We have been battling bats at my house for the last week or so.  Thanks to Critter Control, most of them were caught, but he missed two of them.  My Dad and I captured those two last night but  we waited patiently for our Wade, our Critter Control  Associate to come pick them up. 

Of course, he was late.  Meanwhile I went to get  lunch and they got my order wrong.  Back at the house, lunch was interrupted because Wade had arrived.

"Oh come on, don't you want to see the bats?" he asked as he held them up by their wings.  Their little heads move around a lot and they seem to change expressions, especially when you make them mad.

"No,  I don't want to see them, thanks anyway. Just get them out of here."

At 1 PM I went over to a friend's house to help her with her website.  My laptop almost crashed.  Her daughter volunteered to help and ended up bringing in reinforcements, which was a young man who is a computer expert.  So far, they haven't figured it out and I'm sick I might lose all my files.  I even offered to pay them.

Later, I had a 5 PM appointment to show one of our duplexes.  No one is ever on time to see one, so I thought I had a few minutes for the bad traffic.  Nope.  I arrived to find an upset couple who asked me if I knew anything about that unit being broken into.

Wwhat?
A heavy footprint on the newly painted white door and damaged door frame killed that deal.

On to the ant problem in 3915.  "I'm so stressed," the tenant told me. "

Stressed? Is she  kidding?

Got home to find an email from another tenant who just wants to find another place.  Uh oh. And that wasn't the only one.  Another one is moving too.  That one had an electrical problem the night before when a storm blew down a power line.  I had to hold  their hands all the way through it because frankly, I think a lot of them need to move into assisted living right after college.

His room mate had called me wanting me to fix the electricity.  I told him to call NES, the electric company.

"But I don't have their number," he whinned.

"I'm driving and I don't have their number either."  (I hate getting cell phone calls in the car.  It really makes me nervous, especially when they're from tenants.)

"Okay, I'll take care of it just as soon as I get home."

Mercy.  Can't they do anything for themselves?

NES told us we had to turn the breakers off.  I tried to get back in contact with the tenant.  Too late, he was headed to work, and it would be all night before he got back home.  So I had to go all the way back out there and turn them off myself, only I couldn't see without my glasses in the dark.  I had to ask another tenant to help me.

Then there was the police car that had just driven up.  They had gotten the report about the downed live line and she was checking it out.  Intimidating.

Finally, I was back home but was awakened by the phone at 11 PM.

"Uh, can I turn the breakers back on? "  It was the other room mate.

"Is the power line back up outside,"

"I don't know."

"Could you look?"

How hard is that?

Yep, if the line is up, it's okay, I reassured him.  Finally.  Everything was taken care of.  Maybe I wouldn't be hearing from them for a few days anyway.

Next call from him was  this morning when he informed us he's moving.

I wonder if he'll get the same service we give at his new place.  Or better service, perhaps?  Better put NES phone number in your cellphone, fella.

Now I'm at my computer in my office because it's my only computer now and I just  got rid of  bat #12   all by myself and it's not flying around the room any more.  It actually went out the window, thank goodness.  And I didn't have to call Wade.  Hope that's the last one.

So I guess I should think things are looking up, maybe?

• Putting The Real Estate Crash In Perspective For years, real estate was considered a sound investment by the public.  While the recent bubble certainly over-hyped the asset class's potential, real estate's investment potential was already widely known.  And then came the crash.  First, residential real estate prices tanked.  Homes that had steadily appreciated for their owners over......
• Living off dividends [or how to invest in Real Estate for cashflow] While surfing onlne, I came across this blog post: Real Estate as an asset class. Basically this guy wants to be able to live off his dividends at some point and his blog is devoted to that. He's wondering how real estate fits in. He invests in REITS but isn't......
• Real Estate Sales: A Record Fall to Record Low I find it mildly amusing when Main Stream Media (MSM) suggests that bloggers, and industry professionals who rely upon the Internet to disseminate their professional opinions/research, should not be considered a trusted resource as a whole. A case in point why MSM's argument is rubbish: this scathing article by HousingStory.net......
• The Mortgage Crisis and Investments in Real Estate According to regional and state real estate analysts, the factors which previously fueled the housing boom of the last few years are easy to explain. The factors that fueled this boom in the real instate industry ranged significantly, including: - Interest rates that were historically low. - Flight-Risk Safety Investments......
• 10 Things To Know Before You Buy Commercial Real Estate Contemplating the purchase of your first (or next!) piece of commercial real estate is exciting.  Many investors start their real estate portfolios by owning single family homes - assets that are generally more time-intensive to care for, and which offer less cash flow as a general rule.  The switch......

