Happy Mother’s Day!

On this day we celebrate all the women in our lives, whether they are mothers or not, whether they are near you or not.

GETTING THE HANG OF THE FIRPTA – FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN REAL PROPERTY ACT. With all the foreign money coming in I am getting lots of questions regarding what to watch for when foreign nationals invest in real estate here in the U.S. It’s safe to say that our economy loves the investment, but there are certain basic facts that we, as Settlement Agents, have learned to expect and require from foreigners. Hopefully, this article will give an idea of general concerns. More complicated issues and legal aspects should, of course, be referred to legal and financial counsel.

There would be no sale, of course, if there were not the initial purchase of the real estate. The critical issues may come when they sell their investment, but it really all starts when they buy. For my full article, please go to my link here: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/firpta

SHORTENING SHORT SALES TIMELINES! There are reports that we will see an increase of Short Sales versus Foreclosures this year. This is good news! Out of a losing situation, this is the best win-win scenario for all. The Lender does not lose as much, the Buyer gets to purchase a property that may be below market value, the real estate agent makes money, as does the escrow, title and mortgage industries.

But hang on, remember how short sales used to be taking 6 months to a year to process, with the Buyer losing interest and agents going nuts as numerous purchase contracts are submitted again and again? The really good news is that new guidelines effective June 1 are coming out, aiming to shorten the length of time for the process by requiring that Lenders respond to requests within 30 days and make a final decision within 60 days. You can read about it here. This will relieve anxiety levels and will make timelines of a short sale transaction comparable to those of a standard sale transaction. Plus, this will really help the real estate market and provide a big boost during the traditionally busy period of the year.

STUDENT DEBT – A REAL GOOD TIMES KILLER: Unless you have been incommunicado on a cruise or on vacation in some far away country, you probably have heard that the big news the last several weeks has been the issue of student debt. Interest rates of student loans are due to DOUBLE on July 1^st from 3.4% to 6.8% unless Congress can get their act together and pass a law that will limit it. Outstanding student debt is surpassing credit card debt already and it is creating a backlash of problems that are affecting the recovery of our economy. This article examines all of the above in detail. It is a grin-and-bear-it debt which cannot be wiped out even through bankruptcy.

How can the young consumers qualify for a home mortgage when they have a huge student loan debt on their shoulders? And without these young consumers in the market, what is happening to certain sections of the housing market? Well, the answer to that is the title of the following article: Student debt is stifling home sales. Furthermore, is consumption, particularly of high end durable goods, also being affected? This is the reason why the economic recovery is stalled. How can they even go into a marriage and have kids with this huge weight on their shoulders?

It is now up to Congress to find a long term solution to ease the burdens that will allow the up and coming young people a firm foothold on their future.

SOCIAL SECURITY – A GRIM, GRIM FAIRY TALE: Once upon a time in a land of plenty, a system was set up in which people would make contributions from their income so that when they retired, 30 or 40 years later, they would be assured a retirement income and they would live happily ever after. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out quite that way. As time went by the money contributed was not enough to pay for all the benefits that was written into the system. The fairy tale was soon turning into a horror story as the system looked like it was on the break of being swallowed by the MONSTER it created. No one could cut the monster down to a manageable size and everyone was afraid to try. It slowly became a matter of when the monster would swallow everything up and leave nothing behind.

How much do you know about this monster? Did you know that a person can claim benefits on an ex-spouse? And did you know that if a person married several times, all the ex-spouses can claim benefits on the spouse without reducing that person’s benefits? Read this article and see why this monster is unsustainable. Contributions from 35 year old Peter are used to pay 67 year old Paul AND his ex-spouses Mary, Joan, and Jane. By the time Peter comes around in 2033 to claim his benefits, what will be left?

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS….. – Bizarre home remedies that might work! Now, don’t roll those eyes! Who knows when we or someone we know might be desperate for one of these remedies. No harm, no foul!

• Duct tape to remove warts
• Vapor rub to cure nail fungus
• Oatmeal to cure eczema
• Yogurt to cure bad breath
• Sugar to cure hiccups
• Bit a pencil to cure a headache
• Olives for motion sickness
• Gargle salt water for sore throat

For more information, take a look through the following article. I can tell you I have several No. 2 pencils at the ready in my desk!

Enjoy! It’s Spring and Summer will be here too soon!

It is better to be approximately right than precisely wrong

~Warren Buffett~

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Escrow Manager

E-mail: JulianaT@vivaescrow.com

Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

It’s April! If you own property in California, please don’t forget that property taxes have to be paid by April 10^th!

POWER OF ATTORNEY- TO GIVE OR NOT TO GIVE – The casual use of the Power of Attorney happens much too often, and many times not for the correct reason. It is a matter of great concern and therefore the reason for this article.

