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COVID-19 SCAM ALERT

Low Life Scammers wasted no time in preying on people’s fears.

Read how you can protect yourself from theses types of scams.

Received this from my local municipality today:

Though we’ve only seen one COVID-19 vaccine scam in SIRS at this point, we know that this this type of fraud will move very quickly, very soon, and will take many forms. Scammers rapidly alter their tactics and adapt their schemes to the changing landscape, and we anticipate that they will leverage the pending COVID-19 vaccine to prey on unsuspecting beneficiaries. At this point, it is essential that we alert the public of likely schemes and provide them with information on how they can protect themselves:

• You likely will not need to pay anything out of pocket to get the vaccine during this public health emergency.
• You cannot pay to put your name on a list to get the vaccine.
• You cannot pay to get early access to the vaccine.
• No one from Medicare or the Health Department with contact you.
• No one from a vaccine distribution site or health care payer, like a private insurance company, will call you asking for your Social Security number or your credit card or bank account information to sign you up to get the vaccine.
• Beware of providers offering other products, treatments, or medicines to prevent the virus. Check with your health care provider before paying for or receiving any COVID-19-related treatment.
• If you get a call, text, email — or even someone knocking on your door — claiming they can get you early access to the vaccine, STOP. That’s a scam.

As you receive specific vaccine fraud case information, please notify the SMP Mailbox (smp@acl.hhs.gov) and me (marissa.whitehouse@acl.hhs.gov) via email ASAP. Additionally, if you have a beneficiary who you believe might be willing to speak about their experience with being approached/contacted about this type of fraud, please email Marissa Whitehouse directly.

 We are working closely with the OIG and will provide more information as soon as it becomes available. Please reach out to me with any questions related to COVID-19 vaccine fraud email: marissa.whitehouse@acl.hhs.gov

Real Estate Sense for You During the Pandemic

The COVID 19 Pandemic has transformed the way we are living our lives. Unless you were around in 1917, you probably have not experienced anything like this life-changing disruption.

Only three months ago, many of us could not have predicted we would be facing uncertainties about the future regarding employment, finances, and living accommodations. Perhaps life will return to the pre-pandemic state, but very likely it will resume with changes. Listening to politicians and medical professionals quote statistics really does not help you to work through your specific situation. These are individual circumstances and what is right for your friends, neighbors, parents, or children may not be right for you. The truth of the matter is whatever the current circumstances are, you still need to move forward with your lives.

For many, a concern about living accommodations is very high on the list of uncertainties. The good news is we are seeing that Real Estate transactions are robust, and the market is good for both buyers and sellers. In places like the New York Metro/Tri-state area, activity is strong and has increased significantly over last year. So whether you are looking to move to the suburbs, move to a city, up-size, downsize, relocate or even just refinance, there are lots of choices available to you.

A successful real estate transaction can be viewed as one in which everyone is able to create a Win/Win situation: a good thing for all involved. Fortunately, there are federal laws, and in many states such as New York, strong consumer laws, which help protect residential buyers and sellers. Additionally, today’s Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents are trusted licensed professionals. They are well trained, required to take continuing education courses to keep up with new laws and regulations and are there to help you negotiate what are sometimes very tricky and complicated issues.

By law, an agent must submit all offers, even if they are way below the asking price. An agent can review offers with the seller and discuss which might be a better offer, i.e. the buyer is pre-approved for a mortgage, or can put down a larger down payment.

However, whether you are buying, selling, renting, leasing, or investing, there are no laws to ensure that you are making the right decision based on your specific circumstances, or that you are receiving the highest value for your dollar. That is where we come in.

The DHG Realty Group is a private realty advisory services company. We work with but not for any Real Estate agencies, banks, mortgage lenders, developers, investment or property management firms. We provide customized Real Estate related services designed to make your real estate decisions less stressful and yield as much value as possible.

Drawing on decades of experience providing critical decision data analyses to Fortune 500 company executives and entrepreneurs, we are able to provide you with this same type of in-depth analyses on school and neighborhood demographics, area market trends and pricing, tax rates, municipal services offered, and bond ratings. We can work with your agent if you have one, interview agents with you, or recommend one who would be a good match for your needs. We work with you in confidence to review, evaluate, and access your circumstances to help you determine your best options based on family needs, employment, and finances. Having this information and understanding how to use it to evaluate your unique requirements is a positive and crucial component in making the right decision.

Services Offered Include:

Situational

• Time to upsize, downsize, move to the suburbs, move to a city, relocate, retire?
• What is right for me, Rental? Co-op? Condo? Townhouse? Single Family House?
• What do I need to know before I buy?
• What do I need to know before I sell?
• Should I rent or buy?
• What can I afford?
• What is the best school district for what I can afford?
• I need a larger home, is this the right time to buy?
• How much is my current home worth?
• I want to downsize; is it a good time to sell?

Financial

• New mortgage (we help to find the best rates and terms for you)
• Refinance (lower monthly payments, longer or shorter term mortgages)
• Home Equity Loan