It's happening at Scarlet Place Condos in Baltimore.   Although it may appear a little far fetched there do seem to be some nuggets of sense within the midst of the stupidity.

So what's it all about?

Scarlett Place will require all dog owners to hand over their dogs' DNA.  If poop is not scooped properly, the offending pet and his owner can be identified.   Then it's bill time.

Hmmm.

That might have worked where we have some of our condos in Nashville. Recently, the tennis courts had to be resurfaced because some dog owners were allowing their furry friends to use the area as a public dog restroom.

Poop pickup DNA

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Denver Condos and Townhomes : Denver Condos Should Do This…

I know several Denver Condos complexes that should consider this step. From www.NBCWashington.com: DNA Could Solve Doggie-Doo Caper Using all the dog swabs, BioPet would create a doggie database of sorts for the complex.

Reston Condos for Sale | Dog Owner Rules for Condos | Reston VA …

Home Owner's Associations, Townhouse Clusters and Condo living does mean more rules. Get the scoop up front to save from being disappointed later.

• Buying an Investment Property in a College Town. With college football season kicking off this weekend, I once again kicked around a lingering idea that has remained on my potential investment list for some time:  buying an investment property in a college town. Now, if you're like me, I initially dismissed the idea because I flashback to things......
• 8 Rules for Selecting Actively Managed Mutual Funds I'm currently reading John C. Bogle's book, "Common Sense on Mutual Funds". In his chapter on simplicity he stresses a buy and hold investment strategy to best keep pace with average market returns. To attain as close to average market returns as possible, Bogle recommends simply owning the entire U.S.......
• Keeping a Food Diary One of the best ways to really keep your diet real is to keep a food diet. This is a truly excellent first step when it comes to figuring out and assessing exactly how you eat. A food diary may also be able to tell you why it is that......
• How to Secure A Mortgage With Bad Credit There are more and more stories circulating through the newspapers and television shows about people struggling with maintaining a good credit score and solid credit history. Seems like times are changing a bit and the stigma of a financial struggle isn't as harsh as it used to be. More and......
• Get What You Want With Virtual Home Tours Virtual Home Tours Searching online is one of the fastest and handiest ways in order to get the information that you need. Since you can have what you want when you make use of the Internet, you will certainly have remarkable experiences that you will acknowledge over time. Besides, the......

Free real estate forms and almost free real estate documents are available from CREonline.com.

The forms cover option agreement, landlord tenant forms, rental lease agreements, eviction notices, purchase agreements among many others.

Here's an important warning from Creonline.com.  Make sure you have an attorney in your area review the forms before you use them.  That's because real estate is very local, and laws vary from area to area.

However, it is an excellent resource and you can pick up a lot of really good forms that you'll need.  Here's the link.  Real estate forms

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• Real Estate: No Bottom Yet? John Mauldin is an investment adviser and president of Millennium Wave Investments. He sends out an interesting weekly newsletter, which most recently focusedon the current real estate market.  It seems like the bottom isn't in sight yet: Analyst contend that much of the bad news in the subprime-loan and housing......
• How to Become a Real Estate Investor Real estate is a great investment option. One could buy a house, work on it or rent it out, and watch their initial investment double. Real estate can be quite valuable, especially if people buy the right kinds of places. With careful thought given to property types and funding options,......
• Ben Stein Not Hot On Real Estate Here's an excerpt from Ben Stein's column about why he thinks real estate isn't such a great investment.That means the house has kept up with inflation -- barely.In fact, when I do the math, I realize that it hasn't fully kept up with inflation. Plus, the owner would have had......
• New Vaccine for Alzheimer's? /caption] There may be a new vaccine for Alzheimer's and it shows promise.  Around 400 patients will be recruited in Europe around 2012 for trials. The vaccine is intended for those already stricken with Alzheimer's and the way it works  will be to attack beta-amyloid plaques which harm brain......
• Commercial Real Estate Investing: We made Technorati.com's Top 100 Real Estate Site! The Real Wealth Blog makes Technorati's Top 100 Real Estate Sites...at least today it did.  Great news for us.  What does it really mean?  Well...that our following is growing....at least I think.  How long will we be there? Hmmm?  Are we still there? So....A big thank you to all of......