What is a “Power of Attorney” (POA)? Simply put, it is a legal document that gives another person the right to act on your behalf, representing you in all aspects that are stated in the form. The implications, however, are not as simple.

There are two types of POAs: the General form allows the person being appointed – “Attorney-In-Fact” – to handle everything and anything for the Appointor (person giving the power of attorney). The Special POA limits the powers to certain acts, which have to be stated clearly in the body of the document. This second form is the required form required by Lenders for borrowing purposes. Both forms, however, incorporate the following language:  “Giving and granting unto said Attorney in Fact full power and authority to do and perform all and every act…, as fully to all intents and purposes as the undersigned might or could do if personally present…” and it is this language that highlights the cautionary steps we need to take when giving or accepting a Power of Attorney.

For the full article and the do’s and don’ts , please go to this link on our website: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/power-of-attorney

REDUCING YOUR MORTGAGE DEBT: Are you in a position to refinance? Not everyone may be able to take advantage of the lower rates due to personal circumstances or due to the value of the home. But if you can, here are three things you can do to put yourself in a better financial position: (1) Refinance to a shorter term loan for the same amount you presently owe. Instead of 30 years, 15 or 20 year loans will help considerably to clear out your debt. (2) Make an extra monthly payment on your existing mortgage if you can. Be sure you note on your payment stub to the Lender that the extra payment pays down your principal and follow up with them to make sure they credited it correctly. (3) Round up your monthly payment to the nearest whole figure. Instead of $1,712.58, make it $1,800.00 or even $2,000.00. Again, be sure you note on your payment stub that the extra goes to reduce your principal. All of this came from this article from MSN Money.

What should you NOT do? You should not refinance for an amount over what you already presently owe unless you need to cash out for a good reason. For many people, treating their home as a “Bank” and cashing out every few months for conspicuous consumption was the main reason they got caught unprepared in the economic downturn in 2008. Short term memories, long term pain.

For a surprising view of how you can save money under item #1, #2, or #3 above, check out our Mortgage Loan Calculator and manipulate the graphs to see how you can save in the long run by paying a little extra now.

KIDS AND FINANCIALS: In my last newsletter I talked about the importance of teaching kids early about finances. As you are a role model to your kids, your financial habits are also passed on, whether obviously or sublimely. Here is a great article which I recommend to all parents with kids at an impressionable age. Setting up your children with good money habits is just as important as teaching them right from wrong, especially in this society that reveres plastic and easy credit. What messages are we sending to our kids?

• Maxing out credit cards.  “Embarrassing! But it happens to everyone right? Who has the cash to pay for this stuff?”
• Accepting store credit cards anytime offered. “It’s okay if we don’t have cash for it. Let’s just get a card from this store and we’ll pay it back slowly.”
• Ignoring or not paying credit card bills. “Another bill? Forget it. It can wait. It’s not important.”

Leaves a lot of food for thought, doesn’t it? How to instill proper values to the next “me” generation.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE CREDIT CARD KNOWN: Talking about credit cards leads me to share this: the Platinum card issued by First Premier Bank may be considered the costliest card ever, with a 36% APR (down from 79.9%), a 25% “credit limit increase fee” and an annual fee of $49. With these fees you may ask, who would be crazy enough to apply? Although the card is aimed at those who are struggling to build up their credit again, my gut reaction is that with this card, that struggle may have just turned worse. But do we learn?

I HATE PASSWORDS – The bane of my existence. They make my life miserable. What password did I assign to this login? What about that one? As an Escrow Officer, I deal with probably 30-40 Lenders, many which require us to set up logins and passwords in order to download loan documents. We also have vendors – natural hazards companies, title companies, home protection companies – which also require the same. These passwords may have a shelf life of 3 months, so we are constantly requested to change them. To complicate matters, some need a capital, a number, a sign and they have to have a minimum length. Exasperating! How do we keep track of them all? What is important are our personal accounts which require passwords that are easy to remember and easy to type in, particularly when used on a phone with itsy bitsy type keys. But most important, they need to be UN-HACKABLE. First of all, read this article and make sure you have not used the most common ones that every lazy person chooses. Then, let me pass on what someone else taught me: I look at my keyboard and the top 2-3 rows of keys. I chose a pattern on these 2 or 3 rows that my overwhelmed brain can remember by starting with one key, then go up, sideways then down. Voila! Like the chances at winning the Mega Millions, I just made it a little harder for Mr. Hacker!

EATING RIGHT: Nope, this is not a section on healthy food choices. This is a section on food etiquette. In a nation replete with cultural diversity, we should know a little bit about etiquette observed by various cultures that we may come into contact with. Eating and table manners, particular with clients and business acquaintances can make or break a promising relationship. Click here for the full article.

