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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Property Management Resources
Job seekers soak in the rapid growth of solar power
Job seekers soak in the rapid growth of solar power
Date: 06/27/2011
Solar energy is a shining beacon of hope for thousands of Americans seeking employment opportunities in the renewable energy industry.Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offered a partial guarantee for a $1.4 billion loan to fund the largest rooftop solar plan in the nation, according to Reuters. The project, which is called Project Amp, will install 733 megawatts of solar energy on approximately 750 rooftops.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, NRG Energy and Prologis announced they would help finance Project Amp. As a result, more than 10,000 jobs are expected to be created in 28 states over the next four years.
"By harnessing the full capabilities of our platform we're able to deliver this innovative transaction that brings together many parts of our Global Banking and Markets franchise," said Tom Montag, president of Global Banking and Markets at Bank of America. "This important accomplishment transforms the dynamics of distributed solar generation, delivers a significant source of clean energy and creates thousands of jobs across the U.S."
NRG Energy is the lead investor in the first phase of Project Amp, which is set to commence before September 30 this year in Southern California.
Meanwhile, one of the world's leading developers of solar energy solutions recently announced it will add approximately 500 jobs over the next five years. Fronius USA said it will open its American headquarters in Portage, Indiana in the third quarter of 2012, moving from its current location in Brighton, Michigan.
Some of the Michigan workers will transfer to Indiana and the company will be seeking professionals to fill technology positions, production roles and office administration jobs.
"We’re excited to bring new jobs anywhere in Indiana, but we're particularly excited Fronius has chosen northwest Indiana," Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said. "Fronius is well-established, fast-growing and at the top of their field, exactly the kind of company we've rebuilt the Indiana business climate to attract."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the solar power industry, a critical part of the growing "green economy," will continue to grow and develop over the coming years. Job opportunities are promising in the major sectors of this industry, including manufacturing, project development, installation and maintenance, the federal agency states.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Rent and the Three Day Notice Process by Brian P. Wolk Attorney at Law
by Brian P. Wolk Attorney at Law
As a property manager, it is critical that you carefully follow proper procedures. Why, you ask? First, by failing to give your best efforts, you are telling your management company and your supervisors what you think of them. Even worse, it is telling your supervisors what you think of yourself. It is especially important that the property manager take all necessary steps when dealing with delinquent rent payers, so that the ability to evict these nonpaying residents is preserved. More than likely, if an eviction is unsuccessful, it will be due to sloppiness on the part of the property manager in preparing the Three Day Notice, or accepting rent prior to or during an eviction.
Why the Three Day Notice must be served
Under Section 83.56 of the Florida Statutes, a Three Day Notice must be served to a resident who is delinquent in paying rent before your attorney is able to file an eviction lawsuit. If the resident is late paying the rent, then the resident must receive notice providing three business days to pay the rent or vacate. It is irrelevant how many prior Three Day Notices have been received by the resident. Before you can evict for nonpayment of the rent, the resident must be served with the Three Day Notice, which essentially creates a grace period in which the resident has extra time to become current with the rent obligations. Section 83.56 contains the suggested form to be used.
Consequences if the Three Day Notice is prepared incorrectly
Beyond the fact that Three Day Notice errors may cause embarrassment and increase your accounts receivable balance, these mistakes open up the door for eviction defense attorneys to enter your eviction case and represent the resident you are trying to evict. The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals in December of 2010 ruled that undisputed rent must be deposited into the court registry in accordance with Section 83.60 (2) of the Florida Statutes before a resident is entitled to an eviction hearing on the merits. The good news for property managers is that all lower courts, including county courts not part of the Fourth District Court of Appeals, are arguably bound to follow the above decision, due to a separate Florida Supreme Court case which sets forth the proper hierarchy for decisional holdings. While most judges strictly follow the language in Section 83.60 (2) of the Florida Statutes and will require the resident to deposit the undisputed rent into the Court Registry, you should not assume that the judge in your case will rule that way. In any event, if the Three Day Notice contains incorrect information or in some other way is flawed, and the undisputed rent is deposited, then you will likely lose the eviction case. Many unseasoned property managers mistakenly believe that residents without money will have no luck in obtaining an attorney. That idea could not be further from the truth. Eviction defense attorneys will represent the resident effectively for free, with the hope that the landlord will be the party paying their bill. This is referred to a contingent fee arrangement. The successful property manager must always keep in mind that under Section 83.48 of the Florida Statutes, the prevailing party in an eviction action is entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees. That amount can be significant.
