. Pretty soon I might just tattoo it on my arm! If you have a Smart phone, download a free QR Code reader app (I use I-Nigma). Point it at the Code and the phone will read it and add it to your contact list. My name, address and phone number will be just a click away, without having to manually input it in! Look for it in magazines; many advertisers now use the QR Code to direct you to their website or a particular promotion. Smart real estate agents should consider doing a QR code for each listing and sticking it on their For Sale sign. Then, when potential buyers are out walking their dogs or driving around, they can just point their Smart phone to capture the Code and voila! All the information with regards to the listing is there, at their fingertips!

Isn’t technology marvelous! Where else can I put it? Hmmm….

IS FORECLOSURE THE WAY TO SAVE THE ECONOMY? Some experts say that for our economy to turn around sooner (rather than later), we should let banks speed up the foreclosure process instead of struggling to fit Borrowers into a loan modification which they still might not be able to afford. By increasing foreclosures as the article suggests, we will be able to:

• Inject the flagging real estate industry with new blood
• Reduce the number of vacant properties and eye sores
• Clear the glut of foreclosures so that once sold, neighborhood values will stabilize and start increasing
• Cut off the Borrower’s foreclosure pain so that they can start afresh with no more albatross hanging on their neck

Certainly these are valid points, but there is the other side of the coin to consider. Flooding the market with foreclosed properties will affect the prices of existing ones.  By flooding the market, values will go down across the board, sellers will get less, refinancing borrowers can’t meet loan to value ratios, and more properties become upside down. Not good!

My gut reaction is: let those foreclosed properties go on the market. Give the new homeowners (and investors) a chance to purchase. Anything that will jump start the sluggish real estate market has got to be a step in the right direction, albeit a very small step. We need to start walking before we can run again. What are your thoughts? Leave us a comment!

By the way, I understand that Fannie Mae has a “Homepath” program that can help prospective Buyers secure a mortgage for Fannie Mae foreclosed properties. The program is not really well known at the moment so buyers will need to inquire with their lender about details.

THE BATTLE WITH LOAN SERVICING: The title to this article that I found on the web is: “Couple face foreclosure for paying a week early” and it is the story of Bank of America foreclosing on a previously modified loan because the Borrowers made the modified loan payment early. This is a story to stir up the juices, but it’s not the foreclosure that is of concern. The real problem is loan servicing incompetence and this is an issue that resonates loudly in the escrow industry. Escrow Officers contact loan servicing departments daily as we order demands and ask for answers to payoff or short sale questions. How many times have we begged, pleaded and banged our head against the wall because the person on the line did not know the meaning of “customer service”? Loan servicing is a frontline position and it should be handled by staff familiar with the bank’s system and trained in problem solving. For desperate homeowners, this could be the last straw.

Outsourcing the loan servicing to people in another country is not a good thing. If you encounter a situation that is so frustrating and have a suspicion that this has been outsourced out of the country, ask the person to transfer the call to someone higher up who actually lives and works here in this country. Don’t let that be your Waterloo!

DEBIT vs CREDIT CARDS: I have learned my lesson. No more online purchases with a debit card. It’s either a credit card or even better, Pay Pal. There is nothing worse than having a debit card stolen. You might as well just shoot me and get it over with, because if you don’t, my husband will. I sure wish I had seen this article before my debit card fiasco, but Murphy and his law got in the way. Here are some instances in which using a debit card may not be a good idea:

• Online purchases
• Rental or security deposits
• Regular payments
• Restaurant and bars **
• Wi-Fi hot spots
• Choosing “credit” instead of debit and then forgetting to account for amount paid

** And here I thought the worst thing that could happen in a restaurant is a disgruntled waiter spitting into your food behind the scenes. Apparently another concern is your waiter skimming your card for other things behind your back!

As a follow up to issues of debit cards, we now all know that Bank of America has announced they will be charging $5.00 a month for debit card usage. Outrageous! Like airline fees, they are going to nickel and dime us to death. Do you think we could pull a “Netflix” on this banking institution and make a million disgruntled customers pull their money out and refuse to do business with them? Where is our consumer power?

WILL OUR POST OFFICE BE A DINOSAUR SOON? Big, unwieldy and scheduled for extinction. Sound familiar? As reported in my previous newsletters, the U.S.P.S. is in big trouble. We are talking $9 billion debt big. We are talking about a $5.5 billion tab for health care benefits that they can’t pay for future retirees. We are talking about no more cash reserves by next summer. Read the article here.  Can they ask Congress for more money? Don’t even go there. That institution can’t even get their own act together to pass a bill to keep themselves going. So we will see locations closing down and 220,000 employees joining the unemployment line. How easy will it be for these laid off workers to find other commensurate jobs? What skill sets must they have to be able to compete in the thin job market?

It’s a sad state of affairs but inevitable, given today’s technology. In my company, we actively solicit our clients to allow us to send paperwork via electronic mail. It is much faster, more environmentally correct and there is no storage issue. Best of all, there is no cost to us.

