9/22/2014

Moving Expenses Deductable?

 Are Moving Expenses Tax-Deductible?
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  If you are qualified, you may deduct the expenses of:

  • Tolls and parking fees on the trip.

  • Up to 30 days storage of household goods.

  • Disconnecting and connecting utilities.

  • Packing and transporting household goods.

  • Mileage for use of your own car (or gas and expenses).

  • Transportation and lodging for yourself and members of your household while traveling to the new home.

Not all moves are tax deductible. In order to deduct your moving expenses, you have to meet two tests:

Time - You must begin working as a full-time employee within 13 weeks of your move, and you must work at least 39 weeks during the 12 months after your move. It doesn't matter whether you were transferred by your employer or you took a brand new job.

Distance - To meet this test, your new job has to be at least 50 miles further from your old home than your old job was. If you didn't have a job before the move, your new job has to be at least 50 miles from your old home.

Consult a tax advisor to see if you qualify.

 
Information Provided By:

LOPhoto

Caroline Gerardo
Senior Loan Officer
NMLS #324982
Cell 949-637-8190
Office 949-784-9699
eFax 855-883-4303
CarolineGerardo@eaglehm.com
www.eaglehomemortgage.com/carolinegerardo
Committed to Seeing You Home.
Eagle Home Mortgage
8105 Irvine Center Drive Suite #500
Irvine CA 92618
LOLogo
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NMLS #849059 CA #813I609 Universal American Mortgage Company of California, dba Eagle Home Mortgage of California. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. RMLA #4130383, NMLS #252392. Certain restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Applicants must qualify.

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9/18/2014

中國公民申請按揭在美國











需要的項目申請按揭貸款:
護照複印件
駕駛執照副本
ITIN號碼
o國際信用報告的參考,
Ø主體性的完整地址
Ø目前年稅收法案,現行保險法案
o對於公寓最新維護法案
HUD1閉幕詞,如果在過去24個月購買
Ø完整的地址,
Ø租約的副本,如果租
Ø從你的會計師的信件翻譯成英文,其中包括:
•公司名稱
•您的標題
•業務類型
•持股比例
•年收入在過去兩年
 而本年度至今
Ø要打印的就業核查函
在公司信箋(翻譯成英文),指出:
•您的姓名和職務
•工作開始日期
•補償過去的3年
•聯繫信息
Ø銀行對賬單後六個月
在中國過去兩年的報稅表翻譯成英文
這裡完整的按揭貸款申請:申請http://eaglehomemortgage.com/carolinegerardo/
註冊並填寫所附表格
借款人支付鑑定費的前期,這是​​不退還
借款人必須簽署最終文件與美國公證
關閉在美國抵押貸款作為一個中國公民確實需要一個很好的協議
文書工作和開放的信息披露

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B21qMvohjmkvcHNUSHd6WG03cjg/edit?usp=sharing
Caroline Gerardo
(949) 784-9699
efax 855-883-4303

