NOT ALL THEIEVES ARE STUPID - GOOD END OF YEAR REMINDER!

 

NOT ALL THIEVES ARE  STUPID

1. LONG  - TERM PARKING   Some  people left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose while away, and  someone broke into the car. Using the information on the car's  registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the  people's home in Pebble Beach and robbed it.  So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we  should NOT leave the registration/insurance cards in it, nor your remote  garage door opener. This gives us something to think about with all our  new electronic technology.

2. GPS:  Someone had their car broken into  while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the  green which was adjacent to the football  stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the  ; car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had  been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got  home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just  about everything worth anything had been  stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house.  They then used the garage remote control  to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves  knew the owners were at the football  game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so  they knew how much time they had to clean  out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to  empty the house of its contents. Something  to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it.  Put a nearby address (like a store or  gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no  one else would know where you live if  your GPS were stolen.   3. CELL  PHONES:   I  never thought of this! This lady has now changed her habit of how she  lists her names on her cell phone  after her handbag was  stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet,  etc., was stolen. Twenty minutes later when  she called h er hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened,  hubby says, "I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've  replied a little while ago." When they  rushed down to the  bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text  "hubby" in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20  minutes he had withdrawn all the money from  their bank account.

Moral lesson: a. Do not disclose the relationship  between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names  like Home, Honey, Hub by, Sweetheart, Dad,  Mom, etc. b. And very importantly, when  sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling  back. c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet  them somewhere, be sure to call back to  confirm that the message came from them. If  you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet  "family and friends" who text  you.  4.   PURSE IN THE  GROCERY CART SCAM: A lady went grocery-shopping at a  local mall and left her purse sitting in the children's seat of the cart  while she reached something off a shelf/ Wait  till you read the WHOLE story! Her wallet was stolen, and she reported  it to the store personnel. After  returning home, she received a phone call from the Mall Security to  say tha t they had her wallet and that although  there was no money in it, it did still hold her personal papers. She  immediately went to pick up her wallet, only to  be told by Mall Security that they had not called her. By the time she  returned home again, her house had been  broken into and burglarized. The thieves knew that by calling and saying  they were Mall Security, they could lure  her out of her house long enough for them to burglarize it.

www.callkim.net

Kim Duclos 702-521-3939

According to the FHFA News Release  11/28/2017

FHFA Announces Maximum Conforming Loan Limits For 2018 

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Baseline Limit Will Increase to $453,100         

PageContent

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2018. In most of the U.S., the 2018 maximum conforming loan limit for one-unit properties will be $453,100, an increase from $424,100 in 2017. 

Baseline limit

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) requires that the baseline conforming loan limit be adjusted each year for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reflect the change in the average U.S. home price.  Earlier today, FHFA published its third quarter 2017 House Price Index (HPI) report, which includes estimates for the increase in the average U.S. home value over the last four quarters.  According to FHFA's seasonally adjusted, expanded-data HPI, house prices increased 6.8 percent, on average, between the third quarters of 2016 and 2017.  Therefore, the baseline maximum conforming loan limit in 2018 will increase by the same percentage. 

High-cost area limits

For areas in which 115 percent of the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit the maximum loan limit will be higher than the baseline loan limit.  HERA establishes the maximum loan limit in those areas as a multiple of the area median home value, while setting a "ceiling" on that limit of 150 percent of the baseline loan limit.  Median home values generally increased in high-cost areas in 2017, driving up the maximum loan limits in many areas.  The new ceiling loan limit for one-unit properties in most high-cost areas will be $679,650 — or 150 percent of $453,100. 

Special statutory provisions establish different loan limit calculations for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  In these areas, the baseline loan limit will be $679,650 for one-unit properties, but loan limits may be higher in some specific locations.

As a result of generally rising home values, the increase in the baseline loan limit, and the increase in the ceiling loan limit, the maximum conforming loan limit will be higher in 2018 in all but 71 counties or county equivalents in the U.S.   

Questions about the 2018 conforming loan limits can be addressed to LoanLimitQuestions@fhfa.gov.

 

Please call me and let's begin the home buying process today!

Kim Duclos 702-521-3939

www.callkim.net

 

Thanksgiving Travel

Thanksgiving is a very busy travel time of year and.....

the last thing you want if these holidays is to worry about someone burglarizing your home. I have a check list to add some sense of security and calm while you’re out of town. 1. Ask a trusted friend - to pick up mail, newspaper and keep yard picked up to avoid an appearance of being empty. 2. Consider discontinuing your mail (USPS Hold Mail Service) 3. Don’t post about your trip on Facebook, twitter and other social media until you return – some burglars actually look for this type of announcement to schedule their activities. 4. Do notify your neighborhood watch – especially if you’re going to be gone for more than just a few days. Let your monitoring service know when you’ll be gone and if someone will be checking on your home for you. 5. Light timers make it look like someone is home – use several sets for different times to better simulate someone being at home. 6. Do unplug certain appliances – TV, computers, toaster ovens that use electricity even when they’re off and to protect them from power surges. 7. Don’t hide a key – burglars know exactly where to look for your key and it only takes them a moment to check under the mat, above the door, in the flower pot or in a fake rock. 8. Consider shutting off the water to your home to avoid a possible unattended leak. These simple suggestions will add a level of serenity to your trip. Kim Duclos 702-521-3939   www.callkim.net

 

HAVE YOU BEEN CONFUSED WITH ALL OF THE ANRONYMS USED in TODAY'S WORLD?

...especially in our world of texting and computers

 lol, byw...it can be overwhelming. 

To help when it comes to real estate I have listed a few

of the most common when going through the loan process.

As always, please call with your real estate questions!

702.521.3939

Kim Duclos Realtor® CRS GRI ABR
Elite Realty
8625 S. Eastern Ave.
Las Vegas, NV  89123

(702) 521-3939 cell / duclos24@aol.com   Follow, Friend or Link me: Search Kim Duclos

Recently released data from Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey revealed that rising home prices were the catalyst behind an eight-point jump in the net percentage of respondents who say now is a good time to sell. The index is now 21 points higher than it was this time last year.
Overall, 62% of Americans surveyed said that now is a good time to sell (up from 58%), while

26% of respondents said that now is not a good time to sell (down from 30%). The net score is the difference between the two percentages, or 36%.
According to CoreLogic, home prices are now up 6.7% over last year and 78.8% of homeowners with a mortgage in the US now have significant equity (defined as 20% or more).
As home prices have increased, more and more homeowners have realized that now is a good time to sell their homes in order to take advantage of the extra equity they now have.
At the same time, however, rising prices have had the exact opposite impact on the good-time-to-buy scale as many buyers are nervous that they will not be able to afford a home; the net score dropped 5 points to 18%.
Doug Duncan, Vice President & Chief Economist at Fannie Mae, had this to say,

“In the early stages of the economic expansion, home selling sentiment trailed home buying sentiment by a significant margin. The reverse is true today.
The net good time to sell share is now double the net good time to buy share, with record high percentages of consumers citing home prices as the primary reason for both perceptions. Such a sizable gap between selling and buying sentiment, if it persists, could weigh on the housing market through the rest of the year.”

Buyer demand continues to outpace the supply of homes for sale, which has driven prices up across the country. Until the supply starts to better match demand, there will be a gap between the sentiments surrounding buying and selling.

Bottom Line

If you are considering listing your home for sale this year, now is the time!

 

Give me a call and we will create a plan of action for your next move!

 

Kim Duclos Realtor