Urban Life

IDENTITY THEFT IN ARIZONA... Part 2

This is part two of the post on identity theft by Glenn Reible a Certified Identity Theft Specialist. Glenn is being blog friendly and not pitching the solutions he offers on a fee basis. The cost is very low and you can contact him directly if you would like more information about protecting yourself. Otherwise, just enjoy the post.

__________________________________________________________________________

How do we protect ourselves then?

The 3 C’s: Credit Monitoring, Credit Resolution, Credit Restoration. 

Most people realize they have become a victim of identity theft when their credit is run or a collection appears on their credit report.  That’s why you’ve noticed or have been subjected to advertising to routinely check your credit.  This is where a Credit Monitoring Service would be useful, it will alert you something has occurred but it won’t help you in resolving it.  A Credit Resolution Service will supply the victim with a “credit resolution” package and a resolution specialist to work through the dispute but the bulk of the work will remain with the victim. On average a victim of Identity Theft spends 600 business hours and $1500 out of pocket to clear the dispute.  Some people just do not have the time, economic recourses or energy to do this and that’s where a Credit Restoration Service is the way to go because they will assign licensed professionals to work on resolving the breach on your behalf and restoring it to pre-theft status while helping to lead the person responsible to prosecution.  All services have their specific value but having them in place before your Identity or Digital Footprint is stolen can make the difference, like with most insurances, they will not be considered pre-existing conditions and subject to higher premiums.

All told, Identity theft is not going away and only getting more prevalent in Arizona, but taking action and positioning yourself with monitoring and restoration services will certainly make the Identity Thief want to place your digital footprint back in the box and go on to the next potential victim.

_______________________________________________________________________

Glenn Reible is a Certified Identity Theft & Risk Management Specialist. Feel free to contact Glen with your questions on Identity Theft or if you would like him as a guest speaker for your professional function.

480-272-0899
Identitytheftsource@cox.net
www.identitytheftsource.net

   

OFF TO SAIL IN NEWPORT YACHT RACE

Just a quick post to say adios for a few days. I've been invited to crew on a boat in the 2008 Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race.  I'll be on a Catalina 36 skippered by Captain Ron, a Catalina dealer from Florida, and crewed by David Day, the boat owner, and my good friend Pat Holcombe.

We will be staging for the race tomorrow and getting going on Friday morning. I understand this is the largest race in the world with over 320 boats competing. While we expect to have a lot of fun, we are not likely to win.  That's okay though as we are there to have great fun, sip a few cold drinks and mostly enjoy being on the water.

For more info about the race, go to their WEBSITE. If you would like to check our progress, call my brother Ron at 602-234-5777 x0 as he has the info on using a tracking website to follow the race.

Best to you.... Gene Urban

IDENTITY THEFT IN ARIZONA... A REAL PROBLEM

The following article was submitted by our friend and Certified Identity Theft Specialist, Glenn Roible. This is part one of the article and we'll be posting part two in a couple of days. Part one explains the problems and part two offer some solutions. I'll tell you, after hearing Glen at a recent seminar, Amy and I are taking him up on some the solutions he offers.  This ID theft is scary stuff.... read on and take notes... Gene

_________________________________________________________________________

Who is trying on your Digital Footprint?

Tell me what you don’t like about yourself…is it your nose, lips or even a little extra weight around the mid-section?

Did you answer none of those? Maybe it  is your Digital Footprint that needs working on.  You see my driving record isn’t all that great and if I get pulled over again I just know they’ll send me to jail.  It doesn’t really stop there, while your working on me I could use someone’s health coverage to take care of the surgeries that my health insurance would decline and along with that a little freshening up on my social security number to help deflect the taxes would be great,.. And, oh by the way a credit card or two with substantial limits would really help my total digital footprint makeover!

Sounds crazy doesn’t it?!  What is my Digital Footprint?  The National Database of Public Records correlates your identity into numbers and letters or “digits” and how you use them dictates your footprint profile.  Just take a moment and pullout your driver’s license, that combination of numbers and letters is your digital I.D.; your health insurance card and social security card, the same.  The problem we face today is that you are not the only one who wants to wear your digital information. Stealing and selling it is big business, especially here in Arizona where according to the Federal Trade Commission, Arizona is in a class by itself…no other state even comes close to Arizona in the severity or pervasiveness of Identity Theft.