Talking about “cost” (and isn’t that the 4-letter word of the day!), what else is as cheap as first class mail? Think about it; for a measly 44 cents you get to send a piece of paper 3,000 miles from one coast to another, up mountains, down valleys, through rain or shine, snow or sleet, by plane, truck or boat, or a combination thereof, and at the end destination, someone will actually walk it to your front door! 44 cents! Such a deal, really!

WHAT THE RICH IN CHINA WANT: China is the powerhouse to watch in this 21^st century, and to deal with this country we need to understand the people, their consumption habits and the goals that drive them. The number of people there who are on their way to becoming rich and super rich grows by leaps and bounds, all courtesy of us in the Western world with our incessant demand for products that we cannot produce. So what do these rich want? Here is the article with a quick breakdown below:

• To get out of the country
• To have more children
• To provide better education for the children they can have
• To obtain better health care
• To obtain true property ownership
• To seek a safe haven in the event of political turmoil
• To live the Western style life (Viva La Vida Loca!)
• To diversify their hard won assets
• To be more “free”

With such incentives and the massive amounts of money being transferred over from China, it is not surprising that in certain affluent areas it has become hard on local residents to compete in the real estate market. How can we compete with people who buy “all cash” and plunk down millions?

SOCIAL SECURITY PART 2…PART 3 …. PART 4…. Continuing with my saga regarding our Social Security system, here is a handy dandy social security numbers calculator for your planning purposes. Use this to figure out how much of this Ponzi scheme you will get back when the time comes and if the SS Administration will still be around and have the money to pay…

Did you know that the Social Security Administration is already tapping into the trust fund to make payments? Did you know the benefits you take out will be less than what you put in? Did you know that you can collect unemployment and Social Security at the same time? And did you know you can be taxed on your Social Security payments? These and other tidbits can be found in this article. Most of all, I think it is time to do away with preconceived notions that we can actually retire on social security!

AMAZON – The Amazing Online Superstore – With their brand new tablet – Kindle Fire- coming out at a very affordable price of $199.00 (plus tax and shipping, for sure), Amazon is well on its way to taking over the consumer purchasing market. My husband buys everything on Amazon, including … I kid you not…dishwashing gloves. But as I tell him, there are certain things I won’t buy online because I need to physically see it, feel it, or taste it to make a decision. Apparently there are others who feel the same way because here is an article to recommend what we shouldn’t (and could) buy on this superstore. By the way, I like my dishwashing gloves. They have lasted me almost 2 years!

With this final thought below I now end this (extra long!) October newsletter. Until the next month, I hope I have brought you some food for thought!

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

~ Steve Jobs, Stanford’s 2005 commencement speech ~

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

Remember September 11th for we are all victims.

Check out our newest video on our home page at www.vivaescrow.com! Our thanks to our creative artist consultants, Amanda and Kirby!

This has been a slow month. There is nothing happening in the world. Other than the U.S. losing its credibility when the Republicans and Democrats refused to compromise on the debt ceiling. Oh, and Standard and Poor’s downgrading our credit rating. Which led to the matter of the stock markets and gold going berserk. Of course, we don’t want to forget Libya, or Syria, and oh yeah, there was this little “huge” earthshaking in the East Coast area and the trauma of Irene… A definite lack of interesting news, wouldn’t you say? Just another ho-hum end of the summer month!

MARKET WHIPLASH: Is your stomach on a rollercoaster like mine is? Do you dread waking up in the morning to read the stock market headlines? Did you run through a whole bottle of Rolaids? This article narrows down the swing trauma to these factors (and my comments):

• U.S. debt ceiling fiasco – Enough! Enough already!
• The drop in our S&P’s credit rating – Oops.
• Our lack of economic growth and high unemployment figures – wish the arrows could be reversed
• The problems with the European markets – The PIIGS are coming home to wallow
• Political paralysis in Washington – It’s the elections, stupid. And…
• Today’s electronic trading subverts human action to effectively control price swings! – The truth comes out! Previous markets have been manipulated!

To me, the most important factor is: Playing the stock market is all an EMOTIONAL game. It’s all about people’s reactions and their actions to their reactions. So because of how other people FEEL, my 401K is now barely a 10K. However, at least I still have my 5 golden rings … (remember my “Dear Santa” letter of December 2009?)

ARE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS PAID ENOUGH? I did not make up this article header. I can’t even tell you my disgust when I came upon it. I guess there really are lawmakers out there who can’t survive on $174,000 a year plus health care, pensions, and other little perks that make their jobs so much more “bearable”. In case you didn’t catch this article, let me insert it right here. I guess those lawmakers did not see that man standing at the corner of Huntington and Rosemead with a sign selling bottled water to feed his family. Do you sense a disconnect between Washington and us, or is it just me?

EARTHQUAKE? WHATEVER! I know I found it amusing when news of a 5.8 earthquake splashed through the news. Being a Californian, anything under 6.0 doesn’t even register on our consciousness, but this was the East Coast, and people there are just not used to feeling the earth move under their feet or the sky tumbling down. I was not the only West Coaster amused; lots of us were, but it was pay back time for those East Coasters who treat us with such derision when we freak out at a little rain, hail or even (gasp!) snow.

