6 Reasons Home Sellers Should Google Their Address

The amount of information available on the web is staggering. Google indexes billions and billions of web pages, and has an index of roughly 100 million gigabytes. With virtually any type of information imaginable, it makes sense for homeowners to do regular internet searches for their home’s address and be aware of what type of information is available about their property and their neighborhood on the web.

Home Buyers Google Too

Prospective buyers and tenants are googling homes of interest to them- to find comparable properties, past sales, crime reports, neighborhood information, and much more. If your homeowners are thinking of selling or renting their property, make sure they are prepared for what prospects might see.

What They Might Find

The most common results will be other homes for sale or recently sold, a Google map to the property, crime reports and foreclosure reports for the area. All of these items could influence a prospective buyer or tenant. Additionally, there may be personal information about the homeowner that could influence how a prospective buyer negotiates an offer. Savvy buyers and sellers are searching for any information that might give them a leg up on negotiations.

More unusual finds could include historic information about the neighborhood, unknown or unusual property history and more. In addition to just searching their specific address, homeowners should search their own name, their street name and the subdivision or neighborhood they live in.

Source: Trulia, Ginger Wilcox

Sorting Through Mortgage Lending Costs

Although the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the federal agency created to oversee mortgage lending, only recently opened, the Bureau started looking at ways to protect consumers during the loan-shopping period long before it’s official start date.

What You Should Know

The bureau is exploring avenues for combining the two forms that borrowers currently receive – the three-page Good Faith Estimate and the two-page Truth in Lending Act form.  These forms tell would-be borrowers the terms of their loan – for instance, how payments on an adjustable-rate mortgage change.  They also lay out fees.

Fees can make a big difference when comparison shopping.  The simplest way to compare loans is by looking at the Annual Percentage Rate, or A.P.R.  That calculation rolls in fees as well as the stated interest rate.  Because lenders are required to follow the same formula, useful comparisons can be made.

Borrowers are advised to request a Good Faith Estimate from every lender they approach.  While the Good Faith Estimate is in place to help borrowers, according to one lender, some lenders may provide interest-rate quotations that expire almost instantaneously, making it difficult for buyers to comparison shop.

Borrowers should be wary if they receive two or three different Good Faith Estimates and there is a difference of several thousand dollars.

Source: New York Times

10 Ways to Snack Smarter & Stay Slim

Eating a snack or two between meals can curb hunger so that you don’t inhale the dining room table when you finally sit down to supper. Snacking can also help you get in all the nutrients you need. On the flipside, grazing all day—particularly on foods of little nutritional value—may result in eating too much and packing on extra pounds. The key is taking a smart approach to snacking.

Here are ten simple strategies to get you started.

Keep chewing. One study found that people who chewed almonds thoroughly (up to 40 chews) felt full longer than those who chewed the same amount of nuts fewer times. Snack on citrus. Grapefruit’s “diet food” rep might be justified: one study found that when people simply ate grapefruit with each meal, they lost up to 3 1/2 pounds over three months. Grapefruit may help manage appetite by lowering insulin levels, say researchers. 
 

Keep chickpeas in the pantry. They have a meaty texture and a nutty flavor along with plenty of satiating fiber and a little protein—perfect when you’re watching your weight. 
 

Toss grapes in the freezer for an easy snack. Because they’re sweet and you savor them individually and slowly, you’ll get a lot of satisfaction for just a handful of calories. 
 

Include a treat every day. Believe it or not, giving yourself little treats may be the secret to losing weight—for good. Aiming to be “too good” sets you up to fail. If you like a glass of wine with dinner, make room for it. Prefer dessert? Skip the drink and go for a low-calorie chocolate treat instead.
 

Snack (and multitask) mindfully. Munching mindlessly in front of the TV is a surefire way to gain unnecessary pounds—but that doesn’t mean you can never enjoy your favorite program over a bowl of freshly popped popcorn or (fill in your favorite snack). Instead of popping a big bag of microwave popcorn, for example, choose a “mini” 100-calorie bag. And be sure to account for those calories elsewhere in your day. 
 

