Articles Of Law

posted by MarkWalters on Aug 30

The U.S. housing market is in a world of hurt. Bank owned homes (REOs) exploded to three-quarter of a million in the month of July, 2008.

For real estate investors, watching the number of foreclosures grow generates emotions much like those experienced while attending a slasher movie. The number of homes taken through bank foreclosures is up 184% from a year ago. Yes, a higher proportion of properties that enter the foreclosure process are ending up repossessed by lenders.

If anyone tries to tell you that the worst of the housing crisis is over point out that default notices are up 53% and notices of foreclosure auctions is up 11%.

Lenders now own over 750,000 homes and the number is climbing. They don’t want those homes, they want to sell them. What happens when there is a surplus of anything? Prices go down and that holds true for foreclosed homes. Some lenders are cutting prices as often as every 20 days on their REOs.

The book value of one to four-family homes owned by lenders whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. more than doubled to $8.56 billion at the end of the first quarter from $3.59 billion a year earlier.

Investor should understand that this ocean of vacant homes is driving down prices in many areas. Banks tend to cut prices faster than other sellers. That undercuts the value of every home in the area. What you buy today may seem like a bargain, but remember lenders will continue dumping tens of thousands of homes for months to come. That will reduce the value of your bargain home.

Those owning homes today are also suffering. Many bought at the peak of the real estate price bubble and have been underwater every since. With falling home values their situation grows worse every day. What little equity they had vanished some time ago. That will result in more owners walking away from there homes and another increase in foreclosures and REOs.

Rents Crash

The bad news continues. With hundreds of thousands of homeowners losing their homes through foreclosure the rental market has been flooded with potential tenants. That should be good for apartment owners, right? That seems logical until you remember the tens of thousands of vacant homes that can’t find buyers.

Landlords are desperate to rent their homes to raise cash that can be applied to mortgage payments. With so many homes offered for rent they are asking for almost anything they can get. For apartments rent growth has flattened, vacancies in many areas are at record highs and rent concessions are near record highs.

Renters can lease a home for the same price as a 990 sq ft apartment. That’s tough competition for apartment owners.

To make matters worse is the number of condo conversions that have been converting back into rentals. More rental units coming on a distressed markets means continued downward pressure on residential rents.

Oh sure, all of these problems will be overcome with time. If you are a real estate investor there are big profits ahead, but keep a tight hold on your buying power until there is not the slightest doubt that the housing market has hit a real bottom and is starting up the other side.

Keep This In Mind…

In November of 2002 an event was held to honor economist Milton Friedman on his ninetieth birthday.

Then Federal Reserve Governor Ben S. Bernanke (now Fed head) gave a talk. Here are the last lines of that speech…

“Let me end my talk by abusing slightly my status as an official representative of the Federal Reserve. I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again”.

Mark Walters is a third generation real estate investor and founder of CreatingWealthClub.com. For a limited time Mark is offering his big guide to finding hard money loans for real estate investing free. Free guide to private money loans.? http://www.FindPrivateMoney.info

posted by FrankEgan on Aug 30

Money laundering was intended to catch large scale drug dealers, operators of crime syndicates and persons associated with these enterprises. Conveniently for the authorities it also has relevance to the area of tax crime including identity theft. Fraud or tax evasion has never had the reach the authorities want. Under the Crimes Act 1914 fraud was punishable for up to 20 years but under the Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995 it was dropped to 10 years as in the case of the deception offences.

Money laundering offences will catch promoters, professionals/intermediaries and participants. Its full force and effect is not only a maximum penalty of up to 25 years but the aggregation of money sums for independent dealings making it easier to reach the statutory thresholds eg. five transactions i.e. five dealings of $100,000 each means that as the aggregate amount involved exceeds $100,000 then it is much easier to reach the 20 year maximum for offences under $1.5M. In other words it is both the number of and amount of dealings involved which is used to such a devastating and telling effect as they go to the gravity of the offence.

Money laundering offences have been around since 1/1/2003. They have strengthened the arsenal available to the authorities to stem tax evasion and the use of tax havens. Although this area of the law is still developing it is obvious that the courts record large scale money laundering as a serious criminal activity which warrants severe punishment to reinforce general deterrence of a very significant degree. After all the courts need to send a message about what constitutes a significant degree of criminality and the Commonwealth Code 1995 underscores this.

