Cheryl Bowers, Plainfield, Naperville, IL. Real Estate

Consumers are proving they can turn back time on identity theft by following a prescribed program of diligent document protection and criminal deterrence.

A well-measured program of preventive steps can protect your identity from theft.

ID theft-related fraud fell by 12 percent in 2007 and 300,000 fewer adults were victims, according to the latest from Javelin Strategy & Research, the longest-running ID theft study in the nation.

At the top of the list of reasons for the decline is "greater consumer vigilance and awareness," according to the report.

When someone steals your identity, you don't wander around aimlessly like some John or Jane Doe. Someone pilfers enough of your personal identifying information --name, address, Social Security Number, drivers license, credit and financial account numbers and the like -- then masquerades as you to make purchases, withdraw cash or otherwise undermine your financial assets and your name.

ID theft can cost you time and money (averaging $691, according to the report) to correct the misdeed and it can ruin your credit enough to prevent you from making major purchases including buying a home.

Companies that manage personal information have improved their ID theft protection measures, but consumers who protect their own personal information is the first line of defense.

Here's what Javelin suggests.

• Move your financial transactions online by turning off paper invoices, statements and checks, including paychecks, and replacing them with electronic versions where offered by employers, banks, utilities or merchants. Avoid mailing checks to pay bills or deposit funds in your banking account. Instead, pay bills online and use remote deposit check imaging services on online banking sites.

This effort rubs out the paper trail. Crooks are more likely to steal information on paper, from personal belongings and through telephone calls, rather than online.

• Monitor your accounts regularly online at bank and credit card websites. Americans who monitor their accounts online are most likely to uncover suspicious or unauthorized activity early.

• Likewise, review your credit information frequently. You can do so three times a year for free at the federally-sanctioned AnnualCreditReport.com by getting one report, from each of the three major credit reporting agencies -- Equifax, Experian and Transunion -- in turn, every four months.

• Reduce unnecessary access to your personal information wherever possible. For example, don't carry Social Security cards, unused credit cards or checks, and don't leave sensitive documents out in the open.

• Never provide sensitive financial information over the phone or Internet, including Social Security numbers, passwords, PINs or account numbers, unless you placed the call directly to a verified and trusted location, such as the number on back of a credit card or statement.

• Add your name to the federal Do Not Call registry and direct marketing opt-out lists to reduce solicitations that could be bogus.

Even as overall ID theft has fallen, "vishing," criminals using telecommunications, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and like methods, is on the rise. That's because, as more consumers shift more transactions to secure online services, thieves are becoming more creative on the telephone claiming to represent non-profit and charitable operations.

In the same vein, wireless phone accounts have become the most frequent types of new accounts opened fraudulently by criminals using stolen data. The trend exceeds that of fraudulent new credit cards, loans, checking or savings accounts.

• Install and regularly update firewall, browser, anti-spyware, and anti-virus security software on your personal computer, and keep operating systems updated. Updates typically come with spyware, virus and other protections.

• Consider placing a credit freeze on your credit report or your child's credit report if you know you won't be using credit for some time. Child ID theft is on the rise because thieves know you and your kid aren't likely to check the child's credit report for some time due to a lack of credit use. Check your state's "credit freeze" law. The cost may be nominal or free. The three credit reporting agencies offer the service for a fee.

• If you are an ID theft victim, report it to the police, affected accounts, and call any one of the three credit bureaus to have a fraud alert placed on your account to prevent future infractions as you sort out the mess. Contact one bureau to place a fraud alert on your credit report and that company is required to notify the other two so that they too can place an alert on their versions of your report.

Recently came across this information thought some of you might find it interesting.

The Senate Banking Committee has just passed the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008 by an overwhelming and bipartisan vote of 19-2.

Buried in the proposed legislation is something new and revolutionary, an effort to stop mortgage walk-aways.

Walk-aways arise when a borrower can no longer make monthly mortgage payments or sell the property. Rather than wait for foreclosure, the borrower simply sends the keys back to the lender. This is not a minor matter. Fitch Ratings reports that "the apparent willingness of borrowers to 'walk away' from mortgage debt has contributed to extraordinarily high levels of early default, which is particularly noticeable in the 2007 vintage mortgages."

Unfortunately, sending back the keys is not the same thing as giving up title. The lender must get the public records changed, a process made both difficult and expensive when a borrower cannot be found.

Worse, while property ownership is in limbo the home can be damaged by weather, vandals and squatters.

The Senate legislation addresses the walk away issue by saying that before borrowers can get FHA financing they must certify that they have not intentionally defaulted on any debt, not just their current mortgage. Lying about this issue can be considered perjury, and perjury can result in a jail sentence.

