News Channel Mortgage

The picture is of the old Jawbone. The new one is thinner.

I had the old one, but it broke fairly quickly. If I’d known the new one was coming out I probably would have tried it, because it does function very well.

Great timing… I’m just about to make the jump and get a jawbone because I’ve been hearing great things about that headset!

Look Ma, No Hands!

Washington State will go ‘hands free’ for cell phone use in the car on July 1st, so agents (and everyone else) shouldn’t be driving around with one hand up to their ear anymore. Well…that’s the intent anyway. The Washington State Patrol says you could face up to a $125 fine, although it is suppose to be a secondary offense. Real Estate agents are notorious for this, myself included. Fortunately, for several years I have had an integrated hands-free system in my car (Acura RL) which has given me a head start on being compliant.

I thought I would mention some options for agents, or for that matter anyone who spends a lot of time on the phone in their car, who are just taking the plunge into the deep blue-tooth ocean of products to help them figure out which device might be better suited for them. But don’t just go out and buy one of these devices. Do your research and check with your provider about what they offer and recommend. These days many products and services are specific to wireless vendors, like Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T.

First of all, you’ll need a bluetooth capable cell phone. Many, if not most, of the newer cell phones have this capability. But if yours doesn’t, you’ll need to upgrade. These days people change out their cell phones pretty frequently anyway. But if you have been waiting, now is probably a good time. Just be sure you understand how your cell phone plan will be affected and hopefully your carrier won’t force you into signing a new extended service contract.

If you have a newer model car that has integrated bluetooth capabilities you’ll want to check which phones work with it (not all do) and use the products they recommend, if possible. This information should be in your manual. When my car was introduced integrated blue-tooth was still new and it did not specifically support my phone and service (a Palm Treo w/Verizon), but fortunately I was able to trick it (read “hack”). It would be a real drag to decide to buy a $50,000 car because of it’s bluetooth capability only to find out it won’t work with your phone or service.

If you don’t have integrated bluetooth in your car, then you should consider getting either a headset or component speaker system. Most headsets these days just fit in or around your ear and are pretty small. They often use a microphone technology that relies on the vibration of your jawbone, much like your inner ear, which keeps it very small and helps with noise cancellation - cool huh?

Here are some hands-free bluetooth earbud and speakerphone options from $65 to $125:

The New Jawbone - Jawbone is the hot bling-bling of the bluetooth world right now. Their marketing is aimed at the fashion-conscious among us. This is perfect for the agent who is most worried how it will fit in with their wardrobe. The have good noise canceling technology too.

Jabra’s SP5050 - This unit is made to be clipped to your visor and has a speaker system built in. Jabra is well known and were the first to come out with hands-free bluetooth headsets and use digital signal processing (DSP) technology.

BlueAnt’s Supertooth 3 - Another visor clip-on speakerphone, the Supertooth 3 announces the name or ID of the caller when the phone rings - just say ‘OK’ to accept the call. This device is suppose to be very easy to install and it uses ‘Text-to Speech’ software. The voice prompts provide guidance and assistance install and to help pair the device and upload your cell phone’s address book. When a call is received, the Supertooth 3 announces the incoming caller’s name or number. Just say ‘OK’ to accept the call. You also have a choice of 6 languages.

Venturi Mini - The Venturi Mini directs incoming calls to the cars speakers and includes a FM A2DP audio player and no headset or wires are needed. With phonebook download the incoming caller appears on the Venturi Mini and your car radio simultaneously. This unit plugs into your lighter plug in and offers USB support too, which means you can charge other devices.

You’re going to need to configure your bluetooth cell phone with your hands-free integrated car system or your bluetooth hands-free device. (wireless headset or speakerphone). Once you pair the device and phone you’ll need to do some set up and preferences. Carefully read the manuals regarding hands-free dialing with your Address book and configuring everything to match your network (Verizon, Sprint, AT&T). Most likely you’ll need to “train” the system to recognize your voice and / or connect phrases with numbers. You may need to tell it when you say “Call Jim” to dial the appropriate number.

Take the time to do this and it will be worth your while. This is what the “hands-free” is all about. Now you can impress youir clients with your tech-savvy skills and stay out of jail at the same time!

Any RCG Readers want to jump in and share their favorite hands-free bluetooth goodies?

