Your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Friday, May 13, 2011

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies (such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and rental history records). Here is a summary of your major rights under the FCRA. For more information, including information about additional rights, go to www.ftc.gov/credit.

You must be told if information in the file has been used against you
You have the right to know what is in your file
You have the right to ask for a credit score
You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information
Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information
Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information
Access to your file is limited to those with a valid need for access
You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers
You may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report.
You may seek damages from violators
Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights

For a FREE copy of your credit report go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

To opt out of ‘prescreened’ for credit and insurance, call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688).

Please note the above should not be construed as legal advice or guidance.

HOA Fees on a short sale property

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Many people have asked me who pays the Homeowners Association fees during a short sale. The answer is: The homeowner does. If you have a property that you are considering short-selling and live in a Homeowners Association(HOA) delinquent HOA fees can be a real problem. If you have stopped paying your mortgage and your home is for sale, seriously consider keeping your HOA fees current until your home is sold.

An HOA is an independent company, they have no responsibility to your lender, and vice-versa. If HOA fees become delinquent, the HOA can send your account to collection and place a lien on your property. If you are short selling your property, this creates a problem because someone has to pay this lien to clear the title to the property. In addition late fees and collection costs are added to the total amount owed and are added until the debt is settled. The short sale bank usually does not compensate the HOA to clear the fees, and buyers may or may not be agreeable to paying the fees, especially if the debt is discovered after the contract has been negotiated.

As always, if you have any questions at all, consult your real estate professional for advice.

Pleasanton Real Estate Town Hall Meeting – Tonight!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Pleasanton Weekly, Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, and Bay East Association of Realtors have teamed up to host the annual real estate town hall meeting to inform the community on the status of the local market. The meeting will be held tonight at the Veterans Hall on Main Street @ 7:00pm.

Click the link below for details from The Pleasanton Weekly.

http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/show_story.php?id=6726&e=y

Horizon Fitness – Outstanding Customer Service

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Last October (2010) I bought a Horizon T-101 treadmill from Play It Again Sports in Plesanton, CA. Nice unit, not the top of the line, but has everything I need. Nicely cushioned deck, folds up for easy storage, heart rate monitor, has three-speed fan, an MP3 jack plus a large speaker on the console. All the basics I needed to get my daily exercise.

Two weeks after receiving and using the treadmill, I noticed I was getting lots of static shocks, not only when I touched the metal heart rate sensors, but even when plugging in my iPod or adjusting speed using the buttons. I emailed the company and they responded right away with a list of things to do to prevent static, most importantly placing a static mat under the unit. I went out and purchased a mat for $20.

This seemed to help alot, but was still getting shocked when using the MP3 jack so I called the company. By the way, the unit came with a 1-year in home warranty {bonus!}. They shipped me an ‘anti static’ package and scheduled a technician from Gym Doctors to come out and install the parts. At the installation of the parts the technician wasn’t satisfied with the result, so he called Horizon and they advised they were sending more parts. Two weeks later the technician returned and intalled more parts. He still wasnt satisfied with the electrical signals and advised he would contact Horizon again for some advice. The treadmill had been operating normally during this time frame with the exception of slight static shocks when touching the HR Monitor. Two days later I received a call from Horizon saying they were replacing the entire unit! I could scrap or recycle the old unit, they did not want it back.

Now that is what I call exceptional customer service! This company recognized that a repeated problem would end up costing them more in service calls & parts than it would be to replace the entire unit. Not only that, but they made the decision to do so without any request from me.

I have been completely happy with this machines performance and ease of use. 5 stars for Horizon Fitness!