9/17/2014

Burning Dropbox


Burning Dropbox











Dropbox drives me crazy. Certain clients love to use it thinking it provides the security and ability to send taxes and bank statements for their loan applications. I always work in the format or system the client is most comfortable. If they want to text, I put on my glasses and text all day. If they want to meet face to face in their home, that is often the easiest method to get the paperwork I need out of their hands in one or two sweeps. If they want to use Dropbox I do it but it is so frustrating. Dropbox seems to delete files, make them into weird encrypted formats and one day the file is gone the nest it reappears.
Dropbox was affected by the heartbleed hacker virus. I assume it has had other security breaches, but like banks they keep it quiet. I have worked for a couple banks over my twenty nine year career in mortgage banking.  When an account is compromised or a teller steals, it rarely gets in the news.  Certain banks fire the criminal employee who may end up at some other financial services bank. The bank covers the money loss and tells the customer “it will never happen again.”
In today’s world where we depend on the security and ease of the internet it is difficult to imagine going back to only handwriting on paper and United States Postal Service.
What Dropbox does is a single encryption key that employees can see your files. One must assume that hackers try to contact Dropbox employees in every method of spam and enticement to access the global duplication of data. Users can’t read the data of others it is scrambled into pieces like a shredder does to paper.
Read more here for five suggestions that are better than superior to and some even cheaper than Dropbox:
If you are a hacker Dropbox and any data storage or cloud storage would be a great place to steal private information.
One of the signature elements of Dropbox is global duplication of data information. All uploads are “hashed” with a digital signature which is checked against all the data from every other user.
If you upload a file that Dropbox has already viewed, it gives a pointer to the duplicate file chunks rather than your own. The universal access to data reads the duplicate file.
Dropbox for Teams stinks. Sure the company added a unified control panel for accounts associated with a business, but is very limited in practical use. There was no Active Directory or LDAP integration for single-sign-on.  Dropbox rolled out new software for Teams into Dropbox for Business and added Active Directory and Single Sign-On one might think they have improved, but no they have not.
There’s still no content audit or control mechanism, so users can use “unlimited” online Business storage for whatever they want, be it personal or sensitive (see “Security”). About the only thing an admin can do is see who’s sharing what outside the Business and the last thing they did. That’s not much functionality.
Dropbox really needs to upgrade their systems to appeal to corporate America. When a system goes down during working hours customers want answers and processes right away. There is nothing worse than the feeling that all your hard work has burned up in smoke and disappeared. Dropbox doesn’t have help information answers to questions readily published.  They added AD support. BUT they never answer questions quickly. There is no link on their website that says contact us here. There is the banking cop out to type in a tiny box your query and pray they will get back to you. Employees do not post or use email.
Dropbox is not useful for public links in business.  Dropbox will suspend the use of public links if a link generates more than 20GB per day of downloads for free users and 200GB for paid users. Dropbox is terrible with photographs and video that tend to be much larger images.
Go to their Facebook business page and there are thousands of people complaining about lost files and no response from Dropbox. They won’t allow people to write on their Facebook wall- with good reason – there would be angry and obscene comments from paying clients. It appears they don’t monitor the Facebook page as they never respond to anyone. Or perhaps some intern is allowed to post but never read or answer. Type Dropbox and you will see bloggers and others all complaining about purchasing a paid service that doesn’t work.
Okay so stop your whining C. G. If clients want to use Dropbox, you will use it. There are better services, actually thousands of them. If the client feels safe using Dropbox, I am going to keep rebooting my computer, clearing the history and trying again.
My work email is encrypted and very secure. It is so good at catching spam that few to zero get through. If I type nine numbers in a row (such as in a social security number) in the body of an email or as an attachment it places a second layer of security on the file.
A couple alternatives to Dropbox:
Google Drive
Spideroak
Mega
Cubby
Media Fire
Or you can bring your box of papers to me and I will copy them, and then scan them into our system. We handle information that must be kept secure. I see Borrowers income taxes, bank statements, credit reports and perhaps a window into their lives more closely than other types of jobs. I will treat my client’s information with the highest security and respect that they deserve.
Caroline Gerardo  ( C. G. Barbeau)
Eagle Home Mortgage a Lennar Homes Company
8105 Irvine Center Drive # 500 Irvine California 92618
Also Newport Beach California 92660
NMLS # 324982
(949) 637-8190   (949) 784-9699
E fac 855- 883- 4303
Mortgage Banker here to answer your questions and close your loan
Thank you for reading. What do you think about Dropbox?


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9/16/2014

Mortgage For Bruce Wayne?

Bruce Wayne's house
What Americans think they look like on paper

     
        















Only Bruce Wayne can get a home loan? 
Only superheroes get a home loan?
Wells Fargo released their survey today of a little over two thousand Americans about home ownership and mortgage. 
The results are interesting. The popular opinion is only the rich and uber-wealthy with perfect credit and loads of cash can qualify for a loan today.  
Perhaps that is not far off from Freddie Mac Fannie Mae guidelines plus add bank overlay rules, it is difficult for some to get a conventional rate mortgage after the crash.
However, every day I see more niche products cropping up to dispel this myth. Americans and foreign nationals can find home loans that suit their needs.
For specifics of the respondents of the Wells Fargo survey:

Seventy four percent of respondents answered: “know and understand” the process involved in buying a home.
I think this number reflects a self-conscious answer rather than fact. Every day I remind Borrowers of the five circles that make up a mortgage loan approval. Not one day passes when a potential Borrower argues about supplying necessary paperwork or only provides a small percentage of what is necessary to get approval.

Thirty percent of respondents stated that only individuals with high incomes can obtain a mortgage.
Not true at all in fact smaller loans seem to be easier to close
§  Sixty four percent of respondents believe they must have an excellent credit score to buy a home.
Not true a FICO I closed a loan recently with a FICO score of 510
§  Sixty four percent of respondents said that they are knowledgeable about how much of a down payment is needed to buy a home, nearly half (44 percent) also believe that a 20 percent down payment is required.
Not true there are some 0 down programs and 3.5% for FHA
o    When respondents aged eighteen to thirty four were asked to list the biggest barriers to owning a home, lacking the funds for a down payment was among the most difficult issue.
o    Save save and gifts
§  Nearly half (forty four percent) of those who answered the survey said that they know nothing or very little about the closing costs required for buying a home.
This varies state to state and who the escrow or attorney is
Generally in an escrow state costs are about 3% in table funding state 5% or less
     About half of the respondents feel they do not have access to homes that fit their needs       financially.
      Perhaps cost of homes in areas are high

