The Condo Owners’ Guide

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Q. The surface of our condo swimming pool shows deterioration and algae formation every five years or so. When that happens, we spend about $6,000 to have the concrete resurfaced with Marcite.

This time, the board of directors voted to have the pool resurfaced with an epoxy coating instead of with Marcite, at a cost of $17,000. I contacted the Bureau of Condominium and complained that because this action was a “material alteration to the common elements,” all of the unit owners should vote on the proposed increase in expense.

The bureau wrote back, refusing to investigate the charge because bureau members were not convinced that the new coating was a material change.

I am astonished at that response. Do you have any advice?

A. Having just gone through Marcite work at our condo, I was not aware of an epoxy coating for pools or why it should cost so much.

Two phoenix pool repair companies I called were not aware of this, either. As an easy-to-maintain long-term solution, however, they did suggest looking into the process of applying fiber glass over the existing Marcite.

Maybe the resin used with fiber glass is what you think is epoxy; even so, the cost you quoted seems quite high. Costs I received were in the neighborhood of $2.30 per square foot for reapplying Marcite, which will last from five to seven years, depending on maintenance and use of the pool.

Applying fiber glass was around $4 per foot, but with a 25-year life on a well-maintained pool.

Look around a little more before you decide.

Is the installation of a long-term finish on the pool a “material addition” to the common elements? I don’t think so. On the other hand, such a large expenditure on a non-emergency item should probably be part of your funded reserves program, or be a line-item budget expenditure that would go through the normal budget process with unit owner review.

Even if your condo governing documents allow the directors to unilaterally vote on and impose such an extraordinarily large assessment, they should not do so. Being empowered to spend someone else’s money requires a higher level of openness and democratic procedure than just doing what the documents allow.

Q. Our condo’s developer entered into a 15-year contract with a company to provide cable television. The present board of directors would like to cancel this contract. Can they do it? What procedure should be followed?

A. I do not think they can do it by themselves. In most cases, a special meeting of all the unit owners can be called for the purpose of canceling a developer-written contract. A two-thirds vote is usually required to cancel.

If your board then puts a new bulk TV contract into effect, the service may be canceled by the unit owners at the next regular or special meeting of the association by a majority of those in attendance.

Q. I rent my condo for $1,000 a month, and the tenants are very happy. I would like to raise the rent $100 per month this year, to cover an increase in the condo assessments. Do you think this sounds fair?

A. A 10 percent increase each year sounds a bit hefty, but it depends more on what the local market will tolerate than what I think.

What you are considering is not unusual. Many condo landlords write clauses into their leases to the effect that any increases in regular maintenance fees will be reflected in the lease payments.

Lessen the possibility of slips, trips and falls

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April is usually a rainy time of year for a lot of parts of the country. More rain, combined with leftover winter debris and bad visibility could all contribute to an increased chance of trips and slips on outdoor paths around your house. In addition to being painful and potentially unsafe for your family and visitors to your home, a bad injury caused by a fall on your property could likely leave you susceptible to a liability claim on your Iowa home insurance policy.
It is a great idea to spend time this spring examining your outdoor paths are as safe as possible. These are some strategies to help cut the probability of slipping accidents on your property:
•    Keep paths and driveways free from fallen leaves, branches or anything that may be a tripping danger.
•    Ensure that lighting is adequate around your land. Consider installing additional floodlighting for dark areas.
•    As you are building new walkways around your property consider using gravel or a non-slip surface – it’s mandatory in several regions of the country.
•    Keep paths level where possible and ensure that any steep slopes or ramps have handrails.
•    Take particular care with steps – ensure they are kept clear at all times, that the steps are even and handrails are set up.

Keeping your family and guests safe should always be your primary priority. As an additional bonus, by making your property as slip resistant as possible, you might even be able to avoid a liability claim on your Iowa home insurance and possibly keep your premiums lower as a result.