Proper amount to list as rent on the Three Day Notice
The balance owed listed on the resident’s ledger will not necessarily be the same amount that is listed on the Three Day Notice. This is because only rent or charges defined by the lease as additional rent can be listed on the notice, while other owing amounts may be showing up on the account ledger. Rent is defined under Section 83.43 (6) as the periodic payments due the landlord under a rental agreement and other payments designated as rent in a written rental agreement. The rent amount listed on the notice must be presently owed at the time the notice was prepared. The amount should not contain a breakdown and must be a firm number. The amount cannot expand over time. Most judges will allow you to list utility amounts, bad check charges, washer and dryer fees, pet fees and reasonable late charges if the lease defines those amounts as additional rent. You should check with your eviction attorney to make sure your late charges would pass the scrutiny of judges in your county. Many judges take a dim view if daily late fees or other additional rent charges from prior months are listed on the notice.
The proper way to list the resident’s name
Your first step here is to retrieve the lease from the resident’s file. That should be done so that you can make sure that all lease signers are listed on the notice. The key here is to list all current residents. If management has allowed a lease signer to vacate by way of a written release, then that former resident should not be listed on the notice. If that former resident did not obtain permission from management to vacate, then that resident’s name should be listed on the notice. Also, make sure the name in your computer matches the name on the lease. The correct name must be listed in full, as one letter misspelled could possibly render the Three Day Notice null and void, although recent case law suggests that to raise the defective notice defense, the resident will be required to deposit owing rent into the Court Registry. Minors who did not sign the lease should not be listed on the notice. If you accepted rent from occupants that are not lease signers, then you must consult with your eviction attorney in order to decide if those occupants should be listed on the notice.
The Correct date
This is very simple. It is the actual date that you are serving the resident with the Three Day Notice. Here is where things can get tricky: many property managers use a mail merge program to generate the Three Day Notice and forget to change either the date of the notice or the date of the certificate of service, which is usually listed on the bottom of the notice. In any event, the date of the Three Day Notice must match the date of the certificate of service, or the notice will be defective. Three Day Notices may be served on weekends or holidays, so a weekend or holiday date on the notice is allowed; however, the expiration date should never be a weekend or holiday.
The Proper Address
The address listed on the notice must be the true address where the resident is living. You must always keep in mind that the address should match the official address that the United States Post office has on file. The address on the Three Day Notice should also match the address listed on the lease, and the signage on the apartment home. Keep in mind, even if the process server, clerk of the court and judge do not pick up on the mistake, the sheriff’s department will not be fooled, and they will refuse to execute the writ of possession, which will cause the eviction to be significantly delayed or eventually denied.
Location where the resident pays the rent
The notice must list the physical address where payment by the resident is to be made. The notice must also list the name of the landlord and the landlord’s phone number. If your lease allows you to require that payment be made in certified funds or money orders, and you wish to invoke that during the Three Day Notice period, then some judges require that the notice reflect that form of payment demand.
The Certificate of Service
After you have served the Three Day Notice, you must complete the certificate of service section, usually listed on the bottom of the Three Day Notice. The date on the certificate of service should match the date of the Three Day Notice, which is usually on the top of the notice. The certificate of service should specify how the resident was served. Was the notice posted on the premises, mailed to the resident or hand delivered to the resident? Remember, it is not required that you fill out the certificate of service section on the resident’s copy. The certificate of service should be filled out on the original notice that will remain in the resident’s file. It is recommended that when the property manager is headed over to the resident’s apartment home, the manager should bring the original notice and a copy. The copy is delivered to the resident or posted, and then the property manager immediately fills out the certificate of service on the original and then places it in the file. If many notices are being served, another technique is to bring a pad and write down all those notices which were personally delivered and the identity of the individual actually receiving the notice; when getting back to the office, fill out all the certificate sections on the original notices, noting personal delivery when applicable, with all other notices being posted.
Proper expiration date of the notice
The Three Day Notice expires three business days after the date of service, unless the notice was mailed to the resident. The date of posting along with weekends and legal holidays are excluded. Some holidays are obvious, while others are not. Make sure that you obtain the list of court holidays from your eviction attorney. The expiration time should be extended if there is service by mailing as discussed later in this article.