Use snacks to fill nutritional gaps. Use snacks to fill nutritional gaps. Make your snacks count. Choose those that provide calcium and fiber—two nutrients that people often skimp on. Two snacks to try: a cup of yogurt with a half-cup of whole-grain cereal mixed in, or a skim latte plus an apple. 
 

Brown-bag your snack. Skip the vending machine and satisfy the afternoon “munchies” with a healthy snack you packed at home. You’ll save money and get a bigger bang for your nutritional buck. Try an ounce of almonds and an orange or a handful of pretzels with some hummus. Planning snacks that provide both carbohydrates and protein will help tide you over until dinner. 
 

Choose your “midnight” snack wisely. If a good night’s sleep is what you crave, there may be a food combination to help. Specialists recommend a pre-slumber snack that’s rich in carbohydrates and contains a bit of protein; this combination is said to increase the tryptophan levels in the brain, causing you to sleep more soundly. Try low-fat yogurt with a sprinkle of granola, a small bowl of oatmeal or a sliced apple with a bit of peanut butter. 
 

Don’t get tripped up by travel. However often you fly, prepare in advance so you’ll have healthy snacks to eat en route. For shorter flights, pack a quarter-cup of dried fruit, such as apricots, a handful of almonds and a few whole-wheat crackers as healthier alternatives to the salty snacks served in-flight. Sip plenty of water; low humidity and re-circulating cabin air can be dehydrating.

Source: Life Line Screening

Keep Your Skin Looking Younger

More than a million Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer this year, which by the way is the most common type of cancer. Good sunscreen habits mean protecting skin from the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays from the outside in. But, as a registered dietitian, I know that one can also protect skin from the inside out. In fact, a study published in March in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology supports just that—certain vitamins do help to protect our skin. So I dug through the scientific literature to come up with a list of foods that we could eat to help us protect our skin.

What I discovered is that many of the same foods that can boost defenses against skin cancer will also help keep my skin looking younger and smoother and ward off wrinkles, and vice versa.

Strawberries

Eating more vitamin C-rich foods may help to ward off wrinkles and age-related dryness, suggests research from 2007 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vitamin C’s skin-smoothing effects may be due to its ability to mop up free radicals produced from ultraviolet rays and also its role in collagen synthesis. Collagen is fibrous protein that keeps skin firm and vitamin C is essential for collagen production. Other research suggests that vitamin C may also protect skin cells by promoting the repair of DNA that’s been damaged by UV rays. You can find vitamin C in a multitude of cosmetics (of which some have been shown to be effective in protecting skin), but why not go straight to the source for a tasty boost of vitamin C: strawberries, red bell peppers, papaya, broccoli and oranges are all excellent sources.

Coffee

It’s good to know that drinking coffee may lower our risk of developing skin cancer. In one study of more than 93,000 women, published in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention, those who drank even a single daily cup of caffeinated coffee reduced their risk of developing non melanoma skin cancer by about 10 percent. And the more they drank—up to about 6 cups or so per day—the lower their risk. Decaf didn’t seem to offer the same protection. These findings add to a body of research that suggests caffeine, in both coffee and tea, is the protective ingredient. In another study—where mice were exposed to harmful sunburn-causing ultraviolet B rays—caffeine inhibited the formation of skin tumors. Caffeine basically kills precancerous and ultraviolet-damaged skin cells by blocking a protein that they need to divide, explains Paul Nghiem, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of dermatology at the University of Washington Medical School. The effects of caffeine on skin are modest, so it’s not a reason to start drinking coffee—it’s just “one more reason to enjoy it if you already do,” says Nghiem.

Tomatoes

Consuming more lycopene—the carotenoid that makes tomatoes red, carrots orange and gives pink grapefruit and watermelon a pink-red hue—may keep your skin smooth and protect it from sunburn. In a study published in 2008 in the European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, researchers found that of the 20 individuals studied, those who had higher skin concentrations of lycopene had smoother skin. And in another study, participants who were exposed to UV light had almost 50 percent less skin reddening after they ate 2 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste or drank about 1 2/3 cups of carrot juice daily, in addition to their regular diet, for 10 to 12 weeks. Supplements, however, weren’t as effective: in the same study, those who received a lycopene supplement or synthetic lycopene weren’t significantly protected against sunburn. And lycopene isn’t the only carotenoid that shields your skin from UV damage; others, including lutein, found in corn, kale, spinach, summer squash and egg yolks, and beta carotene, found in pumpkin, sweet potato, spinach and carrots, appear to also have a protective effect.