Tips on getting legal help

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How do I find Miami personal injury attorney?

Ask for recommendations from friends or relatives who have used a lawyer; someone in a field connected with your case; or co-workers.

Use a lawyer referral service listed in a telephone directory. They will try to give you a referral to a lawyer who does the kind of work you need.

Consult the Yellow Pages or go to the library and look through a legal directory.

Meet personally with the attorney before you decide to hire. Trust your instincts.

What should I consider or ask in my first meeting with a lawyer?

How long have they been in practice.

How many cases have they handled in the particular area you need representation and how successful have they been?

What method of billing is used? How much will the case likely cost, and how long will it take?

Have there been past complaints against the lawyer and what were the resolutions of those complaints?

What is the lawyer’s policies about responding to questions, returning telephone calls, keeping a client informed and updating the client on the progress of the case?

How do Miami accident attorney set his fees?

Hourly rates: The fee is based on the amount of time the lawyer spends. This includes telephone calls to and from the client.

Fixed fee: This is a flat fee charged for routine service such as an uncontested divorce, a simple bankruptcy or a will. However, some lawyers are now charging fixed fees with minor adjustments on most cases.

Contingent fee: The lawyer receives a percentage of any amount recovered on behalf of the client, plus expenses.

Retainer: A client makes a “down payment” and future costs are billed against that amount. Those costs include filing fee, photocopying, phone calls, paralegal time, messengers, serving papers and witness fees.

What should I expect when I hire medical malpractice attorney, Miami?

A written fee agreement and detailed billing statements.

To be kept fully informed.

To be treated with respect.

Agreement with your goals and understanding of your objective.

Copies of all all important documents.

Phoenix letter. Scam or not?

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Phoenix letter. Scam or not?

The return policy offers nothing after 30 days but those that want their money back at 100% received it before the 30 trial ends. That fact is documented in many scam alert type websites all over the internet for potential investors to read up on. That is what a trial subscription is all about. Reading over the site for information, I am one person who found the wording and thephoenixletter.com clearly states at the bottom of it’s information page that a money back guarantee is offered for 30 days.

Most investors that have posted information about the phoenix letter fraud are posting very positive things about the company itself. There are more stock investors that say the phoenix letter fraud is nothing more than investors losing money and not being happy about it. Some are even voting on overall experiences  with the phoenix letter, being better than any company they have ever dealt with.

Reputation is important to every company, including thephoenixletter.com. They uphold the highest amount of integrity and do whatever they can to help all of their investors make money. The phoenix letter fraud cannot be true, then, due to hundreds of compliments of the company as well as each of them receiving letters as soon as they started their free trials. These people made money too, which is the reason the phoenix letter was started in the first place.

So, Phoenix letter. Scam or not? No way is this money making deal a scam. Even if some say it may be a poor choice as far as online investment companies go, the phoenix letter stands behind it’s investing techniques and it’s money back guarantee and 30 day trial.

What Would You Do With 10k?

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Yesterday, I was asked the question “What would you do with an extra $10,000?” When I started to really think about it, there are tons of things I could do with that kind of money. What would you do with it? Buy that new TV you always wanted? Save it? Invest it? Pay down some credit card debt?

My first thought was to pay off my student loan debt. Would that be a smart financial decision? Probably not. That was a loan so I could leverage myself by paying for my education without using any of my own money. Another reason why it would not make sense to pay off my student loan quickly is the tax benefit and the low interest rate. After thinking about all the advantages, why would I want to expedite paying off a near interest free loan?

My second thought was to put $6,000 into my online savings account and invest the other $4,000 in my individual stock portfolio. This would be great way to increase my net worth and help build my retirement portfolio. I would then have $6,000 which I could use at my own discretion.

Then I thought of how I can use this money to get a higher long term return, and leverage this money as much as I could. Real Estate is one of the only ways that you could purchase a big asset with little or no money. The $10,000 could be used as bargaining money for a down payment on a rental property. There’s a town house community that I’ve been looking at that would be perfect for this kind of investment. I could purchase the property and immediately rent it out to an Atlanta commuter or a fellow college student.