The money laundering offences are broad and designed to catch a wide range of behaviours including fraud and a tax evasion. Herein lies the threat for Operation Wickenby participants as we have seen over the last four years. It has concentrated on offshore tax avoidance leading to some very highly publicised arrests in the area of tax fraud and money laundering. In essence money laundering is committed by a person if they:

Deal with money or other property which is a proceed or an instrument of crime; and are in a state of awareness that it is a proceed or instrument of crime.

Dealing with money includes concealing or disposing of money or receipt of money without the need to prove a banking transaction or engaging in a banking transaction. Under proceeds of crime which is an element of the offence property includes money or funds mixed with legitimate money or funds as well as the result of a sale or an exchange of money. Interestingly, it does not have to be proved that the money is the proceeds or instrument of crime. The courts are far more interested in what the offender did rather than proving the source of funds. They both look to:

- the amount of money involved;

- the number of transactions involved in committing the offence; and

- the period over which the transactions occurred.

Although the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006 contains criminal sanctions it is the Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995 which criminalises money laundering and imposes the harshest criminal penalties. Fault is part of the package the consequences of which vary depending on whether it is intentional, reckless or negligent. Where the scheme or arrangement is a sham or mere contrivance this poses the greatest threat to the taxpayers as it is considered intentional since it lacks an underlying tax rationale and therefore attracts the heaviest penalties.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions may prosecute for a range of charges and/or for proceeds of crime and/or money laundering. Obviously it makes more sense to go for the lot as this really carries the message about general deterrence and a significant degree of criminality. That said, money and property can be forfeited where there is no conviction for money laundering. Clients often think that where they are facing this situation evidence of prior good character will assist them to avoid prosecution for these offences. This couldn’t be further from the truth as its relevance only becomes important during the final stages of proceedings when properly introduced

Should you be tax non-compliant and involved in any overseas tax minimisation schemes contact Frank Egan of LAC Lawyers for assistance as he has been retained by clients the subject of Operation Wickenby. As a leader in his field he has advised and represented a number of high profile taxpayers as well as those at great risk. Most tax advisers do not understand that there is a new paradigm operating in this space and unless advisers are currently engaged in the full spectrum of this work including the criminal consequences flowing from it they lack the necessary skills and experience to effectively represent clients. If you are at risk whether or not you are or may be a person of interest to the authorities then contact Frank Egan immediately. To delay is to adopt a position pregnant with risk.

Frank Egan is the Chief Executive Officer of LAC Lawyers and has over 27 years of experience as a solicitor and specialises in complex business taxation matters & complex personal tax cases.

posted by RobertStephen on Aug 30

Griffith University v Leiminer [2008]FMCA 1045 (28 July 2008)

In Late July 2008 the Federal Magistrate’s Court for the first time ever fined an employee for failing to provide notice of resignation, although the magistrate questioned the employer’s actions in bringing the matter to Court.

Griffith University had sued lecturer Michelle Leiminer for breaching Section 719(1) of the Workplace Relations Act by her having given seven weeks and one day’s notice- less than the six months required under the collective agreement with the university. In addition to financial loss the university argued it had suffered non-pecuniary loss including damage to reputation, disruption of other staff, disadvantage to students, and loss of profile from contributions which Leiminer was expected to have made to journals.

While finding Leiminer had deliberately breached the collective agreement the Court found that her conduct was based on erroneous advice from the union, was not malicious and was mitigated by her efforts in making transitional arrangements. She had also attempted a compromise with the university and offered a $500 settlement.

The Federal Magistrate rejected the submissions of the university that it was necessary to enforce the minimum standards of the Act (particularly under Section 3(f) on the basis that the breach must be viewed in context and was one more appropriately dealt with under a claim for damages stating “…the employee breached the bargain but beyond that it can’t be said that the breach has had broader ramifications.”

The Court added: “The concept of penalties applying to breaches of industrial instruments is more appropriately directed to those breaches that have a broader economic impact. ”

The magistrate also rejected the university’s submissions on the need for deterrence, saying that the case did not involve an element of morality extending beyond the two parties in the case.

The university had argued that it had lost $22,700.00 in extra teaching costs but the Court found that was offset by the $38,000 including superannuation and $1,800 in incurred entitlements it would have had to pay to Leiminer had she worked out the full notice period. So far from incurring financial loss the university had actually saved money.

The case although not earth shattering in terms of its actual result, through of penalty and legal costs adds a potential argument to dissuade employees from terminating their employment contracts short of the requisite notice period.