But what the heck, catching up with all the comments on Facebook and on newsblogs was fun, and here are some that are actually printable. You can sure tell what the general public is thinking about, and it really isn’t about earthquakes!

~ Apparently the quake was centered on the “it’s YOUR FAULT” line that runs through the heart of D.C.

~ The earthquake is Mother Nature telling those Washingtonians to shape up or ship out!!!! We are tired of the political standoff between Republicans and Democrats. Get their butts moving. And if they don’t, Mother Nature will!

~ Must have been Obama blowing up when he heard the news that Romney now leads him in polls.

~ Obama interrupts Martha’s Vineyard golfing to announce that the Washington DC earthquake occurred on an obscure faultline that runs under the White House. It is known as “Bush’s Fault”.

~ California’s economy is so bad that even the earthquakes are leaving the state!

West Coasters – be grateful. Large earthquakes happen only once in a long time. Hurricanes (Katrina, Irene, etc.) however, happen every year!

DEAD BUT NOT GONE: Perhaps the header to this next topic sounds too much like one of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse book series as featured in the True Blood TV series, but honestly, the article just begs to be read, if only for its “horror” value. Imagine the Social Security Administration writing you off by mistake. No more social security or disability payments (after all, you died!) which could also mean not being able to get credit, graduate, or even renew a driver’s license. I was really surprised at how much we rely on having an identity with the Social Security Administration in order to get everything we believe a U.S. citizen is entitled to. And this next article is even worse: “Social Security wrongly declares 14,000 people dead each year!” Let me assure you that when I stop getting those statements estimating benefits payments that Social Security sends out, I will start to worry. Am I dead?

ANOTHER REASON FOR A STRONG STOMACH – Perhaps this should be titled “Why I am taking that Persuasion 101 course”. After I published my June newsletter with the paragraph labeled “Sitting Ducks” I have had a couple of clients bring up more questions. So let me re-state: Through the course of a transaction we might get requests from a Title Company for various things which may be over and beyond what is normally provided.  For instance, they may ask for:

• Letter from doctor stating that the signor is mentally competent
• Copy of the notary journal showing the signor’s signature and thumbprint
• Copy of something that shows the loan really did get paid off even though there is a Reconveyance of record
• Copy of drivers license or passport
• Re-sign and re-notarize certain documents
• Name and phone number of the notary public on a document, or
• Did Seller sign the deed in your office? Do you know the notary? Did the Real Estate Agent meet the notary?
• Affidavit from Borrower regarding why they are cashing out

Why are the Title Companies making our lives miserable and how do I explain these demands to my clients?

The answer is actually quite simple, and it can be expressed in one word: “FRAUD”. One of the cornerstone precepts of the policy for title insurance is its insurance against fraud, which includes false impersonation, forged documents, falsification of records, etc. Losses borne by the Title Companies over the past several years due to fraud is in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Given the amount of losses sustained and the well known problems with mortgage and other real estate fraud, is it any wonder they need to be very, very certain that all their possible risks are minimized?

So the Escrow Officer, with a bottle of Rolaids in hand, must explain to an irate client why we don’t believe they paid off their loan, why we need to question them about their personal lives, and why we need to put their notary public on the stand and cross examine him/her. Dorothy, we ain’t in Kansas no more!

DATED, STALE AND FAILED: As an owner of a small business, I am always challenged by what is necessary to stay in business. Running it today is vastly different from what was required 30 years ago. Instead of a paddleboat on a calm lake we are on a rubber raft with no handholds shooting down rapids. I found out just recently that the parent company for Marie Callender’s, the epitome of the family restaurant brand, filed bankruptcy in June. Certain sentences in this article announcing the event struck me as very important but sad – “dated and stale” and “failed to evolve”.

When one of my clients told me that they conduct business only through fax and mail, I was aghast. My immediate mental response was, “No email? Whoa! How can they survive?” It’s a reminder that we need to be constantly open to new ideas and methods while we self examine the present and past. You snooze, you lose; if you are standing still then you are regressing. Learn to take advantage of technology and new business methods and tools to get ahead and don’t let this phrase define you: “But we’ve never done it like that before!” “Dated and stale” are not words we want on our professional obituary and “failed to evolve” sounds like a description to a horror flick, and should never apply to our real life.

SUMMER IS OVER! Meaning it’s back to school and back to work, everyone! And for my sister, my brother, and anyone who is packing for kids that are starting or returning to college, here is an article on college dorm food. Ah! Ramen! The food of champions! I know, a parent can only do so much. Been there, done that!

Finally, as a follow up to my “Flopping” article in the July newsletter, here is one more article about Flipping and Flopping. I don’t mind telling you that I have a real problem with this. Is it ethical? What do you think? Leave us a comment on the bottom!

“Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is.

The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.”

