Credit Challenges

Daniel, you are correct in what you write regarding title insurance, but checking the owner's title, and verifying that it is free of liens, is part and parcel of what a lawyer will do as part of closing a transaction for you, at a fraction of the cost of a closing company that also 'conveniently' sells you insurance. Insurance is not required, because if s(he) fouls up, it is negligence.

Title Insurance has gained its foothold the same way PMI has: lenders demand it to secure their loans *even further*, and since they do not pay for it, little to no competition exists on cost.

The differences in cost between the owner's policy (you), and the lender's policy highlight the scam.

Escrow: in the sense that a third party fulfills the transaction, it can be your example in closing, or my example in payment of taxes/fire insurance. Most people who have escrow shoved down their throats by the lender are talking about taxes/insurance.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Oct 15 2006, 09:47 AM) [snapback]332972[/snapback]</div>

When I was a kid, our family experienced having the family car stolen while we were visiting the zoo in St. Louis. My dad tried to rent a car so we could get home, and they wouldn't rent him one because he had no credit cards. He ended up calling a friend who owned a business and had a credit card, and he authorized our car rental over the phone.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prez1 @ Oct 20 2006, 04:36 PM) [snapback]335815[/snapback]</div>

Frankly, I don't see how you could live in modern society without at least one cc. It would be like trying to live in the US without a car or a telephone.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jared2 @ Oct 17 2006, 04:38 PM) [snapback]334139[/snapback]</div>

I just started playing the 0% balance transfer credit card game. Some cards will waive the transfer fee if you do it at the time of application. Others have no transfer fee cap, but most I found have a cap of $75.
I've got about $45K of what was on a home equity line on these now, saving about $350 per month.

 

Some years ago Costco gave me an AMEX card for free. It has no annual dues and is, by far, the easiest way to get gas at their pumps, a money saver itself.

I use the card for everything I can. I don't have to hold up lines writing checks or keep records of my purchases. Every month I get a statement telling me where my money went and I can easily notice any bad trends. This statement is also an official record if I need one. I can use the card to pay bills on-line automatically if I wish or to make random purchases. I pay the total each month with one check, one stamp and zero interest charges.

If I lose the card, as I did once, AMEX protects me and sends me a new one with a different number. They even have a lookout program going that rings a bell if your card shows up at an unexpected location. When this happened I got a call asking if it were OK.

The best part: at the end of the year I get a substantial check back remitting a percentage of my spending. My bank never did this. What's the downside? Using credit is a part of growing up. It requires discipline like driving a car. Be reckless and you'll get hurt.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jared2 @ Oct 20 2006, 01:39 PM) [snapback]335818[/snapback]</div>

For several years I lived without a telephone. And I never had a car until I decided I wanted to move out of town, into the country.

As for the credit card, until the Hawaii rental car incident I did very well with a debit card, thank you. Ordinary merchants cannot distinguish it from a credit card.

I still know people who make do without plastic money at all. Of course, they don't buy things over thje internet. I think all the people I know who are without cards are living a modest lifestyle, purchasing very little, and therefore (by choice) leaving a much smaller environmental footstep than any of us.