- Employment Law & Unfair Dismissal-

Employment Law and Unfair Dismissal needs to be looked at from two points of view. The first – employers and the second – employees. Issues such as remuneration, termination payment, employment policies and human resources management impact everybody in the employment sphere. It is important, whether you are employer or employee, that you make the right decisions throughout your employment whether it be at interview, in contract negotiations to managing performance or termination. In order to achieve the right balance in an employment context it is important that your adviser not only understands employment law but has the necessary skills to cover these issues which are important to you whether they be commercial, industrial or individual.

Robert is a legal practitioner of many years experience. He was formerly a barrister. He has practiced in many areas of the law including employment law & unfair dismissal & appeared as an advocate in most jurisdictions in NSW as well as the Federal and High Courts.

posted by FrankEgan on Aug 30

Generally taxes are all about income, deductions and substantiation. One of the areas where taxpayers are substantially at risk is record keeping and substantiation for claims made for deductions. Under section 262A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (the Act) a person carrying on a business is required to keep records that record and explain all transactions and other acts engaged in by the person that are relevant for any purpose of the Act. The records to be kept include any documents relevant for the purpose of ascertaining the person’s income and expenditure and any documents which contain particulars of any election, choice, estimate, determination or calculation made by the person under this Act and in the case of an estimate, determination or calculation, particulars showing the basis on which and method by which the estimate, determination or calculation was made.

A taxpayer who is required to maintain or keep records must; maintain records written in English; keep records so as to enable that person’s liability to be readily ascertained; and meet other requirements under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. As we are constantly reminded by the Tax Office the taxpayer must keep records for a minimum of five years after the person prepared or obtained them or five years after completion of a transaction or the acts to which they relate whichever is the latter. It is important to note that a defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to some matters under this Act and which are also dealt with in the Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995.

Essentially the content of what is recorded will depend upon individual circumstances but it needs to be adequate to ensure that any ATO officer with the necessary accounting skills who is examining it will understand it. The record-keeping obligations in this area means the taxpayer must record every transaction that relates to a person’s income and expenditure but that does not mean that person has to make a record of each individual transaction. There are specific requirements covering cash registers, receipt books, credit cards and other source documentation such as tax invoices.

Obviously there are situations where there are no source records and it would be clearly impracticable for a person to record every individual transaction as this would seriously impair the normal conduct of business particularly where it involves high volume low value cash transactions. Where this occurs the ATO will accept summary records which satisfies the taxpayer’s obligations provided they are reconciled with daily bankings which reflect cash takings used for other purposes, e.g. drawings, expenses and matters of that sort.

This whole area is about record keeping and the word “keep” means to make and retain. Records are generally created in the normal course of business and business operators are expected to retain them. Sometimes due to the nature of business records they are not produced immediately but a contemporaneous record is required to satisfy business operators’ substantiation requirements. Where fraud or evasion is involved the Tax Office will want to go back to the source records which means that they can go back to the date of the non-complying conduct whenever that was. Obviously in a self assessment environment records are required to be retained by the taxpayer so that they can be examined by the Commissioner if required. To put it simply, how do you explain how a transaction occurred and what it involved unless you retain the appropriate records?

Where an entity fails to keep and retain records in the manner required by taxation law an administrative penalty may apply, usually in the form of a hefty fine. Where the penalty is not paid by the due date the entity will be liable to pay GIC on the outstanding amount. Fairness is central to the system and each case must be treated on its merits. Record keeping penalties may be remitted and each entity will be treated according to its circumstances. Ongoing delays and an inability to do the right thing often leads the Commissioner to refer matters to the Commonwealth DPP for prosecution.

There are also other record keeping obligations not covered here. To keep and maintain business records is essential if you wish to rely upon transactions and seek deductions. The absence of records is problematical and so is the destruction of them, particularly where fraud or deception is involved.

There are three separate offences for incorrectly keeping records:

- incorrectly keeping records;

- recklessly incorrectly keeping records; and

- incorrectly keeping records with the intention of deceiving or misleading.

Referral to the CDPP only occurs where the matter involves serious non-compliance including falsifying records, fraud or evasion or where other penalties have failed to improve the entity’s record keeping behaviour. Record keeping offences often accompany serious tax evasion where the practice adopted by non-complying taxpayers is to destroy, destroy, destroy. Whether you are an individual or entity and records are central to the issues confounding you do not hesitate to contact LAC Lawyers for competent professional advice and assistance.

