Not many lawyers started out as both a licensed plumber and electrician. I didn’t really want to, but my dad was both, and because he was, I was. Along the way, I found myself in The University and then the Army, but my mind never got far from where I started. I learned that when you weld a joint, you must weld the back side too. If you don’t, even though you can’t see the back, the job will come ...
There are two rules in negotiating any contract. The first, before you look at a form or draft, is to make a list of the deal points that are essential to you. The second is to share that list with your lawyer, up front. In a real estate contract your Realtor and your lawyer will work together, but regardless of the nature of the agreement, these two steps will save time and money, and the quality ...
This is an article about property ownership. It expresses a unique and important, yet misunderstood, method of joint property ownership in Florida. I have sat as a member of a bank finance committee; the purpose of the committee was to evaluate requests for loans from borrowers based upon loan applications and financial information presented to loan officers. I was the committee’s only lawyer, and ...
Some years ago, I objected to a person’s discharge in bankruptcy on the ground that he had committed fraud in submitting his credit application. The application was submitted to the creditor on a pre-printed form that had lines for revealing all debts at the time the loan was made. When applying for credit he revealed two or three debts only, but when the note was not paid, he produced a financial ...
Does anyone know how much gasoline is used sitting in traffic waiting to get through the City of Crestview? That question can be asked at any time of any day, but certainly after three o’clock in the afternoon and until seven o’clock or so on Friday afternoon. When that answer is added to the value of hours wasted in stalled traffic, most of us could live very well on those numbers. What does that ...
I have taught Real Estate to hundreds of real estate brokers and agents in Okaloosa and Walton Counties. Some of my students occupy positions at the top of their profession, and others are nowhere to be found. Some are no longer with us. Others never entered the business, and some did not even finish the class. The question I have asked myself, and now I share with you, is: How can you tell which ...
Walton and Okaloosa Counties are about to be traversed, once again, by a natural gas pipeline to be built across the north end of both counties. This pipeline will be the same in character, but different in degree from two other gas lines that already run the same path. The others are smaller, with less pressure, and less content running through the pipe. Owners in both counties have been offered ...
Every one of us has heard the discussion about whether Wall Street or Main Street is responsible for the real estate run up and bust of the last decade. We all know the right answer is that both are responsible. However, I don’t buy the argument that local people mostly made this problem. For my entire professional career most Closing Agents and Realtors had no trouble following most lending ...
If you own residential real estate that you‘re thinking of renting yourself, you can do it. But you will do it only if you have the discipline of a martinet, or the IQ of a post. Here’s why: 1 Personal Relationships: These are always good - if your relationship is with your brother-in-law who is well employed, and lives in a distant city. Also with some dogs, if they are small, or very old. But ...
“Computers will never replace the rolodex”, and “air conditioning will not catch on in Florida”. There are other predictions that should cause you to wonder what planet some otherwise bright people ride on. If the above headline were to read “real estate prices will go lower”, I confess that I wouldn’t know the answer. Some real estate prices will go lower, though I believe only temporarily. Most ...
