REMAR'S REVIEWS
November 2009
What You Need to Know to Buy a House in Today's Market
Remar Sutton, DCU StreetWise National Spokesman
Thinking of buying a new home? Today’s housing market offers opportunities, pitfalls, and confusing situations. For example, home prices on average may be the most affordable they’ve been in twenty years, according to experts; but placing the right value on a home can be difficult, given the high rate of foreclosures on the market and other variables. Mortgage rates remain low, but loan qualification requirements have tightened. And the list of potential concerns goes on. This month, we’ll look at some of the information and steps necessary for shopping and buying wisely in today’s housing market.
Useful Web Sites
The 2010 Census is fast approaching. Every household will receive a questionnaire in February or March 2010. Census phishing and email scams are already appearing. These tips from the Census Bureau will help you avoid the scams.
The 2010 Fuel Economy Guide is now available. The annual fuel cost estimates in the online 2008-2010 fuel economy guides are updated weekly to reflect the Energy Information Administration's current national average prices for gasoline and diesel fuel.
How to pay down your debt
This article from Consumer Reports evaluates 3 different strategies for paying off your credit card balances. Net Cetera: Chatting With Kids About Being Online
This guide from OnGuard Online can help adults talk to kids about how they live their lives online and help them reduce the risks of socializing and communicating online. Useful Websites Archives.
 Meet StreetWise Spokesman Remar Sutton
According to Ralph Nader, "Remar Sutton is without Peer in presenting the lures, pitfalls, and price packs that are now part of so many car-dealers' practices."
That's why we asked Remar to develop our StreetWise member education program, and why we asked him to become the national spokesman for our entire StreetWise member education efforts.
Remar is President and co-founder with Ralph Nader of the non-profit Consumer Task Force for Automotive Issues. 20/20, 60 Minutes, Ted Koppel's Nightline, ABC Primetime, Good Morning America, The TODAY show, CBS Morning News, Newsweek, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, PBS television's News Hour with Jim Lehrer, and People magazine have all used Sutton as either a consultant, on-air authority, author, or subject.
Remar is an integral team member of DCU's staff,
and we think you'll quickly agree he is also a friend of your
pocketbook. You can email him with questions about the auto business
and our StreetWise member education program at autoissues@aol.com.*
To preview the first chapters of the latest edition of his book, Don't Get Taken Every Time (published May 2001), visit the links below:
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Breaking News
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What is StreetWise all about?
By Remar Sutton, StreetWise National Spokesman
DCU's vision is that all members achieve their financial goals. . We believe that unbiased, detailed consumer education is essential for you to achieve your financial goals.
StreetWise will provide you the information you need to make the major purchases of your life for as little money as possible. StreetWise will teach you how financial products and services work and how to get the most from them. StreetWise will show you how to protect your privacy and personal information.
As time goes on, we'll continue to expand and update StreetWise
to cover an ever-broadening range of consumer and financial issues. If
you have ideas for topics you would like us to cover, let us know by email.
My role in StreetWise
I'm not known for being shy when it comes to the
rights of consumers. If you've ever heard me talk about the auto
industry or privacy issues, you know that. My job with DCU is as direct
– be your advocate and not the advocate of any product or service.
About Remar's Reviews
StreetWise covers many topics. The major categories are listed on the left. But Remar's Reviews will always take you to new and topical information.
* Please note that ordinary email is not secure. You should avoid including any sensitive personal or financial information. Contact DCU directly with specific questions concerning your account or membership.
| A note about third-party links – By selecting links on this page, you will leave DCU's web site and enter a web site hosted by an organization separate from DCU. We encourage you to read and evaluate the privacy policy of any site you visit when you enter the site. While we strive to only link you to companies and organizations that we feel offer useful information, DCU does not directly support nor guarantee claims made by these sites. |