• Skyping for Real Estate
• Quicker than a Ray Of Light
• Amazing Access
• Am I watching the end of cable TV as we know it?
• Top 10 reasons to ditch gMail for Microsoft

Today, June 30th, is the last day Countrywide will exist as itself.

Tomorrow it’ll be Bank of America.

Did you know Countrywide started in 1969?

No, I wasn’t lending back then, I was 10 years old.

Yes, Countrywide has received it share of bad press recently.

Deservedly or not, they’ve also done some good things.

• Was the B of A merger a thinly disguised Fed orchestrated bail out?
• Does Countrywide deserve everything they get?
• Should Angelo Mozillo spend a little time behind bars?

All interesting and compelling questions.
I can’t help but think of all the good Countrywide also accomplished.

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v14592821kaHBM9cr

How many people would have enjoyed home ownership if it wasn’t for Countrywide?
What do you think?

Share This

AUDITS, REPORTS AND DEMANDS DO NOT STOP NOTICES OF SALE, FORECLOSURES, JUDGMENTS, SALES OR EVICTIONS. ONLY AN ORDER ENTERED BY A JUDGE OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION CAN HAVE THAT EFFECT.

Our objective is to get to as many people as possible who were or are effected by the mortgage meltdown practices between 2001-2008. We are allowing and promoting as much free information as possible and providing active assistance mostly to other lawyers who already have clients. It is our goal to get to as many people as possible whether or not they have money to pay fees to outside consultants or attorneys.

There are some cases that we are referring to local attorneys and we are assisting them in learning the strategies for foreclosure defense. Most people who contact us or our readers are not an attorney but that many have some knowledge regarding certain rights of the borrower and that they feel qualified to perform mortgage audits or they are outsourcing your mortgage audit function to a third party or parties.

AUDITS, REPORTS AND DEMANDS DO NOT STOP NOTICES OF SALE, FORECLOSURES, JUDGMENTS, SALES OR EVICTIONS. ONLY AN ORDER ENTERED BY A JUDGE OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION CAN HAVE THAT EFFECT.

It is extremely important that to realize that there are now 26 states wherein the attorney general or the equivalent is investigating not only outright scams and fraud by those who purport to be helpful in settling foreclosures, but also those who are charging fees in excess of a few hundred dollars, including contingency fees, on the promise that they will stop the foreclosure, prevent the foreclosure, or collect money refunds, rebates or damages.

Most people are unaware of the fact that State Law in most states makes UPL (Unauthorized Practice of Law) not only illegal and subject to injunction, but actually a crime. In some states it is raised to the level of a felony and people have been and are being prosecuted criminally on a very aggressive basis in several states. Jail and fines are not unusual punishments.

Our goal is to legally help people without aiding or abetting a lay person in the unauthorized practice of law. Some of the red flags that prosecutors look for is whether promises have been made regarding the outcome of entering into a retainer agreement, whether a contingency fee payable to a non-lawyer is involved, whether the upfront fee exceeds a few hundred dollars, and whether the services being rendered go beyond the audit and report and into the area of opinions and advocating for the client about the lender and borrower legal liability, rights, obligations, procedures and consequences.

It is possible there might be lee-way for some entities that have qualified themselves as collection agencies to receive a percentage of actual dollars recovered, but this ignores many If not most of the rights of the owner(s) of a home threatened with foreclosure, sale, or eviction.

Thus if your goal is to perform audits and issue reports, that is fine. If you wish to perform further services, it must be for a licensed attorney in the jurisdiction where the property is located. We have a growing list of attorneys who are forming an informal mentoring network with whom you could work. However, it is not possible that you can, on a some geographically remote basis, perform the services or do the work that is ordinarily performed in a law office --- unless you qualify as a paralegal and you are associated with licensed local counsel. We can support local counsel and educate him or her in this area of increasingly complex litigation. Your financial arrangements would best be through the office of a local attorney rather than directly with a client. If you are providing services to an attorney (with a license in the proper jurisdiction) then you are not offering legal services to the public.

