I love the fact that I can do so much in such a short amount of time. That I can touch so many and be touched by so many. The transparency that it creates and the ability to reach out to so many different people and build new relationships, receive information at the click of a mouse, to let people know what I am thinking and doing is really cool and convenient....And all of this is made available in literally a nanosecond. Sounds cool ...>Right?
Well, as cool as this sounds and as transparent as we have become, it is still a place where unsavory types of people and predators can follow you as well. I not talking about criminals, although they are there also.....the internet is free after all, but those pesky on-line marketers, and spammers that clog up our feeds on Twitter and fill up our email with junk and connect with us through our Facebook account or Active Rain or Plaxo or even Skype. The folks that game the system and manipulate the technology to bug the living daylights out of us.
I recently read an article that a friend had forwarded about privacy and how much of our on-line activity can be tracked by other would be identity stealers and these unsavory types. As the internet continues to grow and become a part of our daily lives, the possibilities of these attacks will only increase. Below are a few websites that can help you manage your on-line identity. They are free and are useful tools in helping manage our lives online. They are also a good way to help in our marketing efforts to know our clients so we can connect with them better (I will write more about this in a later post). Transparency is a double edged sword though. Without the right tools and resources, it can spin out of control really fast. Protect yourself and continue to enjoy the benefits of this incredible community on-line.
Earth Day Celebration at Nashville's Centennial Park is always a success and this year was no exception. The day was beautiful, 70 degrees, slight breeze and just enough sun. My wife and I rode our bikes from our house to meet a friend downtown and we proceeded to ride to the park. It was about 5 miles total but oh so worth it. We had a fantastic day. There were over 100 exhibitors, live music (of course, we are the Music City) and literally thousands of Nashvillians enjoying the day. Here is an end of the day video I shot on my phone.
Our United States special forces, the United States Navy and specifically Navy Seals persevered and were successful in rescuing Captian Richard Phillips of the coast of Somalia after being held hostage by pirates for 5 days. It was a high dram affair that had many on edge internationally. Vice Admiral, Bill Cortney of the USS Bainbridge ordered navy snipers to shoot in a split second decision after he determined that Capt. Phillips in "imminent danger"
I applaud the decision and wish Capt. Phillips a safe and happy return to his family and friend in Underhill, Vermont.
I used to get all excited about the prospect of blogging for points (admit it, you did too). It is hard not to notice your ranking every time you sign in.
And then it became more about content and SEO /SEM and driving web traffic
And then it became a social media exercise along with the other social medius that have become so popular and now important in our drive to stay on the cutting edge of social media marketing.
And then a funny thing happened, I started getting to know some Active Rainers, building relationships and making friends.
And the truth is, I blog for all those reasons, but as time has worn on, all those reasons are more like benefits of something that is really fun. That is why I blog........Why Do you Blog?
Ced Reynolds posted this piece today to shed light on a critical deadline for being compliant with the "GLB (Gramm, Leach Bliley) Red Flag Warning Procedures enforcement. On May 1st, which is now less than 6 weeks away, if a business is handling consumer sensitive information (social security numbers, etc) there must be regulated procedures in place to protect that data.
THIS CAN NOT BE TAKEN LIGHTLY!
The FTC is planning to enforce this with unannounced audits and the tolerance for not complying will be zero. The penalties for non-compliance are severe. I do not endorse scare tactics, but this is serious enough that the FTC will not mess around and they have the authority to not just fine a business (up to 25,000), but will put them out of business.
Additionally, they have written in the code that if a businesses partners are not compliant as well, that that business is also responsible and held accountable.
Check out this link (FTC Red Flag Requirements) and be compliant. It could mean the difference between being in business or not.
November 1, 2008 was the enforcement date for businesses who deal with the non-public information of clients. Thankfully for a lot of businesses that were unaware, the six month extension (until May 1, 2009) has been a big help for them to learn what they needed to do to comply with the FTC 'Red Flags' Rule. What the FTC is requiring from businesses in certain categories is to develop and implement a written identity theft prevention program.
The Rule applies to creditors and financial institutions. Federal law defines a creditor to be: any entity that regularly extends, renews, or continues credit; any entity that regularly arranges for the extension, renewal, or continuation of credit; or any assignee of an original creditor who is involved in the decision to extend, renew, or continue credit.
Some examples of creditors are finance companies, automobile dealers, mortgage brokers, utility companies, telecommunications companies, and non-profit and government entities that defer payment for goods or services. Financial institutions include entities that offer accounts that enable consumers to write checks or to make payments to third parties through other means, such as other negotiable instruments or telephone transfers.
