If you’re looking for a cheap calling card for Israel
this one offers a 1.9c per minute, no activation fee, no minimum sec/min per call, no rounding seconds, pretty good deal. Call 1-877-951-2022 (it’s an israeli guy in NY named Itzik 
or visit:
Continue reading about Best and Cheap Calling Card to Israel
Get your free credit report, once a year: http://www.annualcreditreport.com/
Read here about it: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.shtm
New veterinary hospital opened this month in north Austin.
Beautiful facility and hebrew speaking management.
Continue reading about New Veterinary hospital (Hebrew speaking)
Looking to buy a house? Make sure you know what will truly hurt and help your case with lenders — and don’t fall for the misinformation mortgage lenders can spread.
By Liz Pulliam Weston
Original article in MSN Money in 2002: http://moneycentral.msn.com
There’s a lot of misinformation being propagated about what does and doesn’t hurt your credit score, and much of it is coming from sources who should know better: mortgage lenders.
Now, let me say first that I’ve worked with several excellent lenders who really knew their stuff and kept up to date, not only on loan trends but on the information that’s available about credit scoring. That’s important, because the FICO credit score, in its various permutations, is used in three-quarters of all mortgage lending.
But what I heard from several lenders responding to my recent column, “8 big mortgage mistakes and how to avoid them,” was the kind of bad advice that can cost you money and keep you from getting the best loans.
So if your mortgage broker gives you any of the following advice, take a tip from me: Find a new broker.
Closing accounts can help your credit score
No, no, no. For the umpteenth time: Closing accounts can never help your credit score, and may hurt it.
Every time I write this, I get more e-mail from people who say their mortgage lenders told them exactly the opposite. It’s true that having too many open accounts can hurt your score. But once you’ve opened the accounts, you’ve done the damage. You can’t repair it by shutting the account, and you may actually make things worse.
The credit score looks at the difference between your available credit and what you’re using. Shut down accounts, and your total available credit shrinks, making your balances loom larger, which typically hurts your score.
The score also tracks the length of your credit history. Shutting older accounts can also make your credit history look younger than it actually is, which can hurt your score.
Rather than closing accounts, pay down your credit card debt. That’s something that actually can and usually will improve your score.
Checking your FICO score can hurt your credit
Unfortunately, I heard this one from a mortgage broker who is otherwise pretty smart. He was confused about which type of inquiries hurt your score and which don’t.
Applying for new credit is generally what hurts your score. Ordering a copy of your own credit report or credit score doesn’t count. Those mass inquiries made by credit card lenders, who are trying to decide whether to send you an offer for a pre-approved card, also aren’t going to hurt you, either — unless you actually take them up on their offers.
If you want to minimize the damage from credit inquiries, make sure that when you shop for a mortgage you do so in a fairly short period of time. The FICO score treats multiple inquiries in a 14-day period as just one inquiry and ignores all inquiries made within 30 days prior to the day the score is computed.
For most people, one inquiry will generally knock no more than 5 points off a score (and scores typically run from 300 to 850, so that’s not a big percentage).
Credit counseling will hurt your score as much as a bankruptcy
The current FICO formula ignores any reference to credit counseling that may be in your file. That’s been true for the last three years, after researchers at Fair, Isaac, the company that created the FICO scoring system, noticed that people getting credit counseling didn’t default on their debts any more often than anyone else.
Your ability to get a loan could still be hurt by credit counseling, however. Your current lenders may report you as late, because you’re not paying what you originally owed or because your credit counselor isn’t sending your payments in on time. Late payments do hurt your credit score.
Lenders consider other factors besides credit scores in making their decisions, as well. The factors they look at can vary widely. Most want to know your income, for example. Some want to know how much savings you have or whether you’re a homeowner. Some will find credit counseling disturbing, while others see it as a good sign.
The mortgage lenders who don’t like credit counseling generally treat its enrollees the same as if they had filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 is the kind of bankruptcy that requires a repayment plan and is looked at somewhat more favorably than Chapter 7, which allows you to erase many of your debts. You might still be able to qualify for a loan from one of these lenders, although your interest rates will almost certainly be higher than if you had perfect credit.
If you plan to get a mortgage soon, and you’re not already behind on your debts, it’s probably smart to steer clear of credit counseling. If you’re already in trouble, however, a good credit counseling agency might be able to help you get back on track.
