The latest housing data indicate a downward trend in housing inventory in most of the nation. Nonetheless, persistent unemployment and the relatively large number of houses in foreclosure or close to being foreclosed spell further trouble down the road.... Read More

Businesses are saddled with the ever growing expense of paying for credit card usage by their customers. Unfortunately, amid the downturn and the growing credit card usage, businesses should be mindful of some practices that might run counter to their contracts with major credit card issuers.... Read More

We have heard 1031 exchange a lot. However, what is it really? What are the requirements? What are the caveats? How could we use it to grow our assets and defer taxes?... Read More

The frozen credit market and dwindling fortunes of family members leave start-up companies with at least one other source of capital funding:venture capitalists. However, even venture capitalists have become more frugal. In fact, by emphasizing capital efficiency, venture capitalists have recently sought to eschew funding some start-ups. Let's review some of these start-ups.... Read More

Bank regulators cite commercial real estate debacle as the breeding ground for the next wave of bank failures, as builders default on loans and building valuations tumble. Unfortunately, the signs are not promising.... Read More

Many homeowners with underwater properties figure if their lender forecloses on their property, their credit score takes a direct and irreparable hit for seven years. So, such homeowners ponder, short sale might be a better option by just walking away by selling their property at a loss under a agreement with the lender. However, short sale has some inherent drawbacks.... Read More

Recently, banks have been sweetening their cash offers in exchange for opening up a checking account. In fact, some banks are attempting to lure loyal customers by offering up to $200 in hard cash if they open up a checking account with them. However, like always, the devil is in the details.

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The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has decided to raise down-payment requirements, boost insurance premiums, and tighten its underwriting practices in a bid to increase its capital reserves in the face of mounting home foreclosures and delinquencies. 

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Many home sellers want to get rid of their undervalued highly leveraged properties.They might not tell potential home buyers exactly about the size of the property, noise, tax or utility bills, or flooding issues. In fact, it becomes the obligation of the home buyer and its representatives to inquire into such issues and make an informed decision. Let's look at some of the issues a home seller might not or easily forget to disclose.

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Small business owners aside from great responsibilities of managing and operating their business, have the additional responsibility of paying employment taxes. In fact, if you are an employer with employees, you are responsible for several federal, state and local taxes. Here is a useful guide to get you started.... Read More

Given the tight credit market and the uncertainty as to direction of the economy, this is extremely important to have cash in hand and save money. In fact, managing cash flow requires discipline and foresight. Let us review some fundamental strategies to weather the "Great Recession".... Read More

There are four underlying principles for buying a new business: Whether you like the business. Whether you know the the business. Whether you know the value of the business. And, whether you have realistic expectations of the business. However, this is not as simple as it looks.... Read More

Do not listen to debt-settlement firms. They want your money and often do not care about the alternatives that work better for you. In fact, here are some reasons as to why we should proactively avoid debt-settlement firms.

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Home buyers at the closing might take a look at the closing costs and see much higher costs from what they reasonably expected. Well. Effective January 1, 2010, the Department of Housing and Urban Development implemented new rules to bring some order and peace of mind to home buyers. However, there still might be surprises.... Read More

Business owners usually worry about paying their bills on time and putting bread on the table for their family. However, knowing the truck that delivers the bread runs on gas and the gas price could affect the price of the bread make us think of the bigger economic picture. So, let us review some of the basic economic concepts we need to know.... Read More

With the unemployment hovering at or above 10%, many people are willing to move to a place where they can find employment. However, moving costs lots of money. Let's see how Uncle Sam might come to help.... Read More

Despite the fragile and perilous economy, venture capitalists could be one of the promising sources of funding for entrepreneurs who know their game relatively well and understand its intricacies. Let's review some fundamentals.

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If you need to sell your rental property and you might incur losses, this could be good news. In fact, you might be able to deduct the losses against any types of income, of course, with some caveats. Let's see how.... Read More

It is very hard to get funding from banks when you have minimal cash flow or unproven track record. So, what should you do? Well. Tap into your personal savings, network of your family and friends, your home equity, credit cards and apply for grants. However, you need to be very careful while tapping into any of these sources of funding.... Read More

Business credit cards, in many instances, serve as a lifeline to many businesses with their generous credit lines. However, business owners should be extremely careful about some potential risks.... Read More

Converting your home into rental property could be the right approach given you could have income from your newly converted rental property and purchase another home in this down market with help from the rent. However, there are relatively some complex tax issues of which you should be aware.

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