Is your business at risk? If so have one of our ADRS certified representatives give you a free review and find out how you can get your business compliant with the FTC. We cover North America.
I started this series several months back and so would like resume by helping with the understanding of the actual process of what is involved in the ordering a title insurance policy.
So let's start at the beginning. When a title ordered is placed a whole series of events have to occur to get the ball rolling to a closing.
The 1st is an active search of public records for the property in question (kind of antiquated). Fortunately, all property records are a matter of public record. Everything from the property legal description, all the owners of the property, the liens that were filed against the owners of the property. An request is typically sent to an abstracter to go down to the register of deeds office and look up the property in a record book, listed by a book and page number and compile all the data to send to the title company so that a proper examination of the records can be assessed and insured.
Stay tuned:
Step number 2 to follow
Thanks and make sure to keep your records accurate (I will explain this later), but trust me it is impartant and a great reason to have title insurance.
I am a title agent. I am in 50 states and I take a tremendous amount of pride in my work and I am with a company that shares the same philosophy. Do the right thing and try and do it better than anyone else. It is a simple philosophy. I work hard to make sure my clients are receiving the absolute best service, so they can be confident in giving their customers (the consumer) the best service experience.
I bring all this up not so much to toot my horn, but to make a point. I have a question, "Would you share the responsibilities of your work to satisfy the needs of a client if there really was no reason to?" Seems obvious, right? The team concept of a real estate sale is not one that is lost on any seasoned professional. In fact, I am perhaps it's strongest advocate. I think we improve our own credibility by surrounding ourselves with other seasoned professionals that share the same philosophical approach to business as us. I also understand when we spend so much of our time building those relationships, there is an inherent amount of trust that automatically goes with it. If it were not for the relationships that we worked so hard to forge, I think it is safe to say, none of us would experience near the success in our businesses without them.
One of the tenets of a complete and positive customer experience is the ultimate goal of making sure our customer is given the absolute best. Which should always include looking out for their highest and best interest, including saving money and time. It is almost a sure guarantee for maintaining happy clients.
The purchase of a home can be very stressful. There are many pieces of the puzzle that must fit into place in order to make sure the transaction is completed successfully, much less smoothly. The planets and stars almost have to align. So the question I have to ask is why would any of us with even the best of intentions,
insist on complicating it? Seriously, why? Of course we wouldn't and if that is the answer, then why would any of us insist on using 2 closing agents when 1 would make it more simple. Anytime we add additional individuals to the mixture, the probability of something going wrong go up exponentially. Not that either side doesn't know what they are doing, but that it complicates an already complicated and fragmented process.
I don't get it and the only reason I can think it is done is because, there is either a lack of trust, someone has a vested interest in the transaction, or just plan old stubbornness. Sadly and ironically, the real loser at the end of the transaction are the buyer and the seller.
So before you insist on making sure your title partner gets the deal, think about the additional amount of potential stress that is created for ALL the individuals in the transaction. Because trust me, at the end of the day, it really is not worth it.
Give it to 1 company and then agree that the next one will go to the other company, that way everyone still gets what they wanted without 1/2 the headache and frustration.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
Thomas A. Edison
The road to success is paved with many, many hazards along the way. Every success story has hundreds, if not thousands of examples of what did not WORK before they achieved their success. To that end, success is not a destination it is a journey.
Time is a funny thing. We all have the same amount if it. The same 24 hours. The same 1440 minutes and the same 86,400 seconds every single day. What we do with them determines the degree to which we have can impact our lives and the lives of others. I have read that some consider time an illusion. That may be true. Regardless, the impact we have on the lives of others is not an illusion. Make the best of it and use it well. Create meaningful impacts every single second of every single day.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
that it creates and the ability to reach out to so many different people and build new relationships, receive information at the click of a mouse, to let people know what I am thinking and doing is really cool and convenient....And all of this is made available in literally a nanosecond. Sounds cool ...>Right?
The 1st is an active search of public records for the property in question (kind of antiquated). Fortunately, all 
property records are a matter of public record. Everything from the property legal description, all the owners of the property, the liens that were filed against the owners of the property. An request is typically sent to an abstracter to go down to the register of deeds office and look up the property in a record book, listed by a book and page number and compile all the data to send to the title company so that a proper examination of the records can be assessed and insured.
interest, including saving money and time. It is almost a sure guarantee for maintaining happy clients.
;)
;)
