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16 Aug |
Desperation on Tap? By Robert L. Cain “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden It seems the economy is booming. The stock market has hit a new all-time high. Consumer spending is up. Hiring is up every month, it seems. […] |
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20 Jul |
They make it sound like the big, easy, legal fix. People can protect themselves from data thieves and maybe, just maybe create a new identity to start credit fresh. Maybe they have collections, a bankruptcy, collection agencies making threatening phone calls. This will stop all that harassment and make everything all better, they imply. They […] |
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19 Jul |
With all the restrictions on using criminal records and credit reports in tenant selection and hiring, it seems as if we just can’t check anything, anymore. But, we can. We screen applicants to ensure good tenants and good employees. We can accomplish that goal with some easy workarounds. First is that every application must meet […] |
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18 May |
One of the most important screening weapons a landlord has in his arsenal is the criminal records search. Why is that so important? It is because felons tend to re-offend. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in April 2014 that more than three-quarters, 76.1 percent, of prisoners were rearrested and 55.1 percent of felons […] |
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06 Apr |
“The US housing market continues to represent a ticking time bomb not just for lender balance sheets, but for the entire economy,” warn William C. Wheaton, et al, in an article in the article “Rebalancing the US Housing Market: Two Proposals,” in Real Estate Finance. Why the concern and warning? One reason is the marked […] |
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15 Mar |
“No credit? Bad credit? Pulse? 100 percent approved! Sign here and drive your new car home today.” What they don’t say is that the people who have no credit or bad credit qualify as “subprime,” that is a FICO score at or below 640, and they stand a 10 percent chance of having the lender […] |
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20 Feb |
“I’d rather be in the position of not hiring someone because of what I found than having to explain why I did, and they did something wrong,” Ty Ann Osborn director of human resources for the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation is reported as saying. Employers have a good reason for such care because of […] |
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21 Jan |
Sally wanted to refinance her mortgage to take advantage of the lower rates lenders offered. She went to the Home Show and spoke to a couple of mortgage brokers there and even filled out an interest form at one booth. Then she continued on her way around the Home Show and came across a satellite […] |
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18 Nov |
You open the letter from the IRS, and it is the dreaded one. No, not that one, this one reads “You filed more than one tax return or someone has already filed using your information.” Whoa! You thought you did everything right. Chances are you did, well almost. You most likely have joined a not-too-exclusive […] |
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26 Oct |
Pat’s son had been transferred from Hawaii to Chicago for a new position in his company. To get his home sold, he was interviewing Realtors to do the job for him. He had interviewed two. Pat asked my help in deciding which one was the better choice. I had done consulting for Pat before and […] |