The manner of service authorized by statute
Section 83.56 of the Florida Statutes authorizes the service of the Three Day Notice by hand delivery to the resident, by posting on the premises in the absence of the resident, and by mail. Confusion will occur if the lease sets forth the manner of service for notices which conflicts with the statute. If the lease requires that all notices be mailed, for example, then the Three Day Notice must be mailed. It may not be posted on the premises or hand delivered to the resident. The terms of the lease will override the statutory options for service of the notice.
Posting the Three Day Notice on the premises
Section 83.56 authorizes the property manager to post the notice on the premises in the absence of the resident. First, you must knock with force or ring the doorbell before posting, as you should honor the possibility that the resident may be home. If the resident is absent, then you should post the notice on the door used for exit and entry by the resident, and place the notice in an unmarked envelope. The notice should be firmly taped to the door. It is not advisable to place the notice inside the door, as that may anger the resident and could leave the landlord vulnerable to claims related to theft if there is an unauthorized entry into the apartment home.
Service by hand delivery
Service by hand delivery to the resident is the best method for serving the Three Day Notice. If the resident is home, then this method of service must be selected. If the door is opened and you are not sure who is standing in front of you, then try to determine that person’s identity. There is no need for the resident to sign anything. The property manager may just hand the notice to the resident. If you believe that the resident may become angry, then in an abundance of caution, you can retain a process server to serve the Three Day Notice. It is very important that the process server serve the Three Day Notice on the day the Three Day Notice is dated, or the notice may be defective. If the resident asserts that the notice was not received, then the process server may be required to testify at an eviction hearing.
Service by hand delivery to a non-resident
The property manager may serve the notice by hand delivery to an occupant who is 15 years or older. If the person who opens the door is just a guest or visitor, then the best approach is to post the Three Day Notice on the premises.
Witnesses are not required
The statute does not require that the property manager have witnesses when serving a Three Day Notice. If you believe that the resident may try to play games and deny that the notice was received, it may be a good idea to have a witness when the notice is served. Most judges are not impressed when a resident claims that the notice was not received if owing rent is not deposited into the Court Registry. However, if all the owing rent is deposited into the Court Registry, whether and how the notice was delivered can become a very important factual determination.
Service by mailing the Three Day Notice
The eviction process becomes even more complicated if the Three Day Notice is mailed. The law requires you to add more days for the resident to pay. Therefore, the expiration date of the Three Day Notice is extended, which delays the whole eviction process. The resident also may end up denying that the notice was received after you have mailed it.
Reasons for mailing a Notice to Pay Rent
Many attorneys who do not have much experience in the area of residential property management law will draft lease requiring that all notices be mailed. That is due to the fact that landlords often prefer that legal notices from residents to the landlord be received by mail. Those same attorneys then insert a reciprocal provision in the lease, requiring the landlord to mail written notices to the resident. Thus, if the lease requires the landlord to serve all legal notices by mail, then that must be done, even though Florida law allows the notice to be served upon the resident or posted on the premises. The apartment manager must review the lease in detail in order to determine if serving a notice to pay rent is required under the lease. The landlord may also decide to mail the Notice to Pay Rent if the property is an excessive distance from where the landlord is located, as the landlord may not wish to drive to the property to serve the notice.
The Three Day Notice can become a Thirteen Day Notice
If the landlord is mailing the Notice to Pay Rent to the resident, then some Florida cases indicate that five business days must be added to both ends of the process: five days for the notice to be delivered to the resident, three business days for the resident to make payment, and five more days for the payment to be mailed back to the landlord. If the address for payment is a local address, some judges would allow the landlord to require payment within eight business days of mailing the Notice to Pay Rent, but the uncertainty in knowing how a particular judge will rule should make the landlord take a conservative, approach, if the notice is originally mailed. However, thirteen business days compared to three business days is a big difference; this significant delay before the commencement of eviction proceedings may result in a bigger accounts receivable balance and monies that may never be collected by the landlord. If the Notice to Pay Rent is hand-delivered or posted, but the address listed for payment on the notice is a P.O. Box, the resident would have eight business days to pay the delinquent rent, excluding holidays and weekends, and the landlord is precluded from evicting the resident until the notice has expired. Some judges have ruled that if the physical address listed for payment is outside the county in which the rental premises are located, five more days must be added to the expiration date of the notice, to allow the tenant to mail the payment to a location deemed to be a significant distance away.