Edamame

Soy foods, including edamame, tofu and soymilk, may help to preserve skin-firming collagen—which begins to decline starting in our twenties—because they’re rich in isoflavones. In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, mice fed isoflavones and exposed to UV radiation had fewer wrinkles and smoother skin than mice that were exposed to UV light but didn’t get isoflavones. The researchers believe that isoflavones help prevent collagen breakdown. Like lycopene and vitamin C, isoflavones also act like antioxidants, scavenging for and mopping up free radicals caused by sun exposure.

Salmon

The omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA (docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids, respectively) found in fatty fish (tuna, sardines, trout and salmon) may shield cell walls from free-radical damage caused by UV rays, according to a 2009 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Omega-3s also help to prevent skin cancer by reducing inflammatory compounds that can promote tumor growth, says Homer S. Black, Ph.D., professor emeritus in the Department of Dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Those same fish may help keep your skin looking youthful, too, as EPA has been shown to preserve collagen. Aim to eat two servings of fatty fish each week: not only are the omega-3s good for your skin, they’re good for your heart too. 

Still, nothing beats sunscreen—and, admittedly, I’m a sucker for a great skin-saving lotion, cream or serum—but Andy and I will also be adding more of these foods to our diet.

Overexposed?

Spending hours exposed to the rays that give you a bronzy tan will increase your risk of developing skin cancer and accelerate your skin’s aging process. Here’s how: ultraviolet (UV) rays break the chemical bonds of skin cells, killing them and damaging their DNA, which may eventually cause cancerous growth. Both forms of UV light can lead to cancer. UVB is the type that helps your body synthesize vitamin D—but too much of it causes sunburn, and although it’s the form of UV that we’re most familiar with, it only makes up a small fraction of what we’re exposed to. The vast majority of UV light we receive is actually UVA light. UVA penetrates deeper into the skin than UVB, creating damage before there’s any visible sunburn. It’s also a major contributor to premature skin aging.

Source: Life Line Screening

77-year old Glendale man airlifted after Fall

Yesterday morning, an L.A. County Sheriff team found and rescued a 77 year old man who fell 40 feet in the Deukmejian Wilderness Park at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains in La Crescenta.

No word yet about his condition.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence IndexR Increases Slightly

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had declined in June, improved slightly in July. The Index now stands at 59.5 (1985=100), up from 57.6 in June. The Present Situation Index decreased to 35.7 from 36.6. The Expectations Index rose to 75.4 from 71.6 last month.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by The Nielsen Company, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for July’s preliminary results was July 14, 2011.

Says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center: “Consumer confidence posted a modest gain in July, the result of an improvement in consumers’ short-term outlook.  Consumers’ appraisal of current business and employment conditions, however, was less favorable as concerns about the labor market continue to weigh on consumers’ attitudes. Overall, consumers remain apprehensive about the future, but some of the concern expressed last month has abated.”

Consumers’ assessment of current day conditions weakened further in July. Those stating business conditions are “good” decreased to 13.4 percent from 13.7 percent, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” increased to 39.0 percent from 38.4 percent. Consumers’ appraisal of the job market was also less favorable. Those claiming jobs are “hard to get” increased to 44.1 percent from 43.2 percent, while those stating jobs are “plentiful” remained unchanged at 5.1 percent.

Consumers’ short-term outlook improved moderately in July. The proportion of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased to 17.7 percent from 16.5 percent. However, those anticipating business conditions will worsen also increased, to 15.2 percent from 14.9 percent.

Consumers were also mixed about the outlook for the labor market over the next six months. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased to 16.7 percent from 13.8 percent. However, those expecting fewer jobs also increased to 21.8 percent from 20.7 percent. The proportion of consumers anticipating an increase in their incomes rose to 15.7 percent from 14.1 percent.

The next release is scheduled for Tuesday, August 30, at 10:00 AM E

June 2011 CA Real Estate Fast Facts

CA Median Home Price: $295,300.

