credit bureau sell your name when you apply for a mortgage did you know that?

Credit Bureaus Selling Your Info: How to Opt Out

Written in our customer agreements with borrowers is a promise that our company would never release personal or financial information. Unfortunately, credit bureaus do not abide by these same rules.
The credit bureaus are the culprits on trigger leads which can cause solicitation for anyone borrowing for a home loan because they sell the leads to companies.  It’s not the vendors (LandSafe, IR, etc).  Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of the bureaus on this deal. However, there are simple steps you can take to opt out of your information being sold by credit bureaus.

How to opt out of trigger leads

There are two ways to opt-out of trigger lead programs and ensure your information is not sold.
1. Complete and submit an online form at www.optoutprescreen.com. This method stops trigger leads for five years.

2. Complete a separate form at the same Web site (www.optoutprescreen.com) and then print, sign and mail a letter generated by that form to confirm your opt-out request. This method stops trigger leads permanently.
Both of the opt-out methods take five days to become effective, so if you don’t want your information to be sold, you need to opt-out at least five days before you make a specific inquiry.
If your information is already in the trigger lead pool, you may continue to receive telephone calls and mailings for some time after you elect to opt out.
Opting out via one of these methods is highly recommended for your privacy.

how to get the best value from an appraiser

Top Five Tips to Increase Your Home’s Appraisal Value

The importance of the appraisal in a real estate transaction can’t be overestimated. An appraisal can completely kill a deal if it does not turn out well.
The Wall Street Journal recently posted an article with tips on upping your homes value during an appraisal, and here are some of our top picks:

1. Spruce up the house
While a couple of dishes in the sink won’t make a difference, there are quick fixes that do. Overgrown landscaping should be trimmed, and things like marks on walls and stained carpets should be cleaned. These affect the home’s overall value in appraisal, according to the WSJ.

2. Curb appeal matters
Take the time to mow the lawn, trim the hedges, and pull out any weeds. A nice-looking yard is not only a great first impression, but it can offset any nearby foreclosed properties.

3. Note the neighborhood improvements
Location, location, location! Make note of any changes to the neighborhood that are positive, such as a new playground or a Whole Foods nearby.

4. Keep the $500 rule in mind
According to the WSJ, appraisers often value a home in $500 increments. This means that if there is a repair over $500 that can or ought to be made, do it, or it could count against the property’s value.

5. Maintain a list of all updates to home
All updates, major and minor, to the home should be listed. “Itemize each update with the approximate date and approximate cost,” recommends Matthew George, the chief appraiser of Eagle Appraisals Inc. Remember to include things the appraiser might not notice, such as insulation and roof updates.

Where do you think the housing market will go in 2012? Vote

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Jan. 20, 2012, 1:32 p.m. EST

The L-shape of the U.S. housing market

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What will be the direction of house prices in 2012?

At long last, a boom: prices will climb more than 10%Some growth, between 5% and 10%.Barely moved: between a 5% drop and a 5% gain.More tough times: a drop between 5% and 10%.Thud: A drop of more than 10%.

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Thank you John Miller author of QBQ

Three Ways to Be Outstanding!

Hello to all. I am in Columbus, Ohio today sharing the message of "Be Outstanding Through Personal Accountability" at a fine firm called DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse). Their store management team has read QBQ! and will now be engaging with the Outstanding! book. So, it occurred to me that it might be good to share some outstanding (pun intended) content with you again. And always remember, REPETITION IS THE MOTOR OF LEARNING, so if you've read these three QuickNotes before, I humbly say read them again! And pass them on to your colleagues to generate meaningful discussion inside your organization, too.

John G. Miller
www.QBQ.com
www.OutstandingOrganization.com

1. Make No Excuses!
Daughter Tara, while a high school senior, came home one weeknight after I’d turned in and typed out a note on my laptop. This is exactly how it looked and read: “Dad, I’m sorry for not calling to let you know I wouldn’t be home by ten. I understand things like this can take away the trust you have in me. I won’t even make excuses, because I know I need to have Personal Accountability!”

I remember thinking, Wow, great note. She really gets it. What a good kid. Then I saw a P.S. that said: “Of course, there are always reasons if you want to hear them.”

Life teaches us all—whether we’re a child, a teen, or an adult—that we cannot control what other people say and do, or most events occurring around us. The only thing we really have control over is ourselves. And this is exactly why personal accountability is so critical, and why people and organizations who demonstrate accountability stand out.