Mailing the Notice to Pay Rent and hand delivering or posting the Notice to Pay Rent
Often, a landlord will wish to make sure the resident actually receives the Three Day Notice, so the landlord will serve the notice using more than one method of service. Unless the landlord is required to do so under federal law or regulations, or less common, under the lease, it is a very bad idea for the landlord to post the Three Day Notice and additionally mail the notice, because massive confusion can be created. The resident may argue that the mailed notice cancels out the posted notice. The resident conceivably would receive the mailed Three Day Notice a few days after receiving the posted or hand delivered notice. A judge may believe that enough confusion has been created so that the resident would not fully understand the true expiration date of the notice, or the judge may simply enforce a later expiration date under the above-described mailing rules, invalidating the hand delivered or posted notice, and potentially denying the eviction in the process.
Partial payment prior to and after notice expiration
The legal concept of waiver will apply if the landlord accepts partial payment of the amount listed on the Three Day Notice. The acceptance of partial payment towards the notice amount will render the Three Day Notice null and void in the view of many judges. The landlord has no obligation to accept the partial payment.
Proper way to return partial payment
If the landlord intends to continue with the eviction process, then partial rent payment should be hand delivered to the resident, or returned via certified mail at once, if hand delivery is not possible. All too often, a property manager will hold the payment and not deposit it, in the hope of obtaining payment in full at some later date. If the property manager holds the payment for too long, the judge may rule that the rent was accepted, even though it was not ultimately deposited, and deny the eviction request in the process. When returning a personal check, the word void should be written over it. If the payment being returned is money orders, then the word void should not be written on them, as it may prevent the resident from being reimbursed from the money order company. If the partial payment is accepted after the expiration of the Three Day Notice, then the same rules apply as accepting partial payment prior to the expiration of the Three Day Notice. In both scenarios the eviction effort is seriously jeopardized once the landlord accepts partial payment. Some judges will rule that undisputed rent still owing needs to be deposited into the Court Registry before the resident can raise the partial payment defense, but the landlord should not count on this type of ruling. Issuing a payment receipt prior to returning money can also seriously jeopardize the eviction effort.
Refusing cash or personal checks prior to the expiration of the Three Day Notice
Payment by cash should be prohibited by your lease, as accepting cash creates unwanted confusion during the eviction process. Assuming your lease prohibits cash as a manner of payment, if the resident attempts to pay with cash and the payment is refused, then extra late fees should not be charged if the resident subsequently pays with certified funds within a day or so, to avoid any potential conflict with Florida law. If your lease does not prohibit late payments by personal check, then you must accept full payment by personal check from the resident prior to the expiration of the Three Day Notice. If your lease gives you the option to determine the manner of payment, then the resident should have prior written warning that personal checks will not be accepted if they have been accepted in the past. If not, then a judge may find that prior acceptance of the personal checks created waiver or modified the terms of the existing lease.
Refusal of rent after expiration of the notice
After the expiration of the Three Day Notice, the landlord may refuse to accept the rent. However, if the eviction attorney has not filed the action in court yet, it may make sense to avoid the conflict and accept the payment as long as it is payment in full. Judges may become leery of your actions if you do not, possibly believing that the eviction is not really even about nonpayment. Also, if your Three Day Notice contains excessive late fees or late fees from prior months, it may then also make sense to accept the payment, since those charges may cause you to lose your eviction action, especially if the resident were to subsequently deposit owing rent into the Court Registry. Apartment communities that allow on-line rent payment must have proper controls, so that those residents who have been served with Three Day Notices are blocked from making payments on-line.
Written contact with the resident after service of the Three Day Notice
Once a Three Day Notice has been served, it is dangerous to post any other written notices, as there is case law which indicates that such communications render a Three Day Notice null and void. Warning letters of an impending eviction, particularly when monetary demands conflicting with the Three Day Notice are made in those letters, have been known to derail evictions.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Marketing: Basics first, specials last
Byline: Tracey Hopkins
Synopsis: Before you take a step forward, take two steps back! Before you increase your special (or
marketing), increase your ability to compete. Find out how you can distinguish your property from
all the others in your market by closely examining it through the eyes of your customers.
Marketing: Basics first, specials last
One month free! Two months free! Free DVD! Are all these concessions really
necessary? Have you ever wanted to just walk out on the front lawn of your community
and yell, “Stop the madness!”?
It’s frustrating when you are in a soft or competitive market and the best everyone can do
is offer the largest concession. While it’s true that our customers have gotten in the habit
of asking, “What’s your special?” you need to realize that we have trained them to ask
this.
