THE TITUS WOMAN MINISTRY LAUNCHES NEW, UPDATED WEBSITE
The Titus Woman Ministry is a 501 (c)3 faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to serve the community through the holistic development of women in need.
One of our primary goals is to construct and operate a homeless shelter for women and their children in the Waller area, with the intent of equipping the women to enter (or re-enter) mainstream society and become self-sustaining and providers for their children. This proposed shelter will be constructed in Waller County, Texas and will house families from all the surrounding communities.
We have opened a resale shop, name Grace & Mercy, on March 1, 2008. Funds obtained from sales of merchandise at the Grace & Mercy resale shop will help fund this project, we are asking for the support of your church and the community to make the vision a reality. Come out and buy our resale merchandise.
Any donations to this worthy cause will be appreciated.
The shop is called Grace & Mercy for it was God’s grace that gave us the vision and His mercy will allow us to carry it through. Can we count on you?
The resale shop wiill carry furniture, clothing (for the family), household goods, and much, much more. It is located at 71 Scroggins Lane Waller, Texas (off FM 1488 In the Held Store Mini Warehouses). The grand opening was March 1, 2008.
For further information and/or donations, contact Rosemary Butler @ 936-931-1726; 281-682-4177 or Carol O’Brien @) 281-302-S333 or Fern Poyser at 936.931.3344. Pass the word and support this God given vision. We thank you in advance for what you will do.
TOM JOYNER GIVES PRAIRIE VIEW A BIG CHECK!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEXAS UNIVERSITY!
Prairie View A&M University has been selected to receive a $100,000 grant from the Tom Joyner Foundation and the National Education Association (NEA) to help increase the number of fully certified teachers in minority and hard-to-staff schools.
Prairie???????? ????? ???????? View A&M University is one of several historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) awarded funding from the Tom Joyner Foundation and the NEA.
The PVAMU Teacher Certification Program, housed in the university’s Whitlowe R. Green College of Education, will facilitate the university’s scholarship award process. Prairie View A&M University’s program will focus on certification in the areas of Science, Mathematics and Special Education. The university plans to distribute funds for the program beginning summer 2008.
Fern Poyser UPDATE on Titus Woman Ministry
The Titus Woman Ministry is preparing to take Waller County for Jesus!
We have secured retail space in the Fieldstore area of northern Waller county to open the Grace & Mercy resale shop. This will enable us to be open more often in an effort to generate the funds necessary to work towards the shelter for women and children in Waller county.
We praise God for this small stride and look forward to many, many more fruitful days and bountiful blessings as we reach out to the community.
FINGERPRINTING REQUIREMENTS FOR TEXAS REALTORS
A recently enacted law (HB 1530, 80th Legislature, Regular Session) requires any person applying for or renewing a broker or salesperson license on or after January 1, 2008 to provide their fingerprints, in a specified format, in order to enable an FBI criminal history check to be performed. These new fingerprint requirements apply only to brokers and salespersons. They do not apply to other TREC licensees, such as home inspectors. Once fingerprints are on file with DPS for a TREC license, a licensee will not need to be fingerprinted for subsequent renewals.
This new fingerprinting requirement for Texas realtors is very welcome. This is good news for the real estate community. It will give homeowners and property owners a greater sense of security knowing that the people responsible for selling or showing their homes are not wanted for any crimes. Also, should any criminal activity occur within or on a property owner’s property, the law enforcement agencies can quickly and easily identify the perpetrator(s) through this new fingerprinting requirement.
The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) conducts background checks on ALL licensees. This new fingerprinting requirement will NOT affect current licensees’ licensing status UNLESS that person has committed a new crime and is convicted of a felony offense within the state of Texas.
If a licensee has committed new crimes and has new felony convictions which were not reported to TREC since he or she last applied for a real estate license, the new convictions resulting from a background check may or may not hinder the issuance of a real estate license. TREC will decide if the licensee’s license should be renewed after conducting their own independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the new felony conviction.
Under no circumstances will TREC suspend or revoke a licensee’s license unless (1) they falsify or try to hide any new felony convictions (2) they willingly lie about having new felony convictions (3) they refuse to submit to fingerprinting and background checks and (4) they fail to pay their renewal fees or honor any delinquent debts owed to TREC.
HOUSE STEALING – THE LATEST SCAM ON THE BLOCK
What do you get when you combine two popular rackets these days—identity theft and mortgage fraud? A totally new kind of crime: house stealing.
Here’s how it generally works:… The con artists start by picking out a house to steal—say, YOURS.
… Next, they assume your identity—getting a hold of your name and personal information (easy enough to do off the Internet) and using that to create fake IDs, social security cards, etc.
… Then, they go to an office supply store and purchase forms that transfer property.
… After forging your signature and using the fake IDs, they file these deeds with the proper authorities, and lo and behold, your house is now THEIRS. There are some variations on this theme…… Con artists look for a vacant house—say, a vacation home or rental property—and do a little research to find out who owns it. Then, they steal the owner’s identity, go through the same process of transferring the deed, put the empty house on the market, and pocket the profits.
… Or, the fraudsters steal a house a family is still living in…find a buyer (someone, say, who is satisfied with a few online photos)…and sell the house without the family even knowing. In fact, the rightful owners continue right on paying the mortgage for a house they no longer own.
It can get even more complicated than this, as we learned in a recent case out of Los Angeles that the FBI investigated with the IRS. Last year, a real estate business owner in southeast Los Angeles pled guilty to leading a scam that defrauded more than 100 homeowners and lenders out of some $12 million. She promised to help struggling homeowners pay their mortgages by refinancing their loans. Instead, she and her partners in crime used stolen identities or “straw buyers” (people who are paid for the illegal use of their personal information) to purchase these homes. They then pocketed the money they borrowed but never made any mortgage payments. In the process, the true owners lost the title to their homes and the banks were out the money they had loaned to fake buyers.
So how can prevent your house from getting stolen? Not easily, we’re sorry to say. The best you can do at this point is to stay vigilant. A few suggestions:
- If you receive a payment book or information from a mortgage company that’s not yours, whether your name is on the envelope or not, don’t just throw it away. Open it, figure out what it says, and follow up with the company that sent it.
- From time to time, it’s also a good idea to check all information pertaining to your house through your county’s deeds office. If you see any paperwork you don’t recognize or any signature that is not yours, look into it.
House-stealing is not too common at this point, but we’re keeping an eye out for any major cases or developing trends. Please contact the FBI or your local police if you think you’ve been victimized.