In truth, there actually are reasons things go awry: people make mistakes, the ball gets dropped, stuff happens. Life can be complicated, confusing, and complex. Because of this, any one of us on any given day could go on and on with “reasons.” But when we attempt to exonerate ourselves with explanations, all they sound like are excuses—and, of course, that’s all they really are. What we need to do, instead, is look to ourselves and ask, “What can I do?” and get to work solving the problem. In other words, practice personal accountability.

Certainly there are situations in life where we pull out the swords of Facts and Logic and wield them mightily in our defense. But when we are tempted to do so in front of anyone we call “customer,” we might want to remember the country song that says, “Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares.” Never forget: The customer does not care to hear our reasons and excuses.

Just ask Alan Farnsworth, head of customer service worldwide for Bausch & Lomb. He’s been on the receiving end of the better approach and shares it in this story:

Connecting through the Paris airport, I was on a bus full of travelers heading out for a remote boarding on a distant tarmac. When we reached our plane, we weren’t allowed to get out. Instead, an Air France person came onto the bus to let us know the airplane cabin wasn’t ready. I wasn’t concerned about the delay since I was not in a hurry, but I could see other passengers getting increasingly annoyed as the minutes passed.

Once we were finally on the plane and settled in, forty minutes behind schedule, the captain came over the speaker. Honestly, I expected the standard, canned, insincere airline spin such as, “Sorry for the delay, but it’s due to the late arrival of the incoming aircraft” or some other routine excuse. Instead, here’s what the captain said: “I’d like to personally apologize for this delay. It was due to our failure to get the cabin ready on time, and as captain, I am responsible for that. I didn’t get the job done. This is inexcusable. Our practices will change to ensure this never happens again, at least not with any team for which I am responsible. This is not typical of Air France, and I hope you won’t hold this against us, because we can do better—and you deserve better. Now, please sit back and enjoy the flight. We may be late, but we’ll make it as pleasant as possible for you.”

I have never heard such honesty like this in circumstances like these. You should have seen the passengers’ response. It was fascinating to observe. Nodding heads, smiles, and faces that clearly said, OK, that’s pretty nice. I feel better now. People’s agitation and irritation seemed to be replaced by acceptance and relaxation. While observing all of this, it occurred to me that candor and accountability like this are exactly how every organization ought to deal with their customers. After experiencing it—after feeling it myself—I know it works!

Question: How complex is it for an airline to get a plane off the ground on time?

Answer: Extremely.

And more often than not, the crew is as frustrated as the passengers. They want to get going, too! But if this Air France pilot had shared “The Five Reasons You Can’t Blame Us” with his customers, what would that have accomplished? Nothing positive, that’s for sure. So he took the High Road of Personal Accountability and simply said, “No excuses.” Outstanding!

Alan’s tale is a terrific example of one individual taking responsibility for a problem in a surprising and inspiring way—but that’s probably not the whole story. Since individuals often act within the context of their organization and its culture, I can’t help but wonder what might have been in the captain’s training and the organizational environment that contributed to his behavior.

More important, what can each of us do to engage in the same behavior in our organization today?

2. Speak Well: Make the Right Impression

It just baffles me that it seems to be so difficult for some people to speak kindly, respectfully, and helpfully. What can possibly explain people treating people in negative ways? Why would anyone risk making a bad impression for their organization by choosing the wrong words and/or employing the wrong tone? At best, the impression created is one of indifference. At worst, we drive people away.

Is the goal to drive our customers away? I think not, but it happens all the time. Examples:

Mike, a CEO:

Shortly after reading Outstanding! I went to a bakery-café chain restaurant on a Sunday morn and was surprised they were almost out of bagels. The selection was poor, both in flavor and quantity. I'm no bagel-selling expert, but I would consider 11am Sunday to be peak selling time for baked goods. When I asked if they were making more, the counter person relayed my query to the manager who turned and abruptly—bordering on harshly—said, "It will be a long time before any are ready." He then looked past me as if he didn't see me and barked, "Next in line!!" As I stood there a bit caught off guard, my wife ordered some plain bagels. When they handed me the receipt I saw that it read, "Tell us how we are doing and you may win $2,000!" I've decided that I will tell them how they're doing, but they can keep their prize money because all I really wanted was a dozen "Everything" bagels—or at least a kind word or two. This was not a real big deal, but it definitely wasn't outstanding.

Shawn, a Human Resource Manager:

I booked a rental car for $45 total for two days. When I arrived at the rental counter, there was one attendant and four customers. I waited twenty minutes before another employee appeared and waived me over with nary a word. I got my car, but soon after my plans changed—I only needed it for one day. Yet when I returned the vehicle I was charged $69! When I tried to have the problem resolved I was given the run-around and told to call their corporate office since, "We only print receipts and can’t modify pricing." When I did so, I was spoken to rudely by a manager and told since I'd "broken the contract" by only using the vehicle for one day they could charge me a higher per day rate. He said that if I'd kept the car for two days my bill would've been only $45. When I said that made no sense, he tuned me out and did not give me a refund. I know that $24 isn’t a lot of money, but no part of my interaction with them causes me to want to return. It certainly was not an outstanding experience.

