Watch out for this Fraud

 It is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month – a great opportunity to strengthen your defenses against fraud. Fraud is growing more sophisticated every day, and scammers are targeting both individuals and businesses. Last year alone, nearly 1 in 3 people experienced checking, savings or debit fraud.¹ The good news? With the right steps, you can make sure you’re not next.

 

Here are common fraud schemes to look for — and how to stay ahead of them.

 

Social Engineering

What it is: We've seen a rise in impersonation scams where fraudsters create convincing websites that mimic legitimate ones, urging you to log in and share one-time passcodes. These are messages delivered via emails, calls or texts appearing to come from your bank, a government agency or a trusted company. They often ask for personal details or try to entice you to click a link that might install malware on your device to get personal information.

How to protect yourself: Don’t trust links, numbers or emails provided in a suspicious message. Verify requests using a trusted phone number or website.

 

Account Takeovers

What it is: Hackers use stolen online banking credentials to access accounts and make unauthorized transactions. They also know most people reuse account / password combinations and leverage previous breach information to see if they’re able to gain access to your online accounts.

How to protect yourself: Use strong, unique passwords, enable multifactor authentication and avoid reusing login details across accounts.

 

Payment Scams

What it is: Scammers pose as friends, family or trusted businesses to trick you into sending money, often with urgent or emotional requests.

How to protect yourself: Confirm payment requests directly with the person or business before sending funds. Once money leaves your account in a scam, it’s often difficult to recover.

 

A Holloween Story

 Question: You show a lot of spooky looking houses. Did you ever think any of them were haunted?

Answer: I was sitting in the driveway of an early 20^th century farmhouse, waiting for my buyers to arrive. It was a mid-November afternoon, and dusk was rapidly approaching. As I sat in my car, I noticed that a light came on in an upper-level bedroom. The home information sheet said the home was vacant. I was a little disturbed by this as the spooky Autumn evening made my mind wander to places it should not have gone.

 

A few minutes later a light came on in a main level room. I was starting to feel very uneasy about going into this home. When my clients finally arrived, I said nothing to them about what I saw, and they followed me to the front door. The note on the front door said: "Use caution, power is off."

 

Now my heart is pounding. I know I saw lights in two rooms go on. We went into the house with flashlights and viewed the main level. As we walked by the staircase to the upper level, we all noticed a light go on. We all read what the sign said, so we were a bit startled. The male buyer who had to be 6 ft, 250 pounds said he was going upstairs, despite the mysterious light. Within a minute, he came back down and said we needed to leave. His facial expression indicated he was very disturbed. We asked him what he saw, and he said he saw nothing, but felt an enormous presence in that upper-level room.

 

When I returned to the office, I called the listing agent and explained what happened. I thought he was going to laugh at my paranoia, but he said I was the second agent to report this. I asked how many views this newly listed home had. He replied, “two.”

 

I noticed after a few days the house was taken off the market, no reason was given, but something strange was going on there and I was not interested in finding out what it was!

Happy Halloween!

 

Market conditions as of 10-16-25

 We are transitioning from a sellers market to more of a neutral market.

Homes are selling, but we don't see many multiple offer situations.

The Sharp and updated homes still sell really well.

The average condition homes will take longer to sell, but if these sellers remember that this isn't 2022, when almost every home sold for record prices, market time will improve.

Days on the market are longer. Showings are fewer, thanks to the massive government spending of 2020-2024, which caused high inflation and mortgage interest rates that became unaffordable to many buyers.

Sellers are hesitant to give up their 2.75% interest rate.

Late 1st quarter 2026 (March and after), would be a great time to sell. All the buyers who have been hibernating will come out and boost the selling market.

Interest rates should be lower. This will also create more buyers.

The big question will be how many homes will hit the market?

Call us for an estimate on the value of your home and what you need to do to get it into selling condition without breaking the bank!

The Stress of Moving

 

Question: We are going to sell our home soon. I’m already stressing about it. Any suggestions you can share about this?

 

Answer: Moving is an emotional process. If you’re not calming down your nervous children, you're trying to reassure yourself that you'll meet people in your new neighborhood and that you bought the best house within your means.

If you can, keep an emergency fund in case you run into any unexpected costs. One example: If your buyer comes forward after a home inspection is completed and requests a series of repairs prior to move-in, you'll be prepared. Chances are good that you won't necessarily agree with the buyer's requests, but at least you won't face the additional stress of being short the money for repairs if you plan ahead and save some extra cash. It's probably in your best interests not to try to guess what the buyer will want to repair, and then fix it ahead of time. That's because buyers have a habit of isolating areas of your home that you never considered having repaired, and not even noticing the ones you expected them to pinpoint. So, save yourself any expenses until you've determined their requests.

Remind yourself of why you're moving in the first place: A job transfer, or is it a voluntary choice? Obviously, whether or not you had some degree of control over the decision will affect your outlook.

Envision your new home. Picture all your Family holidays in your new home.  As often as possible, try to imagine your family fully adapted to your new environment.

Remember to have a little fun occasionally. You're still allowed, even if you feel as if you don't have a penny left to your name. Take the family out to dinner, to a movie or a picnic -- anything that gets all of you out of the house and away from boxes, emotions and all of those pre-move concerns.                                                                             

Enjoy your time together and remember that this stress won't last forever. Regardless of what you're feeling now, the move will happen, and everything will eventually fall into place. Journeying into the unknown is what makes life rewarding. So, remember to look forward and enjoy the journey ahead.

 

 

Internet Home Value Sites

 Question: If a Realtor tells me my home is worth $380,000, and an internet home valuation site says $440,000, who do I believe? 

Answer: If the Realtor has five or more years of experience in your local market, has been inside your home, has noted the lot characteristics, has found comparables and provided a market analysis, and has discussed with you the features of your home that both add, and detract, from its value, you can bet their estimate of your home’s value is more accurate than an Internet Home estimate site.

These internet home estimate sites are notorious for over, and under, estimating home values. They don’t make house calls and have never been inside your home. They can’t see (or can’t subjectively evaluate) your ugly bathroom, your tired kitchen, your out-of-date finishes or your beautifully updated home.

Their algorithm doesn’t compensate for your house backing to a busy road, a fast-food drive-through window, or a sewage treatment plant. When it comes to subjective determinants of value, these internet home estimate sites miss the mark. Every time.

It’s ridiculous to try to compare an experienced human real estate professional to these inaccurate home estimate sites.

I know it’s tempting, but just don’t do it.