ingenue

Last time I got one of these, I sent them back another letter telling them that their determination was incorrect because my original letter *was* sent by me, and to support this I was enclosing copies of their response, and my original letter. Furthermore, I expected them to address the issues in the original letter within 45 days from the date they received the original letter. (Edit: Second letter also stated that I was declining to include my SSN, because if I wanted my SSN sent through the mail I wouldn't have asked them to omit it from the credit report they sent me.) The address corrections/deletions I had requested were completed shortly thereafter.

I agree that the value in DR is strictly in his budgeting and live-below-your-means advice. His advice to completely avoid credit contradicts his budgeting advice, as failure to maintain a positive credit profile adds avoidable expenses to your budget. Likewise, following DR's investing advice adds avoidable expenses that can eat away at the growth of investments. Just like I recommend creditboards forums for better credit advice, I recommend bogleheads dot org forums for better investment advice.

I've watched these boards and their predecessors since around January 2000. Even before I found creditnet, I remember breeze was helping people out on other BBs.

I just got a call from an Unavailable number with an automated message saying it was from Direct Express, and that due to a security issue my MasterCard was locked and had to be reactivated. I hung up when it asked for my 16 digit account number. I don't even have a Direct Express Master Card. Even though I did not get a number on my caller ID, research shows phishing with the same M.O. also occurs via text messaging and associated with the following phone numbers: 780-801-0640 404-382-9582 The Direct Express Debit Master Card is issued to distribute Federal benefits including Social Security, so these scammers are looking for phishing hits on people who are especially vulnerable to fraud, including the elderly and disabled. If you have a friend or family member who receives benefits by debit card, please caution them. -ingenue

Not sure if OP is already familiar with corral.net, a site for Mustang hobbyists. Possibly OP could find a buyer there for his incomplete hobby car. -ingenue

If you had a Bank of America card product that was converted to their Cash Rewards product, check to make sure you are receiving the rewards levels advertised. Here's why: I used to have a BofA "Money Return" card that rebated a percentage of the interest paid. That was useful when I carried balances and made no new purchases. I don't carry balances anymore, so I was happy when I got a mailer from BofA saying my Money Return product would convert to a BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa Signature. I was pleased, because this is the card advertised as being 1% cash back, with 2% cash back on groceries and 3% cash back on gas. Bank of America Money Return card had been in the sock drawer a long time before this card arrived. When the new card arrived, I started using it for groceries in January, to get 2% cash back on them. I didn't use it for gas, my Chase Freedom's 5% bonus categories include gas during this quarter. I checked the rewards earned to date today and they are 1% on everything I've bought since January, including many grocery purchases. Zero bonus rewards. No 2% on groceries. So I went to bankofamerica.com and started a chat with customer service. Despite their Cash Rewards product being heavily advertised as having 2% back on groceries and 3% back on gas, my card, which is identical in appearance to the advertised card (except it has a real account number and "cardholder since" date), only earns 1% cash back on all purchases. No bonus categories. Customer service rep offered to convert my card to the "123" product, and asked if they had permission to do so. So I automatically asked the questions: Is there a fee to change to the "123" product? Will there be a hard pull on my credit report? Will the rewards I've already earned transfer? And the answers were: No. No. No. So I most emphatically did NOT give permission to convert my card product today. I griped about their advertising for this card product--and I quoted from the ad that was boldly blazoned across bankofamerica.com even as I chatted--misleading me to believe that with Cash Rewards I was "automatically" earning 2% back on groceries and 3% back on gas. Apparently my Cash Rewards card was assigned a blanket 1% cash back rewards because it is a converted product instead of a new account product. And yet, customer service can convert my Cash Rewards (seekrit non-"123" version) to the Cash Rewards "123" version. Back to the sock drawer, BofA! -ingenue