Pick up the phone and call three of your competitors. You will find they “whip out” that
special before they even mention amenities or apartment features. When the customer
calls the next community to find out price and availability, they now need to compare
who has the biggest special. The sad part is that once we all offer concessions, we all lose
our competitive advantage. Sure the first guy had some advantage to knocking off a little
money at move-in, but once we all jumped in, the playing field evened out.
Before you think up some clever special like “today’s weather is your first month’s rent,”
I urge you to take a step back and evaluate all of your community appeal and marketing
efforts.
Let’s start with the street. Is the lawn luscious? Are your flowers attracting attention or
barely hanging on? Landscapers are funny. They plant flowers 2–3 inches apart as if they
will be there for the next two years when you probably have your color changes two-tothree times a year. Make them plant all flowers right next to each other for a “pop” of
attention-getting color.
Now, say it with me, “No more red begonias.” Since that is what just about every
apartment community in Texas plants, red begonias in the summer and purple/yellow
pansies in the winter, go for Lantana or something equally as hearty and full of color.
Winter rye will really make your property stand out in the dreary wintertime. You just
can’t help looking at beautiful green grass when all else is brown. Are all balconies and
patios free from clutter, trash and that ugly green La-Z-Boy? How about your monument
sign? Does it need a fresh coat of paint? If you need to replace your monument sign, your
main identification, you need to do it now rather than later. The cost of lost traffic and
leases is monumental compared to the cost of a sign replacement. If you have flags, banners or bootleg signs out front, they must be in excellent condition.
Tattered flags, sagging banners and crooked, bent bootlegs say to the customer that you
have terrible management or maintenance. If you put balloons out front everyday, do you
leave the dead balloons overnight or do you take scissors out front and cut them before
you leave each day? The way I look at it, your residents who leave early and come home
late see nothing but dead balloons each and every day. My feelings on balloons are that
they should be reserved for occasional use. They look bad longer than they look good,
especially with our hot seasons!
Now let’s evaluate your office. I am sure the physical office is quite nice, but are your
people? That’s a tough one. Obviously you and they think everything is fine, but does the
person who just came in?
As an industry overall, we tend to either over-do it on the greeting or blow it badly with a
distant, slightly annoyed-at-being-interrupted style of greeting. This one is a biggie. We
spend thousands of dollars creating an environment that makes people feel welcome and
yet the person who is out front rarely smiles, rarely gets up and even worse, is rarely
pleased to see someone walking in to see an apartment. That’s just astonishing to me. As
a marketer, I am genuinely glad a customer has arrived because that means I did my job
well.
In the South, we are expected to be gracious with our visitors but so many onsite leasing
teams just are not. I ask you, do you like paperwork? Would you rather finish that report
than help someone find a home? If you answered yes, quit. Life is too short to waste it on
a job you hate. Believe me, this all ties back to marketing. It doesn’t make sense that we
advertise, literally inviting people to come see our property and when they arrive, we act
like we can’t be bothered.
Next we need to review our marketing corridor, which is basically anything the customer
sees on the way to the apartment. All areas that are common to the residents must be
absolutely spotless. While you may not have a budget to replace that pool furniture or
update the laundry, you have no excuse to have trashcans overflowing, fingerprints on
windows or a dirty pool. Customers will forgive a lot of things but cleanliness isn’t one
of them.
The apartment home is where the rubber meets the road. Aren’t we all leasing four walls
plus or minus some frills? If our greeting was bumpy, many are able to warm up by the
time they get out on the tour, but it’s all for naught if the unit disappoints.
You have to begin with the outside of the door. Look for the need to paint it, replace the
doorknob, pull off the doorknob year’s worth of rubber bands and don’t forget to look at
the outside light. Typically it’s full of dead bugs or at the very least crooked. When the
door opens does it squeak? Or sound like the door of a haunted house? This is sending
subliminal messages to the mind of your customer. How does the apartment smell? Isn’t it funny that the resident can move all their stuff out
but not their smell? I strongly recommend air-oxidizing machines to clean the air.
Smelly apartments only lease to people with weak olfactory glands!
Now, is it clean? Really clean? Remember that you will never get a chance to recover
from showing a dirty apartment. No matter what the customer says, it’s just too gross to
get over.
Maybe it’s time to update your finishes. This is where you can really get competitive. It’s
unfortunate for properties that are usually rated “B” during these market conditions in
Texas. All the “A” communities and those in lease-up create such deals that a solid “B”
community finds it almost impossible to compete. Well, you can if you update.