• Brazil – in a Brazilian steakhouse, watch how you leave the red/green token which signifies whether you want more or to stop.
• Chile – use a fork and knife always. No fingers.
• China – don’t flip the fish over (although I do that all the time! I must be bringing everyone bad luck!)
• England – pass the port and when doing so, pass to the left, not to the right.
• France – bread is not an appetizer, it is eaten with the meal and placed directly on the table, not the plate.
• Italy – no parmesan on the pizza.
• Italy – cappuccino is for breakfast, espresso for anything after breakfast.
• Japan – never leave chopsticks stuck up in the rice bowl.
• Korea – respect for elders means you receive a drink from them with both hands.
• Mexico – eat tacos with hands so that you don’t get labeled a snob.
• Middle East, India, and parts of Africa – don’t eat with your left hand or do anything with left hand. Left hand is the dirty hand.
• Middle East Bedouins – when you don’t want anymore coffee, you shake the cup a few times.
• Russia – never turn down a vodka drink when offered and always drink it neat.
• Thailand – eat with your spoon.

Simple little guidelines and the next time you travel, you will be perceived as less of a tourist and more culturally acclimatized. Besides which, you won’t inadvertently offend your host or others around you.

SHORTCUTS IN MICROSOFT WORD: With all the newsletters that I do, I think I am fairly proficient with Microsoft Word, but I am always on the lookout for ways to hit one less key. In this article, I found a number of tricks and shortcuts that have already made my life easier. My favorites: adding Quick Parts (#6) and Conform Fonts (#7). Note: you will need to have the newer versions of Word (2007 and up) in order for some of the tips to work. Forget Control C then Control V, just highlight and drag! Life is good!

“April showers are taxpayers’ tears”

~ Arnold Glasow ~

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

DEEDS OF TRUST: Last month it was all about Promissory Notes and this month it will be all about the other document that completes a mortgage instrument. A “Deed of Trust”, or “Trust Deed”, is the document that secures the Promissory Note on a piece of property. The two documents go hand-in-hand but it’s important to remember that whereas a Promissory Note can exist by itself, the Deed of Trust is not valid without the Note. But first, let’s not confuse the “Deed of Trust”, which is a loan document with the “Deed”, which is an ownership document.

There are three parties to a Deed of Trust: The Trustor, the Beneficiary, and the Trustee. Like the Note, there are certain requirements that must be incorporated into this instrument to make it valid. For instance, it has to be in writing, there has to be an amount, and there has to be a clear and concise description of the property encumbered.

Due to the length of the article please go to this link at our website: http://www.vivaescrow.com/for-your-convenience/faq/deeds-of-trust

We welcome your thoughts and comments!

“SHADOW” INVENTORY- I have been hearing a lot about “shadow” inventory and had to Google it up. This article explains it as a term for homes and properties that should be on the market for sale but are not, due to a variety of reasons. They are standing by in the shadows, so to speak. Should these properties be pumped into the market, it will greatly undermine those numbers that pundits are using to demonstrate that the housing market and pricing is on its way up in this election year.

Pessimistically, the long haul we talked about 2 years ago could be even longer. All inventory, whether existing or shadow, needs to be disposed of to before we can see a stabilization of the market and a rise in property value across the nation. Living in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley area where stability and values were never much affected does not exempt us from the pain that others are feeling or from being affected by it.

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE? Wondering whether the huge billion dollar settlement that the government has worked out with the major lenders will truly benefit the average distressed homeowner? Here is a Q & A summary article to answer some questions for you.

Personally, I look at it as too little money for too many distressed homeowners. What is $20,000 principal reduction going to do for a loan that could be $200,000 underwater and $20,000 in arrears? What is $2,000 going to mean to a qualifying foreclosed homeowner who was already evicted from his home? And since this settlement only applies to loans with the 5 major banks – Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial, which account for only 55% of outstanding home loans, how will this help the rest of the 45% under Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or other individual banks?

And about the money that the states are getting from this settlement? Some are using it to tear down foreclosed homes, others to balance their state budget and still others are looking to use them for nonhousing related use. You can read about it here.

BAILING CALIFORNIA – COURSE 101: With the Facebook IPO coming up, CEO Mark Z. (and possibly some of the other employees) will be exercising his options to buy more stock and then selling some of them, using the profit to pay the huge tax liability that he will incur. According to this article, the tax liability could be as high as $2 billion.