~Virginia Satir, Therapist (1916-1988) ~

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Visit us at www.vivaescrow.com

Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

Check out our California Documentary Transfer Tax and our Rescission Period videos, new on our website! http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq

DOES YOUR CITY HAVE A RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY REPORT LAW? More and more cities in California have adopted ordinances that require a “pre-sale” property report. This means that before an escrow can close and property transferred, the City has to disclose to the Buyer what is on the City records as to the status of the property, its permits, violations, and compliance with its building code ordinances. Many require an on-site inspection by their inspector, others just do an internal check, but all require fees to be paid.

To help you, as an owner and possible future Seller, or as a real estate agent who may acquire a listing in those cities, we have called many, many cities in the Southern California area, and are calling those in the central and the northern part of the State. We know how massively confusing selling real estate can be in this day and age and we hope this will help. For a look at our list, the link to our website is as follows: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/city-residential-reports.

Please note that like all of the information we provide on our website this is an ongoing work-in-progress site, which means that we will be constantly updating, revising and adding as we gather further information. If you have anything to add, please make sure you let us know or drop us a comment!

NEW SHORT SALE PROTECTION SIGNED INTO LAW: Good news! California has just passed a law that extends additional protections to homeowners on their Short Sales. SB 458 states, among other things, that any lender that agrees to a short sale must accept the agreed upon short sale proceeds as payment in full. No demanding additional payment by Seller or anyone else beyond the proceeds of the sale. This protection applies only to 1-4 residential properties with first and junior loans. It does not apply to commercial loans where the Borrower is a legal entity like a corporation or LLC. This will definitely help some of our Short Sale clients. We have one file in which the second trust deed lender wants an additional $30,000 over and beyond….

HOA FORECLOSING ON OWNERS: When an article like this appears on the Internet it really makes me sit up and take notice. In my June article titled “Condo or House” I mentioned that diminishing reserves in HOA funds are a serious concern when owning a condominium. I have not personally heard of any Association in my area actually foreclosing on the delinquent owner yet, but if it is happening in other parts of the country, how far away can California be? And what does the Association do after they foreclose? Do they start making payments to the existing Lender before they foreclose, too?

RETIREMENT? OH SURE….. In May it was about Social Security and whether we should take it now or later. This issue, it’s all about that all important question of “retirement” – do we, don’t we, and when. Too much has happened in the last few years that have overturned many of our previous retirement plans. The big question now is: Can we afford to retire? My strategy changed from “retiring in 10 years” to “working till I die at my desk”, which they say is not a good strategy. Gosh, I can’t imagine why not.

So, are you confident that you can retire? If so, there is this town out there in South Dakota that is being sold, lock, stock and bar(rel) for $799,000.00. Read about it here. What do you say we all chip in to make this our retirement place?! Such a deal! 46 acres with a dance hall, basketball court, train depot, post office, and even a real jail!!! How can we go wrong! Oh, right. South Dakota. Below freezing in the winter. Blizzards, ice storms and tornados. Spend my retirement years shoveling snow. Okay. How about a nice island in the Caribbean instead?  Leaf Cay, 15 acres with a 19 building complex, an airstrip, beaches and marina, only for $8 million….

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT: Getting to that “retirement” mode, whether you are 30 or 60 years old, involves a certain mind set. Yes, we work, work, work, while our sun still shines, we invest wisely and carefully, and we hope the government leaves our money alone. But just as important is the concept of spending correctly, also known as “Why Waste Money?” Why….

• Pay high interest on unpaid credit card balances
• Pay for premium gas when not necessary (see my April 2011 newsletter)
• Smoke (just burn those dollar bills, why not, and see your health insurance premium increase)
• Pay for fancy cell phones and apps (the new status symbol) for you, your spouse and your teenagers
• Give too much money each month to Uncle Sam (see my February 2011 newsletter)

…. And more right here. Let’s ask ourselves: Are we making so much money that we can afford to waste our hard earned after tax dollars?

RAISING OUR CREDIT SCORES: Certainly not in other countries, but in the U.S., it’s scary to think that people look at your credit score to determine what kind of a person you are. “Is Juliana trustworthy enough to be lent money or be hired? Her credit score will tell us!” No matter how you rant and rave against the system, this is the name of the game, and to win it we need to play it smartly. Here are 6 SIMPLE ways to raise your credit scores:

1. Pay your payment on time each month
2. Reduce your revolving (credit card or HELOC) debt
3. The longer you have held that credit card, the better the score
4. Don’t apply for unnecessary credit cards
5. Cancel cards gradually, or keep them open for occasional use
6. Review your credit report each year to make sure there are no errors

WHAT NAMES ARE NEXT TO GO? According to the Wall Street Journal, the following 10 brands may be on their way out in the next 18 months either through buyouts, loss in sales, or other issues:

• Sony Pictures
• A& W Restaurants
• Saab
• American Apparel
• Sears
• Sony Ericcson
• Kellogg’s Corn Pops
• MySpace
• Soap Opera Digest
• Nokia

What? Corn Pops on its way out? What is this world coming to? Will Cheerios be next? What will we feed our teething babies? What will our college kids eat (for breakfast, lunch and dinner)?