Frank Egan is the Chief Executive Officer of LAC Sydney Business Lawyers and has over 27 years of experience as a solicitor and specialises in complex taxation matters.

posted by RonNedd on Aug 30

There are many properties in some stage of foreclosure or taken back by lenders at this time and a lot of buyers ask about these because they’ve heard about how this is where you can get an incredible deal. After more experience with these types of properties I’ve found that there is a lot of false information and hype out there and want to provide you with some more information that can help you understand this whole subject a little better.

During the boom years there were tons of seminars and books on how to make a fortune in real estate by buying and flipping houses. Though some people were able to make good money quickly that way during the period of about 2003 to mid-2005, many others are now part of the foreclosure statistics.

Similarly, there are now lots of websites, seminars, books, etc. on how to make your fortune buying foreclosure properties. They present stories of exceptionally good situations that make it sound like this is how every foreclosure situation goes even though it is really more of a rare occurrence for the average person. Maybe these are the same people who promoted the seminars and books on “flipping” (and maybe they are also the ones who email you about winning the UK lottery or about the $50Million they want to send you from Nigeria:).

That’s not to say that there aren’t good deals available in properties that are in some stage of foreclosure, there are. For example, in March I saw a condo in Palm Harbor priced $25,000 less than the one a client of mine bought last year (which was already $50,000 below what they were priced for in 2005). But this current one also has a garage and upgraded kitchen countertops and cabinets (which my client’s condo didn’t have).

Another example is a house in Dunedin that one of my clients is buying which is priced about $20,000 less than comparable properties in the same area and is in good condition. So it is true you can find some properties that are good deals.

BUT – there are some things you’ll need to understand because the process can be quite different from the normal.

First of all there are some different types of ‘foreclosure’ properties and I want to start off by clearing this up for you.

There is a ‘pre-foreclosure’. This is a property where the owner has fallen behind on their payments to a point where the bank has begun the foreclosure proceedings (usually by filing a notice of pending legal action).

There is a ’short sale’. This generally means a pre-foreclosure property where the property is being listed at a price that is less than what is owed on the outstanding loans. You can recognize these in listings as it will either say “short sale” or “3rd party approval needed” or “list price may not be sufficient to cover all encumbrances” (meaning that the bank will have to approve it in addition to the seller accepting the offer).

One word of caution though, some realtors will list a property as a short sale or “possible” short sale without even having their client complete a “short sale package” (the paperwork that will have to be submitted to the bank with any contract) – avoid these as in most cases they end up going nowhere or take months to hear anything back.

There are also “bank-owned” properties. Bank-owned means the bank has completed the foreclosure proceedings and now owns the property fully. These are usually the easiest and quickest of the different types of foreclosure properties to deal with although they are sometimes (not always) in pretty bad condition.

That gives you a basic overview of the types of “foreclosure” properties you may run into. In Part II, I’ll go over some information that will be important to know if you are considering purchasing a property in any stage of foreclosure.

To search the MLS for Clearwater Florida and the surrounding areas and get a monthly email newsletter to stay current on how the real estate market is doing in that area you can visit Ron Nedd’s website: http://www.searchdunedinhomes.com and register for both MLS access and the newsletter.

posted by RonNedd on Aug 30

In Part I, I covered what the different types of ‘foreclosure’ properties are. Now let’s look at what you need to know about them if you’re thinking about venturing into this area.

The most difficult type to deal with at this point in time (in most cases) is a short sale. With a short sale, you will have to be prepared to wait weeks or even months to hear anything back on an offer. If your offer is at the asking price and 100% cash, then that may shorten the time period. But even in that situation there is no guarantee that it won’t take weeks or months.

As an example, I spoke with another realtor a few months ago whose client not only put in a full list price offer but also offered to pay for the title insurance that would normally be paid by the seller. It still took 3 weeks to get an answer and what came back from the bank was that they wouldn’t consider the offer until they had a special disclosure signed by the buyer that is required on houses built before 1978. Only problem is that the house was built in the last 5 years and this disclosure isn’t required. But the bank doesn’t care and wants the disclosure before considering the offer. And it took 3 weeks to get even this ridiculous reply back!

One other case is a realtor that listed a short sale and got a very low offer which she submitted to the bank in November (this was even after the house was listed for $200,000 less than the current owner paid for it 2 years ago). As of February she still hadn’t gotten a reply back from the bank. So that was 3 months with no reply.