   The ten things that really go into mortgage loan approval:
1.  Identification driver’s license and social security cards
2.  Paycheck stubs past month or profit and or loss year to date for self employed
3.  W-2 forms and Federal income taxes signed past two years
4.  Bank statements, asset statements, 401 k past two months
5.  401 k terms of withdrawal.
6.  Decent Credit history- this we can work on credit can be patched
7.  Landlord information or mortgage statement, fire hazard bill and Homeowner Association statement.
8.  Collateral property information and money for appraisal
9.  Property appraises for value and is in habitable condition, Condominiums have other guidelines.
10.           Patience, and an email address you open daily to send pdf. documents because more paperwork may be needed.

    You do not have to be a superhero to get a home loan.
     But if you want us to include the income from your side line job as
    crime fighter and upholder of Gotham City, 
     Bruce Wayne you must be declaring your income from your Bat Man gig.

    Caroline Gerardo
    NMLS 324982
   cell phone number:  (949) 784-9699
 Lennar Homes company

9/09/2014

Garage Sale How To

...

I own a home in an Orange County Neighborhood that is expensive. It isn't spelled out in our CCR's that a rummage sale is not allowed. However, yard sales and garage sales are frowned upon. This is a quick and easy method to have a sale that cleans out clutter in your home, recycles things that are usable and makes a little cash. You will be cleaned up before anyone complains.
Step ONE 
Three Days before the Sale make eight direction signs. I had a couple old political signs. I used the armature and added card board and paper left over from my children's school art homework projects. The signs only need provide direction from the main road to your home. Don't spend money to do this, improvise and recycle.
Call Saint Vincent De Paul for the pickup of what is left over on Monday. The best day for yard sales are a Saturday after the 1st or 15th when people receive a paycheck
Step Two two days before:
Ask your children to remove twenty articles of clothing that don't fit or they haven't worn in two years. Put together old books, toys, appliances, furniture, things you haven't repaired but were thinking about doing but a year went by. All the "stuff "should be loaded into the garage. You can color code price tags or just use colored painter's tape. Think pricing of fifty cents up to ten dollars. The average item being one dollar. You need card tables, some ladders, hangers, and about sixty dollars in one dollar bills for change.


The Friday the day before:
1.Post a Craig's list Ad enter photographs of any large items you want to sell. Add that you will not be taking early birds. Supply a phone number where they may contact you. You do not hold anything. All things are sold for cash only. 
2. Check that you have coffee and some paper cups ( you can sell coffee or give it away) Frankly you can sell anything. I had great success selling potted basil plants
3. The night before remind you helper that they have to get up an hour before the sale. Typically your sale will be from 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM (don't go all day - the most sales happen early)

The morning of the sale at 6:30 turn the coffee on. Run and put signs up, pull the tables out on the driveway, put anything such as a ladder with broom handle or hanging area for clothing. If people can see the items, they will buy. Don't just put a box of clothing out. Try to make the items look desirable. Put big items to block your garage doors. You can block the garage with a simple rope or colored tape.
 DO Not allow anyone into your garage or home. Wear clothing with pockets for money. Do not carry a purse. Lock the entry door to your home

Smile, answer questions, greet the people as they walk up. 
No you are not holding anything. 
No you don't take checks.

Things that sell: toys, children's clothing that looks clean, gadgets, tools, crafts, appliances, seasonal decorations, sporting goods, stuff you hoarded...
This is a thrifty way to clean out closets and de-clutter. It can bring in some cash. This makes room for your home to be new and fresh. It is also a good way to prepare to sell your home.
Total time invested : five hours

Think of it as money making recycling.

9/07/2014

Laguna Niguel Farmer's Market

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heirloom multi colored carrots




red chili and jalapeno





























Laguna Niguel farmer’s market is the best in Orange County. 

Sundays 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. 
If it is hot, vendors reduce pricing around 11:00 AM because less customers show up.

If you go late at 11:25 AM some vendors put their local produce on sale
 items will be picked over but vendors discount.
Buy Local 
Buy Organic 
Save money at the farmer's market
27271 La Paz Laguna Niguel California 92677 
I suggest you buy what is in season that day. Don't go with a preconceived exact list of what you want. Purchase what is fresh and available. Try a small quantity of a new vegetable. Vendors give free samples and recipe advice

winter melon

farmers market organic

peaches sweeter than mother in law
Yellow and Red Chili


Heirloom Tomatoes


Local Organic Produce Cheap