IF YOU are considering Short Selling your property now, the first thing your lender will ask of you is what kind of hardship are you going thru? What do you need to consider in determining whether you qualify for a short sale? Hardship comes in many forms and shapes, what lenders usually need is an…
WITH the immense powers that the government wields over individuals, the founding fathers included in the United States Constitution the Bill of Rights to limit the exercise of governmental powers. These rights, which have been enshrined as the first ten amendments to the Constitution, protect individual rights to life, liberty and property. Similarly, in the…
Even if your family business is a model of harmony, it’s a good idea to think about how you’ll deal with conflicts before they arise. “There comes a time when there is not enough jobs for everyone in the family. Oftentimes, professionals may even be better in running the day to day operations,” Lance said….
DOING business with family and friends can be very rewarding. It can also be very complicated and difficult. Anyway, doing business with loved ones has never been a neutral topic. It always involves an even more stringent standard of etiquette than usual, but if appropriate measures and safeguards are taken, it can make life, work…
THE worsening housing sector due to homes being underwater still has a great effect of our economies recovery, why are you not hearing this topic more often being resolve than being brushed under the rug by the administration. Based on my own survey, I believe that it is because the two governments we have are…
YOUR personal home care plays an important role in maintaining healthy smile. Your personal home care starts by eating balanced meals, reducing the number of snacks you eat, and correctly using the various dental aids that help control the plaque and bacteria that cause dental disease. Tooth brushing. Brush your teeth at least twice a day (especially…
THE Sixth Commandment is “pay must be based on contribution to the business”. Lance Gokongwei said that in order for the family member to live and think independently, the family business must pay the right salary for the right job, but the pay must be adequate enough so that the family member will not be…
ZILLOW’S first-quarter home value report found that home values posted their biggest monthly gain since 2006 last month, rising 0.5% nationwide. The data show that 19 of the 30 largest markets have already hit bottom or will soon, and Zillow predicts the national index will hit bottom in late 2012 or early 2013. I believe…
If you think that by brushing and flossing your teeth every day, you’re fulfilling your daily dental obligations, you’re halfway right. The other half involves using the correct techniques, and protecting your teeth and gums from external factors. Many of us grew up thinking that if brushing is a good way to clean our teeth,…
THERE’S an old saying that may be wiser today than ever: “East is east, and west is west; and never the twain shall meet.” This holds true in the case of the 5th Gokongwei Commandment: Personal assets should be kept separate from company assets. Lance Gokongwei, president of JG Summit Group, said that personal expenses…
SHORT selling your home is such an important and stressful step in your life and it’s the springboard into your future so you wont have anymore sleepless nights. It is critical you interview and choose the right agent working for you not themselves. Never choose agent out of obligation just because you might be related…
Dear Ken, WE ARE thinking about walking away from our home. We purchased our home in 2005 for $457,000. In December of 2006 we got a 2nd mortgage HELOC of $85,000. Maxed that on credit card debt and medical bills. In January of 2010 I lost 10% of my pay because of the recession and…
“TO set aside one’s prejudices, one’s present needs, and one’s own self interest in making a decision as a director for a company is an intellectual exercise that takes constant practice. In short, intellectual honesty is a journey and not a destination.” – Mervyn King At the heart of a family business is family relationships….
T WAS a typical appointment on a busy tax season last April. A representative for a Hispanic male in his mid-60s visited my office for a living trust preparation. So did I learn that the man was confined at the Veterans Hospital in Los Angeles but nothing too serious and catastrophic with his medical condition….