Tenant parking problems can really become a serious nuisance for landlords.  That is, if you don't get control over it in the beginning.

For our second installment in our Landlord Problem Solving Tip Sheet, we've including parking.  This is a problem that can grow to unbelievable frustration if allowed to fester.

Tenant parking problem #1 :Tenants fighting over parking spaces.

If your space is tight, you will need to register each car owned by your tenants.  Assign them a parking space so they know where they are supposed to park.

This will also help you keep out deadbeats who may move in with your tenants.  If you don't allow sub-renting you certainly shouldn't have a bunch of new people moving in under your radar.  This is dangerous and they will take up other people's parking spots.  And they can potentially cause worse problems.

Tenant Parking Problem #2: The old guzzler  that won't run

I know what you're thinking.  Your tenants are too  upscale.  It won't happen to you.

Wrong.  We used to think that too, until it did happen- twice.  Right now we've got one old Honda with three flat tires sitting in front of one of our townhouse duplexes.  Nope, it doesn't beautify the neighborhood.

Tenants will have a much greater incentive to get that junk car gone if you remind them they won't be getting their deposit back if it stays.  It is amazing how creative your tenants can get when motivated.

Tenant Parking Problem #3: The Stolen Car

Yep, this has happened to us too, I'm embarrassed to report.

A rather nice Chevrolet was parked in front of one of our units and we had not registered it.  It stayed there throughout the lease of the tenant living in that unit.  That tenant never complained about it, so we assumed it belonged to him.

Never assume.  When we finally called the police we found out it has been stolen.  The theives has left it there, but it was still in very good shape and unharmed.

All this brings me back to the conclusion that proper vehicle registration will solve all of these problems.  When a car is parked in the same spot for too long, you will be able to ask questions and get answers.

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• 10 Things To Know Before You Buy Commercial Real Estate Contemplating the purchase of your first (or next!) piece of commercial real estate is exciting.  Many investors start their real estate portfolios by owning single family homes - assets that are generally more time-intensive to care for, and which offer less cash flow as a general rule.  The switch......
• The Foolish Main Street Real Estate Bailout It's this kind of partisan economics that doesn't allow me to be a Democrat, even though I've said goodbye to the Grand Old Party. In fairness, it's only a Beltway rumor, albeit a very prominent one, but still, the implications are so mind boggling that it borders on lunacy. Main......
• When Will Real Estate Investors Get Government Stimulus Funds? Many, dare I say most, people believe that real estate investors caused the real estate bubble. At the risk of upsetting the entire mainstream and non-real estate investing crowds, I don't believe this is the case. Why? Because few people seem to be realize is that the real estate......
• Commercial Real Estate Property Spotlight: Investing in Office Buildings [/caption] Greetings from 'the border town" of El Paso, TX!  Last day in the "sun city" then off to the mountains of New Mexico for a few days....where I make my way to the CIY conference in California.  I am taking my youth group to LA for a week-long conference......
• The Feedback Loop of Real Estate, Poverty, Crime, Education & Taxes Excellent illustration displaying the interwoven connection, or feedback loop, of real estate to poverty rates, crime, education, property taxes and home values by Jessica Hagy of Indexed.com. I'm a major believer in the idea that visual illustrations, and even on-demand web based video, can be significantly more powerful than text......

Air conditioner maintenance is simple and it will pay off in spades as you avoid all those calls from angry tenants when their cold air cuts off.

What is the simple tip that can help you cut expensive costs and harassing calls?

Change the air filters often.

It's that easy.

Depending upon your brand of filter, you may need to change every 30 days, 60, or 90 days.  Some filters will last longer than others.  But by changing the filters often you can take a lot of stress off your air conditioner units.  That will keep them going and they won't break down as often.

My parents used to be in retail and one of the malls where we had a store actually had 30 day filter change in the lease.  It kept the air conditioner healthier and solved a lot of problems.   We've been practicing this simple tip with our tenant air conditioners and it has really cut down on our calls.

(Don't tell Tony, our air conditioner man).

