1st Street Newsletter APRIL 2007

Contents

Landlord Insurance
Losing Your Identity

Jeremy Fisher
Director

518b Old South Head Rd
Rose Bay NSW 2029

Tel:	1300 880 109
Fax:	02 9371 1990
Mob:	0411 33 9998

E-mail:	Click Here
Website:	Click Here

Welcome to 1st Street Home Loans. We are an Australian-owned mortgage advisory company with a difference. Due to our strong relationships with the banks, industry leading technology, honest approach and only the highest level of service, we were recently awarded as the number 1 independant mortgage broker in Australia.

With an increasing number of people today turning to mortgage brokers for professional and unbiased service, 1st Street Home Loans is fast becoming their broker of choice. We offer a free and impartial service that provides access to over 30 residential and commercial lenders and more than 500 loan products from across Australia.

The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) is the peak body for the Australian mortgage industry. Members include banks, mortgage managers, credit unions, mortgage brokers, wholesale funding institutions, real estate agents, valuers, solicitors and conveyancers.

All MFAA members belong to an independent dispute resolution scheme such as the Credit Ombudsman Service Limited.

Loan writing members are also required to become Accredited Mortgage Consultants (AMC). An AMC is covered by professional indemnity insurance, has passed probity checks, and has met education and experience requirements set out by the MFAA.

Hello,

Welcome to 1st Street's monthly newsletter. If you require any assistance in obtaining the right loan for you, or if you have any questions in regards to an existing loan, please do not hesitate to contact me personally on 1300 88 01 09 or 0411 33 9998.

Kind regards,

Jeremy Fisher

Landlord Insurance

For Rent A recent survey reveals that less than 50% of self-managing landlords have adequate insurance cover for their properties.

This article explains why this is a significant financial risk to these property owners.

In a survey conducted by Woolcott Research in June 2006, less than half of the self-managing landlords interviewed had specific landlord insurance.

Some of them believed that the rental bond would be sufficient to cover any problems – which is unfortunately not usually the case.

Others felt that their standard home buildings and contents policies were adequate – but these do not normally offer the full range of required cover.

This means that one in two self-managing landlords could be at risk of experiencing a significant loss on their property that they could be covered for if they had the correct policy in place.

This lack of insurance is also a problem, though less so, for landlords who use Property Managers to look after their properties. Good Property Managers will point out the advantages of such insurance to their clients, and encourage them to seek protection. Even so, a sizeable minority of these landlords also lack appropriate cover.

What Is Landlord Insurance?

Common features of a landlord insurance policy include:

Malicious or accidental damage to the property by the tenant or their guests. This includes holes in walls, smashed doors, deliberately burnt carpets as well as unintentional damage.
Theft by the tenant or their guests. This can happen when a tenant is moving away from a partly or fully furnished property.
Loss of rental income if the tenant defaults on their payments or absconds, or if the property has to be left vacant whilst repairs are carried out.
Public Liability, including for a damages claim against you by the tenant for an injury.
Legal expenses incurred in taking action against a tenant.

Aren’t All Policies The Same?

Like any type of insurance policy, the details of what’s included, the maximum benefit payable, the excess amounts, waiting periods and the premiums vary between the providers.

“Not all policies provide the right type of cover.”For example some policies can pay up to six week’s rent if tenants abscond and up to 15 weeks if tenants default on their payments and the landlord has to repossess.

Also, some insurance policies are marketed as “landlord policies”, but in fact don’t cover the full range of risks.

The fine print in these policies frequently reveals clauses excluding events such as malicious damage by a tenant and cover for the loss of rental income – all essential components that a landlord requires coverage for.

Conclusion

Investing in property is about investing in your future. As a landlord you will no doubt want to ensure that your investment property is properly protected.

That means getting a proper landlord insurance policy – it’s an investment worth considering.

Losing Your Identity

ID Theft Having your identity stolen is a stressful experience - and can be an expensive one.

Some simple precautions can reduce the risk - and if the worst happens, we give you some tips on what to do.

Identity theft is the theft and use of personal identifying information of an actual person, either living or dead. Criminals normally do this in undertake to undertake identity fraud, which is defined as gaining a benefit by deception (usually financial).

Identity theft happens in several ways. It can range from somebody using your credit card details illegally to make purchases over the internet or telephone, through to having your entire identity assumed by another person to open bank accounts, take out loans, make tax returns and conduct other business illegally in your name.

Simple Precautions

By introducing some practical precautions into everyday life, you can take an active role in reducing the risk of identity theft and fraud.

Only carry with you those credit cards you intend to use, and leave the rest locked up.
Never let your credit card out of your sight. It only takes a second to ‘skim’ your credit card and so steal all of the details held in the magnetic strip.
Don’t leave your personal documents lying around. Keep such documents in a locked safe or filing cabinet.
Ensure your home letterbox is locked and secure, this will prevent the stealing of personal information from your mail.
Remove registration papers, driving licences, bills etc from the glove box of your car.
Tear up, burn or shred any unwanted documents containing personal information before putting them in the bin.
Before giving your credit card details over the ‘phone, make sure these details are being used for a legitimate purpose, and check your credit card statement to make sure you have not been made a victim of identity theft.
If you buy goods or services on the internet, check the site you are accessing is a secure site. If you are a regular purchaser online, use a third party payment provider such as Paypal.
Check your credit report regularly to make sure nobody has been misusing your personal information for criminal purposes.
Change your ISP and computer passwords regularly.
Don’t keep personal information on your computer hard disk. Instead, save it to a CD or floppy disk. Also don’t use automatic log-in features that save your password.
Keep your virus protection software up-to-date. Also, never open e-mails or attachments that you are not expecting without running your virus protection.
Be wary about using public access computers (e.g. at internet cafes) for personal transactions as they are notoriously insecure.
Install a firewall protection program onto your computer to help to stop unauthorised access.

If You Are A Victim

If you do become a victim of identity theft, there are a number of steps you can take to recover your good name and limit the damage done:

Report identity theft to the police. Identity theft is like any other theft - it must be reported to the police. Provide all documentation necessary to assist the police in investigating the crime.
Contact the Credit Reporting Agency. Report that you are a victim of identity theft. Ask that an alert be placed on your file, and ask that you be contacted by phone if credit providers want to open accounts for you.
Check your credit file carefully for unauthorised entries. Look for accounts that have been opened in your name, or unauthorised changes to your existing accounts.
Close all accounts. Contact all the businesses with whom unauthorised accounts have been opened in your name and ask them to close all fraudulent accounts. Also close all legitimate accounts and open new accounts with new PINs and passwords.
Keep all documentary evidence of fraud. Take notes, keep copies, keep police reports, get confirmation of conversations and actions in writing. Never send originals away in the mail - if documents are required by someone else, send photocopies.
Take action to clear criminal records. This will require the help of the police. You may have to undergo police routines of photographing and fingerprinting to establish that you are not the same person as the person who stole your identity and used it fraudulently.

DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is provided for general information only. Please do not rely on this newsletter as a substitute for specific legal or financial advice. Before making any decisions you should consider your specific objectives, financial situation and needs. You can unsubscribe by sending us a reply email with "Unsubscribe from e-Newsletter" in the subject line.