Co-Signer a.k.a. ‘The Borrower’
What do you call someone who co-signs a loan: borrower. If you are a co-signer, then you are a borrower, you have a debt and it is your responsibility to make sure that the payments are made in full and on time. Whether you sign or co-sign, that debt affects your credit score. If you sign your name on a loan, that loan is yours. If the signer defaults, then your credit can be dinged, the debt sold, and your accounts or wages garnished before you are notified. A signer and a co-signer are jointly and individually liable. Be careful who you co-sign for, you may get more than you bargained for. Read More
When ‘Should’ Does Not Happen
A contract defines what should happen, but also gives what happens if ‘should’ does not. Contracts are written with remedies for breach of contract. If you have done your due diligence ahead of time, then you know how to terminate the contract without breach, and what the consequences are if it is breached. With certain deals, it might behoove you to breach the contract. You might be better off to back out rather than complete it, depending on the circumstances. “Breach” is not always a bad word. Know what the terms are if you back out when you go in. If you are unsure of the outcome in various scenarios, consult competent legal counsel. As an attorney, I would rather get paid for conflict NOT to happen later. Read More
Bad Calls & Unfair Debt Collection Practices
Debt collectors purchase delinquent debts in bulk for pennies on the dollar, and then attempt to collect on the entire amount. They make their money dealing in volume. Not every account will pay off, but they hope to collect enough to make a profit. It is a numbers game, often a phone numbers game, but sometimes that game includes bad calls. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was enacted to protect consumers from unscrupulous means of debt collection, for example, a debt collector may only call between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. your local time, and that debt collector may not cause a telephone to ring continuously or repeatedly to harass the consumer. Owing money may be embarrassing or degrading on its own without the violation of fair debt collection practices. Just because you owe money does not mean you are devoid of rights. For more facts about consumers’ rights, visit the Federal Trade Commission website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm. Read More
Nigerian Letter Scam
A Nigerian Letter scam does not have to come from Nigeria, nor does it have to be a ‘letter.’ This type of fraud can be from any country in the form of a letter, email, voicemail, or even a text on your cell phone. But the result is the same…and it is not pretty from the victim’s perspective. A Nigerian Letter (often referred to as a Nigerian 419) tries to access your personal finances. The scam plays on your sympathy and greed—you think you will make a fortune just by helping out a stranger, but the perpetrators want to empty your bank account. The scam works like this: Step 1: You are sent a form of payment for a large amount, like $8 million. Step 2: You deposit the payment into your account, and you are instructed to keep part of it, say $4 million. Step 3: You wire transfer the remaining $4 million to the sender. Step 4: Everything in your account is drained because you have insufficient funds to cover a $4 million check. Step 5: That $8 million never cleared into your account before you sent the wire transfer of $4 million. Step 6: You owe the [...] Read More
Foreclosure Deals – Buyer Beware
Realty Trac is reporting deals on the Space Coast that are out of this world. Foreclosures in Brevard County were one out of every 327 housing units in December of 2012. Realty Trac analyzed the supply of foreclosed properties, percentage of foreclosure sales, foreclosure discount, and the increase in the percentage of foreclosure activity to proclaim the Space Coast as the best deal in foreclosure property. You can pick up some real deals on the Brevard Courthouse steps in foreclosure properties. You can also pick up a lot more than you bargained for. Buyer beware. Have a reputable realtor assess the value of the property. This will underscore exactly how much of a deal you’re getting and help you set your bid price. AND do a title search. Make sure everyone’s on the note who has an interest in the property. You do not want to buy a bargain beachfront only to realize it’s a SECOND mortgage and your view is blocked by $400,000 of the first mortgage. And remember to bring cash if you’re headed out shopping for a great deal in the housing market. Five percent of your bid amount is due upon sale, and you have to [...] Read More
Who? – A Good Question in Small Claims Court
‘Who?’ can be a bigger question than it should be in Small Claims Court. Debt buyers purchase debt from credit card companies for pennies on the dollar, then try to collect the full amount. With such large growth in the debt collection industry of recent years, often the paper is not in order. A debt buyer may sue you in Small Claims Court faster than they have the authority to do so. This is especially troubling if the company that actually owns the debt comes along later and sues you for the same amount. In order to get a debt judgment against you, the Plaintiff should be able to prove they own the debt, you are responsible for the debt (your promise to pay in writing), and the exact amount you owe. The plaintiff must use proper legal proof, as through business records—not the hearsay of an affidavit they sign that says you owe. If you are not familiar with the name of the company suing you, “Who?” is a good question to ask to make sure they have proper authority over the debt to bring the lawsuit. For other good questions and answers in Small Claims Court, go to [...] Read More
Your Christmas Credit
Christmas comes but once a year…your credit card bill is monthly. Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases may accrue interest before the gifts are opened. Situations happen—medical hardships, job loss, divorce, loss of income, and Christmas—which can affect good bill-paying practices and damage your credit. The thing is, you can fix it. If you can talk, text, and chew gum, you can fix your credit score. For general tips on do-it-yourself credit repair (for free), visit the Federal Trade Commission website at www.ftc.gov. And if you are looking to buy a house (even if you have just lost a house to foreclosure), there are local credit counseling programs available that review the problems on your credit report and will help you make a plan to fix those issues. Visit the St. Johns County Housing and Community Services website at http://www.sjcfl.us (click on “Housing & Community Services”) and the St. Johns Housing Partnership website at http://sjhp.org for more information. Read More
Payday Loans: The Poor Get Poorer
If it looks too good to be true, it is probably a payday loan. While payday loans have to disclose in a dollar amount and annual percentage rate regarding how much they cost to borrow, they also rely on repeat business to extend the loan, costing the consumer a rate of nearly 400 percent or more. Whether or not the borrower understands that, it costs them money. Payday storefronts outnumber Starbucks by about two to one, but do not tend to be located in the same neighborhoods. Marketed towards low-income demographics, the loans build a clientele on recycled debt rather than a long-term positive impact. Repeat borrowers make up 98% of payday loan volume. Payday loans are on the watch list for the Federal Trade Commission as well as the Center for Responsible Lending because they are a great way to make money…if you are the lender. A payday loan is a cash advance secured by personal check or paid by electronic transfer. You write a check for the amount you want to borrow plus the fee for borrowing the money. The lender gives you the amount borrowed and agrees to hold your check until your next payday. However, if [...] Read More
Surprises in Contracts
Sometimes surprises are good, but not usually in contracts. A contract states what the deal is AND what happens if that deal does not go through. There are three possible endings to every contract: 1. The contract is completed. 2. The contract is breached by one party. 3. The contract is breached by both parties. Sometimes it makes more dollars and sense to breach a contract than to go through with it. If you do not understand the deal, or if you are unsure of the alternative endings, have an attorney review the contract with you so you know what you are getting into (or out of) before you sign. Legal counsel is generally less expensive in preventative measures rather than after a conflict has happened. Avoid surprises in contracts and legal fees. Read More
Avoid De Minimis Benefit in Contracts
How is your Latin? Any better with legal terms? If you fail to grasp the meaning of a contract you sign, you may be deficient in more than vocabulary. Words mean things. And contracts help enforce them. “De minimis non curat lex” – the law does not concern itself with trifling matters. Whether or not you read the mouse-print of an agreement it could walk all over you. The big print giveth and the small print taketh away. If you do not understand the terms of a contract, have an attorney read it over your shoulder. Make sure you are getting what you think you are getting, and that you understand the consequences if the contract is broken. Otherwise, you could wind up with de minimis benefit and de maximis loss. Read More