Don’t Get Caught in This Wire Fraud Scheme

A wire fraud scam has taken our market by storm. We don’t want you to lose any money, so we’ve got some tips to share with you to keep yourself protected.

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search

Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report

There have been cases of wire fraud lately in our industry, and we wanted to address this scary topic with you today.

There have been issues with scammers hacking emails and changing wiring instructions. The FDC and the NAR have put out an official warning against this wire scam. In fact, a good friend of mine who actually works in our office had it happen in her own personal transaction. It was a very simple email from a very sophisticated hacker. Her down payment, over $40,000, ended up being wired away overseas.

The other shocking thing I learned through this is that the FDIC does not insure wire transfers—they only insure deposits. How do we handle this, knowing that the federal government requires us to send any amount over $10,000 in wire form?

“

The FDIC does not insure wire transfers.

”

We are cautious, we take an old-school approach, and we double and triple check information we are given. We also don’t email wiring instructions under any circumstance. For those of you in a real estate transaction, be aware that this is something that might delay your transaction a bit, but ensuring your money is safe and sound in the right hands is more important than anything else. If someone sends you wiring instructions without any verification, be very wary and cautious.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

What You Need to Know About Interest Rates

Don’t wait to buy a home or refinance your mortgage—interest rates are on the move. How do interest rates work? How will interest rates impact you? I’ll go over everything today.

Looking to buy in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a full Home Search

Looking to sell in the Salt Lake City Area? Get a free Home Equity Report

You might not want to wait to buy a home or refinance your mortgage. Why? It all boils down to interest rates.

Here is a little interest rates 101. Mortgage rates are tied to the bond market, and are mostly pooled into one big bond called Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS for short). The MBS bond is highly sensitive to inflation and the fear of inflation. Since there has been little to no inflation during the crash, we have seen historically low rates.

After the election, the bond market overreacted to the risk of inflation under the upcoming president. It’s clear that it was an overreaction because the bond market has started to settle down a bit. However, experts say that the bond market will not settle down all the way. Those historically low rates are a thing of the past. 

“

Interest rates will not be as low as they were before the election.

”

There are a few other factors at play here. For example, the Fed really wants to raise short-term mortgage rates in December, provided that the economy can withstand an increase. Not only that, but OPEC, a major oil company, has decided to slow down its production, which the bond market does not like either.

Ultimately, you have to do what’s best for you. If you wait to time the market, that’s like waiting for a crystal ball and complete control of the global economy, and you’re not going to get either one.

When you’re ready to make a move, get with a good professional. Get information from the professional and not the Internet. Do what’s best for you and your family. You can’t put your plans on hold forever and wait for interest rates to go back down; rates will not go back down to where they were.

However, keep in mind that, historically speaking, anything under an 8% interest rate is a good rate. Anything under 6% is phenomenal.

If you have any other questions about interest rates or the real estate market, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!