Your FICO isn’t the only score you need to check
This came from lenders who thought the FICO score is offered by only one of the three credit bureaus: Equifax.
In reality, all three of the bureaus offer FICO credit scores using the formula developed by Fair, Isaac, but they each give the scores a different name. At Equifax, the FICO is known as the Beacon credit score. At TransUnion, it’s called Empirica. At Experian, it goes by the unwieldy title of “Experian/Fair, Isaac Risk Model.”
Complicating matters further is that you’ll probably have three different scores from the three different bureaus, largely because the bureaus don’t all share the same data. One bureau may list more accounts for you than another, for example, and the differences (in types of accounts, payment histories, credit limits and balances) will be reflected in the score that bureau computes for you.
Because of those differences, it does make sense to pull and examine your credit reports from all three bureaus before you apply for a big loan like a mortgage. Many mortgage lenders take an average of the scores from the three bureaus, or pick the lowest score, when making their decisions, so fixing errors in all three reports before you shop for a loan is smart.
When it comes to comparing your scores, however, you may be stuck. Equifax is so far the only bureau that makes it easy for consumers to get the same FICO score that lenders see. (You can order your Equifax FICO score on MSN Money here.) The scores typically provided to consumers by Experian and TransUnion aren’t FICO scores, and they’re different from the scores these bureaus provide to lenders.
But the ways you improve your credit score are the same in any case: Correct errors. Pay your bills on time. Pay down your debt. And apply for credit sparingly.
Buying a house in Austin
July 22, 2002
By: Tomer Pintel , Austin, TX.
Well, you decided to buy a house in Austin. Good for you. We’ll try to give you some information about the process.
First, how much house can you afford? Here is a little calculator to help you with that: http://www.calculator.com/pantaserv/finance/howmuch.cgi Property Tax is between 2%-3% in Austin, depending on the neighborhood. Home Insurance rate is about 0.3%. Enter all the rest of the data as you see fit. This is of course only a rough estimate, but it can give you an idea of how much you can spend on a house and still live nicely.
Now you need to choose what kind of a house you want. There are several options for that; each has its advantages and disadvantages for you.
- A new house from the contractor: There is something special about buying a brand new house and if you buy it before it’s finished you might be able to change a few things like colors, tiles and light fixtures. You can also get a good deal on a house that is already finished and not yet sold, you won’t have upgrades but the contractor will lower the price until he finds a buyer. The bad things about buying a new house are extra expanses for blinds, the back yard and a sprinkler system. These can easily cost around $6,000-$10,000.
- A preowned house: In a preowned house what you see is what you get (at least if you look for it). Preowned houses are usually cheaper and they usually come with the yard already done and blinds. Some have a sprinkler system and some don’t. The older the house the bigger the chances for something (or a lot of things) wrong in it. In Austin, the city was built in circles from the center, so in the center you have the oldest houses, while all the new neighborhoods are either in the south near Circle C or in the north near Round Rock. I think that a good compromise is a house not older then 5-7 years and too far from where you work.
After you decide which kind of a house you want, think about it’s layout. Do you want a one story house with a smaller back yard, or a two stories one with a big back yard? If you have (or plan to have) small children, make sure the master bedroom is near the children room or you’ll be running the stairs all day (and night) long. A large yard is fun, but someone has to take care of it. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
How many rooms do you need? Some people like to have a separate living room and a family room, while others like only one. A safe number is a room for each child, a master bedroom and a guest/study/game room. This will give you lots of space and if the family extends, you don’t have to rush and switch houses under pressure.
The next thing to decide is where do you want your house. The things to consider are the commuting time to work, the neighborhood and the schools. Nobody lives east of I-35. Far West is very expensive. Round Rock and Cedar Park have a lot of traffic problems during the rush hours. You need to consider the age of the house when you start searching for the right neighborhood, because most of the neighborhoods will have houses in the same age (give or take a few years). The schools are very important for two reasons: If you have school age children you will want them to go to a good school and for resale value – if the schools are crappy, people with children will not buy the house from you.
After you know what you want it’s time to start searching. There are a few options here as well, and it really depends on how fast and how cheap you want to find your house.
