3/23/07 Newsletter

"Pic" of the week:


Are you artistic? The U.S. Open Sandcastle Competion will take place this year on July 29, 2007. Top prize in the "Masters Category" will be $5000. See more sandcastle photos at the bottom of this newsletter.

Headline Mortgage News:

U.S. Housing Starts drop 28.6% in February. See this U.S. Census Bureau report:
http://www.census.gov/const/newresconst_200702.pdf

Builder Confidence Declines in March as subprime concerns fester:
http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?newsID=4258&print=false

Are Landlords back in the “driver’s seat”? Realty Times article says maybe so:
http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20070323_landlords.htm

Senator Dodd says FED was a “spectator for far too long” and should have seen the “perfect storm” coming in the subprime market – The Standard:
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=22&art_id=40780&sid=12796780&con_type=1

“America’s Most Dangerous States” – According to this CNN News article, Nevada is the most dangerous state in America. See this article for the complete list:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/22/real_estate/dangerous_states/index.htm?postversion=2007032212

Thought for the Week:

"We are each of us angels with only one wing, ans we can only fly by embracing each other"
Luciano de Crescenzo

Rare photo taken yesterday of a national SubPrime lender

How to keep more of your own paycheck

Best Buy is in some really hot water these days, you might have heard. There are now civil and criminal investigations going into practices at Best Buy, according to the Hartford Courant, which broke the story. It’s being reported that Best Buy had a fake Web site in its stores that was charging much higher prices than those found on the Web site accessed from a home computer. Both sites have the name bestbuy.com, but the in-store site was a bait and switch ploy, according to the Courant. When people came in and asked about the lower price they saw on their computer, they were told that the sale ended yesterday. At the worst, this was a criminal act. At the least, it was an extremely foolish move.

The Government Accountability Office has found out that 401k plans are ripping off workers investing in them by swiping massive fees from you each year. Some of them are taking as much as 5 percent a year off the top. Under law, there is no requirement that you be told what you’re being charged for “maintenance and fees.” So, it’s allowed insurance companies to take advantage of investors. If you own a business, you need to ask point blank exactly what you’re being charged. If you’re an employee and you think your account isn’t increasing as much as it should, you want to ask your human resources department what the fee schedule is. If it turns out that the plan is a rip off, you should consider moving your money into a Roth IRA. The best way for business owner to tell if they are getting taken is if your plan is from either an insurance company or stock brokerage company. You may want to consider setting up with Fidelity and Vanguard, the two biggest 401k administrators in the country. You can’t go wrong with either one, but Vanguard is definitely the least expensive. You should always save for your own retirement.

Citigroup, the country’s biggest credit card issuer, has initiated two customer-friendly initiatives. You may have heard about credit card companies raising rates whenever they want for any reason. It may have even happened to you personally. Credit card terms of service usually include a clause saying the bank can do that anytime. Well, Citigroup, which now goes by Citi, is doing away with that practice. Secondly, the company is no longer going to use what’s called “universal default” to boost your rate. Under a universal default clause, a company can jack up your interest rate significantly if your credit report shows any late payments. That means you could pay your electric bill a few days late and your credit card company increases your rate because that late payment is on your credit report. Citi is eliminating its universal default clause, which is great for the consumer. YAY!

And now, for this week's fun freebies!


No cost after rebate keyboard
http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-441747-10440897?

Free smoke alarms for seniors
http://www.ucan.org/forum/forums/san_diego_freebies/smoke_alarms_for_seniors

Free $5 Calling Card from DialBug.com
http://www.dialbug.com/couponcode.html

No cost after rebate Ipod case/cover/skin
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BV7ZPG/freelancebyuc/obidos/ASIN/B000BV7ZPG/freelancebyu

Free sample of BodiHead terapeutic self heating pads
http://www.beyondbodiheat.com/htmls/pre_free_sample_new.asp

And finally, Appraise That!

How much value does this exterior art work add

(or subtract)?

Brought to you by:

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Roswell, GA 30075
Office# 770-926-5284
Fax# 866-870-0930
order at: http://www.hotlynk.net/
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