As a matter of fact, nearly 300,000 Arizona residents were victims of identity theft in 2007 alone, and that is just the cases that were reported!  The real expense comes to making things right.  Arizona residents have spent over $788 million dollars in the past 6 years reclaiming their good names.

Why is Identity Theft such a problem in Arizona?  In Arizona, stealing somebody’s identity is low risk, incredibly easy and highly profitable which make it attractive to the identity theft suppliers.  Think about it, it is common knowledge that if a person steals your wallet or purse, it’s a crime punishable by 5-10 years in jail.  However, if a person goes through your garbage or looks up your information on the web and pieces together your digital footprint; statistically that crime will go unpunished.

In a nutshell, Identity Theft and Fraud is a profitable crime, and it is frequently a means to an end.  In Arizona, the Methamphetamine epidemic causes the drug users to use these crimes to obtain money to purchase their drugs or further fund their operation.  Combine this with the fact that Arizona is a border state where illegal immigration is a problem, obtaining fraudulent social security numbers, driver’s license and credit cards for the use of employment make it a perfect setting for Identity Theft.

________________________________________________________________________

Glenn Reible is a Certified Identity Theft & Risk Management Specialist. Feel free to contact Glen with your questions on Identity Theft or if you would like him as a guest speaker for your professional function.

480-272-0899
Identitytheftsource@cox.net
www.identitytheftsource.net

   

ARIZONA GREEN & BEAUTIFUL NEWS

 
Mary Lynn Kelly of Challenger Space Center fame is the new executive director of Arizona Green & Beautiful AKA Arizona Clean & Beautiful.

Founded in 1985, Arizona Clean & Beautiful is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the state's beauty and environmental quality. It has a network of volunteers and is instrumental in our State's Earth Day events.

This program has a personal side for Ron and me. Our Mom, JB Urban, was one of the directors of the National Clean & Beautiful program. In the 1970's she ran I Love A Clean San Diego and helped set up a similar program in Arizona.

We wish Ms. Kelly great success as she takes the reins for this important program. By the way, they love volunteers who help rid our land of litter and junk. See their web site for more details.

Have a great week and please do your part to Love a Clean Arizona.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team

A Great Phoenix Area Restaurant Review Site

Just came across a great restaurant review site for the Greater Phoenix area. Knowing that most of my friends love good food, I wanted to pass along a link to their site... FeastingInPhoenix.com.

Seth Chawick, the site's owner, writer and chief eater/reviewer of food has a good sense of humor and a bevy of articles on Valley eateries. If you have a favorite you'd like him to write about he takes email suggestions as well.

Eat well and often,

Gene Urban

IT'S OFFICIAL... RON & GENE URBAN ARE ON KEZ999.C0M

We are excited to announce our presence on KEZ999.com in the Experts on Demand section of their web site.

Experts on Demand is a feature of the KEZ999.com web site and offers useful information on a variety of topics by experts in a variety of fields. Realty Executives, our brokerage, represents the real estate market and Ron & Gene Urban are the featured agents. 

Last week Gene headed down to the studios at Clear Channel Communications in Phoenix and recorded an article outlining some important marketing techniques that can help you sell your home in this tough market.  (Click here to take a listen)

TIPS FOR SELLING A HOUSE IN A SLOW MARKET

I like it when the media puts out good, constructive information. Luke Mullins with US News & World Report had a nice piece today providing a number of tips for the person trying to sell a home in a slow market. (Click Here To Read:   5 Tips for Selling a Home in a Slow Market)

Essentially, Mullins advises home seller to do the following:

1) Make the necessary repairs. There is so much competition out there that buyers are choosing well maintained homes over ones with lots of repair needs.

2) Price your home right. This is a tough one for a lot of home sellers at this time. There are many bank owned properties and short sale homes with very low prices on the market. Some of these are real beaters but other are not. The thing to understand is that they are now your competition.

3)  Know your agent. Luke advises you hire an experienced agent with a provable track record. I posted a comment to this point you can read if you want. Basically, I said that your agent needs strong Internet marketing skills as well.

4) Be flexible. Here he talks about making your home easy to see. Easy access is important, especially in this market. We often have 15-20 properties to show our clients. If we can't get into yours during the time our clients have to look, your home may be passed up. I had one this past weekend where they had left a growling dog in the house. Guess what, we didn't go in.

5) Bite your tongue. I'm sure he meant this figuratively. Bottom line... seriously work with every offer that comes your way and don't get all prissy because someone low balls you. I'd read the article just for this piece of advice.

