Springfield, OR

You read my last post about some of the problems encountered with a foreclosed property and have gotten yourself set up with a knowledgeable lender and are ready to proceed with the next step in the process. This step in purchasing a foreclosure is probably one of the most important there is in the process, especially for the first time home buyer. If you have bought a home before, you may already be familiar with the process, but if you haven't, it can be daunting. That is why step two is: Finding the right Realtor®.

I am not the world’s greatest expert on Realtors®, however I know the ones that I have worked with and understand professional behavior. I know there are Realtors® that can work as the listing agent and the selling agent, but personally, I believe that a buyer should be represented by their own agent and not risk the possible conflict of having a listing agent as your buying agent. The only thing worse, in my opinion, is having your Realtor® also as your loan officer. Now, that I have that out of the way, how do you determine who the right Realtor® is for you? Here are some of my criteria:

1. Find someone that you respect.
2. Find someone that you trust.
3. Find someone that you will listen to and will listen to you.
4. Find someone that you believe.
5. Find a professional.

Do they have to be a man? a woman? young? old? in Eugene? in Springfield? The simple answer is, yes. Your Realtor® should be someone that you decide. Ask them questions and develop a rapport. Tell them what you want. Make certain they are familiar with the area you want to live in.

Can I recommend someone to you? Absolutely! There are a number of Realtors® that are linked to my website and I can recommend all of them highly. For specific recommendations, I have specific people in mind.

A good Realtor® will have access to all of the foreclosed properties in the area you are looking in. This Realtor should be able to narrow the choices from what you have shared but often, the property descriptions are not as accurate as they should be, so you might be looking at properties that are not as suitable as others. Trust your Realtor® and keep faith they will find the right place for you.

Here, I want to talk about loyalty. If you are spending time with a Realtor® and they are taking you to houses that are within your parameters, give them your loyalty. That means that if you go to an open house and the Realtor® at the open house asks if you are working with someone, say yes! If your Realtor® is not showing you what you are looking for, doesn’t return your calls or doesn’t seem to care, then find someone that does. Call me; I will set you up with someone that cares.

OK, this is pretty long, so tune in next time to find out what you need to do once you have found that perfect house (well, it will be after repairs). To understand more about the buying phase, read this article from one of my Realtor® partners, Lori Palermo.

The following e-mail looks really official. As a matter of fact, the e-mail address it came from looks really official, memberservice@suneast.org. I know it looks official because I checked out SunEast Federal Credit Union on the internet and found that their website is www.suneast.org so the e-mail has to be right, right? Wrong! This is just another example of phishing or spoofing that is happening more and more on the web. These seemingly real e-mails come asking you to access your account through the link provided (this time through a telephone number) and then they have you.

My first indication that something was wrong was pretty easy, I don't have an account with SunEast. As a matter of fact, I can't figure out why I would possibly have an account with a Pennsylvania Credit Union when I live in Oregon. But they are not the only financial organization being attacked. I have gotten phishing attempts on Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo and Bank of America. The pirates are out there trying to get your information.

What do you do? Well, just deleting the phishing e-mail is OK, but better would be forwarding it to the financial institution that is being phished. Most organizations have a specific email set up at at something like spoof@financialcompany.com. In this case, I called Sun East and found out they want theirs sent to a specific person. If you are getting phishing e-mails, don't respond. Check them out. Forward the e-mail. Help get these guys caught.

UPDATE 1/8/2009: Hi, this is just an update. I got another phishing e-mail this morning on PayPal. Since the e-mail address I received this on is not listed on my paypal account, I knew it was a spoof so I forwarded it to spoof@paypal.com. Here is their response:

Hello Fred Chamberlin,

Thanks for forwarding that suspicious-looking email. You're right - it was a phishing attempt, and we're working on stopping the fraud. By reporting the problem, you've made a difference!

Identity thieves try to trick you into revealing your password or other personal information through phishing emails and fake websites. To learn more about online safety, click "Security Center" on any PayPal webpage.

Every email counts. When you forward suspicious-looking emails to spoof@paypal.com, you help keep yourself and others safe from identity theft.

Your account security is very important to us, so we appreciate your extra effort.

Thanks,

PayPal

This email is sent to you by the contracting entity to your User Agreement, either PayPal Ince, PayPal Pte. Ltd or PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. & Cie, S.C.A. Société en Commandite par Actions, Registered Office:

5th Floor 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg RCS Luxembourg B 118 349.

authored by Fred Chamberlin, senior mortgage consultant, Eugene/Springfield, OR, 541-342-7576