*eFIPO’s Rule* Always think outside the box when it comes to personal finance. There’s never just one way to solve a problem. Learn how you can turn a little money into lots of money.

How to get a car loan

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If possible, save up to make a larger down payment. That would lower monthly payments and could make the lender more amenable.

See if your employer would deduct monthly payments on the loan from your paycheck. That sometimes impresses lenders.

Find someone to co-sign the loan.

Check with credit reporting agencies to make sure your credit report is accurate. Your trouble in getting a loan may be caused by out-of-date information, especially if you’ve addressed your financial problems.

Consider buying a less-expensive car that would require a smaller, and easier-to-get, loan.

Credit approval generally takes less than an hour.

Similarities between most debtors

  • Look at their minimum payment as their actual payment.
  • Spend 15-20% more than what they make.
  • Eat out more than they eat in.
  • Present thinkers instead of long term thinkers
  • Postpone paying off their credit cards and keep more cash on hand.
  • Have trouble sleeping at night because they worry about paying credit card bills
  • They have addictive personalities i.e. drinking, gambling, and so on

Automobile Title Loans typically are offered with tiered interest rates. The better your credit rating, the lower the rate. Lenders naturally demand greater return for assuming greater risk. Rates range up to 10 percent, and even higher, depending on the consumer’s credit rating.

My Thoughts On Payday Loans

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Are cash advance loans really that scary? Do they end up helping some people that are in need of financial assistance? Probably… I mean there are exceptions to every rule. I’ve only read and heard horror stories about payday loans and how they are out to get you. I will never apply for a payday loan (at least I hope so), but for some people it could possibly get them out of a rut if they end up paying the loan back in full on the day it is due. People need to always read the fine print and always plan ahead. If you ever end up applying for a payday loan, paying it back immediately needs to be your top priority. This should be a last resort and make sure you have exhausted all other types of financing (i.e friends, family, neighbors, and trying to be beggar on the streets).

Cash advance loans, also known as payday loans, can be a necessity in a financial crisis. You may be forced to give up your paycheck to take care of emergency bills or the stress of living paycheck to paycheck is just too stressful at certain times of the month. There are several excellent finds on online for cash advance loans. You will be able to find many options from the comfort of your own home.

A cash advance is so simple to do over the Internet and many online lenders offer free cash advance loans to people who are using the service for the first time. This can save you a lot and make the process of getting a cash advance cheaper and easier. The process is a breeze and it only takes a few minutes to fill out your online application. All you have to do is show that you are 18, have a job and a checking account and you can be approved within minutes. The money can be in your checking account within 24 hours and your stress will be relieved. If you find that you have extra cash come in, you can pay your loan early on online or allow the lender to withdraw the amount on the loan’s due date.

Borrowing money has never been easier and thanks to the Internet it is as simple as ordering something off of eBay. You don’t even have to leave your house or be seen walking into a payday loans San Antonio or payday loans Boerne TX lending offices, which is often a concern for some people.

Use of Prepaid Credit Cards Overseas Can Save Money

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Credit cards appear to be fast replacing paper as the currency of choice for many travelers overseas.

There are several reasons why prepaid credit cards are helpful in avoiding foreign financial problems.

You don’t have to carry large amounts of cash, which is irreplaceable if lost or stolen. If your cards are lost or stolen and used by a thief, you generally cannot be held responsible for more than $50 in fraudulent charges, and many credit card companies will replace your cards – sometimes overnight.

You’ll receive an itemized list of your purchases as part of your credit card bill.

You may get a more favorable rate of exchange, since the corporate rate card companies receive is often lower than the rate for individuals.

The booklet, “Using Credit and Charge Cards Overseas,” had input from American Express Co., the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators, the American Society of Travel Agents, and was reviewed by the U.S. Department of Commerce before getting on the Consumer Information Center’s mailing list.