CA Highest Median Home Price by County: Marin: $843,080.

CA Lowest Median Home Price by County: Lake County $85,620.

CA Pending Home Sales Index: An increase of 1.9 percent compared with prior month.

  CA First-time Buyer Affordability Index: First quarter 2011: 53 percent.

Source: C.A.R.

Mortgage Rates Week Ending 7/21/2011

30-yr Fixed: 4.52 fees/points: 0.7%

15-yr Fixed: 3.66 fees/points: 0.7%

1-yr. Adjustable: 2.97% Fees/points: 0.5%

Source: Freddie Mac

Some Seasonal Improvement in Home Prices

Data through May 2011, released yesterday by S&P Indices for its S&P/Case- Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, showed a second consecutive month of increase in prices for the 10- and 20-City Composites. The 10- and 20-City Composites were up 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively, in May over April. Sixteen of the 20 MSAs and both Composites posted positive monthly increases; Detroit, Las Vegas and Tampa were down over the month and Phoenix was unchanged.

On an annual basis, Washington DC was the only MSA with a positive rate of change, up 1.3%. The

remaining 19 MSAs and the 10- and 20- City Composites were down in May 2011 versus the same month

last year. Minneapolis fared the worst posting a double-digit decline of 11.7%.

The chart above depicts the annual returns of the 10-City and the 20-City Composite Home Price Indices.

In May 2011, the 10- and 20-City Composites recorded annual returns of -3.6% and -4.5%, respectively.

Both Composites and 11 MSAs – Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New

York, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle and Tampa – saw their annual rates worsen in May compared to April.

“We see some seasonal improvements with May’s data,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index

Committee at S&P Indices. “This is a seasonal period of stronger demand for houses, so monthly price

increases are to be expected and were seen in 16 of the 20 cities. The exceptions where prices fell were

Detroit, Las Vegas and Tampa. However, 19 of 20 cities saw prices drop over the last 12 months. The

concern is that much of the monthly gains are only seasonal.

“Other recent housing statistics show that single-family housing starts were up moderately in June, and are at about the same pace as a year ago. Existing-home sales were flat in June, reportedly because of contract cancellations and tight credit. The S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default indices showed a continuing decline in mortgage default rates since last winter. Other reports confirm that banks have tightened lending standards in the past year, making it harder to qualify for a mortgage despite very low interest rates.

Combined, these data all support a continuation of the ‘bounce-along-the-bottom’ scenario we have

witnessed in the housing market over the past two years. “While the monthly data were encouraging, most MSAs and both Composites fared poorly in annual terms. We have now seen two consecutive months of generally improving prices; however, we might have a long way to go before we see a real recovery. Sustained increases in home prices over several months and better annual results need to be

seen before we can confirm real estate market recovery.”

The table below summarizes the Los Angeles results for May 2011. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are revised for the 24 prior months, based on the receipt of additional source data.

May 2011             May/April           April/March      

Metropolitan Area          Level                     Change (%)         Change (%)         1-Year Change (%)

Los Angeles                        169.07                   0.5%                      0.3%                      -3.2%

Since its launch in early 2006, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices have published, and the markets

have followed and reported on, the non-seasonally adjusted data set used in the headline indices. For

analytical purposes, Standard & Poor’s does publish a seasonally adjusted data set covered in the

headline indices, as well as for the 17 of 20 markets with tiered price indices and the five condo markets

that are tracked.

These indices are generated and published under agreements between Standard & Poor’s and Fiserv, Inc.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are produced by Fiserv, Inc. In addition to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, Fiserv also offers home price index sets covering thousands of zip codes, counties, metro areas, and state markets. The indices, published by Standard & Poor’s, represent just a

small subset of the broader data available through Fiserv.

Source: Case Schiller, New July 26, 2011

Foothill Blvd Truck Accident Driver Convicted

A jury today convicted a commercial truck driver of involuntary manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving causing injury in the fatal 2009 crash in La Canada Flintridge that killed a 12-year-old girl and her father.

