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 When they  rushed down to the  bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn.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 Within 20  minutes he had withdrawn all the money from  their bank account.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         

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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