Conforming Loan Limit

Currently, for most of the country, the maximum limit for mortgage loan is $417,000. This limit is typically increased each year by the level of home-price inflation. The conforming loan maximum is the largest loan that can be purchased by mortgage giants Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Loans larger than the maximum, known as jumbo loans, typically carry higher interest rates by one-quarter to one-half a percentage point.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) announced previously that the maximum conforming loan limit for U.S. mortgages will be frozen at current levels for a year, if home prices show a decline from October 2005 to October 2006. The data released yesterday showed that, from October 2005 to October 2006, a decline of $501, or 0.16%, was reported in the average price -- the first decline reported since 1992-1993. The average price was $306,759 in October 2005 and $306,258 in October 2006.

For mortgages on two-family properties, the loan limit will continue to be $533,850. The limit will hold at $645,300 for mortgages on three-family properties and $801,950 for mortgages on four-family properties. Properties in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are eligible for higher limits.

Beware of Charity Scams

Thanksgiving is over and it's time to finish the year with traditional festivities. Christmas is less than one month away and, sooner than we think, the year 2007 will knock the door. It's also time to give and forgive. But do not forget to be careful -- to ensure that your act of giving goes to right places and becomes maximally effective.

Not long after the Tsunami devastated south Asia in 2004, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) began receiving numerous complaints of charity scams carried out in several ways. Similar complaints were also received in the wake of the relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina last year. That's why they're warning Americans against donating to just anyone.

Charities like the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross have done a great job of providing help to victims of past disasters and it is expected that will happen again. But if you would like to support another charity, check on them first. The best places to check on these charities and how effectively they spend their collection money are these two useful websites:

CharityNavigator.org which ranks some 35 hundred charities with zero to four stars depending on how well they spend donations.

Give.org is a useful website from the Better Business Bureau and offers guidance to donors on making informed giving decisions through their charity evaluations, various "tips" publications, and publishes the quarterly Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide .

Thanksgiving Travel

Thanksgiving day travel is going to be rough this year with bad weather in eastern states disrupting airline schedule. We can expect more delays and other airport annoyances. Here are a few advanced tips ... just in time before you start your well-deserved break from work:

Know what you can carry
It's worthwhile going through the website of the Transport Security Administration (TSA) and getting familiar with the new security procedure in order to avoid your frustrations after arriving at the airport. In particular, it's important to go through the list of prohibited items (click here) and make sure what you can and can't carry in your carry-ons.

Get the traffic report
Find out what's happening at the airport on fly.faa.gov, which lists real-time flight delays. For security lines, check out waittime.tsa.dhs.gov, which lists security line wait times by hour for any terminal at any U.S. airport.

Park online.
Airport parking lots fill up fast during holidays. Book a spot early at parknflynetwork.com . Most lots give a 10 to 25 percent discount to online bookers.

Surf for free
Before you leave the house, find free airport Wi-Fi hotspots at wififreespot.com/airport.html so you can easily get online during long flight delays and spend some quality time.

Identity Theft As You Travel

Many of you would be travelling to enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend. Here we are giving a few tips that you must consider in these days of identity theft and other kinds of frauds:

Interact with trustworthy companies only for your travel needs. If you're not sure about a company's reputation, check it out with the Better business Bureau ( BBB) or the Attorney General's office in the state in which it's based.

Leave your Social Security Number at home. Don't pack any ID that has your number on it. If it's on your medical insurance card, or other document you must have, keep the card very secure.

Be telephone Smart. Don't give out your credit card number over.

Tame the Internet. Don't feel obligated to fill in every part of a website form. If you can't access the site without providing personal information--such as a home address, your age, or your credit card number -- go to another site.

Pay by credit card. Not only does this protect you financially-- if you don't get travel product you were promised, you can request that the charges can be removed -- it also protects your identity better than payment by check or debit card.

Prune your wallet. You don't need all your credit cards on a trip. Take just two. Leave one Locked in the hotel safe and carry the other in a front pocket, secured with Velcro or some other pick-pocket-deterring fastener. Also, don't bring checks or a checkbook with you

Educate yourself. To learn about the latest scams, check out the Identity Theft Resource Center's website at www.idtheftcenter.org or call the center at (858) 693-7935.

Use passwords. Protect your cell phone, PDA, and laptop computer with passwords. If the objects are lost or stolen, your data will remain hidden.

Vacation and Home Security

With the forthcoming Thanksgiving holidays arrives one of the peak periods for U.S travel and also for break-ins, with about 400,000 burglaries each year. But there are simple steps you can take to boost your defenses.

Delete old voice mails and call home while you're away to collect messages. If your voice mail gets full, that's a sign you're traveling.