I truly believe the information in this article is valuable. People are buying homes in the Phoenix area at a rate not seen is many months... these tips may make yours one of them.

FICO SCORES... HOW TO GET A HIGHER ONE

We are often asked how a FICO (Fair, Isaac & Company) score is determined and what steps a person can take to improve their their credit worthiness. With the current credit crunch, the answer to these questions has become even more important to those looking at buying a home. Let me tell you upfront, I am not a professional credit manager. the information noted below is simply what I've learned from professionals in the business and by applying their strategies in my own life.

Let's look at the factors that principally determine your FICO score. I understand there are five major factors that determine score and each category is weighed for importance. Below are the areas of concern and their prospective importance to the final number.

1. You Payment Record:        35%
2. The amount of revolving debt you are using compared to the limits of those accounts:    30%
3. How long you have had and used different credit cards and other sources:    15%
4. How often you have applied for new credit:    10%
5. Type of credit you use... i.e. credit cards, car loans, mortgages:    10%

As can see, items 1 and 2 have the most effect on your credit score and where you need to start focusing your efforts.

It's pretty clear you need to focus on making timely payments on all your credit accounts. I am not saying this is easy, it is simply the most weighted part of the FICO equation.

Item number two has to do with the ratio of debt used to debt allowed on revolving lines of credit such as credit cards and HELOCs (home equity line of credit.) Lets say you have a credit card with a limit of $10,000 and you run a balance of $7000.00. This card would have a ratio of 70%. Ratios over 50% have a negative effect on your FICO score. Ideally, you want that ratio to be 30% or under but not zero. 

If you have cards with high ratios, you may be able to fix the problem very easily by calling your credit card company and requesting them to raise your limits. This does not mean you should then spend to the new limit. It is simply a way to change the ratio without having to immediately pay down the debt. 

Another way to change the ratios is to move some of the debt to unused or little used cards. Lets say you have a card with a limit of $7500.00 that you are not using and one with a limit of $10,000 that has an average balance of $5000.00.  If you move $2500.00 to the unused card you will now have two active cards with balances under 30%. This should, in time, improve your score.

In another article we will discuss items 3,4,5 from the list.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives

Interior Design Guru Gets Noticed

We were treated to an article this weekend about our friend, client and epic interior designer, Milt Diriwachter. We have turned to Milt on many occasions to help stage a home for sale, provide creative consultations to clients, friends and even ourselves.

Milts ability to provide unique solutions to each project sets him apart from the design crowd. Unlike so many interior designers, he doesn't rubber stamp each adventure with a preset format and theme. Rather, he listens to the homeowner, looks at what they already own and engineers a solution that blends the components of art, color, shadow, drama and design into a creation that complements the home and tells the story of its owners. It is a rare gift.

Congrats to Milt for recognition well deserved.  By the way, you can reach Milt Diriwachter for consultation at 602-602-943-1765 or by email at Statements1@Cox.net.

JIMMY BUFFETT IN GLENDALE, AZ

For those of you who know the Urban brothers, you know we like Jimmy Buffett. As members in good standing with the Arizona Parrothead Club we got tickets to the grand opening celebration for Margaritaville in Glendale.

The celebration stated at the crack of dawn when several dozen Parrotheads began the day long tailgate party. I'd like to say Ron & I were there... alas we had to take care of some real estate matters until the early afternoon.

We arrived at about 1:00 pm and grabbed a quick lunch at Margaritaville. Prices are pretty high but the Gumbo had a good kick and the Coronas were cold. Next, we went off to the parking lot to spend time with good friends, have a few mandatory margaritas, listen to music and just have fun.

They let us into the concert area about 4:00 where the crowd of a couple thousand was throughly entertained by the folks from Radio Margaritaville. Music, prizes, bouncing balls and such is all you really need to keep a group like this happy.

Jimmy took the stage with his good friend and long time guitarist Mac McAnally. They played an hour plus of accoustic music featuring all the classics... Cheeseburger in Paradise, Margaritaville, Changes in Attitude, Son of Sailor and many more. It was very cool... especially since we were standing just a couple dozen feet away from the stage.

You know, some days are better than others and this one ranks way up on the charts.

Below is a clip we found on U-Tube. We advise you sit back with a frosty margarita or just a cool beverage if it isn't happy hour time yet. (according to Jimmy though it always 5:00 somewhere.) Sit back and imagine you are hanging out with a few hundred of your best friends listening to the man who likes to reminds us to take time for fun... Jimmy Buffett.