Al D’Amico’s Blog

  As a Broker with Keller Williams Realty, I spend my days working to help families find homes and build our communities.  That’s why I am so passionate about giving where I live.  There are so many ways we can make a difference and help those who may need it the most! 

With that spirit in mind, I would like to invite you to participate with me in the first annual Keller Williams Realty RED Day on May 14, 2009.  On that day, Keller Williams Realty agents across North America are partnering with our families, friends and business associates to volunteer in our community.

Keller Williams Realty is the third largest real estate franchise in the United States!  Can you imagine what more than 74,000 individuals working together on RED Day can accomplish?  Together, we will make a difference.

Please join me on RED Day!  The Al D’Amico Team will be collecting non-perishable food at the Vons Market on 25th and Western Avenue in San Pedro and Pavilions in Rolling Hills Estates to be donated to local food banks including the Toberman Settlement House.  We would be grateful for your participation.  together we can make a difference, both on RED Day and throughout the year! 

Help the Homeless Help Themselves

I hope to see you soon!

Al D’Amico and the Al D’Amico Real Estate Team 

The Al D’Amico Real Estate Team of Keller Williams Realty presents…

PRIME TIME ‘09—BUYER SEMINAR

Join in the celebration of 40 years of service to children and the environment at WALK ON THE WILD SIDE 2009.   

Enter the gates of Terra Bella and imagine the rolling hills of Palos Verdes transformed into a quaint village in the Tuscan countryside.  Wander leisurely through the village shops in search of handmade treasures, antiques, unique garden creations and gourmet treats.

Listen while talented Las Candalistas docents recount  tales of Tuscany. Then relax and enjoy al fresco dining while overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean. 

April 23 and 25, 2009

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

30940 Hawthorne Boulevard

Rancho Palos Verdes, California

For further information or questions;

Send e-mail to   webmaster@lascandalistas.org

or

Call  (310) 798-7499

Cool news - Keller Williams now offers an online side-by-side comparison of home valuations from the leading home valuation websites.  Now available, there is no cost for this tool.

Go to www.kw.com and submit the address - kw.com will instantly display side-by-side home value estimates from www.zillow.com and www.cyberhomes.com.  If you’re interested in going further, you can submit your contact information for assistance interpreting the results and can obtain an accurate home valuation for that market.

We are extremely proud to be the first national real estate brand to offer this convenient and informational tool!

It’s an increasingly common dilemma: You want to retire, but you haven’t yet retired your mortgage.

Even before the recent debt-driven housing boom and bust, the numbers were getting ugly. Among households headed by someone age 65 to 74, more than 32% had a mortgage on their primary residence in 2004, up from less than 19% in 1992, according to the Federal Reserve.

Carrying a home loan into retirement? Here’s how to handle it.

Living free

Start with this question: Should you strive to pay off your home loan so you can live mortgage-free in retirement, or should you aim instead to shrink your monthly loan payments, thus freeing up cash that can then be spent on other items?

If you have a heap of savings and a modest mortgage, go for the loan payoff. To that end, you might trade down to a smaller home or, alternatively, work part time until you’re rid of the mortgage.

If you have cash sitting in, say, a money-market fund held in a regular taxable account, also consider using these savings to reduce your loan balance. Sure, your mortgage may be costing you just 6% and the interest might be tax-deductible. But your money-market fund is likely yielding only 5% — and you have to pay tax on that income.

Things get trickier when dealing with individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans. An AARP study found that many departing employees cash out their 401(k)s, often using the money to pay down debt.

But this is foolish, because a big 401(k) withdrawal would likely trigger a huge income-tax bill. Instead, you’re better off slowly tapping your 401(k) or IRA to make your regular monthly mortgage payments. That way, you would also continue to enjoy the mortgage-interest tax deduction.

If this strategy makes you nervous, consider using a chunk of your IRA or 401(k) to buy a “period certain” immediate fixed annuity, says Rich Lindsay, a senior vice president with Symetra Financial in Bellevue, Wash. Let’s say you have 15 years left on your mortgage. To ensure you can make those payments, you could buy an annuity that will kick off 15 years of monthly income.

“If you’re risk-averse, this is a better strategy than taking a big withdrawal from your 401(k),” Lindsay argues. Avoiding the big 401(k) withdrawal makes particular sense if you are in a high tax bracket or if your mortgage has a low fixed rate, he adds.

One warning: If you buy the annuity, arrange to roll over the necessary retirement-account money directly to the annuity company. Don’t cash out the account first, or you could trigger the big tax bill.

Shrinking payments

What if your mortgage is so large that paying it off will seriously crimp your retirement?

“If you don’t think you’ll ever get to live mortgage-free, you might as well get the mortgage payment down as low as possible,” reckons Denver investment adviser Charles Farrell.

Imagine that, some years ago, you took out a $400,000 30-year mortgage at 6.5%, giving you a $2,528 monthly payment. You’re now about to retire, the loan’s balance is down to $300,000, and your home is worth $600,000.

You could simply refinance that $300,000 back over 30 years. Even if you get the same 6.5% rate, that will trim your payment to $1,896.