AIRLINE EXTRA FEES: Enough said, don’t you think? Every year around this time I have to vent my outrage at airline miscellaneous charges and this year is no different, especially after the stories from my daughter who just came back from traveling all over the world. Want to send your blood pressure into the stratosphere? How about the following:

• Boarding pass print fee
• Booking fee when talking to representative on phone
• Checked luggage fee for first as well as second bag
• Fee for carry on luggage
• Excess baggage weight
• Cancellation fee
• Upgrade fee
• Additional fee and fuel surcharge fee for ticket purchased through frequent flyer awards
• Seat selection fee

Let me recommend that you do your homework before you plunk down the $$$ and before it is your turn at the airline counter.

By the way, CBS reported that in a survey of 101 airports, 3 of the cheapest airports in the country to fly in and out of are in my area – Long Beach (#1), Burbank (#2) and John Wayne (#5). LAX is #88. The article is here. Again, another Why Waste Money? moment.

And finally, from a person who loves shoes – the higher the better – here is my thought for the month:

~The shoe that fits one person pinches another;

there is no recipe for living that suits all cases.~

Carl Jung (1875 – 1961), Psychologist

Till next month!

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Visit me at www.vivaescrow.com and

Check me out at LinkedIn Facebook

NOW, THIS IS THE MORTGAGE AMORTIZATION CALCULATOR! I can’t tell you how often I am called to answer questions from clients regarding how the long term outlook of their loan is affected if they pay a little more on their mortgage payment. As the attached article states, in these economic times, the sooner we payoff our mortgage loan, the better it is for our sense of security.  In our efforts to provide the best customer service, we have developed a mortgage amortization schedule with a slightly different perspective from others you will find on the Internet. In addition to figuring how much your monthly payment is on a 30 year loan at 4.50% interest, for instance, our calculator can also figure your savings in dollars and cents and reduction in years when you add a little extra in your monthly payment each month. There is even a graph for those of you who have an economics background. Check out how much you save over the years when you put the cost of your weekly Starbucks latte into your mortgage payment instead of into your body! Go to: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/mortgage-loan-calculator-and-amortization-table and let us know your comments.

THE CRAZY LANGUAGE OF ESCROW: Escrow lingo can be an alien one at times. Sometimes, in my excitement, I forget that the person I am talking to may not be as conversant with it and, with the added language or cultural difference, what I am telling them may make absolutely no sense. Escrow has its own particular vernacular, made up of acronyms, synonyms and short hand, at times quite different from the real estate terms used by professional real estate agents.  Here is a partial list of special terms that we use in everyday escrow lingo. Next time you talk to me and I ramble on about “pres” and “benes” and “zero demands”, you will know exactly what I am trying to say!

For our full article, please click on this link to our website: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/crazy-escrow-language. More questions? Contact us, send us a comment!

SALES TAX REDUCED BY 1%: Good news! In case it has escaped your notice, California’s temporary 1% sales tax increase that was part of the 2008-2009 budget agreement has ended. The statewide sales and use tax rate will decrease from 8.25% to 7.25% PLUS any other applicable local sales tax voted in by the voters. So beginning July 1, 2011, the range will be 7.25% to 9.75%. To find out your city’s tax rate go to http://www.boe.ca.gov/cgi-bin/rates.cgi.

FROM ONE EXTREME TO THE OTHER: THE ISSUE OF “QUALIFIED RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGES” Qualified Residential Mortgages (QRMs) is a proposal by regulators to tighten lending guidelines for loans that can be sold on the secondary market, requiring no less than 20% down and a debt ratio of no more than 1/3^rd of income. Loans not meeting the guidelines will be charged much higher rates at fees, thereby severely limiting the ability of many first time home buyers to purchase and others to refinance. Have we gone from one extreme to another? This issue is one that the National Association of Realtors have taken to heart and have put a lot of effort into lobbying against passage. You can read more about it at this following link.

HOW MUCH IS MY .COM NAME WORTH? Domain names, especially if they are industry related, can cost lots of pretty pennies if one is looking to purchase it. Here are examples of the price of just these names, business not included:

• Business.com – $7.5 million
• Insure.com – $16 million
• Fund.com – $10 million
• Porn.com – $9.5 million
• Sex.com – $13 million
• Wine.com – $3 million
• Beer.com $7 million
• Clothes.com – $4.9 million
• Diamond.com – $7.5 million

Don’t you just wish you had the foresight 20 years ago to register certain domain names (like Time.com, LATimes.com or People.com) and hung in there until these businesses caught up with Internet technology and came to you, purse in hand to buy that domain name?

Of course, when I chose the name of my company, Viva Escrow! Inc., the first thing I did was check if www.vivaescrow.com was taken. If it was, then maybe my company would now be called Escrow Processing Inc. or something!  Cost of Vivaescrow.com domain name – $12.50 maybe???? Any bids?

On another note, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number (ICANN) has voted to allow registration for any domain name, not just .com, .org, .net, .edu, etc. Like anything else, you can get the name if you are willing to spend the bucks. And of course, like anything else, there will always be issues. We would know who “.facebook” is, or “.pepsi”. But how about “.apple”? Check out the article here. Yep, the Internet is now the ultimate “Brave New World”.

