VA Loan / Veteran Mortgage News
Bruce Reichstein (NMLS #273132) is Sr. Loan Officer specializing in VA Home Loans with Emery Federal Credit Union and VALoans.com. Bruce has originated and underwritten VA loans in all 50 states for over 25 years and is a Nationwide Lender.
MARCH 2004
Your Mortgage and Retirement Planning
Homeowners approaching retirement often have different mortgage needs than younger households do.
One key question is whether you should make extra mortgage principal payments to reduce that
debt, or put more funds into a retirement account. If you believe you can achieve investment returns that are higher than your mortgage rate,
you should consider putting extra funds into your retirement account, rather than paying
off your home loan. Your choice of a mortgage also can increase your funds available for
investing.
For example, if you recently obtained a VA home loan in the last twelve months, you should
check with us to see if you could get a lower rate by doing a VA streamline refinance.
You may be able to cut your monthly housing expense by refinancing into a lower rate.
You may even want to move to a 15 year and payoff the loan years before it would have been
due. You'll then be able to invest thousands of dollars more each year in your retirement account.
We'll help you calculate whether refinancing into a VA Rate Reduction loan makes sense for you.
We'll determine if your lower payments will make up for the cost of refinancing over the time
you expect to be living there. The number of years until you retire, how long you plan on
staying in your house, and your risk tolerance all are factors in making these choices.
Feel free to contact us to discuss whether your home loan is helping you reach your
financial goals.
You Win!
Home prices went up around eight percent in 2003, says the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Someone with a house worth $250,000 last January on average would've ended the year in a home
worth $270,000. House values are expected to rise 4.6 percent this year, NAR adds. Yet price
inflation on all goods and services is forecast to advance just 1.6 percent in 2004.
Making a purchase means you'll benefit from the traditional pattern of increasing home prices.
You also receive tax benefits and lifestyle enhancements when living in your own house. If you're
planning on buying a house soon, we'll show you how different mortgages would work for you,
and then pre-approve you for a home loan. Also remind your friends, co-workers, and relatives
that we can help them obtain great financing today!
Veterans Need To Be Aware of Identity Theft
How can someone steal your identity? Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal
information such as your name, Social Security number, credit card number or other identifying
information, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. Identity theft is a serious
crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years - and their
hard-earned money - cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their good name and credit record.
In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, education, housing or cars,
or even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.
If you think your identity has been stolen, here's what to do now:
- Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a
fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any
new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureau confirms
your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts,
and all three credit reports will be sent to you free of charge.
Equifax - www.equifax.com
To order your report, call: 800-685-1111
or write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
To report fraud, call: 800-525-6285
and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Hearing impaired call 1-800-255-0056 and ask the operator to call the Auto Disclosure
Line at 1-800-685-1111 to request a copy of your report.
Experian - www.experian.com
To order your report, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) or write:
P.O. Box 2002, Allen TX 75013
To report fraud, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) and write:
P.O. Box 9530, Allen TX 75013
TDD: 1-800-972-0322
Trans Union - www.transunion.com
To order your report, call: 800-888-4213 or write:
P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022
To report fraud, call: 800-680-7289 and write:
Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634
TDD: 1-877-553-7803
- Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
- File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.
- File your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps us learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that we can better assist you.
For more in-depth information on recovering from identity theft and help with specific problems, read
ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name
Source: www.ftc.gov