We do find that most 'audit servicers' are either re marketing the services of companies that actually do the work or are trying to perform the services themselves without specific training or experience in doing so. While channeling sales through a conduit is a perfectly proper way of doing business, it is a red flag at the moment for prosecutors and bar associations. Obviously not having the credentials to actually perform the work would tend to work against you if you are requested to perform the audit. We consider a person qualified to perform these audits ONLY if they have prior auditing experience with a financial institution or regulator. And they must have the qualifications to appear as an expert at trial if that becomes necessary. If the 'Auditor' is receiving a fee contingent upon the outcome of the case, the credibility of the expert is severely impaired.

It is our opinion and the opinion of most regulators that most of the work of foreclosure defense and offensive including strategies involving violations of disclosure requirements under TILA or Resolution requirements under RESPA, etc., constitutes the practice of law. Many companies are springing up to try to offer these services and we believe that they are low-hanging fruit for criminal prosecution, regardless of how surprised or offended they are by the interpretation of the law and the legal requirements. For that reason we issue this information prior to commencing any relationship with an entity or person that wishes to offer auditing services.

Assuming you are seeking to offer services within the narrow constraints outlined above, then please send a return email with your acknowledgment and a member of our staff will contact you in order to qualify you and commence contractual work.

Neil F. Garfield, Esq.
ngarfield@msn.com

David/Karen,

I’m curious why you think that “fear” (negative market perception) is any less a real part of the housing market than any other variable that influences prices.

Do you have a similar opinion of “hope” (positive market perceptions)?

I’m leaning towards E. at the moment…

I don’t know, Tony. We’ve got to get real here. Scaring people beyond reasonable “can fix it” is not a good thing.

I would venture to say that at least 80% of all popcorn ceilings have asbestos…maybe as many as 90%.

Can’t say the same thing about “countertops”. What kind of counter top has asbestos? Jeez…we put our food on it. What are the odds that your kitchen counter top has asbestos, and what might it look like if it did?

Interesting interplay and useful contrasting outlooks!

Eleuea, you suggest debt reduction as a prudent strategy (if by that, you mean earning more than you spend, then we are definitely agreed).

Assuming a family had done all it could manage to do to get spending to EQUAL earnings, and that family were to choose between leaving $100K in an interest bearing bank account (let’s say at variable rate of 5%), or borrowing it from RE equity at a variable rate of 6% (no cost to borrow, except interest), which would you choose? Let’s assume that there is an additional cushion of savings for 6 months expenses.

Although hypothetical, it is not designed to be a trick question. I can think of loads of people that could make a similar choice.

And, in the event of a bank collapse, would you suggest that it would be better to have 4 accounts of $25K, than one of $100K, or are you suggesting that paper currency in a SDB would have the most future value?

Preparing for near-worst case scenarios has a pretty high opportunity cost.

For example, if an individual decided in 1960 to invest $2,000 in a well equipped bomb shelter (concrete, fuel, food, ammo), while another individual chose to invest there $2,000 in the stock market or real estate, which individual would be more secure today, or the near term future?

I believe that an individual’s belief in a scenario does have an impact on most outcomes, however, it may be irrelevantly small (think butterfly effect).

A group’s belief in a scenario can have a large (though not necessarily deterministic) effect on an outcome. That is the essence of the creation of market bubbles.

Generally, the individual that has the largest group follow his/her beliefs benefits the most (assuming the individual has previously invested according to his/her beliefs).

I think that has a lot to do with the intelligent disagreements here, even though the opinions are offered with only good intentions.

Where we think it get tricky, is looking at overall numbers vs specific neighborhood numbers. What we’ve found over the years is that activity and prices can change during a period from neighborhood to neighborhood. We believe that the “in-city neighborhoods” like Queen Anne, Magnolia, Wallingford, Ballard, and Bryant have been stronger in sales and retaining prices than other neighborhoods father out from the city core. Granted, there has been a decline, and we think we are back to about 2006 prices and inventory levels have about doubled, but homes are selling if they are priced correctly and we are seeing more of them selling right now than we saw two months ago. We choose to look at that maybe a little more optimistically. Could we see another 12 months of falling prices in King County as a whole, most likely, but maybe we are close to the bottom in these above mentioned areas because there are so many great values right now and these areas should be the first to turn around when this whole mess is over. We also believe that the down turn in Seattle home sales and prices is “more” a matter of fear on the part of buyers from all the bad housing news nationally, rather than the actual Seattle housing market and economy.

« Previous entries Next entries »