So with short sale properties, you first need to find out if it is actually a good deal. I had one client recently looking at a townhouse that is a short sale and based on recent sales in the complex and comparing the condition of the properties this townhouse was priced at least $15,000 too high for even its market value.

If you do determine it is a good deal (especially when it is below market value) then it is best to offer a price that the bank will consider. This is especially true when the lender has already dropped the list price once or more. If you go too low, you may never hear back. And keep in mind that during the waiting period for a reply, other buyers can submit an offer and if the bank feels the other offer is better than yours – they can then accept it and reject yours.

It is actually fairly well known that short sale deals are often more difficult. An April 18, 2008 article said “The success rate for short-sale offers is low…20 percent of short-sale offers in the area [Las Vegas] lead to completed sales, compared with 85 percent for more traditional sales. Redfin, an online real-estate brokerage based in Seattle, says it represented buyers on 65 short sale offers in the first quarter but expects only two or three to result in a completed sale.”

And the final insult with short sales is that even if the bank accepts your offer and things are proceeding along well, they can decide in the 11th hour to cancel the deal. This info was given to me by an attorney who works for our state Realtor association.

The easiest of all foreclosure properties to work with are bank-owned properties. This is where the bank has completed the foreclosure proceedings and now owns the property. In these cases the time frame for getting an answer back on an offer will be much quicker. However, in a high percentage of cases the property can be in very bad condition.

A very important point with any of these type of properties – you must have your financial arrangements taken care of before even bothering to look at any. In all cases that I have seen so far, an offer won’t even be accepted in a short sale or bank-owned situation unless you submit a preapproval letter for financing or proof that you have the cash to buy it.

Bank-owned properties can be a good deal for you if they are in decent condition or if you are willing to do the work necessary to bring it up to the standard you want. But keep in mind that you will get very little or no information about the property from the bank so the risk of hidden problems is higher.

I only recommend short sales at this time for investors who are cash buyers and will have no problem with waiting an average of 60-90 days for the whole process. Many investors who have a lot of cash are buying up several of these type of properties with plans to hold on to them until the market goes up again.

In most cases, your best bet is finding a property that suits your needs and is a good value where the owner can sell for a good price without being in a short sale situation. Many of my clients have found this to be the best thing for them (and the least stressful and frustrating).

So there’s a brief rundown of some information on foreclosure properties and how buying them differs from buying other properties. Please make sure you understand this if you plan to try to purchase any as if you aren’t properly prepared or try to ignore the way these go, you’ll just be wasting everyone’s time.

To search the MLS for Clearwater Florida and the surrounding areas and get a monthly email newsletter to stay current on how the real estate market is doing in that area you can visit Ron Nedd’s website: http://www.searchdunedinhomes.com and register for both MLS access and the newsletter.

posted by MarkWarner on Aug 30

Properly thought out and managed trademark license arrangements can be win-win opportunities for all parties, including the public. The document that goes a long way toward realizing this opportunity is the trademark license agreement. This agreement is a written contract in which the holder of a trademark (licensor) grants the revocable right to a second party (licensee) to use the holder’s trademark in exchange for royalty fees. Without the license, the licensee could not legally use the trademark.

Trademarks are a type of intellectual property. Trademarks are distinctive signs or indicators-usually phrases, logos, slogans, designs, images, or combinations thereof-that identify a specific company or organization to the public. Protected marks are accompanied by the superscript “TM” for trademark, “SM” for service mark, or the encircled “R.” They are similar to copyrights and patents but also have distinct differences. One of them is the protection they receive. Copyright protection spans the length of the author’s lifetime plus another 70 years; however, trademark protection is usually only five years, and it must be attentively guarded.

Similarly, trademark license agreements are also of limited duration. While a trademark owner may license the mark, knowing full well that the ownership does not pass to the licensee, the owner may also go one step further and sell the mark to a buyer. A sale, however, must include the underlying goodwill or assets that make the mark what it is. Without such goodwill or assets, courts have determined that such a sale is a fraud on the public, similar to selling a brand new car that lacks an engine.

Trademark license agreements should contain a handful of essential clauses for everyone’s protection, including the public. First, the trademark must remain somewhat exclusive. A licensor would be foolish to dilute the mark by licensing it to every maker of ball caps in the market. Such a scenario might seem like a bonanza for the licensor, but it would soon become absurd as trademarked caps flooded the market. Second, the licensor must make certain that the licensee adheres to the licensor’s preexisting quality control standards. To license the mark and then to discover that it is to be placed on substandard licensee products would be disastrous for all parties. Next, it is up to the licensor to provide examples of the mark, in various media forms if need be. If the licensor leaves it to the licensee to try to copy the mark as best it can, then surely trouble will result. Instead, the licensor should provide exemplars and hold the licensee to them-no slight modifications of font or color or spacing; no additions of phrases or images; nothing to alter the mark in public’s eye.

