So many signs

A couple of years ago I went through the exercise of applying for a Home Equity Line of Credit -HELOC for short.  Lots of paperwork, but a comfortable line of credit was extended.  I did this as a safety net of sorts, you know, "just in case" I should need some cash in a hurry.  HELOC's are based on the value of your home and the equity you have in it.  

Las Vegas has seen a drop of at least 30% in home values in the last year.  Yes, 30%.

Today I got a letter from the bank that my HELOC was "restricted"  since the value of my home has dropped so much and the equity is now not enough to qualify.  It doesn't matter what my credit score is, or how much money I'm making or how much I have in the bank, or even that I haven't used that line of credit even once and owe nothing on it - simply the drop in value of the home.  "Restricted" means I no longer have access to that account.   

So much for that safety net.  Amazing to me that so many bad sub-prime loans were made that the world economy has been brought to it's knees, but NOW they are paying attention to this kind of loan.    It seems as though not only is credit not being extended to people, but now they are actively taking back any credit that had been extended.   Yep, it's going to get much worse.  My car is leased through GMAC.  Hmmm......can they call that in?  What really bothers me is we are at the mercy of people making huge salaries, bonuses and now "retention fees" while my credit worthiness, lifestyle and peace of mind are trampled.

Can you say Dubai?

I'm like most people.  Really. Like, when something intrigues me, I pursue it on all fronts.  Dubai intrigues me.  You see specials on cable shows on the phenomenal developments being built there all the time.  They've got indoor snow skiing in the desert!  The tallest building in the world!  Five-star hotels up the ying yang.   The list goes on.  

Do a simple Google search and you'll be occupied for hours. Dubai is expanding off the charts along with it's fellow "emirates" in the United Arab Emirates.  It's not even the capital of UAE but is giving Abu Dhabi (the capital) a run for it's money in size and growth.  And I'll admit right now -- yes, I had to Google map it because I'm lousy at Middle East geography.  (Sad to say, when I last took a geography class (high school) alot of current Middle Eastern countries didn't even exist!)

In our getting-smaller-all-the-time world, a conversation I had last week with a friend was still a bit surreal.  I was sitting outside on my porch, enjoying 75º Vegas sunshine, when my cell chirped with an incoming call.  It was my friend Nick, calling from Dubai where he works for an American construction company.  Our time difference is exactly 12 hours, so while I'd just finished breakfast, he was headed home from after-work drinks with friends.  We chatted for some time about his work, and the sights he was seeing as he drove home.  He's from metro New York, and he describes Dubai as even more cosmopolitan than the Big Apple.   

The culture difference is sometimes small, sometimes big, but, he says, not hard to live with at all.  His biggest adjustment has been to a Friday/Saturday weekend, as Islam is the main religion and Friday is their holy day like our Sunday.   It can get confusing as some Middle Eastern countries recognize Thursday/Friday as the weekend.   Makes it interesting when you're doing business with companies around the world.  And, in a meeting with 30 other people, it's very possible they are all from different countries.  Thank goodness English is as common as Arabic.

I encourage you to expand your horizons.  I even found a link on the official Dubai government website where you can learn Arabic for free.  

A Hard Lesson Learned

I wasn't long out of bed this morning - Sunday - when the phone rang about 9 am.  It was an automated message from WaMu's Credit Fraud system, verifying if I'd made a particular transaction on my debit card this morning.   The answer was no, so I was hooked up to a live person.  After quite a bit of information was exchanged, she verified that a company in Malta had attempted to use my debit card number for a $105 charge.  WaMu shut down my card before that charge could go thru.  

So, I'm relieved that the fraud was stopped, but then learned that a new debit card will take 7-10 business days - the "business" word is the critical part here - to get to me, in other words, up to two weeks.   Going to a bank, during bank hours, and working with a teller to get cash & make deposits will be a harkening back to the old pre-ATM days.  Still, a small price of inconvenience to pay to stop the potential for fraud.  Fortunately, since I needed cash today when the banks are closed, my business account with a debit card came in very handy.

Now, the question begs to be asked - how the hell did this company get my debit card number?  WaMu said they couldn't discuss it with me for security reasons, but advised I not use my debit card for any online transactions.  Great - twice last week - for the first time in a long time - I broke down and used my debit card instead of my credit card for two different $20 online purchases - from known American companies.   Of course, I don't know if that's how they got it, but, as my sage daughter has advised me, never use your debit card online.

Hard lesson learned.  Even a little value purchase put me at risk.  And here I thought it always happened to somebody else.