Advertise your alarm system. Yard signs are far more effective than window decals. Burglars can't see decals from the street, and once they approach your house, they're far more likely to attempt a break-in.

Never put your home address on luggage tags. You're announcing the location of yur empty home to everyone in the airport. Use a business address or P.O. Box number instead.

Don't stop deliveries. Information left with the post office may fall into the wrong hands. Instead, enlist neighbors or friends to collect the mail -- and to take out the trash. You may not beieve it but would-be intruders really look for garbage cans that aren't by the curb on collection day.

Last but not the least, count your children before boarding an aircraft. Make sure you are not leaving one of them in 'home alone'!

Gasoline Price

Road travel during the forthcoming Thanksgiving holiday period could be more expensive, as gasoline rose 5 cents a gallon on average over the past two weeks. The bi-weekly Lundberg Survey, which checks pump prices at 7,000 gas stations around the U.S., showed that through Friday, self-serve regular was averaging $2.23 a gallon.

Here are a few websites which may come to your use for finding gas prices in your area:
Find out which gas station in your town has the best fuel prices by searching the handy state-by-state list at GasBuddy.com .
You may find the lowest gas prices in your neighborhood by visiting GasPriceWatch.com .
You can use AAA's fuelcostcalculator.com to find out the cost of making a trip by putting information about your starting point and destination.

Medicare Drug Plan Enrollment

It's decision time again for those aged 65 and older — and any friends or family members who help them with financial decisions. Between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31, seniors can enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan — a benefit program launched in 2006 to help older adults and disabled people lower their prescription drug costs. Benefits will begin Jan. 1. Seniors who signed up for a plan during the initial enrollment period that began in November 2005 can also change plans beginning Wednesday.

People who are satisfied with their plan don't have to do anything to keep it; renewal for 2007 is automatic. But most stand-alone plans raised monthly premiums by an average of $4.50, changed other costs and generally expanded the list of drugs they will cover in 2007. So, the plan you signed up for in 2006 may not be the best plan for you in 2007, so you should compare your current plan with new ones available this year.

You don't have to enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan if you have a drug benefit through a retirement plan, employer, veterans plan or other plan that is at least as good as standard Medicare coverage. That's called "creditable" coverage. If that plan or coverage level ends after Dec. 31, you may enroll in a Medicare plan without a financial penalty. Seniors who turn 65 after Dec. 31 have the normal Medicare open enrollment period with no penalty.

Because of the confusion, jammed medicare phone lines and computer glitches experienced in last year's enrollment, Medicare officials are encouraging seniors to enroll or make plan changes by Dec. 8, even though enrollment ends Dec. 31. There are a few other exceptions to enrollment deadlines and other restrictions. Also, while the benefit is offered nationwide, the number and kinds of plans vary by state. For more information, MEDICARE'S Web site, www.medicare.gov , and its 24-hour toll-free number, (800) MED-ICARE (633-4227).

Recall of PainKiller

Perrigo Co., one of the largest domestic makers of store-brand over-the-counter drug and nutrition products, said it had found trace amounts of metal in a small number of 500 milligram caplets of store-brand acetaminophen, a pain-killer. The company advised customers to call 877 546-0454 with questions or comments.

Perrigo's customers include Wal-Mart, CVS, Longs Drug Stores, Kroger, Safeway, Dollar General and Save-a-Lot. The recall affects 11 million bottles containing pill.

Any adverse reactions from using the product should be reported to the FDA by calling 800 FDA-1088 or faxing 800 FDA-0178 or on the MedWatch Web site at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch

The FDA posted a list of recalled batches on its Web site at this address http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/perrigo/perrigobatchlist.html

Victims of Weird Mortgages

Many home-owners are at risk with their adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM) or its variants. Rising interest rates and falling home values are creating an atmosphere of panic among some borrowers who had extended their ability of purchase by selecting such ARM or interest-only mortgages and are now finding their monthly payments at unaffordable level.

But not in all cases the borrowers' greed of possessing a larger home was the sole reason for them to end up in such a miserable state. In many cases, due to heavy-handed salesmanship originating from too much of competetion among loan brokers, inconsistent loan representations regarding the benefits or terms of the loan were made by the brokers. In some cases, unnecessary disclosures which were not required by the law were asked from borrowers at the time of loan origination.

If you feel you might have been led to such a situation for such wrongful business practices, you may consider consulting a consumer-protection attorney. Most consumer-protection attorneys offer a free consultation. If you have a case, you may be charged up to one-third of any benefit obtained through the lawsuit. Some state and federal consumer protection laws provide that the lender, if it loses, pay attorney fees. To find a consumer protection attorney in your area, visit the website of National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA), a nationwide organization of more than 1000 attorneys who represent and have represented hundreds of thousands of consumers victimized by fraudulent, abusive and predatory business practices.