Fourth, the licensor must have veto power over the use-not merely the design-of the trademark. The licensee should not be permitted to use the mark in connection with the licensee’s political or philanthropic causes (even if they are good causes), if the agreement was for use of the mark only on the licensee’s ball caps. If the licensor does not want the mark used with political or religious organizations, or hawked to promote alcohol, the agreement must give the licensor this veto power. Lastly, the license agreement must tie these protections together under a monitoring and inspection provision. Here, the licensor can pre-approve licensee samples, so that problems do not arise later. Monitoring may seem like a luxury, but it is a necessity, for a licensor that does not monitor the quality of its products and does not safeguard its mark can be deemed to have abandoned the mark-akin to commercial suicide for many companies.

While these provisions might seem to protect only the licensor, in reality, they protect everyone. For a diluted or abandoned trademark hurts the licensor, the licensee, and even consumers.

Mark Warner is a Trademark License Analyst for RealDealDocs.com. RealDealDocs gives you insider access to millions of legal documents drafted by the top law firms in the US. Search over 10 million Documents, Clauses, and Legal Agreements for Free at http://www.RealDealDocs.com

posted by CandiceClem on Aug 30

If you’ve been paying attention to current US housing trends, you could very well be asking why on earth anyone would want to get into real estate at this point in the game. With interest rates rising to the clouds, astronomical selling prices, and rent everywhere being cheaper than a mortgage anywhere, there really isn’t much reason to try and cash in on real estate right now.

That was the shortest article ever, right? Not really. Let’s expand our current notion of real estate. Granted, trying to weasel into a decrepit buying and selling market isn’t the brightest idea ever, but there are other aspects to real estate that even in current trends could prove profitable for anyone willing to give them a fighting chance. Three sub-categories come to mind, and all provide small business opportunity: home inspection, home maintenance, and property management.

Home Inspection

By far the largest and most inclusive of the subcategories, home inspection covers more real estate businesses than you can shake a clipboard at, and their value for both owner and client is nearly immeasurable. It may seem reasonable to assume that when the housing market suffers, so does the market for home inspectors, but that, interestingly enough, is not the case. Completely to the contrary actually, the downturn in real estate is in many ways a blessing to the inspection industry, because as independent homebuyers, realtors, and lenders become increasingly choosy about the homes in which they invest their inflated money, the need for an excellent inspector increases dramatically. If you’ve ever seen the old Tom Hanks movie The Money Pit, you understand what I mean.

There are six home inspection franchises that we would strongly recommend looking into if this avenue seems right for you. Realistically, they all have the same goals: deliver the best possible training and support to the franchisee, always provide exceptional inspections to clients, and become top dog in the industry. Still, some of them excel in specific areas.

For instance, HomeTeam Inspection Service brings an interesting twist to the work, running a business model that—instead of being based on the work of a sole inspector eyeing over a home—uses in a small team of inspectors that work side-by-side to sort through every aspect of the home in finer detail. It lightens the load on the individual inspector and builds the trust of all parties involved in the sale. Another small business franchise in the sector, A-Pro Home Inspection, works its magic in the realm of marketing, providing every franchisee the rewards of having a corporate-sized central marketing team without having to develop it. If specific skills don’t interest you, though, and you just want the franchise the pros would use, take a look at Pillar to Post, the home inspection franchise ranked #1 by Entrepreneur Magazine six years running.

Even if you’ve effectively made your choice, don’t miss the other opportunities in this sub-market as well. National Property Inspections, HouseMaster Home Inspection, and Inspect-It 1st are all grade-A real estate franchises well worth your time and consideration.

Home Maintenance

There may only be one business for sale in this group, but that only means that it makes your choice easier. Whether you want to swing the hammer yourself or hire on others to do the groundwork for you, HomeTask.com Handyman Service can teach you how to make that business happen and give you the resources to pull it off. Jobs come in through the franchisor, and you can take or leave them as you choose. Grow the business as large or leave it as small as you like and take vacations at will. Regardless of what you choose, the work will inevitably be there for you, because though home sales has become a tricky business, there is never a lack of people who already own, are buying, or are selling a home who need to have it maintained, fixed, or renovated. Realtors may lose business at times, but handymen always have it.