- A Realtor – The realtors in Austin don’t get paid from the buyer, only the seller. The usual amount is 3% from the sale price (if the seller has a realtor too, he pays another 3% to him as well). You might say you don’t care as you don’t pay, but if the sale is without a realtor the price could be 6% lower. For a first time buyer I highly recommend using a realtor, as the realtor sends the proposal, checks all the paper work and knows what to look for. In a new country that is very important and the sale process is very different from Israel’s. A good realtor will tell you all that is wrong with the house (the good things you can see for yourself). He will give you information about the schools near the house and his estimate of how much the house is worth. My realtor done a very nice job, his name is Steve Gardner and his mobile is 748-8820. There is a web site called http://www.erealty.com/ where the seller pays only 1.5% commission and the buyer gets 1% rebate when the sale is done.
- Sale by owner – Some of the time the seller may decide he doesn’t want a realtor in order to save the commission. They usually advertise in the papers and you can recognize the houses by the sign “for sale by owner” if you drive by them.
Getting a Mortgage
You can get pre-approved for a mortgage as soon as you decide how much money you need, give or take a few thousands. It’s better to be pre-approved when you make an offer on a house because the buyers know you are serious and you won’t have last minute problems getting the money.
The process goes like this: First you need to know if you have at least 20% down payment to put on the house. Don’t waste your last dollar on the down payment because you’ll need more for the closing costs (more on that later). I you have the 20%, good for you. It will be much easier getting the money and the rates are lower. If you don’t have the 20%, the APR will be higher and will include some kind of extra insurance on the part below the 20%.
Now, you need to decide what kind of mortgage you want. There are several dozens options but they come down to a few variants:
- 30-year mortgage – you pay the mortgage in monthly payments for 30 years with a fixed annual percentage rate (APR).
- 15-year mortgage – you pay the mortgage in monthly payments for 15 years with a fixed APR. This will make your monthly payments about 50% higher, but you finish in half the time. The APR is usually a little lower for it as well.
- X-1 ARM – The X stands for the number of years the APR is fixed and after that it can change with in a certain limit. The ARM stands for (I think) Adjustable Rate Mortgage. The X is usually 3, 5 or 7. This is a good option if you don’t intend to stay in the house for more then the X years of the ARM, as the APR is about 0.5% lower then the 30-year one.
- Labor ARM – This kind of mortgage is very similar to the ARM and gave us the lower APR we could find at the time.
Always ask for the rates for all 4 variants before you decide.
After you decide how much money you need for the house, call your bank or a mortgage company. I used North American Mortgage Company http://www.namc.com/ to get my mortgage. Tell them you want to be pre-approved for a mortgage, and give them all the details. Ask them for a Letter of Understanding – this will include all the closing costs for the mortgage. After you get pre-approved go to at least two other companies, tell them you are pre-approved with what APR and ask them for the letter of understanding too, so you can compare the different companies. What this will give you, is that only one company will do a credit check on you, not all three (or more). If you decide to go with another company, they will of course do a credit check as well, but for the closing costs and the APR they don’t need it.
There is a weird law in the U.S., which makes buying houses with cash very difficult. What the law says is that you need to have money in a bank account for three months before you can use it to buy a house. This is in order to prevent money laundering by criminals. What it means is that you either have to have the money in a U.S. bank for three months or give the mortgage company some proof that the money is in a bank in Israel, which is not as easy as it sounds because you need the proof in English. What I did was, I came to the mortgage company and showed them over the Internet my account in Israel with the money there. It then took about three months to buy the house so they let me slip by without having to bring anything from my bank in Israel.
If you get money as a present from your parents to buy the house, there is a limit to how much they can give you (I think about $9,000 a parent), and you need them to sign a Gift form and bring it to your mortgage company (they will give you the form).
Closings costs vary widely from company to company, you can easily save about $500 just shopping around. One of elements in the closing costs is the Escrow Account – this is a special account for making your life easier, if a bit expensive. Let me explain: When you pay your monthly payment, some of the money goes to an escrow account. This account will be used by your mortgage company to pay the yearly taxes and insurance on your house. The monthly payments will be as follows: mortgage payment + estimated property tax/12 + property insurance/12. Sound nice but there are a few problems. First, you need to give at closing about two months worth of taxes and insurance which can be a problem if you are tight on cash at closing. Second, each year you need to send the mortgage company the papers with the taxes for them to pay, so it’s not something you can forget about anyway. Third, while the money is sitting in the escrow account, you don’t get any interest on it. If you want to cancel the escrow account, some mortgage companies will ask you for a “fine” in order to do it. Some companies don’t – find a one which doesn’t. If you canceled the escrow account, remember to put aside some money to pay the taxes with on January and you will have to pay a whole year of insurance at closing.