No less important, if a homeowner has walked away from an FHA loan, then the borrower would have to repay the government for any loss on the property -- potentially tens of thousands of dollars. In the same way that we should hold lenders to certain standards, borrowers also have an obligation to meet certain requirements. Sending back the keys -- creating so-called "jingle mail" -- is not fair and it's not right. The Senate committee has the correct idea: Walking away from a mortgage should not be a free pass to new financing, especially financing insured by the federal government.

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About the author:

Cheryl Bowers is a Chicagoland Area Residential Real Estate Expert, who can assist you with the purchase and/or sale of real estate in Plainfield, Naperville, Aurora Illinois or any place in the country. Cheryl has created a team of professionals throughout the Chicago suburbs to ensure that you enjoy a smooth transition to your new area. Please visit http://www.cherylbowers.com/ for your real estate needs. Please give me a call if you have questions about the Plainfield, Naperville, and Aurora real estate market.

Cheryl Bowers, REALTOR® (630) 712-1921

(Copyright © 2008 By Cheryl Bowers, Realtor. All Rights Reserved.)

Update

Fannie Mae nixes extra five percent down in "declining markets." On May 16, the country's largest secondary mortgage market company, Fannie Mae, announced that it will no longer require borrowers to put up an extra five percent down payment when purchasing homes in areas deemed "declining markets." According to an NAR: "Fannie Mae had been hearing concerns from REALTORS and others for months that its declining-markets policy was bad for the housing market because it discouraged consumers from buying homes in markets hardest-hit by foreclosures."

About the author:

Cheryl Bowers is a Chicagoland Area Residential Real Estate Expert, who can assist you with the purchase and/or sale of real estate in Plainfield, Naperville, Aurora Illinois or any place in the country. Cheryl has created a team of professionals throughout the Chicago suburbs to ensure that you enjoy a smooth transition to your new area. Please visit www.cherylbowers.com for your real estate needs. Please give me a call if you have questions about the Plainfield, Naperville, and Aurora real estate market.

Cheryl Bowers, REALTOR® (630) 712-1921

(Copyright © 2008 By Cheryl Bowers, Realtor. All Rights Reserved.)

Here's a great article from Inman News:

Sellers, pay attention to lowball offers

If home's been on market awhile, it's time to rethink strategy

By Dian Hymer, Monday, May 19, 2008.

Inman News

Selling a home can be an emotional experience because most sellers have a lot more than money invested in their homes. So, it's understandable that sellers might be reluctant to respond to an offer that is for less than the asking price.

Most sellers have a difficult time being objective about their homes. But, detachment is something sellers should strive for, particularly when the market favors buyers. To be a successful seller in a buyer's market, you need to be able to put yourself in the buyer's shoes. Ask yourself if you were a buyer if you would pay the price you would like to ask for your home.

In a soft market, like we are currently experiencing in many parts of the country, buyers are prone to make a low offer on any listing that doesn't receive offers from more than one buyer. The exception is when a listing is priced so competitively that a buyer recognizes a good deal and buys the property before others have a chance.

Some sellers might be inclined to inflate their asking price so that they will have room to bargain with a buyer. This is a risky strategy for serious sellers. In a buyers' market where there are a lot of homes for sale, the best listings at the best prices sell.

The listings that don't sell usually need price reductions to get them to a marketable range. If the market is trending downwards, this could mean selling for a lower price than might have been possible if the listing had been priced competitively to begin with.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Sellers whose homes are not competitively priced are prime targets for low offers. Even if your home is not badly priced, you could receive a lower-than-asking-price offer if market conditions are uncertain. Rather than being insulted by a low offer, sellers should view it as the beginning of a dialogue that could result in a sale.

Pay close attention to the buyer's financial capability. Gone are the days where buyers could buy a home with little or no cash down, and without verifiable income. Today's buyers are subjected to far more financial scrutiny by lenders than they were a year ago.

Ideally, buyers should be preapproved for the financing they need before they make an offer. If they are not, make sure there is a clause in the purchase contract that requires the buyers to apply for financing within a several days of acceptance.

Find out what kind of financing the buyers are applying for and which lender they intend to use. Some mortgage lenders recently failed to fund buyers' loans at the last minute. Make sure your buyers receive underwriting approval from a bona fide lender. The number of days for lender approval should also be included in the contract.

Sellers who receive an offer that is unacceptable regarding any of its terms and conditions -- not just the price -- should have their agent draft a counteroffer. Buyers and sellers often don't know in advance what price they'll accept until they're in the midst of a negotiation.

For example, a seller who bought another home before selling might accept a lower price if his house has been on the market awhile and the buyer's offer is not contingent on the sale of another property, and if the transaction will close quickly. Likewise, a buyer could agree to pay more than he thought he would if interest rates were to drop.

THE CLOSING: The counteroffer process can happen quickly or it can be long and tedious. Be prepared to explore all options before letting a negotiation fail.