Property Management

And here’s the kicker, part of the reason that our current housing market is doing so poorly is that home prices and interest rates have risen so drastically that it actually costs more, both per-year and in the long run, to own a home than it is to rent one of the same size and quality. Aside from pulling the bottom out of property sales, this reality has made property renting a big business, because everyone and their mother is renting. And with too many owners of rental properties living far from their land and dealing through the internet, the need for responsible men and women to handle rentals and deal with renters is great.

If you have a knack for real estate, a natural charm in dealing with owners and renters, and the responsibility to handle multiple—even dozens—of properties and all the technicalities that come along with them, then consider this growing industry one for you. Whether you go with Property Management Inc or Real Property Management, both great management business opportunities that have already attained national recognition for the skills of both franchisors and franchisees, there is plenty of room to climb the ladder of success.

Truth be told, the real estate industry is not in good shape these days, and there’s no getting around that. Like all things, though, it works on a cycle: after it goes up, it comes down, and after it comes down it goes back up. Regardless of what turn it’s on at any given time and how long it takes to sway the other way, there are certainly sectors of the industry that retain some degree of constancy despite the sways of the pendulum. These are them, so don’t be afraid to give them a go if real estate, in some fashion, is where you really want to be.

Find more real estate franchises and information about small businesses and home based businesses at Small Business Sale.

posted by MarkWalters on Aug 30

Just like any other lender, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs expects buyers to whom they lend money for property to pay their mortgages on time until the debt is paid off. Sometimes however, like any other lender, the VA is forced to take back a home through foreclosure.

The VA insures mortgages for serving and retired personnel in the armed forces. When one of those borrowers defaults on their VA-insured loan the lender turns to the VA for help. The VA reimburses the lender for the defaulted loan and the lender turns the foreclosed property over to the VA. The VA is not in the property management business, so VA wants to sell the property quickly and recapture its monetary loss.

Right now there are tens of thousands of homes in the VA’s inventory. Most of these are sitting vacant waiting for buyers. You don’t have to be in the military service or even a veteran to be eligible to buy one of these homes, but you do have to meet the VA’s qualification requirements.

Affordable financing incentives and interest rates are offered to all interested buyers so that the VA does not have to pay taxes, insurance, and maintain the foreclosed homes for any longer than absolutely necessary. They are eager to find qualified buyers and welcome all comers.

When searching for a home in a lower price bracket, VA foreclosures are a great place to start. Since the former owner was unable to make their mortgage payments it is likely that the property was not properly maintained making it a good investment for the savvy investor. Often times it is the more run down and unsightly properties you can pick up at bargain prices, fix up and flip for generous profits.

But be careful, you must be very cautious when you shop for VA foreclosures, and do your research before you commit to any investment. A good rule of thumb is that you should be willing to consider a purchase if there is just cosmetic damage to any property. That means paint, minor repairs and clean up. Unless you are very experienced with rehabbing real estate it is wise to avoid a property if real structural damage exists.

A moldy bathroom or a flooded cellar may look and smell off-putting, but they’re easy enough to fix, and their presence can drag down a property’s purchase price enough to make it a good investment.

A VA foreclosure can be perfect for an investor or a buyer/owner who wishes to purchase a property below market value. In order to obtain a listing of VA foreclosures, check with a local realtor who will have a list on the local Multiple Listing Service. You could also search the Internet under the search phrase “VA foreclosure properties”, and adding the zip code of the area where you wish to purchase property.

Here is a web site that lists available VA foreclosures http://www.ocwen.com/reo/home.cfm

There have been a wave of foreclosures with the downturn in the economy. It may a perfect time to gather a group of investors together to buy VA foreclosures by the dozen at deep discounts.

There are other types of foreclosures besides VA foreclosures that you should consider. They include bank owned real estate, preforeclosures and foreclosure auctions. They all offer opportunities to buy property at bargain prices.

Mark Walters is a third generation real estate investor and founder of CreatingWealthClub.com. For a limited time Mark is offering his big guide to finding hard money loans for real estate investing free. Free guide to private money loans.? http://www.FindPrivateMoney.info

posted by RobertF. on Aug 29

Your credit report is your private financial information. This information is every bit as private as any private financial information you keep in a locked drawer in your home or office. You have an absolute right to keep it private.

Your credit reports are maintained by various credit bureaus. The three largest and most famous credit bureaus are Transunion, Equifax and Experian.