The reason I have taken an “amused” interest in this issue is because I am a resident of California and take a great deal of interest in our state’s fiscal (un)solvency. Zuckerberg is also a resident and will have to pay his share of state taxes for the profit earned. Consequently, when he declares income taxes next year the State of California could also be receiving a very hefty amount. So, voila! In one fell swoop, Zuckerberg and any of his compatriots at Facebook who are thinking of doing the same thing, may just singlehandedly wipe out a good chunk of California’s existing deficit! And behold, weeks after I penned this entry, here is an article on MoneyCNN on this very subject. I just bet Governor Brown is smiling away…..

Hmmm, Apple is in California, too, I wonder what their corporate tax rate is? They could make $13.1 billion net profit in just the first quarter alone….

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: I love California, and no matter how I rant about how the problems with our state deficit and budget cuts have affected me individually, I have to admit that I would not give up LIVING and RETIRING here for any other state in the union, including Florida. What states would be the hardest to retire in? Given the very personal criteria that we should consider, climate, property taxes, state income tax, state fiscal health, cost of living, this article states that they are:

• Number 10 on the list is Wisconsin
• Then, Maine (climate)
• New York (cost of living)
• Minnesota (state income tax)
• New Jersey (it’s all about taxes)
• Massachusetts (property taxes are a killer)
• Vermont (state’s fiscal health is bad, bad)
• Rhode Island (high taxes)
• Illinois (state fiscal health)
• And the worst is….Connecticut!

Look! 7 of the 10 states are in the Northeast! What does that say about the dividing lines of this country? Instead of Red and Blue colors, maybe we should have White (cold) and Green (warm)! Okay, I am not quite sure I could find Minnesota…..what do I know, I am just this California fruitcake …

WHO SAYS DEAD MEN DON’T TELL TALES: In my November 2011 newsletter I talked about a couple whose Lender’s loan servicing inefficiencies caused them to go into foreclosure even though they paid their monthly payment one week early. Here is another story of a man in South Carolina who was listed as “deceased” by his bank and reported as such to the 3 major credit reporting agencies. He found out he “died” 5 months ago when he was trying to get a loan and he has yet to be “resurrected.” So is he “dead” or not? He has no credit, can’t get the loan to finish construction on his new home and his life is now on hold. He might as well be “dead”, but he can tell his tale. The bank in both of these cases? Bank of America. And today, Bank of America is owning up to more pilot programs to charge monthly fees on checking accounts. They won’t give up, won’t they?

A COURSE IN PERSONAL FINANCE: I have come to realize that it is necessary for today’s parents to teach their children from an early age about personal finance. How many financial lives could have been saved if we had learned how to make good financial decisions early in life instead of going through it clueless until disaster appears?  With that in mind, I found this article by well known personal finance writer Liz Weston an interesting read. I particularly recommend it to all those young adults starting out in life right now. Live, but don’t learn the hard way!

• Raw land – a difficult investment, particularly if it was made a long time ago. Communities, cities, counties change and your prime land may become useless in the intervening years. Think before you leap!

• Values and requirements change – especially yours. What you want in your 20s may change drastically when you are ready to retire at age 60. Whatever you purchase early with an eye to retirement should be flexible enough that you can dispose of without heartbreak.

• Buying that home – don’t bite off more than you can chew. Homeownership is not for the faint of heart or slim of purse. Be sure you do your due diligence and inspections carefully and be sure you know what you are getting into, especially when you are young (and relatively clueless). Going into partnership with others? Red flag! Red flag!

• Selling that property/home – I would always say it’s easy to sell and harder to buy back. Can you keep that old property as an investment while you buy a new one? If now is not the time to sell, can you hang on until the market turns better? But first of all, think about this: is the property worth hanging on to?

• Buying stocks – Don’t go with the craze. Do your homework. Is the company solid or are they a flash in the pan? Are you just listening to the gossip and rumors and jumping on that bandwagon? Are you betting all your savings on one stock? Are you looking for a killing? You may be the one wiped out!

ANOTHER BAILOUT! Another bailout story! You will be flabbergasted to know that our representatives in D.C. are using our taxpayer dollars to bail out the Senate barbershop! Read about this incredible story here. Apparently, even with the high prices they charge for haircuts, the shop just can’t make ends meet. Of course they can’t. How many barbers do you know get paid $70,000 to $80,000 a year? Are they celebrity barbers because they cut our Senators’ hair? We are up in the trillions in debt, Congress can’t get their act together to pass any law, but they can authorize $300,000 to keep their barbershop going??????? What is wrong with this picture? We need to talk to our Senators, many of whom are probably bald anyway. If they really need a barber, why can’t they use the House of Representative’s barber shop which doesn’t get taxpayer assistance? This calls for We The People Power!

“It is better to be approximately right than precisely wrong”

~ Warren Buffet ~

Until the next month!

Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI

Contact Me: LinkedIn Facebook

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