The Money Puzzle

The Internet provides us with very useful information that is accurate most of the time, but unfortunately con artists take advantage of this and use it as an opportunity to defraud people. So perhaps you have been scammed and are asking “Where do I report email fraud to the government?”. Let’s address that question.

First let’s define what email fraud is.

Email fraud is any type of deceitful offer that proposes you to act on a illegitimate offer. Some examples are; informing you that you have won the lottery or someone is in need of your help because they have inherited millions of dollars and they will share the money with you if you help them.

There are many scams on the Internet that try and fool you into giving out your credit card details or entering you banking passwords. If you feel your personal details are at risk you should contact your bank immediately. The offers that are being put forward are very appealing and catch many people because of this.

So where do you report email fraud to the government? You can begin by contacting the Federal Trade Commission. You can contact them via telephone or via email. Send the fraudulent email that you received along with any other relevant information to spam@uce.gov. You can also file a complaint online at: ftcComplaintAssistant.gov.

A “419” or Nigerian Letter scam include both impersonation fraud and money scams. These con artists represent themselves as foreign government officials or they are the partner or child of a very wealthy official. They then offer to share millions of dollars with you if you help get the money out of the country. Send information regarding Internet money scams to the United States Secret Service via email on 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov.

Get in touch with your local police department and give them copies of all the relevant information you have.

Go to ic3.gov/default.aspx to report a scam to the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The IC3 is the Internet Crime Complaint Center which will send out information to law enforcement agencies.

Whenever you see fraudulent activity on the Internet you should report it as every time someone does so, we are getting closer to catching these con artists. Cyber crime is on the increase and you can do your part to help reduce it.

This is the sixth installment in our identity theft series. Be sure to check back for updates…

According to our research, one of the most frequently asked questions regarding higher education is “What are the four main types of financial aid?” It is unfortunate that some people are unable to begin or complete their field of study because they simply do not have the money, but there are ways to address this in some form or fashion by using what is called financial aid. Here a look at the four most common approaches to this issue.

1. Grants:

This type of funding can be used for tuition costs as well as any other expense that is directly related to studying. These grants can be given by educational institutions, private organizations, professional associations, and federal and state governments. This type of financial aid is granted upon a student’s financial needs. Grants differ from loans in that they normally do not need to be reimbursed by the student.

2. Scholarships:

Just like grants these do not have to be paid back. They are awarded to students based on performance for certain merits such as sports ability, academics or music abilities. There quite a few scams for scholarships so proceed with caution. Never give you credit card details out for a “one-time fee” in exchange for a scholarship. You should always confirm with the school exactly what kind of scholarship programs they offer.

3. Student Loans:

These differ from the above mentioned in that these must be paid back by the student. Loans can be either subsidized or unsubsidized. When the loan is subsidized the government will pay off the interest owed. If the loan is unsubsidized the interest must be paid off by the student.

4. Work Study Programs:

This type of aid allows the tuition fees to be deferred by the student who works in a particular field at the same time as attending school. There are no loans involved so you won’t have to pay with money, but instead you will be paying with the work that you do.

Again, these are the common types of financial aid. Grants and scholarships involve no money on the student’s side, while student loans do. Work study programs have to be reimbursed by means of working for an organization which is exchanged for your tuition fees.

 With any type of financial aid there is a lot of paper work and organization that needs to be both initially will the application and once the aid has been granted. It is very important to start the process of getting funding as soon as possible as many of these financial aids work on a first come first serve basis. You could jeopardize your position and you may have to wait a full school year before you can start studying. You now know the answer to your question of “What are the four basic types of financial aid?”

This is the third installment in our student loan series. Be sure to check back for updates…

So you’ve decided to file for bankruptcy and you can’t afford the expense to file for it. The question is then often asked if you can file for bankruptcy for free. We will be discussing the possibilities and the process involved of going about filing for bankruptcy.

Filing for bankruptcy can be a very expensive process. There are three main costs involved. First there are the the attorney fees, next the court costs and filing fees, and last there are the credit counseling classes.

There are new laws that require you to go to credit and financial management classes to help you to avoid filing altogether. These cost about $60. It is possible to get the classes free of charge but it is difficult process. The filing fess cost about $300 but it is the attorney fees that are the most expensive. You may be able to get legal services for free. To see if you qualify for free or pro bono legal services you should contact your local bar association. There are legal clinics that offer these services and you can find information about them on court websites.

It is possible to file for bankruptcy for free. The forms for filing for free are available online from the bankruptcy court in your district. There is a procedure in the bankruptcy code that allows the debtor to ask for bankruptcy filing fee to be waived.

There are several criteria that will determine if you can file for free. They are based on how bad your financial position is. You will have to submit every bank statement you have along with any other documents regarding your monthly expenses. It will take a lot of perseverance and you may still not get granted the waiver.

Bankruptcy is a complicated procedure involving both state and federal laws. It is not advisable to file for bankruptcy for free because it may cost more to fix the procedure than to initially pay for legal advice and retain a lawyer during the process. The process is very technical and if you miss a crucial step you may affect your rights.

Bankruptcy cannot be erased from your credit report. If you see services that offer this, they are almost always illegal services and should be avoided at all costs. The best thing to do is build up a new credit rating from scratch.

It is always recommended that you use a lawyer to assist you through the process. The process involved of filing for free takes a lot of time and administration, but can you file for bankruptcy for free? Yes it is possible, but not recommended.