Another thing that is very important is to get a mortgage without penalties for pre-payment. This means that if you get some money and want to put it into the mortgage, you won’t have to pay any fines on it. When you get the papers from the mortgage company a few days before closing, make sure there is no fine for pre-payment or you’ll be screwed.
Well, I hope I didn’t forget anything.
Good Luck,
Tomer Pintel
????? ?? ???????? ?????? ???”?
10 ?????, 2004
???: ??? ????? , ???? ?????
???? ????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ????????? ???? ?????? ??????. etsion@zahav.net.il
??????? ????, ?????? ?? ?????, ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ???”?. ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ????? ??? (????? ??? ????????? ????? ??????) ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ?? 25%.
?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??????. ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? “????” ??????? ?????? ??, ??? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ??. ??????? ?????? ????? ???”? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ??????: ?????? ???”? ???”?, ?????? ?????? ???? ???”?, ???????, ??????? ???????? ????? ?? ???”?, ???? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ????, ????.
??????, ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???”? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ??, “??????” ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???”? ?????? ???. ???? ???, ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ???”?, ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????????. ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ?? (??? ????). ???? ???? ?????? ??, ?? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ??????, ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??. ????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? (????? ?? ??? ???? ?????), ?? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???”?.
???? ????? ??????? ?????? ???”? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ??, ?? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????????:
????? ????? ???????, ?????? ????? (???????, ????? ?? ???????) ???????? ??????? ???”?, ?????? ??? ?????? ???”?, ????? ?????? ???”?, ??????? ?????? ?????? ???”? ?”? ????? ??????? ??????? ???”? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ?”? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?? 60,000$, ???? ????? ?????, ????? ?????? ????, ????? ?????, ????? ????? ?????”? ??????? ??????? ???”?, ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? ???”?, ??? ???? ????? ?? ???”?, ??? ??? ?????? ????????, ??? ??????? ??????? ???”?, ?????? ????? ???”?, ??? ??????? ??????? ???”?, ??? ????? ??????? ????? ???”?, ??? ?????? ?????? ??????, ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ????, ????? ?????? ????????? ???”?, ???????, ??? ??????, ????? ??????? ?????? ?????, ????? ????? ???”?, ????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ??????, ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???”?, ????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ????.
????? ?? ????? ??, ????? ????? ??? ?- 40 ?????? ?? ????? ??. ????? ??? – ?????? ??? ?????? – ?????? ?? ???? ?????. ?????, ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ???”? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?????, ?? ????? ????? ??? ????????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????. ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????: ???????, ?????, ???????, ?????? ??? ?? ????? ?????.
???? ????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ??????????. ?? ??? ?????? ????????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???”? ??? ???? ????? ????? ????. ???? ?? ?????? ??? ?????, ??? ????? ?????? ?????, ????? ????? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???. ???? ???? ????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ?????, ???? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ???, ?????? ?????? ?????, ?????? ??? ????.
Shay Etsion, CPA (Isr.)
etsion@zahav.net.il
Tel (W): ++972-3-7106683
Tel (H): ++972-9-7432463
Mobile: ++972-51-293141
E-Fax: ++1 801 457 7604
Tax forms and tax return preparation assistance are available at a number of Austin Public Library locations. Beginning in February two organizations will provide free tax return preparation assistance: VITA (the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program sponsored by the IRS) and TCE (Tax Counseling for the Elderly sponsored by AARP).
Addresses and phones: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/news/nr20020125b.htm
Guide for international students information can be found:
http://www.utexas.edu/international/taxes/
AIPAC – American Israel Public Affairs Committee
Southwest Region
Scott Kammerman, Associate Director
12 Greenway Plaza, Suite 905
Houston, TX 77046
(713) 871-1891 / Fax: (713) 439-1948
E-mail: skammerman@aipac.org | Website: http://www.aipac.org
American pro-Israel lobby with 55,000 members nationwide. Briefings, local congressional caucuses, political training workshops, young professionals leadership program, college program and political grassroots activism.
