Leases And Tenants - The Spooky Tenant
July 31, 2007
You, Mr. Landlord are pleased to find qualified tenants for your rental house. The man and woman sign a one-year lease on Tuesday.
On Thursday the male tenant contacts you and says they have changed their minds because his girlfriend thinks she sees “dead people” in the bathroom.
He expects you to cancel the lease!
What do you do, hire an exorcist?
No, you smile and softly explain… “Listen Bub, that was a legal contract you signed. It binds both of us to everything printed on those sheets of paper…. the laws says so, that’s who!
And that’s true… both parties must agree to break a legal contract… it can’t be done unilaterally (usually). In this case the contract is the well prepared, solid gold lease.
Is your reluctant tenant on the hook for an entire year’s worth of monthly lease payments?
It brings a tear to the eye of we hard boiled landlords… but he probably is not obligated to pay rent for the entire year.
Courts have ruled that the landlord has to make a good-faith effort to find a new tenant for the unit as soon as possible.
Bankruptcy: Who is to Blame?
July 31, 2007
If you are considering bankruptcy as a solution to your financial problems, you are not alone. Bankruptcy is on the rise in this country as consumer debt piles higher and higher. Some people blame the creditors, making it too easy for most consumers to obtain credit. But creditors would argue that consumers have no sense of self control, taking on debt that they aren’t sure they can repay. In reality, there are many different reasons that people file for bankruptcy.
Unemployment often results in bankruptcy. People tend to spend more when they make more and most people’s lifestyles are centered around the amount of money they make. If that steady paycheck is suddenly ripped from your grasp, bankruptcy can be a harsh reminder that you should have planned for a rainy day. Most of the time, unemployment is no fault of your own, but often bankruptcy is. Too many people live beyond their means or without thinking about what they would do in a situation like unemployment. Bankruptcy is an all to easy answer for many of these people.
Want a Cheaper Finance for Your Vehicle? Try Secured Automobile Loans
July 31, 2007
The usual modus operandi in most automobile purchases is as follows:
Step 1: Recognize the urge for an automobile.
Step 2: Check the bank balances.
Step 3: Head for the purchase provided the second step gives a positive result.
Step 4: If the second step gives a negative result, take an automobile loan.
This will be rated as the most logical sequence of events by most people unless they acknowledge the fact that they can save hundreds of pounds by planning the automobile loan in a more systematic manner.
Recognizing the need for an automobile: The first step will always be to concede that there actually is a need for a car or any other vehicle. The prices of vehicles have heavily come down. But they still continue to be treated as a luxury item. The desire to have a vehicle will always be there. People wrongly try to push desires as a need. Need emerges because of a difficulty being faced by the borrower. Only if a need is recognized must one go to the second process.
Check for capability:
Choosing a Credit Counseling Company
July 30, 2007
If you have considered credit counseling as an option to your financial problems, then you are probably wondering how to choose from one of the many credit counseling companies that are popping up left and right these days. There really is not an easy answer to this dilemma but there are some things that you can look for in a credit counseling company that might make the decision a little easier.
One factor to consider is whether it’s going to cost you anything to pursue credit counseling. If you are having financial difficulties in the first place, then chances are that you don’t really have the expendable cash to pay for the credit counseling you so desperately need. In this instance, rest assured that there are reputable, non-profit, credit counseling companies that will assist you for free. On the other hand, if you are of the philosophy that you get what you pay for, then you may want to consider a fee based credit counseling company.
Home Equity Line of Credit ? Great Idea for Rainy Day Emergencies
July 30, 2007
Most Americans tend to live on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis, and the typical household has nearly $10,000 in credit card debt. Adding to that is the fact that Americans are saving money at the lowest rate in history. We spend what we earn, when we earn it, and there’s little or nothing available when a disaster or an emergency strikes. How can the average American make sure there will be money available for that "rainy day" emergency?
One possible solution would be to open a home equity line of credit. The equity in a home is the difference between the value of the home in the market and the amount owed on the mortgage. Rising real estate prices across the country have left Americans with record amounts of home equity, and record numbers of homeowners are borrowing against the equity in their home. There are two main types of home equity loans; the traditional loan and the line of credit. The traditional loan lends a fixed amount of money that is repaid at a fixed interest rate over a fixed amount of time. This is ideal when the money is borrowed for a specific purpose, such as a home-remodeling project.