This is the third installment in our bankruptcy series. Be sure to check back for updates…

If you are deep in debt and you need to know how to negotiate with credit card companies, then you should read this article. Specifically we will be discussing how to correctly go about negotiating for the most beneficial outcome.

There are two scenarios at play. First you are managing to make your payments every month but it’s an uphill battle, or you can’t make your payments at all.

So how do you negotiate with credit card companies to reduce your monthly payments? Well you could ask for a lower interest rate. If you have been making payments on time this option might be available to you. It depends on whether you have been keeping up payments every month and what your current balance is. You need to phone your bank and speak to someone who has a higher position than a customer service agent as they will not be able to help you and will probably just say that it isn’t possible when it is. Speak to the branch manager or someone in loss mitigation and ask if they will lower your interest rate. The easiest way of getting a lower rate is to tell them that you have been offered a lower rate elsewhere.

The second scenario is when you can’t pay your payments at all. If you are late on payment and especially if you are three months behind or more you may be able to negotiate a deal. If you cannot pay off your balance they have the option of handing over your debt to a collection agency but this takes a lot of time and costs them a lot of money. The next option is that they will accept a portion of the debt from you and they will write the rest off. This option comes with a downside as this will show up and your credit history and report, however it may be your only option. You have negotiating power because you can either pay off a certain amount or nothing. They are surely going to accept the offer of a sum of money as opposed to nothing.

Continuing onward, these are the steps you need to carry out next. First, begin by calculating the exact amount you can pay. Once you have worked this out and you have an offer phone up the bank and again ask for either the branch manager or someone in loss mitigation. Always record the information of the person you spoke to, the time and day that you spoke to them, the exact telephone number that you dialed, and the outcome of the call. You need to keep on trying as the answers you may get will not be in line with each other. It would also be a good idea if you could make an appointment to go into the bank and speak to someone who could help you.

Negotiating with the credit card companies will be a difficult process but once an offer has been accepted it is very important that you get it in writing. Now you know how to negotiate with credit card companies.

This is the eighth installment in our credit & debt series. Be sure to check back for updates…

By Greg Jordan

It is a great sadness today that more people have to choose if they should let the bank foreclose on their home. Today, this decision is happening at all income levels, and homeowners and investment property owners decide sometimes to simply walk away and let the bank foreclose, thinking that it is the easier choice.

The truth is that unless you are wealthy, and plan on paying for everything in the future with cash, you should avoid foreclosure if at all possible. And if you’re that wealthy, you ought to pay your debt anyway.

This article describes general factors that I have uncovered in working through attorneys and brokers in my real estate business, which may give you some idea of important differences between a foreclosure and a short sale. Standard warnings apply here – seek the advice of an attorney who understands your specific situation before making your decisions.

First, let’s understand that foreclosure is the bank’s way of satisfying their financial claim against the property when the homeowner fails to pay per the note terms. They have that claim because when buying the house, the homeowner gave them a mortgage to secure the loan the homeowner took out. Every state has in place its own laws for this process, so it’s best to check with the state that you are in for details that affect you.

A short sale is actually a pre-foreclosure process that allows the homeowner to sell the property with the bank’s approval, for less than what is owed to the bank. After a short sale, depending on the financial situation of the owner, and their policies, the bank will either seek a judgment against the owner for the balance, or not. If they do not pursue a judgment, the homeowner will still have to face the IRS, who views the forgiven mortgage balance as phantom income.

So, if someone, either the bank, or the IRS is going to come after the balance, or the taxes, why would anyone want to do a short sale? Why not just walk away and let the bank foreclose? Because in most states, the bank has the same rights – they can still seek a judgment against the homeowner after foreclosure.

Here are some other considerations that figure into this decision:

• With a foreclosure, your credit score may be lowered by 250 to 300 points. Typically they affect your score for over 3 years. In a short sale, the credit score is lowered by 50 points and the mortgage will be reported as paid or negotiated, while affecting your score for 12 to 18 months.
• A foreclosure remains on the credit history for 10 years or more. A short sale is not reported on a credit history. It is usually reported as “settled for less than the full amount”.
• A foreclosure in many cases is grounds for immediate reassignment or termination. A short sale is not a challenge to employment.
• A foreclosure is a serious challenge to a security clearance, in almost all cases resulting in a denial or revocation of a security clearance. A short sale is not a challenge to a security clearance.
• A foreclosure takes much longer to process than does a short sale, resulting in a higher amount of the deficiency judgment for additional taxes, maintenance, and interest costs. A short sale will usually have a much smaller judgment associated with it.
• A homeowner who loses a home to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae mortgage for five years. A short sale homeowner is eligible for a Fannie Mae backed mortgage after only two years.

No one I am sure, wanted to be in a situation to have to make this choice. It is best of course to seek as much help as possible to avoid either one, but if forced to choose, the short sale route is truly the lesser of two evils.

Greg Jordan is an agent for the Keller Williams Company. He has been a businessman, an entrepreneur and an investor, who has been involved in real estate transactions for over 20 years.

Visit: http://www.yourfloridarealtyteam.com for information and Florida Real Estate Services.

Visit: http://www.realtimerealestateideas.com for Greg’s blog with local and national information that affect us all in real estate today.

 This is the eighth installment in our foreclosure series. Be sure to check back for updates…