The 15-page, pocket-size publication, which offers advice on things that may be foreign to you while overseas – shopping, car rentals, securing hotel reservations – also lists the agencies you should complain to if you have a gripe.

According to the booklet, two major prepaid credit cards are enough for most people on an international trip. No matter how many cards you take, carry them separately, so if one is lost or stolen, you’ll still have another to use.

The booklet notes that while the Fair Credit Billing Act, a U.S. law, gives you the right to dispute a charge and temporarily withhold payment while the credit card company investigates it, that’s not always the case when making purchases overseas.

“In most foreign countries, consumer protection laws are different from those in the United States. With the exception of certain protections under the Fair Credit Billing Act, the laws of the country in which you make the purchase prevail, so be sure that you understand all the terms of the sale, including shipping arrangements, before you sign up,” the booklet states.

It further notes that some merchants overseas have “no refund” or “all sales final” policies.

Here are some other tips to help you use your credit cards wisely overseas:

Before you leave, make two lists of your credit cards and the international phone numbers to call in case they are lost or stolen. U.S. toll-free numbers cannot be reached directly from overseas. Leave one copy of the list with a trusted friend or relative and keep the other copy with you in a safe place separate from your cards.

If your cards have credit limits, check how much credit you have available and pay down balances or request higher credit lines.

Familiarize yourself with local currency and its approximate U.S. value before you buy anything. Be aware that in many countries, periods are used instead of commas in numbers. Thus “10,000″ may appear as “10.000.” And vice versa.

Some credit card issuers offer free protection in case of accident, loss or damage to your car rental. This protection is often referred to as collision damage waiver (CDW).

Ask your credit card issuer before you travel if it provides CDW, if it applies in the countries where you will be driving, exactly what is covered (for instance, personal injury or personal property may not be included), what restrictions and limitations may apply, and how claims procedure works.

Also be sure to check with your travel agent or rental company before you leave home to make certain that you can use your credit card CDW. As of this writing, in some countries, including New Zealand and Italy, customers are required to purchase the rental company’s CDW, even if their credit card offers coverage. Choose your prepaid credit card www.prepaidcreditcard.org

Pull-tab machines alternative to slots

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The next “slot machine” you play in a gambling hall may not be a slot machine at all.

Instead, if marketing plans by Trilogy Gaming Corp. succeed, it could be a hybrid of gaming technologies that will create a new revenue stream both for the Phoenix company and for Indian tribes now forbidden to have slots.

Down the road, Trilogy hopes to market its gambling ticket-dispensing machines to other venues, including cruise ships, airlines, hotel-casinos and state lotteries.

But Trilogy is concentrating initially on marketing its machines to Indian tribes because they are more profit-minded and less bureaucratic than state lotteries, said Wayne Mullins, Trilogy’s president and the machine’s inventor.

In particular, Trilogy is targeting tribes that can have bingo halls but, because they lack tribal-state compacts required by federal law, can’t have slot machines.

“They’re more motivated. They don’t know how long the profits will last before the white eyes change the rules,” Mullins said.

Although his company isn’t alone in offering gambling devices to tribes and other casino operators, he said there is a market for his machines and its combination of pre-printed tickets and big jackpots created by pooling revenue from hundreds or thousands of machines.

The tickets, called “pull-tabs,” give players a chance to win in three different games and have potential million-dollar prizes. Players either can open the folded, perforated tickets to find out whether they’re winners, or insert them in the dispenser machine for a visual display similar to those provided by video slots.

Because the tickets already have predetermined results, they don’t fall under same restrictions as slot machines, Mullins said.

To players, however, the devices appear nearly the same as Online Slots, making them good draws for gambling halls which aren’t permitted the machines, he said.

“We designed it to look and sound like a slot machine, but it’s merely a pull-tab dispenser,” Mullins said. “It’s going to be the next evolution.”