Think about the fact that 80 percent of household decisions are typically made by the
female. Now let’s think about what the female will notice—floors, cabinets, counters,
plumbing and light fixtures. (Obviously storage, space and floor plan lay-out, but I want
to focus on features you can change.)
It isn’t necessary to replace everything with new—at least most of the time it isn’t. Let’s
start with what needs attention the most out of the areas I just listed. Carpets are pretty
much all beige these days and that’s what is in, stay with it. But if you replace the carpet,
increase your pad thickness by a ½ inch. It feels richer and the competition isn’t doing it.
Put in wood-look laminate flooring. It goes with everything and has proven to be quite
durable for multifamily.
If you have those super dark cabinets, you might just have to paint them. The only way to
know whether or not it’s necessary is to listen to the prospect. Here’s a telling question;
“Are these the only cabinets you have?” Countertops that have been resurfaced usually
have to continue to be resurfaced. If you have enough money to resurface over and over
again, then by all means, continue. But in order to get the best bang for your buck, find a
company that prides itself on few callbacks or just bite the bullet and replace the counters
with a durable product.
Lastly, plumbing and light fixtures go a long way in updating the apartment homes.
Think about what you would want if you were on a search right now. Would you want
that standard brass and glass dining room chandelier or perhaps the brushed aluminum
that looks cool and goes with everything? Do you like those really ugly standard faucets
of the ’80s, you know the ones, or would you like something that looks new?
None of what I have mentioned needs to cost a lot. It only needs to be different than what
everyone else on your street offers. And you will find that owners would rather improve
the real estate than give the rent away with concessions.
The next time you have to replace something, tell your service technician that you want
to make the choice. Just because it’s what is in all the other units in your property is
absolutely no reason why you have to continue with the exact same thing. That is one area of complaint from the average renter. The moment they think they are getting
something special, that is the moment they are more likely to say yes!
Now isn’t that better than offering one month free or having to be the best deal on the
street? Make your best deal one that is called “getting the most for your money.” The
community where people stay because of how they’re treated, how well we take care of
the community and where it’s not all vanilla just because that’s the way we’ve always
done it.
Before you say “I can’t afford this, it’s not in the budget”—ask yourself, “Did I budget
for this vacancy? Did I budget these concessions?”
.
Hopkins is an industry wunderkind, starting her career at 17 as a leasing consultant and
working her way up to a multi-site property supervisor by 21. She now owns her own
company, Jumpstart Marketing, and presents nationally for companies, associations and
conventions. She also consults with clients on marketing, management and humor
coaching. You can reach Tracey by e-mail at tracey@jumpstartonline.net or by calling
972-523-9154. www.jumpstartonline.net
Friday, February 11, 2011
555 PEOPLE--By Charlie Reese
555 PEOPLE--By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who
create problems and then campaign against them..
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats
and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY
do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are
against inflation and high taxes,WHY do we have
inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The
President does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority
to vote on appropriations. The House of
Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does
You and I don't control monetary policy, the
Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one
President, and nine Supreme Court justices
equates to 555 human beings out of the 300
million are directly, legally, morally, and
individually responsible for the domestic
problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve
Board because that problem was created by the
Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its
Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency
to a federally chartered, but PRIVATE, central
bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists
for a sound reason. They have no legal authority.
They have no ability to coerce a senator, a
congressman, or a President to do one cotton-
picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician
$1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the
power to accept or reject it. No matter what the
lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility
to determine how he votes.
Those 555 human beings spend much of their energy
convincing you that what they did is not their fault.
They cooperate in this common con regardless of
party.
What separates a politician from a normal human
being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal
human being would have the gall of a Speaker,
who stood up and criticized the President for
creating deficits..... The President can only
propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress
to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the
land, gives sole responsibility to the House of
Representatives for originating and approving
appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of
the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of
the majority party. She and fellow House members,
not the President, can approve any budget they
want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it
over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300
million cannot replace 555 people who stand
convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence
and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single
domestic problem that is not traceable directly to
those 555 people. When you fully grasp the plain
truth that 555 people exercise the power of the
federal government, then it must follow that
what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it
unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want
it in the red ..
If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan
it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...
If they do not receive social security but are on
an elite retirement plan not available to the people,
it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 555 people shift the blame to
bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they
can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice
they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give
the power to regulate and from whom they can
take this power. Above all, do not let them con
you into the belief that there exists disembodied
mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or
"politics" that prevent them from doing what
they take an oath to do.