Better still, trade down to, say, a $400,000 home. After forking over a 5% real-estate commission and paying off your current mortgage, you could put down $270,000 on your new home, leaving you with a $130,000 mortgage. If you financed that over 30 years at 6.5%, your monthly payment would be $822.

You might even refinance later in retirement, further shrinking your monthly payment by again extending the loan over 30 years. Even in today’s tight credit environment, you shouldn’t have a problem qualifying for a new loan, as long as you have a reasonable amount of retirement income.

“My father bought a home two years ago, and he got a 30-year mortgage,” recounts Keith Gumbinger, a vice president at mortgage-information provider HSH Associates. “He was 77 at the time, and he didn’t have any trouble.”

This article was reported and written by Jonathan Clements for The Wall Street Journal.

OCC Consumer Tips for Avoiding Foreclosure Rescue Scams

Foreclosures are increasing nationwide, and so are scams that promise to “rescue” homeowners from foreclosure.  What these scams do is take your money, ruin your credit record, and wipe out any equity you have in your home. 

Foreclosure con artists take advantage of people who have fallen behind on their mortgages and face foreclosure.  Con artists know that people in these situations are vulnerable and likely to be desperate.  Potential victims are easy to find: mortgage lenders publish notices before foreclosing on homes.  After reading such notices, con artists approach their targets in person, by mail, over the telephone, or by e-mail.  They advertise their services on Web sites or publications.  They often refer to themselves with titles that sound official, such as “foreclosure consultant” or “mortgage consultant,” and market themselves as a “foreclosure service” or “foreclosure rescue agency.”

Your mortgage lender – or any legitimate financial counselor – can help you find real options to avoid foreclosure.  If someone offers to negotiate with your lender and offers to arrange to stop or delay foreclosure for a fee, carefully check his or her credentials, reputation, and experience.  To protect yourself, follow the recommendations contained in this Consumer Advisory. 

WATCH OUT FOR FORECLOSURE RESCUE SCAMS

• Lease-Back or Repurchase Scams – Be very suspicious if someone offers to pay your mortgage and rent your home back to you.  This scheme often involves signing the deed to your home over to the con artist.  The con artist may promise to sell your home back to you, but this may be very difficult, if not impossible, under the terms of the contract.Signing over the deed gives the con artist the power to evict you, raise your rent, sell the house, or steal the equity you have in your home.  You will still be responsible for your mortgage, so if the con artist stops paying it, your lender would have the right to foreclose on your home, and the foreclosure and any other problems would go on your credit record.

• Refinance Fraud – Look out for people posing as mortgage brokers or lenders and offering to refinance your loan so you can afford the payments.  Con artists may trick you into signing over the ownership of your home by saying that you are signing documents for a new loan.Signing over the deed to your home exposes you to the dangers described above.  Even if you are a victim of fraud, you could still lose your home. 

• Bankruptcy Schemes – Several scams attempt to abuse the bankruptcy laws.  For example, a con artist may ask you to give a partial interest in your home to one or more persons.  Each holder of a partial interest can then file bankruptcy, one after another.  The bankruptcy court will issue a “stay” order each time to stop foreclosure temporarily.  However, the stay does not excuse you from making payments or from repaying the full amount of your loan.  In another kind of scam, a con artist may offer to obtain refinancing or negotiate a payment plan with your lender.  If you may make payments to the con artist, he or she may keep the money rather than pay the lender on your behalf.  The con artist may even file a bankruptcy case in your name, without your knowledge, as a part of the scam.Bankruptcy laws provide important protections to consumers.  Scams can only temporarily delay foreclosure, and they may keep you from using bankruptcy laws legitimately to address your financial problems.  Signing over ownership of your home, or even partial ownership, can result in serious financial harm.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMS

• Know what you are signing.  Read and understand every document you sign.  If a document is too complex, seek advice from a lawyer or an approved, trusted financial counselor.  Never sign documents with blank spaces that can be filled in later.  Never sign a document that contains errors or false statements, even if someone promises to correct them later.

• Get promises in writing.  Oral promises and agreements relating to your home are usually not legally binding.  Protect your rights with a written document or contract signed by the person making the promise.  Keep copies of all contracts you sign. 

• Make your mortgage payments directly to your lender or the mortgage servicer.  Do not trust anyone else to make mortgage payments for you.

• Be very careful about signing over your deed.  Foreclosure scams often require you to sign over ownership of your home to a con artist or another third party.  Never sign over your deed without getting the advice of your own lawyer, financial advisor, or other independent person that you know you can trust.  Understand the terms of the deal you are making.  By signing over your deed, you lose your rights to your home and any equity built up in the home.

• Report suspicious activity to the Federal Trade Commission and to your state and local consumer protection agencies.  Reporting con artists and suspicious schemes helps prevent others from becoming victims. 

HOW TO FIND LEGITIMATE HELP FOR YOUR FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

• Contact your mortgage lender or mortgage servicer as soon as you think you are unable to make your mortgage payment.  Lenders are often in the best position to help, especially if you are current on your loan or not seriously late on your payments.  Your mortgage lender or mortgage servicer may be able to identify options to help you bring the loan current or to modify your loan.  