Thanks SportsNut. Current status is a special administrator (a third party attorney) for the estate has been appointed--standard procedure for for foreclosure against deceased homeowners in IL. Included in the motion requesting appointment of special administrator, plaintiff also moved to dismiss as defendants my aunts, uncle, and grandparents. Not sure if that part of it went through. Meanwhile, I also sent a letter to plaintiff's attorney to say I was not interested in the property and ask if I could also be dismissed. They responded I would have to file a Disclaimer of Interest with the circuit court clerk, and send them a copy. I received a letter of notification of appointment from the special administrator. Even though I wasn't terribly impressed with his letter (it had typos and a few glaring errors: plaintiff name in the header was the wrong bank, the sentence informing me of the date of his appointment omitted said date, etc.). He also enclosed a partially-completed Affidavit of Heirship and requested I complete and return it. I don't plan to. I have drafted a reply expressing my inclination to file Disclaimer of Interest in Real Property and asking if his assistance on this would be within the scope of his duties as special administrator. Alternatively, I could look for boilerplate on my own and hope it's acceptable. I could just do nothing, too, but I still have some concern--which my brothers share-- that this could mistakenly end up on our consumer reports if we are still named defendants on judgment day. I expect data miners to make exactly that kind of mistake. Actually, they have already. Everyone named in the complaint got targeted junk mail from volume bankruptcy attorneys, offering to help save their (not) home by filing (redundant) bankruptcy. -ingenue

PurpleLemon, I agree you should bring home handfuls of green and white certified mail forms and pale green return receipt postcards. Then you can fill out the cards before you seal your envelopes, and even type the tracking number somewhere on your letter. Personally, when I make photocopies of letters/checks to keep for my records, I also photocopy my addressed envelope with the certified mail sticker already affixed to it. I think an organized paper trail is going to be tremendously important for you. If your husband's employer thinks this is a big deal, they may ask him to document his medical collections problem from origin to remedy. -ingenue

Last August my Dad got a Ch. 7 bankruptcy discharge. This included his mortgage debt, but the house was not required to be liquidated, because it had (still has) significant negative equity. He continued making payments after the bankruptcy; he finally could with his recent retirement income. In December, unexpectedly, my Dad passed away. He didn't have a will. By intestacy law in the Land of Lincoln, his adult children would be his heirs, equally. I've already been told if it doesn't benefit us, there's no obligation for us kids to initiate probate. The house is now getting foreclosed on. After harassing much of my extended family with their "heir search", they've served my Dad's sister and brother (my aunt* and uncle). I know my brothers and I (the actual "heirs") are named in the complaint, but we haven't been served yet. Also named are my other aunt, grandmother, and grandfather. Also named are the HOA and unknown heirs and legatees. Except for us kids, none of those people are heirs (I get why they named the HOA). I don't know if there's a legal way to get my aunts, uncle, and grandparents removed from the list of respondents in this lawsuit. Before these summons started going out, a lawyer (I discussed short sale options with him) assured me the only person who can have a credit report entry or a foreclosure public record on their credit report in this matter is my Dad, but I'm not so sure now that we're all specifically named in this lawsuit. I've read about motioning for "all relief to be in rem and no relief in persona shall be granted" (due to my Dad's bankruptcy discharge), but I don't even know if this can go in the Answer. The Complaint, as read to me by my aunt, describes the mortgage debt as if it's an active one, with the plaintiffs seeking interest, court costs, fees, etc. I wonder if they're in violation of some part of the bankruptcy code for that. They're not seeking to pin a deficiency balance on anyone. I mostly want to us all to get through this at minimal cost and credit reports unscathed. One brother is out of work and living in the house, knowing he'll have to move when a foreclosure goes through. The other brother is living with his in-laws, saving money while he tries to get his credit cleaned up so he can buy his first home. Neither of them can really afford to have their credit reports mucked up--over a debt obligation they never entered and that bankruptcy court already obliterated. It's not that great for me, and the rest of my family doesn't deserve to be dragged into this mess, either. I'm daunted at the prospect of having to coordinate (from 700 miles away) an Answer with my...8?...co-respondents that gets the job done right. -ingenue * The process server that served my aunt also had the summons for one brother and both grandparents with her. None of them live with my aunt. Nevertheless, process server tried "I'll just leave these with you".