Those 555 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power..
They, and they alone, should be held accountable
by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage
their own employees...
We should vote all of them out of office and
clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the
Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
What you do with this article now that you have
read it......... Is up to you.
This might be funny if it weren't so true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he's fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid...
Put these words
Upon his tomb,
Taxes drove me
to my doom...'
When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax..
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these
taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was
the most prosperous in the world. We had
absolutely no national debt, had the largest
middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home
to raise the kids.
What in the hell happened?
Can you spell 'politicians?'
I hope this goes around THE USA at least
555 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!
Politicians are the only people in the world who
create problems and then campaign against them..
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats
and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY
do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are
against inflation and high taxes,WHY do we have
inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The
President does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority
to vote on appropriations. The House of
Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does
You and I don't control monetary policy, the
Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one
President, and nine Supreme Court justices
equates to 555 human beings out of the 300
million are directly, legally, morally, and
individually responsible for the domestic
problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve
Board because that problem was created by the
Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its
Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency
to a federally chartered, but PRIVATE, central
bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists
for a sound reason. They have no legal authority.
They have no ability to coerce a senator, a
congressman, or a President to do one cotton-
picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician
$1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the
power to accept or reject it. No matter what the
lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility
to determine how he votes.
Those 555 human beings spend much of their energy
convincing you that what they did is not their fault.
They cooperate in this common con regardless of
party.
What separates a politician from a normal human
being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal
human being would have the gall of a Speaker,
who stood up and criticized the President for
creating deficits..... The President can only
propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress
to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the
land, gives sole responsibility to the House of
Representatives for originating and approving
appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of
the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of
the majority party. She and fellow House members,
not the President, can approve any budget they
want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it
over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300
million cannot replace 555 people who stand
convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence
and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single
domestic problem that is not traceable directly to
those 555 people. When you fully grasp the plain
truth that 555 people exercise the power of the
federal government, then it must follow that
what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it
unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want
it in the red ..
If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan
it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...
If they do not receive social security but are on
an elite retirement plan not available to the people,
it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 555 people shift the blame to
bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they
can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice
they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give
the power to regulate and from whom they can
take this power. Above all, do not let them con
you into the belief that there exists disembodied
mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or
"politics" that prevent them from doing what
they take an oath to do.
Those 555 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power..
They, and they alone, should be held accountable
by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage
their own employees...
We should vote all of them out of office and
clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the
Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
What you do with this article now that you have
read it......... Is up to you.
This might be funny if it weren't so true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he's fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid...
Put these words
Upon his tomb,
Taxes drove me
to my doom...'
When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax..
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these
taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was
the most prosperous in the world. We had
absolutely no national debt, had the largest
middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home
to raise the kids.
What in the hell happened?
Can you spell 'politicians?'
I hope this goes around THE USA at least
555 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
AVOID COSTLY BENEFICIARY BLUNDERS |
 Carefully choosing a beneficiary for your life insurance policy and keeping the information up to date will save loved ones time, heartache and money later. "It may be an awkward five-minute conversation to have with your beneficiary, but it certainly beats the hours and hours they may spend tracking information down after the fact," says Craig Lemoine, assistant professor of financial planning at The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Here's how to help avoid common and potentially costly beneficiary blunders.Update as relationships change. It's not just birth, death, divorce and marriage that call for beneficiary updates, Lemoine says. If you have children who are no longer minors, you can name them as direct beneficiaries of a policy or fund rather than putting the money in the hands of a guardian or trust. Also consider the health of aging relatives. If a beneficiary has a condition that causes cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer's, you might better provide for that person by naming a different beneficiary and making provisions for the person's care in your will. Be specific. Don't be vague about the beneficiary in an attempt to avoid having to update the information later, Lemoine says. "Sometimes people name 'my children' or 'my siblings,' and that can cause problems," he says. Being specific when naming your beneficiary may eliminate future legal challenges and confusion. Be cautious when naming yourself or your estate. When people name themselves or their estate as beneficiaries, the money becomes part of the insured's general estate, which leaves it subject to potential taxation as well as seizure by creditors. In addition the death benefit may not be distributed in accordance with the insured's true wishes. Consult your lawyer and tax advisor for help determining what beneficiary designation will best fulfill your wishes. To learn more about what life insurance can do for you, visit statefarm.com. |
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