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NOW
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VER WONDER HOW TO CALCULATE THAT NEW MORTGAGE PAYMENT
BEFORE YOU CALL TO REFINANCE
???
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1
Brain Teaser…
What lives without a body; hears
without ears; and speaks without a
mouth?
(See page 4 for the answer.)
What’s My Home Worth?
If you want to know your home’s
current value, I will gladly conduct a
Maximum Value Home Audit
.
Request this “no charge” in-depth
analysis by calling me at:
Cruise Ship Scams
Avoid these frequently offered scams:
The prize cruise
. You’re a winner!
But you need to provide a credit
card or social security number to
prove your identity.
The long-distance scam
. To claim
your cruise, you’re told to call a 900
number or one with an area code of
876, 868, 809, 758, 784, 664, 473,
441, 284, or 246. Those codes are
actually for foreign countries, and
the charge may run $5.00 a minute
or more. Guess what? There’s no
cruise, only a high phone bill.
Witty Word Play
The thoughtless are rarely wordless.
Patience is a virtue that carries a lot
of “Wait.”
The best place to look for a helping
hand is at the end of your own arm.
The darkest hour is only 60 minutes
long.
Home Repair Tip
DIY! Go to
www.youtube.com
and
type in “askthebuilder” for how-to
videos on simple procedures, like
replacing a faucet or a light fixture and
many more.
Have A Laugh With Ellen
DeGeneres
“Normal is getting dressed in clothes
that you buy for work and driving
through traffic in a car that you are still
paying for – in order to get to the job
you need to pay for the clothes and the
car, and the house you leave vacant all
day so you can afford to live in it.”
How To Find An Auto Mechanic
That Won’t Rip You Off
The best way to find any service provider, including an auto mechanic, is
based on referrals from friends and family. But automobile breakdowns rarely
happen at convenient times or places, and you may need to select from repair
shops within a few miles. Look for these five things to find a good mechanic:
1.
Certifications:
Look for a plaque on the wall for ASE certification from
the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. Remember that
not every mechanic in the garage will be certified for your particular type
of repairs. If they have the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence it means that at
least 75 percent of the techs have been certified and each area of service in
the shop has someone certified in that area.
2.
Length of time in business:
Experience helps. Look for a
shop that has
been in the same location more than five years. If you see a shop, you can
search for user reviews of their work at a site like
www.yelp.com
.
3.
Billing Rate:
If you can, talk to the owner of the garage. One of the
questions to ask is whether they charge a “straight hourly rate” based on
the actual time spent on the repair or “book rate” that can be higher.
4.
Referrals and opinions from the web:
If you have a smart phone, get
other opinions by searching an online forum about your issue. A good
place to start is at
www.edmunds.com/forums
. For another viewpoint,
ask a mechanic from another auto shop who does not work on your type of
vehicle. The shop specializing in European cars can probably tell you the
best mechanic for a Japanese vehicle.
5.
Getting the right thing fixed:
Once you find a shop, don’t be fooled into
fixes you may not need. You can find tools for diagnosing symptoms and
estimating repair costs at
www.automd.com
. You’ll also find quick
online advice at
www.repairpal.com
, which has a useful question and
answer tool.