Scott, a Conference Center Director:

Traveling by car I decided to spend a night at a hotel near Dayton, Ohio, where I knew a well-known brand has a couple facilities. I called their 800 number and made a reservation, only to realize minutes later that the hotel where I reserved a room was not the location I wanted. So I called back, made a reservation at the correct one, and asked for the other room to be canceled. "No problem!" I was told. Well, the short story is I was charged for two rooms for that night. After several calls to their 800 number I was told the problem was handled. But it wasn't—the charge remained. Finally, after more frustrating interactions I was informed the only way to get a refund was to have the hotel that had charged my card reverse the charge. So I phoned the hotel where I never stayed, and the manager said that I needed to call the 800 number to have the charge removed! When I asked if he would call them on my behalf, he stated, "I'm not going to do that." When I asked why not, he responded, "If you were a regular customer of mine I would, but it's not worth the hassle for me to do it." I was dumbfounded—but not speechless: I told this guy to run right out and buy a copy of Outstanding! because his organization definitely isn't there.

People have perceptions of organizations. Where do those impressions come from? Almost entirely from how they are spoken to by people representing the organization. And as far as customers are concerned, the people with whom they interact are the organization. As Rod Blunck, an executive in public education, says, “Courtesy is free; extending a pleasant word costs us nothing. So why not freely give it away?”

Let's speak well to our customers, create the right impression—and be outstanding!

3. Coach, Moment to Moment

Coaching is one of the hottest topics in the organizational world. That’s good, because coaching increases productivity, builds skills and trust, and creates loyalty. Coaching is essential to both the individual’s and the organization’s success. And it needn’t be complicated. Too often we view coaching as a formal process where managers help people define objectives, encourage development, and review progress. All that may be important, but real coaching is about managers being engaged with their people—moment to moment.

The Miller family was dining at our favorite Applebee’s restaurant, and our server was a trainee named Ben. It was Ben’s second day on the job, and his shift supervisor, Darci, was at his side. Shortly after putting in our order, Ben and Darci arrived at our table with Ben carrying a big round tray loaded with various beverages destined for several customers. Holding the tray high in one hand, he carefully placed our drinks on our table. “Thanks,” we said.

“You’re welcome!”

And then the worst thing possible happened: In what seemed like slow motion, Ben’s tray tilted and all the other drinks tumbled off, landing on the rug, an empty booth, and a few guests’ shoes, including mine. One patron was even hit by a flying ice cube! Ben was clearly mortified, but Darci instantly reassured him, “Don’t worry. It’s okay. No problem.” Meanwhile, an awkward silence had enveloped the room as customers tried not to stare and nobody knew quite what to say.

Just then we heard the terrible sound of breaking glass and shattering plates coming from the kitchen. Without skipping a beat, and with a smile on her face, Darci said to Ben, “See? Everyone does it!” The tension broke, customers laughed, and all was right with the world. Good coaching does that.

Our only son, Michael, worked as a teller at a Wells Fargo drive-thru bank during college. One day, an older man driving what was possibly an even older car, pulled into another teller’s lane. His transaction was handled promptly, but before driving away, the gentleman suddenly pointed at Michael through the large plate glass window and angrily yelled, “Him! Him I don’t like!” Mike, not recognizing the man at all—and totally caught off guard—clicked his microphone on and said, “Pardon me, sir?”

“You, I don’t like you!” the man hollered again.

Sitting just out of sight was Mike’s boss, Jennifer Infante. She knew that Mike has a quick wit and a dry sense of humor—and a mouth that can run ahead of his brain. (Wonder where he gets that?) It’s a trait of Michael’s that they’d chatted about before, and now, seeing the situation unfold, Jen saw that a “teachable moment” was developing. Anticipating that Mike might be about to say something he shouldn’t, she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear, “Mike, relax. Remember, he’s a customer. Let it go.” So Mike checked himself, smiled through the glass, and said, “Have a nice day, sir!” and watched the man drive off. Service disaster averted, thanks to a good boss doing her Number One job: coaching.

One cannot coach what one does not observe. Both of these stories demonstrate solid, in-the-moment coaching skills, but perhaps most important, they demonstrate that the supervisor was there when he or she needed to be. Most managers can’t be by the side of every employee every minute of the day—nor should they be. But it’s also true that managers cannot coach unless they are present. The best coaching happens day to day and moment to moment.

