If A Property Is In Foreclosure Do You Still Have To Pay The Rent?

Image by hownowdesign via FlickrThe common opinion when a rental property is in foreclosure is that you don't have to pay your rent. You may claim that the owner is going to lose the property so whats the harm in not paying. You have been receiving mail from the mortgage holder about the looming foreclosure and your afraid of what will happen. Do not worry you will have 30 days to move if it comes to that.

Not knowing what to do do in a situation is normal. Getting the facts will allow you to make the right decision. When you have a rental agreement you are promising to pay rent according to the details of the lease. A lease is a legal document that states how each party will perform. Just deciding to stop paying rent is in violation of the lease and you are legally liable to pay. You can be sued for the back rent and may even have to pay the landlords legal fees in pursuing the matter.

Paying your rent is the right and moral thing to do. Not paying, is taking advantage of the situation. The landlord in foreclosure has their hands full and may not pursue you for the rent, but it still is wrong not to pay.

If the property does go into foreclosure and later is settled by the owner. You have to catch up on the rent to stay in the rental. If the poperty is foreclosed and later sold to a new owner; the new owner has all contractual rights and responsibilities that were contained in the lease or, if the lease had run out, in the month-to-month rental agreement (with the same lease terms) that legally kicks in when tenants stay on with permission after the end of a lease.

So, for example, as the old owner had the right to receive rent on the first of the month, you, too, can expect the same. The former owner also had the right to demand back rent, by delivering a "pay or quit" notice. Most owners send these notices after one or, at most two, missed rent payments. With bank-owned properties these days, there's no telling how much (or more likely, how little) attention is being paid to the property. But even though a demand for 18 months of unpaid rent is unusual, it's still a right that you obtained when you took over as the owner.

You'll need to check your state law to see how much rent you can demand in a "pay or quit" notice. If you are limited and want to collect the balance, you'll need to go to small-claims court.

If in this situation, work out something with your landlord. If you don't trust your landlord why not pay in the rears. Pay at the end of the current month. You will feel your not getting taken and the landlord still gets their money. It may not be to the letter of the lease, but at least you are paying.

Reader: Have you had some experiences with living in a rental thats been in foreclosure?

When Is It Best To Ignore Money Advice?

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Retirement, IRA's, emergency fund, saving, debt so many things to keep track of. It can get a little overwhelming. Managing your finances can be confusing. Do you save for a house first or do you pay off debt? Both options are good if done in the right order. 

We all receive good financial advice, but is it appropriate to the current situation. Buy a house, don't rent is the one bit of advice you here the most. It's only good advice if your financial prepared, it could be disastrous advice if your not prepared. Good intentioned advice acted on at the wrong time will torpedo your financial goals.

Everyone has unique situations, it's the knowing when to do the right thing that will give you the results you want.

Buy a house, don't waste your money on rent.
It's the first thing you hear after some life changing event like a new job, marriage, or baby on the way. The advice is that your making the landlord rich while you could buy a house and be paying yourself instead. But being ready financially is the first step to buying a house. Do you have an emergency fund in place. Will the payment be affordable? Don't forget you don't just have the mortgage payment to worry about. Add to that insurance, property taxes, insurance, furnishings, utility bills, maintenance and repairs. Maybe renting sounds like a better idea now.

Are you saving enough for retirement? Are you getting the match on you 401k? Don't miss that match!
Again the wisdom of saving for retirement in a tax deferred account makes sense. Getting the match makes more sense. It's good advice. But is it good for you at this moment in your financial life. You have to weigh this good advice against do you have an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months savings. Do you have credit card debt still to pay off? It's not smart to ignore these more important things. What if you were sick or got laid off? How would your 401k help then? I would rather have a hefty emergency fund. These are things you need to consider.

Get life insurance so your family will be protected when your gone.
On the surface getting life insurance sounds good. How could leaving someone a large amount of money when you die not be seen as a loving and caring thing. You must decide if life insurance is even necessary. The purpose of it is to meet a financial need the deceased can no longer provide. Money to replace an income in the raising of a child or providing funds for a college education would seem appropriate goals. If it's not used to replace the deceased financial responsibilities , then it's not needed. If the deceased is leaving a spouse with no children, mortgage or other financial need; Insurance is not necessary.

These are only three examples of how good financial advice can be misapplied or applied at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. But there are many more.

Reader: Do have any examples of misapplied financial advice?

The How, Why, And Who Of Home Remodeling And Dealing With Contractors

Image by The Library of Congress via FlickrAt sometime in the life of a home owner you decide it's time to remodel. The most common remodels are in the kitchen with new or resurfaced cabinets. The next on the list would be a deck or landscaping. Followed by a bathroom remodel. Being in the building business I found these three the most common requests.