June 2005: Weather Forecasts for Weather Traders
July 30, 2007
If Johannes Kepler, the renowned 17th century astronomer and discoverer of the planetary laws of motion, could speak from the heavenlies, he might have a few words of wisdom to share with the National Weather Service. Although Kepler’s name is not normally associated with meteorology, he was quite the weather forecaster in his day. His first claim to fame, by the way, was not due to his discovery of those planetary laws, but because of his accurate long-range weather forecast of the severe winter that put Styermark, Germany on ice in 1593.
Kepler’s genius and outside-the-box thinking led him to equate terrestrial weather patterns with the geometrical formations made between the earth and planets. Since these formations could be calculated in advance, he reasoned, their effect on the weather could be as well. Through the publishing of his almanacs, the Royal Astronomer helped make ends meet when at times the kings who employed him were delinquent in their payments. Kepler’s contribution to meteorology, along with his long-range forecast method, have all but been forgotten. And as would be expected, present day meteorology, ashamedly, has no real long-range weather forecast capability. Even armed with the most advanced weather computer, whose lightning fast calculations approach about 400 million per second, its three-day forecasts are speculative, and its six to seven day forecasts are worthless.
Why You Should Seek Professional Help With Asset Management
July 29, 2007
Everyone needs to maintain their lives. What I mean by that is that we all need to take certain measures to make sure that we have a home, transportation, food, entertainment etc.
One of the hardest things for many is asset management. Why is asset management so difficult for many of us? The question has several answers.
First we need certain things to survive, food, shelter, security and companionship. Second we want certain things to brighten up our lives like entertainment, education, and enlightenment.
Lastly we are influenced to acquire more of everything. More electronics, more furniture, more appliances, more cars, more things. We are endlessly sold on the idea that what we have is not enough.
Also we are given easy to access credit to buy those things we really have no need for.
When we engage in asset management we are trying to get a handle on our lives. Sometimes we may need professional help with our lives.
We look to a mechanic to fix the major things on our car and we ask a doctor when we have a problem more complex than a simple sunburn or a headache; why would we not ask a professional to help us with our financial life? Whatever your profession is you probably understand it better than laymen.
Small Business Tax Deduction - Write-Off Bad Debts
July 29, 2007
Practically every small business has receivables that it cannot obtain from clients. If your small business doesn’t have any such receivables, consider yourself lucky. For those small businesses that suffer from uncollected receivables, solace can be taken from the fact you can claim a tax deduction.
Bad Debt Tax Deduction
A small business can write-off bad debt losses if it meets nominal requirements. To claim such a tax deduction, the following must be shown:
A. The existence of a legal relationship between the small business and debtor;
B. The receivables are worthless; and
C. The small business suffered an actual loss.
Proving there is a legal relationship between the small business and debtor is fairly simple. You must simply show that the debtor has a legal obligation to make a payment. Most businesses issue invoices or sign contracts with debtors and these documents suffice to prove the legal relationship. If you are not putting your business relationships in writing, you should begin doing so immediately.
Home Equity Loan Information - What Is A Home Equity Line Of Credit?
July 29, 2007
Did you know that if you have a home that you’ve been paying on for years, you may have a lot of usable money right under your nose? What’s more, a home equity loan just may be the perfect way to get your hands on that money!
Here’s how it works. Let’s imagine that your home mortgage is for $250,000, but after years of paying on that note, you only owe the mortgage company $100,000. In this instance, you would have $150,000 in equity in your home. A home equity loan is a specific type of loan that will allow you to borrow against that equity.
Why would you want to do this? The number one reason that people take out home equity loans is as a means to consolidate their debt. Because a home equity loan is a secured loan, the interest rates are considerably lower than that of credit credits or personal loans. And so if a person had $10,000 in credit card debt, they could reduce the total amount of owed-as well as their monthly payments-by taking out a home equity loan and using the cash to pay off their credit card debt.
Should You Refinance?
July 28, 2007
There are several reasons that might make someone consider refinancing their existing mortgage. One would be to get a lower interest rate than what they currently have, thereby reducing monthly payments and lowering the overall cost of the mortgage. Another is to shorten the length of the loan, which can save quite a bit in interest payments. Thirdly, someone may have other debts that they wish to pay off, and refinancing may provide them a means of consolidating that debt into one overall lower payment.
A lower interest rate isn’t the only thing that should be taken into account when thinking about refinancing. There are costs and fees associated with refinancing your mortgage. The bank will charge fees, there will be costs for a new inspection and a new appraisal, title search, and so on. The process that is gone through is very much like the process that one goes through on getting a first mortgage. It requires a new application with a new credit check, survey, and sometimes an appraisal. As it is with a first mortgage, this can be a long and costly process.