TIPS TO SAVING GAS: Straight from Popular Mechanics is this article about how to save gas. Gas prices are going down, but we all can benefit from learning how to save gas, not just for now, but for long term. Okay, it may mean that I have to re-learn how to drive, but this old dog can still learn a few more tricks:

• Coast to a stop without breaking at the last moment like my husband likes to do
• Avoid slowly crawling up to speed (this is one for my dad!)
• Close those windows and use the a/c when traveling over 60 mph
• Cruising at a lower speed while following track flow (get out of the fast track!)
• Climb that mountain slowly, but without impeding traffic
• Coast downhill that mountain in gear (not in neutral) with foot off the gas pedal
• Keep tires properly inflated
• A warm engine is an efficient engine
• Make right turns only (sound like a lesson in life!)
• Plan errands carefully (definitely one I have to learn)

FLOPPING : There was the Flip, now there is the Flop. Both are scams that we need to be aware of. We all know of the “Flip” – buy the property cheap from the REO Seller and then immediately sell it to a final Buyer (with or without rehabbing the property), thus making a nice bundle.

What is relatively new is the “Flop” – selling the property at a much lower price through a Short Sale to a “straw buyer” and once the transaction is done, immediately selling it to a real Buyer. Original seller and straw buyer split the proceeds. The seller makes money, the straw buyer makes money, and the Short Sale Lender is out lots of bucks.

Details about this scheme can be found on this article. The “Flop” has led to the Short Sale Lenders of the first transaction requiring an “Arms Length Affidavit” to be signed by the Seller, Buyer, Real Estate Agents and Escrow Officer, all swearing under oath in front of a Notary Public that the transaction was negotiated between unrelated parties (no one is related by family ties or business ties) and that the sale price was based on the fair market value. And if the Short Sale Lender finds out in the future that there was a “Flop”, there will be hell to pay, by all. Oh, yes. We have turned down taking transactions like this. Even if the end transaction is for over a million dollars. This is a future headache we don’t want to touch now.

And with that ending note, let me just finish with this quote from a Mr. Bob Edwards, who must have encountered enough troubles to pen this thought:

“Don’t meet trouble halfway; it is quite capable of making the entire journey”

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Visit me at www.vivaescrow.com
Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

Want to know when your rescission ends? Our Rescission Date Calculator is up and running! Access it through this link: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/rescission-date-calculator

DOCUMENTARY TRANSFER TAX EXEMPTIONS: As noted in my previous article regarding documentary transfer taxes, the taxes collected are a nice, hefty revenue source for counties and cities throughout California so they are loath to give away the right to collect it without some explanation. The Revenue and Taxation Code does allow for “exemptions” to the payment of this tax, as long as the exemption is allowed by the Code.

When claiming the exemption, the transfer document (deed or quitclaim deed) must have one of their accepted recitals on it. Several counties also have a special “Documentary Transfer Tax Affidavit” that needs to be signed “under penalty of perjury” and attached to the Preliminary Change of Ownership form.

The exemption declaration, together with the proper completion of the Preliminary Change of Ownership form, also serves the purpose of notifying the County Tax Assessor’s office that the transfer is not a true purchase/sale transaction and therefore the property taxes should not be re-assessed.

It must be noted that just because an exemption and non re-assessment of taxes have been typed on the document and requested, it can still be disallowed by the government agencies.

Please access our complete article, together with the Exemption recitals and list of counties, at the following area of our website: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/documentary-transfer-tax-exemptions

For our Transfer Tax Calculator, go to: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/california-documentary-transfer-tax/tax-calculator

SITTING DUCKS: Lately Escrow Officers have been feeling more and more like sitting ducks, as we dodge all those strange and crazy things thrown to us by Title Companies, Real Estate Brokers, Lenders and the clients themselves. It is a visible sign of the times and the distressed market that there are “trust” issues. Here are some examples:

• Seller owns the property free and clear. The Title Company wants Seller’s signatures to be signed in the presence of the Title Company’s own notaries OR at the office of Escrow Companies which are pre-approved by this Title Company. No outside notaries can be used.
• For Cash Out refinance transaction, Title Company requires the Borrower to provide a letter stating what they are doing with the money, a copy of Borrower’s driver’s license, and a copy of the page where the Borrower signed the Notary’s Journal.
• This particular loan was paid off years and years ago. Since then the property was refinanced numerous times and even foreclosed on. However, because no release of that particular loan was ever recorded, the Title Company wants us to go back to that prior owner and get proof that the loan was paid in full.
• A property was foreclosed on by the second lender while the first lender was trying to get a short sale approved. Notice of the Trustee Sale and an eviction notice were given to the borrower who proceeded to call the first lender for clarification as to borrower’s ownership and short sale status. The first lien holder insisted that the ownership did not transfer and the borrower could still proceed with the short sale. The first Lender refused to acknowledge that the new owner was now the Second Lender. (Hello!!!!)
• In a reverse mortgage refinance transaction we noted a $267,000.00 lien placed by the City of Santa Monica against our client. Our irate client refused to acknowledge this rent control lien (apparently, our client was a slumlord) because he felt that it was over 10 years old (City did renew the lien within the statutory period) and he claimed it was tantamount to elderly abuse. The City calmly refused to budge. No refinance could proceed.
• Property being sold was under a Trust with all the documents signed by the Trustee of the Trust. It wasn’t until almost the very end that we found out the Trustee signing was actually the Successor Trustee. Apparently the original Trustee was the father and the Successor Trustee was the son. Both had the same name. We were alerted when we found a Probate Case filing referencing the Estate of the father, who was (gasp!) deceased!
• A Buyer of a Short Sale property calls 3 weeks after the closing in a panic. He received a Notice of Trustee Sale under his name (not the previous owner’s name) with a Sale date and a Sale number. Upon closer inspection, the “Notice of Trustee Sale” document received was made to look like a real Notice, but it was actually an advertisement for attorney services!

Needless to say, there has been much quacking and ruffled feathers in escrow offices recently.

CONDO OR HOUSE? For those of you with children who have graduated and are starting out in their professional lives, a roof over their heads can mean one of three things: (1) live with Mom and Dad; (2) rent; (3) buy for themselves. The third choice requires a great deal of serious thought. Besides location, the type of property is just as important as it will establish the state of their finances for years to come. Years and years ago my husband and I started out with a condo and exchanged it through the years for single family homes as our family grew. Today, as we consider what to do for our kids, that condo can be just as expensive as a single family house, but the challenges are totally different. There are certain important factors to consider now, that we never had to think about 30 years ago:

• Is the Homeowners Association (HOA) solvent? Or are there foreclosures and delinquencies in the complex that have seriously depleted the reserves?
• As an owner will you be forced to shoulder the responsibility for the depletion through higher dues or lower maintenance standards?
• Do you have members who are actively involved in the management of the HOA?
• If not, do they have a good Management Company taking care of business?
• Will this HOA be approved by your financial institution or FHA?
• How much control will you, as a homeowner, have in the state of your home?

I have brought this matter up because of a transaction in which my Buyer asked these same questions and the answers that came back were not encouraging. The Buyer is now looking for a single family residence instead. Whether you are buying for yourself, your children, or your relatives who are out-of-the-country, save yourselves some headaches and heartaches down the line by seriously asking yourself, condo or house?

For more food for thought, you can read this article.

RENTING OR LEASING: Let’s say that you read the above article “Condo or House” and decided that it would be neither and the best option would be to rent. The question after that would be “Rent or Lease”? and yes, there are differences. Renting on a month to month basis, which is what is normally offered for apartment units and smaller homes, involves a “Tenancy at Will” contract, which means that either Landlord or Tenant can terminate the rental with a 30 day notice no harm no foul. However, for certain properties that are more expensive, with a higher rental value, a Lease will be requested. This Lease will designate a certain period of time and cannot be broken by either party without certain repercussions, monetary and otherwise. Unlike the month to month rental agreement, a Lease agreement can be many pages long and specifically delineates the Lessee/Tenant responsibilities and obligations. Such a document should be read over as carefully as any other contract. A great article on what to watch for can be found at this link. Just a couple of minutes of review may save you a lot of headaches in the future. Remember, this applies to commercial as well as residential leasing.

JOBS THAT DON’T NEED HIGHER EDUCATION: Yes, I know. For a Mom who has put children through the expense and trauma of higher education to find that all that $$$ still can’t guarantee a decent paying job, I wish I had had this following article to pass along years before.

Life is not about being a doctor or a lawyer, which is the profession of choice looked for by Chinese Tiger Moms; it’s about finding that which you have an aptitude and an interest for and then working hard and dedicating a good part of your life to it. You can even put something together in the garage…

* * * * * * *

Memorial Day has come and gone, now ‘tis the season for graduations, barbecues and vacations. The next long weekend will be the Independence Day weekend which is at the peak of the year. It will be the long downhill run to Christmas after that!

“Don’t get hung up on a snag in the stream. Snags alone are not so dangerous – it is the debris that clings to them that makes the trouble. Pull yourself loose and go on.”

~Anne Shannon Monroe, Journalist (1877-1942) ~

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI
Visit me at www.vivaescrow.com
Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

New! Documentary Transfer Tax Calculator! Find out how much Transfer Tax to pay in cities in California.

Go to: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/california-documentary-transfer-tax/tax-calculator

I WISH TO CANCEL…. Escrow Officers/Closing Agents can’t stop the groan of frustration when we receive a Borrower’s signature on that line of the Notice of Right to Cancel form. Under the Federal Truth in Lending Act of 1968 (TILA), Borrowers who are refinancing their home have the right to change their minds and stop the refinance within 3 business days after they sign their loan documents. This is to prevent “Borrower’s remorse”, giving Borrowers a chance to back out of the transaction if they have been forced into it without proper thought.