When remodeling it's good to start with a budgeted amount you want to spend. Sticking to this budget is tough because you may underestimate what the projects cost or you go all wacky and want gold fixtures. Your spending a lot of money it's good to go slow in the planning and cost stage of the project.

You must keep in mind that when remodeling your home the money you spend must yield that amount when or if you ever sell. Putting extraordinary or opulent  additions to your home will never be monetarily  realized when you sell. In plain English it means, don't over build for your neighborhood. Keep the final product within the price level of the other homes around you.

Normal and practical additions include:

• Bathroom remodeling
• Master bedroom remodeling
• Bathroom remodeling or addition
• Family Room addition
• Roof Replacement
• Window replacement

Dealing with a contractor can be a pleasure or a nightmare. I am a licensed building contractor, and being around other contractors you learn the ones that do a professional thorough job are a rare breed. It's imperative to hire one that has been recommend by someone. It's a good idea to actually go see the work that was done by the contractor. When I hired a cabinet contractor my wife and I went to a customers house to check out the work.

• Get at least three written estimates
• Check references, including past clients
• Call the local chamber of commerce and Better Business Bureau to check for complaints
• Make sure the contract is clear and specifies what the job entails, including time frame, price and unforeseen changes
• Never pay in full, make a small down payment only if asked, preferable not. (Good contractors won't ask for earnest money)
• If Payment is not upon completion. Set up payments to coincide with work completed. Always hold the final payment till 100% job completion. No if's and's or but's.
• Make sure the contract has a 3-day rescission clause to protect you should you change your mind.
• Ask if the contractor will do the work or will it be sub-contracted
• Check all permits, licenses and insurance needs are meet by the contractor. Check and double check these.
• Make sure inspections are carried out by proper building department people.
• Hold the contractor responsible for cleanup and any damages that should occur during construction
• Make sure materials called for are used.

I have a pet peeve with contractors so I always scrutinize them carefully when working with them. It reminds me in the movie "The Naked Gun", at the end of the movie the bad guy is caught and asked the question, "How can you be so evil?". The bad guy responds, "Don't forget, I spent three years as a building contractor." This always cracks me up because I know so many bad contractors.

Reader: What's your experience with remodeling and contractors?

Keep Your Customers Happy By Offering A Wi-Fi Hotspot.

Image via WikipediaGiving your customers access to an Internet connection can increase the attractiveness of your business. For instance, someone wanting to stay at a Hotel would much prefer to settle in at one advertising a WiFi connection than one without Internet access.

In today's world, people conduct business or simply stay in touch even while they're on vacation and without high-speed Internet access, they're doomed to miss out on important communications. I stayed at a Hyatt while traveling. It had free Wi-Fi and breakfast. I'll be going there again.

Hotel's aren't the only ones jumping onto the WiFi bandwagon. Other small business owners are realizing the importance of catering to their customers' needs, such as the owners and operators of campgrounds, independent bookstores, apartment buildings, family-owned restaurants, and coffee houses.

Even Home Depot has public Wi-Fi. While your picking up something to fix your toilet you can check your email. Many times I grab a cold drink from the cooler and take a seat in the garden furniture department and go online.

It's not just travelers looking for a WiFi connecting spot. Many local residents like to make sure a business carries this feature so that they can get out of the house and relax with access to a high speed Internet connection.

The cost of setting up your own WiFi hot spot is minimal, but it goes a long way in fostering the relationship you want to develop with your customers. It's one must-have aspect many people check on before committing to visit a certain establishment.

If you want to stay competitive with other businesses in the community, set up your own WiFi hot spot and offer it as an added incentive for people to visit your place of business.

McDonald's was wise enough to set this up years ago. It was almost impossible to get online but that has been fixed and now it's a pleasure to sip you Carmel Frappé and surf the Internet.

Even our local YMCA has installed free Wi-Fi. While my daughter takes her class there I go online with my netbook and write a post or check my email.

The first thing you do is invest in some equipment, which will include a Broadband connection and credit card processing in case you want to offer your WiFi services at a fee, as some businesses do to deter squatters from taking up space all day in their place of business.

Buy some hotspot equipment for less than $300 and install it according to the directions. You want to choose an option that delivers good technical support for your customers, in case you don't want to be responsible for troubleshooting yourself.

Small business owners have the choice to buy and install the WiFi equipment and system themselves or hire someone to do it for them, such as a hotspot specialist or management service. Regardless of which installation method you choose, make sure it's running effectively. Then sit back and watch as the loyalty to your business grow exponentially.

With the growing use of smart phones and laptops the decision is a no brainer on installing a Wi-Fi at your business.


Reader: Where would you like to see WiFi at?

Carlos Slim Still No. 1 Billionaire on Forbes List.