Unlike a locked drawer in your home or office, however, the only thing someone needs to obtain your credit report from a credit bureau is an account with that bureau. Thus, anyone with an account has access to your credit report, whether or not you have given them permission to access it.

Examples abound where businesses have accessed credit reports wrongfully, without permission and without a proper purpose. I have heard of insurance industry law firms and insurance companies pulling credit reports for personal injury plaintiffs to find out if they’re financially strapped, and thus more likely to accept an insufficient settlement offer. Some unscrupulous companies pull credit reports to find out if you qualify for a loan they are offering, before they have even contacted you about the loan. Some pull it for less savory purposes yet, such as to determine where you shop and spend your money. These are all improper purposes for accessing someone’s private credit report.

All of this information is private and legally is supposed to remain private unless one of two things happens:

1. You give someone permission to pull your credit report, or,

2. The person pulling your credit report has a permissible purpose for pulling it.

There are very few permissible purposes. The law is really your only safeguard against unscrupulous persons pulling your credit report for improper purposes.

Examples of Giving Someone Permission to Pull Your Credit Report

Whenever you apply for a loan or a credit card, you normally sign a form which gives the prospective creditor permission to pull your credit report. This is the usual manner in which credit card companies, car dealerships and lenders access your credit report.

Beware, however, that some companies forge consumer signatures on forms to gain permission when they don’t have the consumer’s legitimate permission to pull your credit report. Thus, telemarketers cannot pull your credit report without your permission even if they are trying to sell you a loan. Car dealerships do not have permission to pull your credit report simply because you walk onto their lot to look at a few cars. If you pull your credit report and you find instances where companies have pulled your credit report without your permission, suspect that they may have done so by forging your signature. This happens more often than most consumers realize.

Examples of Permissible Purposes for Pulling Your Credit Report

There are very few: in response to a court order, in connection with an employment application and when a consumer actually applies for credit or insurance.

If you do not initiate the transaction, then a credit card company may only pull your credit report if they are making you a “firm offer of credit,” which is definitely quite a bit more than those endless letters from credit card companies telling us that we’ve been “Pre-Approved”, but we have to fill out an application anyway.

Persons or companies who pull your credit report must certify that they are pulling it for a permissible purpose. If a company pulls your credit report for a permissible purpose and then uses it for an impermissible purpose, then that company has violated your rights and the law. Companies may only pull and use your report for a permissible purpose.

In general, you need to pull your credit report and inquire into any credit entry for a credit card company, a finance company or an insurance company you do not recognize. It may well turn out that some company has pulled your credit report without your permission and without a permissible purpose.

How Do I Find Out if Someone Has Pulled My Credit Report Without A Permissible Purpose?

Pull your credit report from the three major credit reporting bureaus. They often share information among themselves, so negative credit entries to one bureau frequently find their way onto your credit reports with the other two bureaus.

If you see entries on your credit report concerning companies pulling your report without your permission, or companies you do not recognize, then you should inquire further as to whether someone has improperly accessed your credit report.

The answer, unfortunately, may well be a yes.

Why is Impermissible Access to One’s Credit Report Harmful?

Apart from being an invasion of your privacy, credit “pulls” actually lower your credit score. Someone who pulls your credit report without permission and without a legitimate purpose directly harms you by affecting your credit score.

What are My Remedies If I Discover that Someone Has Wrongfully Pulled My Credit Report?

If you have any questions or doubts, first contact the company which pulled your credit report and ask them, in writing, why their company name appears on your credit report. Sometimes there is an innocent explanation, but don’t be surprised if you get the run-around or if it turns out that this company did not have any permissible purpose when they pulled your credit report.

If you do find out that there has been an impermissible pull of your report, or if you just cannot get good answers to your questions, then see a lawyer. You are entitled to a penalty per violation of your right to financial privacy, even if you do not directly suffer damage as a consequence of the improper pull. There is also the potential of punitive damages, as well as any out-of-pocket losses you have suffered. The statute also provides that the person who improperly pulled your credit report must pay for your attorney’s fees, so these cases are frequently affordable even to consumers who cannot otherwise afford an attorney.

Robert F. Brennan, Esq. is a principal with Brennan, Wiener & Associates, an AV-rated law firm in La Crescenta, CA.? His firm specializes in consumer protection litigation, including wrongful credit damage and abusive debt collection.? He can be reached at: http://socalcreditdamage.com