The “Rescission Period”, as it is called, starts the day after the loan documents are signed and it ends at midnight of the third business day, not counting certain federal holidays and Sundays. For example, if the documents are signed on April 28, 2011, the 3 business days (excluding Sunday) would end midnight of May 2^nd. The Lender cannot release the loan funds until May 3^rd and the actual closing would then be scheduled for May 4^th.

Given how everyone wants to close their transaction by the end of the month, that last day for signing pending the final rescission date is the busiest day for Escrow Officers. For instance, in order to close by May 31^st documents would have to be signed by May 23^rd due to the holiday on May 30^th. In June, the last day to sign will be June 24^th.

To view a full copy of this article, please go to our website FAQ section: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/right-to-cancel.

STRUGGLING WITH LENDER INSTRUCTIONS: Remember the days of easy credit, when you could get a loan as long as you were breathing? This was followed by the real estate market crash and now the 180 degree turn around in which you couldn’t get a loan to save your life.

In today’s lending climate lenders have decided that whether a loan will be a good one or bad starts with the escrow transaction. All responsibilities for how this loan was underwritten and conditions provided must be put squarely on the escrow, regardless of whether we had anything to do with it all.

Lender Instructions to Escrow Holder reflect the specific loan guidelines and underwriting conditions and can run to 25 pages with a list of over 50 items that we, the Buyer, the loan officer, and even the Seller must conform to. The difficulty is that these instructions must be agreed to and signed by the Escrow Officer at which time we commit ourselves to be held liable for whatever responsibilities and liabilities are arbitrarily imposed on us in that document. Refusal to sign means that the loan will not fund and escrow will not close. Here are samples of some of obligations which we are forced to accept and/or comply with:

• Escrow Officer must agree that within one year from closing on the short sale, we will not act as the closing agent on any transactions involving the same property (short sale approval condition)
• Notify lender if there are any disbursements on seller’s closing statement that exceeds $1,000 that is not a normal closing cost or related to the transaction
• Lender must approve any disbursement of seller proceeds to anyone other than the Seller
• Certify that we do or not have any knowledge of any previous or concurrent transaction involving the same property within the last 12 months or which will happen 2 weeks after closing

Lenders’ arbitrary designation of responsibilities through its Lender Instructions is an issue that has long been a source of headaches for the escrow industry. The issue has been discussed nationally, but regretfully, the national concerns never filtered down to the local mortgage and real estate industries.  It is time that the general public is made aware of a very important and troubling part of the “mysterious” escrow process.

(For a continuation of the list and the full article, please go to our Comment/Blog section on our website at: http://www.vivaescrow.com/blog

ON-LINE WEBCAM NOTARIZATIONS: The state of Virginia has passed a law that, starting in July 1, 2012, will allow electronic notarizations performed through video conferencing, without requiring the signer to physically appear in front of the Notary Public. Is that crazy? Fraudulent documentation and notarizations were some of the problems that were unearthed in the real estate crash. We are still reading about crooks who are perpetuating fraud left and right (go to http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/) and now, notarization by webcam? I have been a Notary Public for 30 some years and I need to see the people and their identifications sign in front of me. Call me “old fashioned and low tech” if you must!

WHEN TO TAKE SOCIAL SECURITY, NOW OR LATER? For us Baby Boomers who are nervously watching the government struggling with our national debt, entitlements, Medicare and Social Security issues, it is not hard to imagine that by the time our turn comes around to retire, the Social Security system will be totally bankrupt. If you are at the age in which you can start drawing, will you do so? Or will you wait as many years as possible and hope for the best? The difference between opting at age 62 and age 70 could be a doubling in payments received and could truly affect the quality of retirement life. For my part, if I can work, I will continue to do so, regardless of age. Work provides me with a conduit for energy and creativity (besides $$ for incidentals like clothes and shoes!!) and keeps me in touch with the “real” world. For me, later is preferable to early, and if I were in a position to not even care, that would be the best scenario! Here is the article link.

FROM HIGH TECH TO OBSOLETE IN DECADES: I am old enough that I remember when we didn’t all have a telephone in each home, or a television, or even a personal calculator. Teenagers call them the “ancient” times. Technology since then has jumped exponentially every year until now, 40 short years later, those same “luxury” items are already waning and on the road to becoming a curiosity display at the Smithsonian. Today, for some of our younger generation, what we call “high-tech” are already on its way to becoming “low-tech” and obsolete. The article is here, but below is the quick summary:

• The television has converted to our laptops to our IPads
• Land Line phones has converted to cell phones
• DVD disks and players transformed to instant streaming to our computers
• CD disks and players are now to Ipods and MP3s to SmartPhones
• Cable and/or satellite service has transformed to instant streaming to our computers
• Desktop computers are now our laptops and IPads
• E-mail is changing to SmartPhones and text messaging

In another 40 years it will be time to “Beam me up, Scottie”!

Happy Memorial Day and the start of Summer!

“A smile confuses an approaching frown”

~Author unknown~

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Visit me at www.vivaescrow.com

Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook