Having a baby is sometimes called the miracle of life. And it is, unless you learn that it will be difficult for you or your loved one to get pregnant. Then, the breakdown of science and emotion can consume you. This can become one of those cases where health insurance coverage isn’t another monthly bill. [...]
Sometimes I feel like there’s a tax credit for everything—but the tricky part is finding out for which tax credits you qualify and how to receive them. One interesting and important tax credit that may be available to you is the adoption credit. Why do we care so much about the adoption tax credit? The [...]
If you are a tenant in a commercial lease, your security deposit may be at risk if the landlord files for bankruptcy Q: I have a commercial lease for a portion of a strip building and just found out the building owner filed for bankruptcy last February. His loan holder is currently trying to sell [...]
A client just asked me about reviewing her payroll, which fluctuates a great deal throughout the year. Her request is perfectly timed—there’s still plenty of time to adjust her withholding before year-end and filing taxes. When you pay your taxes via withholding, the IRS will treat the payments as if they had been made throughout [...]
Once signed, it may not be easy to terminate a contract for a home. Q: My friend and I are in the final stages of buying a house. The property is going to be in her name only but some things have changed and we no longer can afford to buy the home. What are [...]
Now may be the time to refinance. If you have a great credit score, you will have the ability to obtain the best and lowest refinance rates out there, but you may need equity in your home to refinance. Q: I purchased a house in March and got a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.85 percent. I put [...]
Loan Modification Hell starts with the signing of the trial loan modification papers with a lender. Q: I just began a loan modification trial period in September for a period of 4 months with a major bank. I am a rule follower, a teacher, and a single mom. I have never been late on a [...]
You need money for your closing and the closing costs and you usually have to send that money to the closing via a bank wire transfer. Q: I am buying my first home and I’m wondering how I actually pay my down payment at the closing. The real estate agent asked me for a small [...]
Finding a good mortgage lender can be time consuming, but it shouldn't be too difficult. Q: I heard your radio show this past weekend on refinancing. It sounds like you got a really good interest rate. My problem is that I don’t know how to find a good mortgage lender. There are so many ads [...]
When I was touring South Africa as a recent high school graduate in the summer of 1996, a strange pattern caught me by surprise. In more than a few instances, when I informed a stranger that I hailed from the city of Chicago, Illinois, their first question was: "Are there still gangsters?" The [...]