Managers, be there.

~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! Have an outstanding day!

Thank you Heath brothers from their blog- crazy right?

Interminable Terms and Conditions

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Dan Heath

 

I was trying to buy something on iTunes the other day, and it prompted me to agree to Apple’s new “Terms and Conditions.” On my iTouch, the Terms occupied 62 screens of text. So I emailed the Terms to myself and, in the meantime, clicked “I Agree.
”
Turns out the Terms are 16,914 words. (Switch, a normal-sized nonfiction book, is about 73,000 words.) Let’s assume that people can read and comprehend the Terms at a speed of 200 wpm. (That’s the lower end of the “reading for comprehension” speed range cited on Wikipedia, which should be a fair estimate given the quality of the prose, which makes an IRS form seem like a bodice-ripper.) At that rate, it would take about 85 minutes just to read the Terms.

These New Terms, by the way, come on the heels of the Old New Terms (from March 31), which were 15,170 words. With quarterly updates of the Terms, the average iTunes customer would need to spend a full work day annually just reading legalese. (That’s an 8-hour shift minus an hour for lunch and another for Facebook.) By way of comparison, you can rent a car or bungee-jump by agreeing to a one-page contract.
There’s no sense in getting riled up about something so small, but it just makes you ponder this fact: Dozens of Apple executives have studied this situation and concluded that this is a perfectly reasonable thing to expect your customers to do (that is, either sign a contract blindly or spend a day annually reading legalese).
It is possible, by the way, to create non-shameful contracts: Check out Dropbox’s latest Terms, which includes lines like this: “The Services provide features that allow you to share your stuff with others or to make it public. There are many things that users may do with that stuff (for example, copy it, modify it, re-share it). Please consider carefully what you choose to share or make public.”

Thanks to the Food Gal for great piece on Charles Phan new place

One Quick Bite Part I: Wo Hing General Store

Opened late last year in the original location of the Slanted Door in San Francisco’s Mission District, Wo Hing General Store is the latest addition to the ever-growing empire of Chef Charles Phan.

It’s named for his Uncle Wo and his Dad, Hing, who opened a general store together in Vietnam after fleeing China. It serves up modern-interpretations of Chinese dishes such as jook, ma po tofu, pork and shrimp won tons, and barbecue pork spareribs with harissa — all executed by Chef Michelle Mah, formerly of Ponzu in San Francisco.

As happens when I’m out and about in the Bay Area on assignments for newspapers or magazines, I found myself in the vicinity of the restaurant after concluding an interview. In need of some lunch-time sustenance, I decided to give Wo Hing a try on my own dime.

It’s a casual place, dominated on the first floor by a large sleek bar with a colorful Asian graphic hanging above it.

Since I was eating by myself, I ordered just one dish — the 5-spice roasted pork belly with sweet soy shiitake mushrooms and Chinese Kansui noodles ($14), which are akin to thicker ramen noodles.

While I was waiting, the server brought over a bowl of complimentary boiled peanuts in the shell to tide me over. As I munched on those, I sipped a delightful Ginger Rickey ($6), a nonalcoholic spritzer of ginger syrup, lime and soda water. Garnished with a lime slice and a sliver of candied ginger, the drink had the definite throaty burn of ginger, which I love.

My bowl of noodles arrived hot and filled to the brim. Slices of juicy, fatty pork belly blanketed the top with a few choice mushrooms. The noodles were nicely springy. The broth, though, was not as robust as expected. It was nourishing, but with an almost pork-light flavor. For ramen aficionados used to very intense broths, this one might prove too tame.

After chatting with another lone diner at a table next to mine, who raved about her favorites of gai lan and Westlake beef jook, I’m eager to come back again when I can try more than one quick bite.

Tomorrow: Another One Quick Bite — In Wine Country

More: A Taste of Charles Phan’s Heaven’s Dog Restaurant

What your best personal finance books?

Thanks to my friends for great pieces over time including these great books below.

I al;so like The Richest man in Babylon and The automatic millionaire really find them helpful on personal finance.

 

 

Three Must-Read Personal Finance Books

There are many informative and interesting books about managing your personal finances out there. These three are some of the best stand-outs to make a change in the way you view and handle your money.
1. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
The author of this book is considered one of the best financial investors of the century, and his advice is still extremely relevant since its original publishing in 1949. His stock market strategies are highly well-respected, and this book will give you a deeper understanding of how to invest your money.

2. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
This bestseller is a great overview to managing your finances. It covers getting out of debt, investing, saving for emergencies, college, paying off your mortgage, and much more.
3. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko 
This book explains what people not just in Beverly Hills or the Upper East Side are doing to make themselves financially successful. It goes over the seven common key traits that the authors have found that wealthier people possess, maybe even your next door neighbor, and shows you how to cultivate them for yourself.
Do you have any favorite personal finance books that belong on this list? Add them to the comments!

Carolyn Jung aka the food gal on dining at Meadowood

Dinner at the Dazzling Michelin Three-Star Restaurant at Meadowood

It’s not every day you get invited to dine as a guest at a Michelin three-star restaurant in the Bay Area.

It’s a rarity — especially because there are only two restaurants in the region that have attained that coveted honor, the highest ranking that the Michelin guide book bestows.

For years, there was just one — the French Laundry in Yountville, not surprisingly. But two years ago, it was joined by another establishment — the Restaurant at Meadowood, which not only achieved three stars but has managed to hang on to them, too, for the second year in a row in 2011.

When you have a chef as talented as Christopher Kostow, though, that’s little surprise.

After all, Kostow, who started cooking at age 14 in his hometown of Chicago, already had racked up two Michelin stars at his previous post at the charming Chez TJ in sleepy Mountain View. That’s no small achievement when you consider that it was his first head chef job on his own, too.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve had the chance to enjoy his cooking four times, most recently in December 2011, just before the restaurant closed for renovations. It will reopen March 12.

Over the years, his food has become more refined and confident, and even playful in the most elegant of ways. It reflects the 35-year-old chef’s personality — tough in the kitchen, but full of humor all other times. As I snapped his picture that day, he fumbled with the prep apron worn over his chef’s jacket, joking that it was not very flattering. “You think they make Spanx for chefs?’ he asked with a chuckle.

Read the rest of this entry »

Resolutions versus transforming thanks Keith Ferrazzi

Reclaiming “Resolutions” for Truly Transformative Progress

 

 

On the first day of the new year, I had a small group over to my 4th floor walk-up in downtown New York to eat black-eyed peas and collard greens – more than 5 pounds of collard greens, in fact. Apparently, we are hungry for the good fortune they are supposed to bring. As E. B. White famously wrote, “No one should come to New York to live unless he is willing to be lucky.”

While we ate, we each wrote down an intention for the New Year to add to a communal pot. A friend asked, “What’s the difference between intentions and resolutions?
My take: “resolutions” have gotten a bad rap – they feel at best like a superficial social ritual

Resolutions, Intentions, or.... Rulin's? (a la Woody Guthrie)

used to sell gym memberships, and at worst like a burdensome “should” that kills the spirit of play in our creative, productive endeavors.
“Intentions” shakes off all that bad juju to suggest an active, voluntary commitment to a unique personal goal or ethos for the year.
But truthfully, I felt a little wishy-washy even as I defended the new term. Yes, intentions are more gentle on the soul. But sometimes, what’s needed is true resolve. Is real transformation ever truly gentle?
I thought about that again on January 2, when I set out for my first run of 2012. Two years ago I launched MyThousandMileYear.com, a year-long blogging project to document my attempt to run 1000 miles in 2010. (This past year my friend Amy took over the site to run her thousand miles so you’d have to go back in the archives to see any of my posts. I made it to 900-something miles before getting benched by tendon trouble.)
The Thousand Mile Year was a very concrete goal that I executed with a high level of accountability and personal investment, thanks to the blog. I was resolved, very resolved, and as a result, I changed my physical life and sense of identity indelibly. I became a runner that year, and it’s a gift that I continue to be grateful for.
One other revelation came out of my January gathering: Sharing goals with a group of friends – some of whom may be from your official professional network, but have become part of your intentional network – is an incredibly nurturing experience, as is hosting. It is your opportunity to feel the physical reality of your self-curated support network. When they’re dispersed, it can be harder to feel the safety net. But believe me, it’s there.
Here’s to building that support network even stronger in 2012 – by helping them to achieve their goals, as you humbly but purposefully work on your own.
On that, I’m resolved.
How about you? Are you in the intentions or resolutions camp? Either way, what’s your first step?
Sara Grace is myGreenlight’s Program Director.

Financial Fitness

Financial Fitness

This article about being financially fit has great advice for small, inexpensive ways to save more money over time with your home.

Several tips that stand out are:
1. Be fire ready – Check that your fire extinguishers are functioning and easily available, and check your smoke detectors as well.

2. Prevent shocks – Outlets near water, such as in the bathroom or kitchen, should have a ground fault circuit to prevent shocks and electrocution. An inexpensive tool can alleviate this worry.
The major takeaway from this is that by making small investments in your home, you save yourself more in the long-run and protect the value of your property.
Full article here.