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• Simple Air Conditioning Cleaning Keeping your air conditioner clean is the best way to make sure it runs at its maximum capacity. Air conditioning cleaning will vary depending on the type of air conditioner you use, but all of them are relatively simple as long as you have basic tools and can follow directions......
• How to Install a Window Air Conditioner the Right Way As summer approaches, those of us without central air are getting ready to go through the annual ritual of installing our window air conditioners. However, were you aware that a bad installation can actually raise your electricity costs and make it harder to say cool? Here are some tips to......
• More Inflation Fighting Weapons All long term investors need core holdings that will protect against the damaging effects of inflation. Traditionally we have been told that equities in general are the answer to the inflation problem. Now we are not so sure. Based on this doubt, mutual fund companies continue to introduce new products......
• Best Central Air Conditioners Choosing a new central air conditioner is often a task that waits until there is an immediate need - your air conditioning system goes out on a hot day in the middle of the summer. At that time, you may not think about the best central air conditioner, you just......
• Need a Laugh? Consider these Economic “Solutions” from Across America Rescue Plan Alternatives Abound Following Monday's failure of the proposed economic rescue bill, the airwaves on Tuesday were filled with alternative proposals from "experts" in government and industry.  Before I mention the alternative suggestions from the "experts", we need to talk about Joe Six Pack.  He had his say as......

These are the images we take of our properties that are either for sale or for rent.  We're putting many of those images on the Internet and the quality of those images could make be a huge difference.

That's  according to Wallet Pop.

They have a very revealing post about the damage bad photography can do to prevent  a property sale.

In the case of many of us landlords, it can also prevent us from renting.

In fact, they've tracked down some of the worst property photographs and some of them are beyond bad.  (You can see them in their post)

But their advice is to get good photographs, even if you have to hire the work done.  They use Beverly Hills realtors as an example of how to do it right, because as we know, they do everything well to move those big babies.

Check out Real Estate Images-Making or Breaking a Sale

• How to select a Property Manager I'm not too thrilled with my property manager on the 2 houses I bought in Indiana. Since I did such a lousy job the first time around, I guess I need to pull out the old books and see how to choose a better one. Who better to find a......
• 10 Things To Know Before You Buy Commercial Real Estate Contemplating the purchase of your first (or next!) piece of commercial real estate is exciting.  Many investors start their real estate portfolios by owning single family homes - assets that are generally more time-intensive to care for, and which offer less cash flow as a general rule.  The switch......
• Avoids Pitfalls with Property Management in San Jose Many parts of the United States have only just begun to emerge from one of the worst recession in decades. Those who owned homes saw their property values take a nosedive with few buyers in sight to offer relief from bad mortgage debts. As a result, many homeowners took to......
• Is Your House an Investment? Recently, Jim at Bargaineering authored an article titled Your Home is Not an Investment. Looking at data gathered by Michael Bluejay, we find that the price of new homes increased by 5.4% annually from 1963 to 2008, on average. During that same period, inflation averaged 4.4%, so housing rose faster,......
• Review of Millionaire By Thirty Douglas Andrew’s book reads like a rejected first draft of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and right off the bat, it’s kitschy premise (ripped right from the above book) falls more than a little flat. In order to illustrate his points, the author relies on his sons and their imaginary......

Patricia Cornwell, the writer credited with getting many of us interested in forensics, probably should have been doing a little more investigating of her own investments.

She claims the people who were supposed to be in charge of her real estate are responsible for her loss of $40 million.

On the surface of it that seems like a lot of money.

But what went wrong, or better yet, what exactly happened?

Read Patricia Cornwell's lawsuit against real estate managers

Here's a warning.  We keep reading these stories and if you're thinking about turning your properties over to managers as I am now considering, you'd better do your due diligence or else your money could end up in the morgue.

But perhaps Ms. Cornwell could have been a hard money lender.

Here's an interesting article about what hard money lending is and how it can benefit both those with money and those who are anxious to borrow it.

Hard Money Tips 

• Real Estate Investments - Good Idea or Bad Idea? Right now, if there was a market that had bad news written all over it, it would be real estate. The housing crisis has made investors jumpy, the economy appears to be tanking and home values are plummeting across the country. Would you believe that this is actually a good......
• Top 50 Reasons To Invest In Real Estate Right Now! Someone said to me the other day, "since we are in a recession, give me one good reason why I should invest in real estate?"   It caught me off guard , I couldn't even answer the question because it was just too overwhelming to me .  I couldn't see how someone could be......
• The Mortgage Crisis and Investments in Real Estate According to regional and state real estate analysts, the factors which previously fueled the housing boom of the last few years are easy to explain. The factors that fueled this boom in the real instate industry ranged significantly, including: - Interest rates that were historically low. - Flight-Risk Safety Investments......
• Ben Stein Loves Real Estate I'm a big fan of Ben Stein's books.I also read his column, How Not To Ruin Your Life. This weeks issue is about letting the non-financially savy spouse in on what to do after you pass away. But best of all, he professes his love for real estate!We're currently somewhat......
• Commercial Real Estate Investing Courses Reviewed - Wright Thurston [/caption] Product and Seminar Product Review: Diamonds in the Rough by Wright Thurston First of all, if anyone wants to buy this course from me, make me an offer. I paid about $800 for it at one of those hype filled pitch-fests they like to call real estate investment......