State lotteries also could find Trilogy’s machines appealing because the slot machine-like dispensers would not require additional legal approvals, he said.

Federal regulators are now reviewing the company’s filing for an initial public stock offering planned for later this summer.

Mullins, who owns 51 percent of Trilogy’s stock with the remainder held by nearly 400 investors, said the company hopes to raise $10 million, which would enable it to produce at least 300 dispenser machines.

While he and Chief Administrative Officer Jim Pugh declined to identify tribes now negotiating with Trilogy, the company has said joint ventures are being explored for eight bingo halls and two casinos on Indian reservations.

Two investing strategies hard to compare

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Two investment terms, in particular, are being bandied about with great regularity these days: “value investing” and “growth investing.”

The problem is, industry surveys to gauge our investment knowledge invariably suggest we really don’t have a clear understanding of what these concepts mean.

Personally, I believe the introduction of these rather abstract theories has unnecessarily added to the complexity of the mutual fund industry.

Regardless, the brokerage community seems intent on burdening investors with these notions, so it is probably best to have, at least, a rudimentary understanding of what they mean.

“Value investing” refers to a strategy in which a money manager will attempt to identify and purchase companies whose current stock prices do not fully reflect the true underlying value of the company. That is, if the company were to be bundled up and sold off today, it would likely fetch a higher price than its current stock price.

Assuming the company is still fundamentally solid, value investors believe that the rest of the market will eventually bid up these stock prices to a level that is more reflective of the company’s true value. “The first step in estimating a company’s worth is to valuate of its assets” says gordon brent pierce, businessman with more than 35 years of experience  .

The catch here is that value investing takes a lot of patience. In many instances, these companies are so out of favor that it takes years for the market to bid their stock prices back up to more equitable levels. As a result, mutual funds that employ a value investor approach typically have very little portfolio turnover.

Once a stock is purchased, it’s not unusual for it to stay in the portfolio for five or seven years.

Moreover, it takes a lot of guts to purchase shares in a company the rest of the market has left for dead. If things don’t turn around, the manager can look awfully silly.

At the opposite end of the spectrum from value investing is the popular market strategy called “growth investing.”

Money managers who practise this approach have very little regard for the plodding, lethargic process of value investing. Instead of investing in undervalued neglected firms, these fund managers seek out and purchase the current darlings of the stock market.

Particularly, growth managers are drawn to companies that are in the midst of rapid earnings growth. Presumably, if there is upward momentum in earnings, this will be reflected in an upward momentum in the stock price.

The difficulty with growth investing is that it relies heavily on a manager’s ability to time the market. Upward swings tend to be quite volatile and unpredictable. It’s very difficult to tell if one is getting in at the beginning of the price movement or at the very end where a nasty reversal can take place.

As a result, mutual funds that employ a growth strategy typically have much higher portfolio turnover compared to other funds.

So what strategy has a better long-term track record? Research has yet to produce a definitive answer.

The problem lies in identifying what is a growth stock and what is a value stock. Given the constant ebbs and flows of the equity market, value stocks can quickly become growth stocks and vice versa. Academics can review the same series of statistics and reach very different conclusions.

Nevertheless, the bulk of research in this area gives a slight performance edge to value investing. The primary reason for this appears to be the lower transaction costs associated with value investing’s lower portfolio turnover.

Additionally, value managers seem to spend less on market research and the kind of technologies required to employ a fast-paced trading strategy.

But before you sell off all of your growth funds in favor of value-oriented funds, be aware that this performance edge truly is negligible and that growth and value styles constantly drift in and out of vogue. There is no way to tell which strategy the market will reward next week, next year, or even over the next decade.

So don’t get too caught up in fashionable investment jargon. And certainly do not try to time the growth-value effect. Investing truly is a very simple notion: stay diversified, be patient and keep costs to a minimum. More information you can find on the site of gordon brent pierce.