The caveat is that if you are in a state where it is usual and customary for the seller to pay for the buyers title...TX is like that.....the seller doesn't have to pay yout title fee if you choose your own settlement agent....just something to be aware of. Thanks for the tip. Short sale I'm trying to buy, answer just came back that seller's bank want to nix the 5K toward closing costs that the sellers agreed to. I'm examining this very issue today, to see if they will still pay title costs. If I do go with their settlement agent (looking at doing that, or doing a split settlement) it seems only right that they pay for what they insisted on. In addition to saying no to 5K closing costs, the seller's bank wants another 19K over my contract price. -ingenue

Hard to be surprised by something so very obvious in the industry. -ingenue

I got this GFE in May when I got into a contract on a short sale. Waiting for seller's bank, I did not lock. This GFE is from that time, from my credit union. Since then, my intial pre-approval has expired. The first credit scores wes free (I rolled up three 800+ cherries), but CU would pull again for a fee. I don't see any reason to do a new scores for a new GFE until the short-sale process moves forward (curse ye, BofA!) The going rate at my credit union is 4.375% as of today. Since I'm not ready to get another GFE (and don't really need one until I need to lock), I'd like an opinion of the previous GFE. If that one was fair, I expect a similar GFE with the current rate will also be fair. Annual taxes on the property are $2503 and hazard insurance is estimated at $600/yr. I'll have 5% down on a purchase price of $224,900. Seller-accepted contract provides $5,000 toward closing costs. Initial loan amount: $213,600.00 Loan term: 30 years Your initial interest rate: 4.875% Initial monthly amount: $1,242.53 Adjusted origination charges: $1,258.00 Charges for all other settlement services: $6985.50 Itemized: Total estimated settlement charges: $8,243.50 Origination charge: $1,258.00 (Includes: origination $1068, overnight/delivery fee $15, underwriting fee: $25, doc review fee $150) Adjusted origination charges: $1,258.00 Appraisal: $400.00 Credit report: $17.25 Tax Service Fee: $62.00 Flood Certification: $18.00 Title services and lender's title insurance: $1,395.60 (title search $775, title insurance $620.60) Owner's title insurance: $581.90 Pest Inspection: $50.00 (can shop) Survey: 350.00 (can shop) Government recording charges: $79.00 Transfer taxes: $1461.67 Initial escrow account deposit (tax, insurance): $1,513.62 Daily interest charges: $456.46 ($28.5288/day for 16 days) Hazard insurance: $600.00 (rough quote from my insurer) Charges for all other settlement services: $6,985.50 Total estimated settlement charges: $8,243.50 Thanks in advance for any feedback! -ingenue

I've got a short sale contract waiting for seller's bank approval. The listing agent insisted on a particular attorney as the settlement agent (I had planned to go with my credit union's affiliate). The listing agent was being a crotch, so I went ahead and put the listing agent's attorney (never heard of him) on the contract as the settlement agent. There may be a surprise for someone when I point out that putting that attorney as settlement agent on the purchase contract means bupkis. Virginia's CRESPA § 6.1-2.22 says "the purchaser or borrower has the right to select the settlement agent to handle the closing of this transaction," which "may not be varied by agreement, and rights conferred by this chapter may not be waived." -ingenue

What exactly is--->FUN STORES??? They sell fun and fun accessories Like this: I've used a credit card for such with no AA. YMMV. -ingenue

What kind of questions? What's your grandfather's middle name? about how old is your mother? what town did you live in 1986? etc. Questions based on their data scavenging. Scavengers often collect pure garbage. I was delayed in opening an account a few years ago, courtesy of L/N, because I "didn't know" my own birthdate. -ingenue