It involves non-smoking tenants who claim their air is being polluted by their next door smoking neighbor.

This is in a newer condo development and each unit's air is blocked off from neighboring units, so their case could be considered somewhat flimsy.

Still, they are pursuing, claiming even a small amount of smoke is reaching them and they don't like it.

Their claim further states the second hand smoke is dangerous and gets into their clothes and they don't like the smell.

Personally, as a landlord, I think these tenants are going way too far on this issue.

I guess I'm from the old school.  My motto has been- if you don't like it, move.

(If you don't like the store, doctor, etc, find another which will work better for you.  You can't  expect everyone to do everything just the way you want-unless you're a billionaire.)

Nowadays people want their little worlds to be perfect, according to their own standards.

But this brings up a bigger issue for us.  Will we be forced to ban all smoking from our units?  Will we have to discriminate against smokers?

This is one more way the government can really get involved with our landlording.  Heaven knows, the government is already involved in much of our services we provide to our tenants. 

When is enough, enough?

Will smoking be banned in rentals?

• How to Get Out of Trouble in the Real Estate Market If you invested in the real estate market recently and are now regretting that decision, there are a few ways that you can get out of financial trouble. For awhile, the real estate market was very solid and property values were going up. Many experts advised investing heavily in real......
• How I Started Investing In Real Estate src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> In September 2000 i caught the flu and while I was probably well enough to go to work, I decided to take a week off and relax. I spent a whole week sitting in Barnes and Nobles reading all sorts of business and investing books. That week I......
• Capitalism is Good - Leave It Alone On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said "We must have a strategy that regulates the financial system as a whole, in a holistic way, not just its individual components," during his speech to a committee on foreign relations. His call was for a complete overhaul of the regulatory systems......
• Visualizing the Double Dip in U.S. Real Estate One of the better interactive infographics I've seen visualizing what happens to overpriced assets -- U.S. real estate -- when the Feds takes away the incentives to buy. click to enlarge chart I would suggest tinkering with the graphic, not only because it's cool, but if you live in, live......
• Realtor or Real Estate Agent - How You Can Find One "Buying a property can be very confusing to most people. Should you do it yourself or find a real estate agent to do it for you? It's common to ask yourself this question, and both methods will have their own advantages. When you consider to hire an agent, you need......

Should I Opt for Appliances Insurance?

This is an article about one of the biggest problems we face as buy and hold real estate investors.

What happens when our appliances break down?

How will we replace them?

The article brings up a sticky point about  warranties vs.  saving accounts. 

You may probably be wondering if you should add some appliances insurance to your monthly mortgage payments. This is understandable when you consider that if your heating and conditioning equipment breaks, this can bite a large chunk out of your savings which you may probably have reserved for other things like mortgage payments, property taxes or regular  insurance.

 Actually, the real challenge is not so much whether to get an appliances insurance or not, but rather, which of the two to go for; a savings account or an insurance.

The Pros and Cons

Fortunately, there are no hard rules to the whole thing. You can either decide for the savings account, if you feel up to it or go for the insurance, if you feel this sounds better.

Some people reason that since modern appliances are built to last, it makes little sense to pay monthly or yearly premiums to cover them.

However, it is also good to look at the other side of the coin; most appliances break down during their warranty period. This ‘infant mortality’, as it is commonly called will usually be covered by the appliance guarantee or the store from where it was bought. But as it nears the end of its life span and eventually outlives its warranty it will increasingly fail more.

Thus, some people have opted to have appliances insurance to avoid paying for routine maintenance and repairs and instead save that dollar for other needs. While this may prove to be less cheaper than doing the regular repairs, it also has the advantage of one not having to worry about repairing and replacements.

Appliances insurance will usually cover all the repairs and maintenance issues. Sometimes, when several uninsured appliances break down at once, it can prove almost impossible to replace them all at once.