American Jewish Committee
Houston Office
Phone: (713) 439-1202
E-mail: Houston@ajc.org | Website: http://www.ajc.org
Protects Jewish rights internationally. Promotes security for Israel and cooperation between Americans and Israelis. Participates in local programs with other ethnic, religious and community groups.
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Houston Office
Phone: (713) 627-3490 Fax: (713) 627-2011
E-mail: houston@adl.org| Website: http://www.adl.org
Combats anti-Semitism, bigotry and discrimination. Monitors and exposes extremist group activities. Interprets Mideast developments for the public. Offers diversity appreciation and anti-hate workshops.
Jewish Community Relations Council
Jewish Community Association of Austin
Joel S. Granoff, Chair
7300 Hart Lane
Austin, TX 78731
(512) 735-8000
E-mail: jsgranoff@austin.rr.com
Serves as the unified voice of the organized Jewish community. Represents various Jewish agencies and organizations in the Austin community with events, legislative activities and educational opportunities.
Jewish Community Association of Austin
7300 Hart Lane
Austin, TX 78731
(512) 735-8000
Website: http://www.jcaaonline.org
The mission of the JCAA is to enhance the quality of Jewish life in the greater Austin area and around the world, through charitable, educational, social service, cultural, religious and recreational endeavors.
Austin Chapter of Hadassah
Iris Koeller, President
6915 Thorncliffe Drive
Austin, TX 78731
E-mail: iris_koeller@yahoo.com
Tel: 231-0266
Austin Jewish Community Day School
7300 Hart Lane
Austin, TX 78731
Tel: 735-8350
B’Nai B’rith International
Chuck Kaufman
Tel: 708-1999
Jewish Business Network
503 W. 30th Street
Austin, TX 78705
Tel: 482-8651
Fax: 482-8656
http://www.austinjbn.org
Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Violence
(Working to eradicate domestic violence in our community)
P.O. Box 26641
Austin, Texas 78755-2641
Contacts: Gertrude Miller, 219-9825, savvym@msn.com
or Marilyn Shashoua at mshashoua@austin.rr.com
Jewish Family Service
11940 Jollyville Road, Suite 309 South
Austin, TX 78759
Tel: 250-1043
Jewish Women International
Dianne Radin, National Vice President
8705 Oak Mountain Circle
Austin, TX 78759
Tel: 345-0462
King David
Rabbi Bobby Schwartz
3012 University Avenue
Austin, Texas 78705
Tel: 708-0151
E-mail: kingdavid@kingdavidonline.com
Web site: http://www.kingdavidonline.com/
Menachem Hebrew Academy
2101 Nueces
Austin, TX 78705
Mosaic Outdoor Club
Web site: www.mosaics.org/Austin
National Council of Jewish Women
Marilyn Shashoua, President
Tel: 347-0021 mshashoua@austin.rr.com
Ellen Sable, Vice President of Public Affairs
Tel: 306-8239 ersable@attglobal.net
Continue reading about Listing of local jewish agencies serving Austin
For those of you with Texas Driver’s Licenses, this is a useful bit of information!
============================================================
Texas drivers licenses have this number in small print on the back just above the bar code.
1-800-525-5555
It’s for assistance on the highway. A service truck will be sent to you.
State run, paid for with your taxes!
Anyone who calls this number will directly reach a Highway Patrolman. They WILL come to the aid of the motorist – There is no charge for this. If the caller also wants a repair service, such as towing, repairs, locksmith, etc. that service will be contacted and, obviously, will need to be paid for by the driver. The important part of the message is that the Highway Patrol will respond to anyone calling this number. For anyone driving along a deserted road at night, who is being followed, has seen something suspicious or fears a dangerous situation, regardless of whether their car is broken down or not, this is an excellent thing to be informed about, especially in this day and age.
Continue reading about Texas Roadside Assistance – good info
Beginning on January 1, 2002, you can add your name, address and telephone number to state-sponsored “No Call Lists,” which will help limit telemarketing calls to your home or business. You can choose to register a residential telephone number for one or both of two “No Call Lists” sponsored by the Public Utility Commission (PUC.)
http://www.texasnocall.com
Opt out of getting credit card offers via mail (snail mail).You will need to give your ssn over the phone, and it’s fine.
The number is 800-5-opt-out (1-888-567-8688 ).
Heard about it on Clark Howard’s radio show:
http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/category/7/40/227/353/Here’s the Federal Trade Commission website about it:
http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/protect.htm