• Contact a legitimate housing or financial counselor to help you work through your financial problems.  To find one:□    Call (800) 569-4287, or visit www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hccprof14.cfm to find counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). □    Call the Homeownership Preservation Foundation at (888) 995-HOPE, or visit www.995hope.org, to reach a nonprofit, HUD-approved counselor through HOPE NOW, a cooperative effort of mortgage counselors and lenders to assist homeowners. 

• Visit the following Web sites for information:□    NeighborWorks America, www.nw.org/network/home.asp.□    Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/homes/rea04.shtm.

Finally, if you have a complaint or question involving a national bank and cannot resolve it directly with the bank, contact the OCC’s Customer Assistance Group by calling (800) 613-6743, by e-mailing customer.assistance@occ.treas.gov,
or by visiting www.HelpWithMyBank.gov.

The great weather this winter has allowed for continuous outdoor activities, but it has also allowed for some of our least favorite pests to re-appear a bit earlier than usual.  If you are hiking, you need to give yourself a visual check-up when you get home to make sure these pests haven’t hitched a ride to become an unwanted roommate (or worse). 

Please remember to look after your dogs if you are taking them on your hiking adventures.  Ian Pennington provided some great information in a recent article that will allow you some insight on how to remove a tick from your dog should you need to do so:

A tick can be picked up by a dog at any time whilst he is out, but is more at risk whilst playing in over grown grassed areas and woodlands. Ticks are at their most prevalent in Spring and Summer and during this time it is wise to check your pet to see if there are any attached to his skin. It is not easy to remove a tick from a dog but the sooner you notice it and remove it, the less likely it is that your dog will suffer from an infection.

There are many ideas regarding the best way to remove a tick from a dog but unfortunately some of them are a little misguided. A tick is a member of the spider family and has a very strong, barbed mouth with which it can attach itself to the skin of the dog so that it can gorge on its blood. It is not the actual drawing of blood that poses the main threat to your pet, but the risk of infection. Ticks carry, amongst others, Lyme disease. This can be transmitted to your animal if any of the drawn blood is returned back in to his system. This is due to small amounts of the tick’s saliva being present in the regurgitated blood.

The body of the tick will expand as it fills itself with blood and one of the most important points to consider is that you do not want this blood to get back into your pet. For this reason you must be very careful as you remove the tick from the dog. Do not just take a hold of its body and pull as this may squeeze the blood back into the wound.

The best way to remove the tick from the dog is to use a pair of narrow ended tweezers. Try to part the dog’s fur away from the area as much as possible so that you can get a clear view of the tick and the mouth in particular. Use the tweezers to grab hold of the tick as close as is possible to the skin of the dog. Remember not to squeeze the body of the tick. Once you have a hold of the front of the tick, pull it straight back from the dogs skin. The tick will not want to let go, as it will have the barbs securely attached to the dog. If you keep pulling you should be able to remove it. Do not try to turn it to release it as this will not make it any easier and may cause unnecessary damage to the wound. It did not twist in so it will not twist out. Just pulling it away should be enough.

Sometimes you will find that not all of the tick comes away and a portion of the mouth section is left in the dog’s skin. If this is the case, you should try to remove any leftover pieces with the tweezers but if they do not come away easily then you would be wise to seek help from the veterinary surgery. If you do manage to remove the tick from the dog in one piece, then you must immediately clean the area with disinfectant and, if you feel it is necessary, also apply an antibiotic cream. These will not necessarily kill any infection such as Lyme disease, however, and if you feel that your pet is unwell over the next couple of days you should seek medical attention for him. If you do have to take him to the veterinary practice, be sure to let them know about the tick and let them see the area where it was attached.

Shop, dine and save!

Residents have the opportunity to receive a FREE Peninsula Privileges card good for exclusive discounts, offers and savings at participating Peninsula merchants, restaurants and businesses. An example of the benefits of Peninsula Privileges are free items with purchase, a complimentary glass of wine or dessert with dinner, 2 for 1 savings, 10% to 25% discounts and more!

The purpose of the Peninsula Privileges program is to promote local businesses and offer savings to customers. Dozens of businesses have registered with the PVP Chamber to receive FREE program materials including a window decal, Peninsula Privileges cards to distribute to customers, and FREE LISTINGS in newspaper advertisements, on flyers and posters promoting this exciting new program!

If you’re a business interested in taking advantage of the free marketing and increased business Peninsula Privileges offers, please call the Chamber at 310-377-8111.

Peninsula Privileges cards are available at the Chamber office (707 Silver Spur Road, Suite 100, Rolling Hills Estates) and at participating businesses displaying window decals and counter signs indicating “Peninsula Privileges”. Peninsula Privileges is presented by the PVP Chamber of Commerce and the City of Rolling Hills Estates.

For a list of participating merchants, go to:  http://www.palosverdeschamber.com/Peninsula_Privileges_participants.pdf