The current economic crisis demands that all large companies review their costs and find ways to cut them as much as possible. One of the areas being targeted by large corporations today is absenteeism. JC Penney is working diligently with their employees in an effort to cut employee absences and the expenses they entail.

Hundreds of our country’s largest employers have estimated that unscheduled absences cost them over $750,000 a year in payroll. Costs are much greater, however, when you take into account lost revenue and lower productivity. Excessive absenteeism also results in lower employee morale, which eventually also affects the bottom line.

JC Penney is trying to resolve their absenteeism problem through a new program they’ve set up. The program is called Power Line and is made up of a team of employees. Any employee who will be out of work for three or more days will contact the Power Line group and the group will determine the type of benefit the employee is entitled to. If forms are necessary, these will be provided to the employee. The team then notifies the employee’s store directly. The Power Line employee follows-up with the absent employee and continues to do so until this person returns to work. Although this new system has only been in use for the past 90 days, the store believes that they are already seeing positive results.

This is just one of the many areas being investigated today to determine how else corporate expenses can be lowered. If major companies want to survive in these troubling times, they will have to make every effort to cut costs while still providing exceptional customer service.

Real Estate Agents, as with most commissioned salespeople, want you to remember them when the time comes to make use of their services. The lady who sold my last house and who is a very successful sales representative, constantly stays in touch with her customer base.

Kathy, my personal real estate agent, is very good at what she does. She considers her specialty to be her extraordinary personal service and is available to help you whatever your needs may be. She waters plants, arranges for animal care, and helps you address all of the unusual things that can occur while moving into or out of a home. She’s a very good person to know, especially when you are relocating. She knows everything about her territory and is more than willing to provide you with any information you need.

One thing that Kathy does very well is to constantly stay in touch with her customers. She sends promotional material on a regular basis. In my home, I have notepads with her picture and phone numbers, promotional key rings and a variety of other useful items that will always keep her foremost in my mind. Her latest means of contact has been to send a newsletter about home-related topics. There are tips for getting ready for winter and articles advising you how much of a return you will get on specific home improvements in today’s market. All of her efforts accomplish her goal. They keep her constantly on your mind so, when someone indicates a need for a real estate person, I think of Kathy immediately and have been able to send some customers her way. I know she will take extremely good care of anyone I send to her and she is very appreciative of the referral.

Everyone knows that home purchases and new mortgages have decreased dramatically over the past year. One very surprising fact, however, is that the 2^nd quarter of 2008 showed a 42 % increase in loan fraud activity over the same period in 2007. This is an amazing increase when you consider that the volume of loans decreased by approximately 30%.

There are apparently many ways to commit fraud when filing for a loan, and information regarding many of them is readily available on the internet. These methods of fraud consist mainly of phony income verifications and credit reports, falsified employment records, financial assets being “rented” from others, and inflated appraisals. It is the availability of the necessary forms, etc. (all with disclaimers that they may not be used for fraudulent purposes) that are enabling people to become criminals. Many families are so used to all of the luxuries they have had over the years that they are desperate to continue their former lifestyles. With income down and costs up, they are finding it necessary to lie and cheat to maintain this way of living. It is sad to think that people are willing to break the law simply to maintain their creature comforts.

Another scam being used to obtain a mortgage fraudulently is to search the web to locate what is known as “straw buyers”. These are people with good credit scores and incomes who are willing to sell their financial identities temporarily to unqualified buyers. Of course, they wish to be paid very well for their part in this scam.

This large increase in loan fraud is a direct result of the economic problems facing our country. It is also, however, a terrible statement about the characters and morals of many of our citizens that they would allow themselves to become thieves.

For many years, insurance companies have been working with Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange reports also known as a CLUE report. This report shows the insurance claim history of a home over a specific period of time. Insurance companies have always used these reports when setting the premiums to be charged to insure a property. Prospective buyers would be smart to request a CLUE so they will know of any past problems and areas that may have had previous damage. If the home had past water damage or a history of mold, it is possible that the insurance premiums will reflect this even if you were not the one to have filed the claim. If the home has been sold several times, it’s quite possible that the seller you are working with is not even aware of this history.

As a prospective purchaser, you do not have the right to obtain a CLUE on a specific piece of property. You will need to ask the buyer to do this for you. A homeowner can visit the site ChoiceTrust.com and click on C.L.U.E. Reports. If the property owner were giving the report to a potential buyer, he would be better off purchasing a Home Seller’s Disclosure Report. This would list five years worth of claims on the property but would not show any of the seller’s personal information.

Consider requesting a CLUE when you are seriously interested in purchasing a home. The cost is minimal and you could offer to reimburse the homeowner for this expense. It could be money very well spent if the history of the home shows negative information that might prevent you from making a poor decision.