Image via WikipediaThis year again Carlos Slim is the wealthiest man on the globe. With over 74 billion, up 20 billion from last year, He has beaten out Bill Gates 30 billion again. But remember Bill has been giving his billions away lately, so he really can't keep up. But it's a shame that Mexican billionaires are needed to do work that American billionaires just won't do.

Forbes list tells us that there are 1,210 billionaires hanging around and the U.S has 413 of them. Our lead in billionaires is on the decline. During the year, 23 new billionaires were created in the U.S., in large part from the increasing paper value of social-media site Facebook. Meanwhile, China added 54 billionaires and Russia, 31. Moscow is the home to 79 billionaires, beating out New York with it's 58. Russia has 115 billionaires and the numbers are growing because the fortunes were born on the rising of commodity prices. With Russia being a bread basket of commodities for the next 100 years, we are seeing a shift from domestic to foreign money sources.

What does all this mean to us today? Nothing for today's citizens but it could be the early signs of a fundamental shift of wealth, power and influence to non-U.S. sources.

Let's face it the globe has been dominated by U.S. wealth and influence for the last 100 years. We are a benign world super power with military bases in over 100 countries. Our economy and dollar is the go to economy when you want security and capital. But maybe not much longer. There are a few new kids on the block who are looking to take their turn on the world stage.

I wrote in another post how this century will belong to Asia, according to investor Jim Rogers. The rest of the world is catching up to the U.S. in terms of finances and innovation. Soon we will not be seen as so powerful anymore.

I can't predict if these changes are good or bad but just that they are happening.


Reader: How do you see it?

Charlie Sheen's 5 Tips To Dealing With Difficult Co-Workers

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Charlie Sheen has finally been fired from his hit show "Two and a Half Men". Over the last few weeks, we have been witness to the rantings and diatribes of Mr. Sheen and have learned quite a few tips on how to deal with difficult co-workers.

We have seen Charlie divorced twice, in the company of porn stars, taken to the hospital because of drug overuse, and domestic violence. All of this has been on display in the press for several years. Yet he wasn't fired. These incidents are very serious and grounds for termination in many companies, but not CBS or Warner Bros. What did it finally take to finally fire Charlie Sheen, he insulted his bosses.

In companies, like families, there is going to be conflict. To make it worse the TV industry has people with large egos backed up by large check books. This gives people a false sense of importance.

Here are 5 tips I have learned from Charlie Sheen's troubles to make it a little easier to get along with that pain in the @$$ at work. Don't waste energy having a breakdown on account of someone you can't stand. Be ready and proactive in the office environment.

Dealing with Co-Workers Tip #1: Be prepared for Conflict

 If you have people in the organization who are difficult, be prepared for a potential situation. If you don't you may react with anger or some useless childish behavior that will only make the situation worse.

It may help to practice a potential argument in your head to get ready for the situation. Listen to what your saying to see if it comes across as immature or foolish. Also remember to not be wishy-washy, uphold your morals and values. Don't be arrogant but be self-confident. And by all means don't let the person get under your skin, be ready for cheap shots.

Your job is already quite stressful with deadlines and difficult bosses. Not getting along with co-workers makes your job ten times more difficult. You have no choice but to try and get along, or just change jobs.

Dealing with Co-Workers Tip #2: Don't fuel the fire.

If tempted to retaliate, don't. People who cause tension and confrontation also thrive on it. They feel powerful with an exchange of harsh words. Don't get sucked in, you'll only look like the bad guy. Instead react in the opposite way they expect, be nice to them. It drives irrational people crazy. You'll either become friendly with them or drive them away.

Dealing With Difficult Co-Workers Tip #3: Lend a Helping Hand

It may not work in all situations but difficult people may be just a troubled person or someone with poor social skills. They end up making enemies instead of friends because they have money problems or marriage problems at home. This makes them an actual miserable person to be around. They may not be justified in mistreating you, but at least you know why they act the way they do.

Dealing With Difficult Co-Workers Tip#4: Get a Third Party Involved.

No matter how hard you try you may just not be able to get through to the person. This is when you get a neutral party to help. They can listen to both sides and try to find common ground.

Dealing With Difficult Co-Workers Tip#5: Move On

You tried your best and nothing worked. You will reach a point where it's not going to be resolved. If one of you doesn't move on your going to have to suck it up or quit. If this treatment by the person effects your productivity it could he considered grounds for termination. But before all this occurs be careful in examining your own behavior and if your doing the right things. Most of all don't ignore the situation it will only get worse.

We haven't seen the last of Charlie Sheen. He will continue to lash out at his former bosses, sue them, and probably win. CBS will replace Charlie with another actor, but the show will flop and Charlie will feel vindicated. 

Charlie, why not just take the goddesses on a vacation far away and let everything cool down. Especially you.