The jury of 10 men and two women found Marcos Barbosa Costa, 46, guilty of the crash that killed Angelina Posca and her 58-year-old father, Angel Posca, both of Palmdale. He was found guilty of two counts each of involuntary manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter. The jury also found the Massachusetts resident guilty of injuring three people in the April 1, 2009, crash at Angeles Crest Highway and Foothill Boulevard.

The jury found him not guilty of two counts of murder. They hung on two allegations of causing great bodily injury to two victims and found that one allegation of causing GBI not true. The case was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Costa returns to court on Sept. 8 for sentencing before Pasadena Superior Court Judge Darrell Mavis. Costa faces up to nine years in state prison. Witnesses testified Costa ignored warnings from an off-duty firefighter who pulled him over and said smoke was billowing from his brakes and warned him the road was worse going down.

By the time the truck reached Foothill Boulevard, the brakes appeared to have failed as the truck ran a red light and slammed into the Poscas’ red Ford, dragging it 150 feet. The truck struck six more vehicles before slamming into a bookstore and nail salon.

Mortgage Documents Continue to be Robo-Signed’

Mortgage industry employees are still signing documents they haven’t read and using fake signatures more than eight months after big banks and mortgage companies promised to stop the illegal practices that led to a nationwide halt of home foreclosures.

County officials in at least three states say they have received thousands of mortgage documents with questionable signatures since last fall, suggesting that the practices, known collectively as "robo-signing," remain widespread in the industry. The documents have come from several companies that process mortgage paperwork, and have been filed on behalf of several major banks. One name, "Linda Green," was signed almost two dozen different ways.

Lenders say they are working with regulators to fix the problem but cannot explain why it has persisted. Last fall, the nation’s largest banks and mortgage lenders, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and an arm of Goldman Sachs, suspended foreclosures while they investigated how corners were cut to keep pace with the crush of foreclosure paperwork. Critics say the new findings point to a systemic problem with the paperwork involved in home mortgages and titles. And they say it shows that banks and mortgage processors haven’t acted aggressively enough to put an end to widespread document fraud in the mortgage industry.

"Robo-signing is not even close to over," says Curtis Hertel, the recorder County, Mich., which includes Lansing. "It’s still an epidemic." In Essex County, Mass., the office that handles property deeds has received almost 1,300 documents since October with the signature of "Linda Green," but in 22 different handwriting styles and with many different titles.

Linda Green worked for a company called DocX that processed mortgage paperwork and was shut down in the spring of 2010. County officials say they believe Green hasn’t worked in the industry since. Why her signature remains in use is not clear. "My office is a crime scene," says John O’Brien, the registrar of deeds in Essex County, which is north of Boston and includes the city of Salem.

In Guilford County, N.C., the office that records deeds says it received 456 documents with suspect signatures from Oct. 1, 2010, through June 30. The documents, mortgage assignments and certificates of satisfaction, transfer loans from one bank to another or certify a loan has been paid off.

Suspect signatures on the paperwork include 290 signed by Bryan Bly and 155 by Crystal Moore. In the mortgage investigations last fall, both admitted signing their names to mortgage documents without having read them. Neither was charged with a crime. And in Michigan, a fraud investigator who works on behalf of homeowners says he has uncovered documents filed this year bearing the purported signature of Marshall Isaacs, an attorney with foreclosure law firm Orlans Associates. Isaacs’ name did not come up in last year’s investigations, but county officials across Michigan believe his name is being robo-signed.

O’Brien caused a stir in June at a national convention of county clerks by presenting his findings and encouraging his counterparts to investigate continued robo-signing. The nation’s foreclosure machine almost came to a standstill when the nation’s largest banks suspended foreclosures last fall. Part of the problem, banks contended, was that foreclosures became so rampant in 2009 and 2010 that they were overwhelmed with paperwork.

The banks reviewed thousands of foreclosure filings, and where they found problems, they submitted new paperwork to courts handling the cases, with signatures they said were valid. The banks slowly started to resume foreclosures this winter and spring. The 14 biggest U.S. banks reached a settlement with federal regulators in April in which they promised to clean up their mistakes and pay restitution to homeowners who had been wrongly foreclosed upon. The full amount of the settlement has not been determined. But it will not involve independent mortgage processing firms, the companies that some banks use to handle and file paperwork for mortgages.

Source: Mercury News