Thursday, November 17, 2016

RisMedia reports on possibilities of Interest Rate hike ...

A rise in the key interest rate could come “relatively soon,” Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated on Thursday, heightening the probability the Fed will forge ahead with a hike in December, despite initial doubts in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential victory. Mortgage rates, which generally follow the key rate, shot up this week, with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage topping out at an average 3.94 percent from 3.57 percent the week prior.
“This week, the verdict is in—over the last two weeks, the 30-year mortgage rate jumped 40 basis points to 3.94 percent, almost identical to the 39 basis point increase in the 10-year Treasury yield,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “If rates stick at these levels, expect a final burst of home sales and refinances as ‘fence sitters’ try to beat further increases, then a marked slowdown in housing activity.”

Yellen’s position—which comes as the dust settles after one of the most contentious elections in history—reinforces the sentiments of Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, who both voiced support for future hikes this week.
Yellen also echoed the Fed’s intent to only gradually raise the key rate. The Fed last raised the rate in December 2015.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

2016 Daylight Savings Ends

Before retiring Saturday night you'd be well served to adjust all your clocks, watches, microwaves, ovens, VCR's and anything else with an ability to tell you what time it is or function on a schedule you have determined ... You will probably hear this twenty times on the news, radio etc ... and at the same time consider changing the batteries in all the clocks, remotes, garage door openers, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors (these last two you might consider changing to the new 10 year sealed battery model) adjust the timers for your landscape lighting and whatever else comes to mind; and while you are at it, your landscape watering doesn't need to activate numerous times per day. That is only necessary when you re-seed. A good deep watering once a day in the morning is all that's necessary and will make your lawn more drought resistant. CVWD has a lot of tips for the proper amounts of run times for your sprinklers throughout the year. Anymore than that is wasted running down the street, evaporating or just getting the sidewalks wet. As always - Keep the faith!


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Flood Preparedness

Nice article from City of La Quinta today ...

Flood Preparedness

Marketing & Events Supervisor Marcie Graham from City of La Quinta · 1h ago
Being Prepared For Season

The seasons are changing and we must make sure we are prepared for rain and other weather elements in La Quinta. Even though our winter is very different from other winters around the nation, it is important to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure our property is not affected by potential rainstorms. Here are a few tips to making sure you are doing what you can to keep your area safe:

Preventive Care

Clean gutters and water drains.
Fix any roof tiles or shingles that are abnormal.
Clear any over-reaching tree limbs that can fall and damage your home.
Be informed about your risk – find out if you live in a flood zone (click here). If you do, consider flood insurance.
Have a plan – discuss family meeting places and out-of-state contacts for emergencies.
Make a kit – put together enough water and food for at least three days. Include medications, a flashlight, battery-operated radio, and spare batteries.
Get involved – the City holds Community Emergency Response Team trainings. Participants learn basic disaster response skills. For more information, contact Jaime Torres, Management Assistant, at jtorres@la-quinta.org or 760-777-7014.

SANDBAG INFORMATION

Sandbags are available for La Quinta residents at the locations listed below, during business hours. Residents will be provided with ten (10) empty sandbags. Please note that sandbags are empty and must be self filled.

La Quinta City Hall: 78495 Calle Tampico. Monday - Thursday from 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. City Hall is closed on weekends.

La Quinta City Yard: 78109 Avenue 52. Monday - Friday from 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. Closed on Weekends.

Fire Station 32: 78111 Avenue 52. Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed on Weekends.

Fire Station 70: 54001 Madison Street. Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed on Weekends.

Fire Station 93: 44555 Adams Street. Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed on Weekends.

SAND FILL LOCATIONS

La Quinta City's Public Works Yard: 78109 Avenue 52. Monday - Friday from 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. Closed on weekends.

Fire Station 93: 44555 Adams Street. Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed on weekends.

For more tips or additional information, contact Jaime Torres at jtorres@la-quinta.org or 760-777-7014.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Real Estate and scamming



Beware: Scammers may be posing as your REALTOR® 

There's a scam afoot, or, shall we say, a-wire that prospective homebuyers may want to be on the lookout for, and it happens like this: You're nosing around the real estate market — maybe even close to buying a house or piece of property. And then you get a message from your real estate agent urging you to wire money to secure the deal.
As you might have guessed, a scammer is spoofing your real estate agent's account and is waiting for your money.

How a Scammer Finds Their Target
Hackers snatch passwords when people log into free Wi-Fi networks or click on things like those cute-puppy emails. They search your inbox or your real estate agent's inbox for any messages related to real estate transactions. Once they find you're in the process of buying a home, they'll send a fake message from your agent or attorney, title representative (or other trusted source), alerting you to new money wiring instructions to a fraudulent account. Once your money is wired, it's likely gone for good.
"If the buyer takes the bait, their bank account could be cleared out in a matter of minutes," the FTC wrote in a blog post in March.

How to Avoid the Scam
To stay out of trouble, buyers should talk to their real estate agents upon meeting to learn about how and when they might be expected to wire money. Before making a wire transaction, it's a good idea to call your agent, using a telephone number you know to be accurate and have verified outside of email, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

"Never trust a telephone number in an email that explains wiring instructions, because these criminals have created legitimate-looking signature blocks with their own contact information," NAR General Counsel Katie Johnson said in a warning video about the scam posted to YouTube in April. "Also, never send financial information over email or to an unknown website. It's not secure."

Beware of links sent by email, warns the FTC, "instead of clicking a link in an email to go to an organization's site, look up the real URL and type in the web address yourself." You can also report any suspicious activity to the FTC.

Because real estate agents are being hacked as well, the real estate site Realtor.org urged real estate professionals to warn people never to discuss their financial information over email, and to talk by phone if a wire transfer is actually supposed to occur. It also suggested real estate professionals hire someone to monitor office security, and to have elaborate passwords and change them often.

Doing Your Due Diligence
With so much hacker activity, it's always best to monitor your financial accounts, credit reports and credit scores frequently and don't take any unauthorized activity lightly.  If you do fall prey to a scam, be sure to report the crime to the proper authorities. And if you think your personal information was compromised, continue to monitor your credit for signs of identity theft, like mysterious accounts or unfamiliar credit inquiries. (You can see two of your credit scores for free on Credit.com each month and request your free credit reports each year from AnnualCreditReport.com to make sure no one has snatched your information and raided your credit.)