However, with insurance, all you have to do is make a call and explain your problem and sit back and wait to either get the equipment fixed or replaced, all without paying a dime. In such situations, it is usually way cheaper to have the insurance company cover the expenses.

Read the Fine Print

Companies have varying policies when it comes to appliances insurance. Some will demand an annual premium fee while others a monthly fee. Some companies will do repairs when the need arises while others will come to fix and replace appliances within certain time periods.

Depending on your need, it is thus important to carefully read the contract in its entirety. In this way, you will be able to make an informed decision.

Note: Another thing we recommend is to read Consumer Reports religiously.

We have bought everything from cars to vacuum cleaners to appliances after reading their ratings, and they are usually very close on the mark, which will save a lot of money in the long run.

• How to Be a Successful Real Estate Investor There are plenty of people around who say that they invest in real estate, but then there are the people who are real estate investors. The difference is simple, but very important. Real estate investors derive all (or a significant portion of) their income from their property investments – whereas......
• Real Estate Investments - Good Idea or Bad Idea? Right now, if there was a market that had bad news written all over it, it would be real estate. The housing crisis has made investors jumpy, the economy appears to be tanking and home values are plummeting across the country. Would you believe that this is actually a good......
• How to Find a Good Real Estate Broker If you are in the real estate market, you need to have a good broker. This is true whether you are buying or selling. A good real estate broker will help you find the right property (or sell yours) and help you navigate the complex world of real estate law. It can......
• The Mortgage Crisis and Investments in Real Estate According to regional and state real estate analysts, the factors which previously fueled the housing boom of the last few years are easy to explain. The factors that fueled this boom in the real instate industry ranged significantly, including: - Interest rates that were historically low. - Flight-Risk Safety Investments......
• Living off dividends [or how to invest in Real Estate for cashflow] While surfing onlne, I came across this blog post: Real Estate as an asset class. Basically this guy wants to be able to live off his dividends at some point and his blog is devoted to that. He's wondering how real estate fits in. He invests in REITS but isn't......

That's better than having an occupied unit with a deadbeat.

Here's how we got rid of one of them without doing the credit check which would have cost us at least $25.

He was a very nice young man with the nicest manners I have seen in a long time.

He was personable and made an excellent first impression.

"Where do you work?" I asked.

"Well, I really don't have a job…" he told me. "I'm having trouble finding a job."

(Zonk.  You're out, my dear.)

He went on to explain he was working not one, but  two waiter jobs while he looked for a real job because he was a business major.

Those jobs were iffy at best because one of the restaurants was very small.

Here's what I told him…

"Our rule of thumb is that your rent really shouldn't exceed one third of your income at the most.  We prefer that it is only one fourth of your monthly income."

That was the end of that meeting and he left.

Here's today's quick landlord tip…

Be matter of fact with them and up front.  Show confidence.

Tell them you have standards (example, "we recommend your rent not exceed one third or one fourth of your income.")

They'll know you're on top of things. 

When you add that you'll do a credit check, they'll really get the message that you're on top of things.

Don't ever get discouraged when you get several deadbeats in a row.   That can be normal. 

Remember: It's a whole lot easier to get rid of them up front than it is to get them out later- when they won't pay you your rent.

• Improving a Credit Score What can I do if I am denied credit? If you apply for credit and you are denied because you have a low credit score, then you should be aware that you have the legal right to know exactly why they denied you. Reasons for denial may include having too......
• Scary Freckle The other day I was in the bathroom after a shower and looked in the mirror and saw an odd freckle that I swear I had never seen before under my right arm. I mean it's not a place that I look at often, so I have no idea how long it's......
• Saying No to Adult Children On a personal finance message board I asked other readers to post stories of success and failure in administering tough love to deal with a money problem.  One reader who called herself Gardening Grandma posted this story: "One of the hardest things I've ever done in my live.  My son, at......
• Consumers to Banks: Take this Card and Shove it Consumers are unhappy with their banks. No surprise there. What is remarkable is the tangible way in which they are expressing their unhappiness. Credit card debt declined 13.1% in August. This was the 11th straight month of decline, an all-time record. What is even more surprising (and pleasing for Mr.......
• Virtual Assistant Jobs Virtual Assistant jobs are very sought out these days, but the issue is where are the jobs really going?  In this economic crisis, there are many Americans who are loosing their jobs to people in Asia while there are companies here in America who think that by putting more jobs......