The lyrics to the old song, Dem Bones don’t connect the hipbone directly to your mouth, but a surgeon might, by canceling hip surgery if the patient is suffering from acute gum disease. The reason for the cancellation would be for what is commonly referred to as the “mouth-body connection,” where infections in the mouth…
LOAN Modification Scams are growing like wild fire and its consider white collar crime. In my opinion these types of crime are hard to prosecute and if prosecuted it gets minimum time in a Federal prison and sometime just a slap on the wrist by the court system. Therefore, you should know the warning signs…
No in-laws! THIS is the first of 10 unwritten commandments which John Gokongwei, founder of the Gokongwei group of companies, followed in running the family business “the Gokongwei way.” (I will discuss the remaining 9 commandments in succeeding issues.) In the article written by Mary Ann Ll. Reyes for The Philippine Star, Lance Gokongwei, president…
TAXPAYERS who have filed income tax returns using Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, usually get surprised when they receive a notice from the Los Angeles City requiring them to apply for Business Tax Registration Certificate (BTRC). It is a common perception that only businesses should get a tax registration. So why would then…
WE HAVE been getting a lot of calls in regards to the new Obama Refinancing Programs and the supposedly more aggressive “Loan Modification Programs” that is geared more towards “Responsible Homeowners.” I went thru websites after websites and seems to find lesser issues about loan modification specially involving Loan Balance Reductions. I noticed a huge…
Society is becoming more individually oriented. More and more single occupancy homes are being sold. People are marrying less and later in life. They are also divorcing more. Single parent families are on the rise while birth rates are on the decline. Some couples opt not to have children. There is less social interaction between…
EFFECTIVE June, 2012: Fees for refinancing will fall sharply, as the upfront mortgage insurance decreases to 0.01 percent of the base loan amount, from 1 percent, starting on June 11. For buyers, the upfront mortgage insurance premium will increase to 1.7 percent of the loan amount, from 1 percent, effective April 9, and annual insurance…
ON A typical Tuesday during this tax season, I’ve had three new tax clients (who were previously with other preparers) – all of them have just recently been audited on two or three prior year tax returns. Due to the rigidity and stress that these tax audits brought to them, all of whom now don’t…
While the image of a puffy-cheeked ball player might first come to mind when mentioning chewing (“spit”) tobacco, the reality is that smokeless tobacco is also a daily habit to millions of everyday North Americans, both young and old. It’s important to know that, just because chewing tobacco is smokeless, it’s far from harmless. In…
WE SEE these too often among our kababayans in the home care or home health business. Receiving 1099-Misc seems to be the overwhelming means of income reporting in this field of work. If you are an independent contractor or a self-employed person, the company or the employer whom you provided your services will issue you Form 1099-Misc,…
INCOME tax season brings with it promises of easy and quick access to money. We have often heard some tax preparers, even the big chains, offering Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs). With a RAL, the preparer promises you get your refund money within 2 days. RALs are private loans to taxpayers provided by financial institutions. The…
Have you ever asked yourself, “Could my smile be brighter?” or “Is it possible for me to get my discolored, (misshaped, chipped or crooked) teeth to look good?” Thanks to the wonders of modern cosmetic dentistry, the answer is very likely to be, “ Not only is it possible, but in many cases, it’s quick,…
IT’S PROBABLY the cliché of our economic times: foreclosures and short sales one after the other have triggered too many sleepless nights among honest Americans who were trapped into mortgages which were designed to be too perplexing for the average Joe to fathom. IRS Publication 525 explains, “Generally, if a debt you owe is canceled…
Halitosis (bad breath) is a common oral health concern. Whether one’s chronic bad breath (as opposed to temporary “morning breath,” or bad breath from garlic, onions or other odorous foods) is caused by dental hygiene issues or gastrointestinal problems, the culprit can usually be traced back to bacteria – the root of many dental problems….
CONSIDERING our close relationship ties, it is most likely that at least once in your life you’d be asked to co-sign for a loan for a family or a friend- whether it’s for a vehicle, a mortgage, credit card, or a student loan. While it may be tempting to help someone in “dire” need, you…
INCOME taxes. For the lower income earner, it is a welcome relief as the government bestows tax credits and benefits. But for the medium to higher income earner, it’s usually dreadful experience as the idea of paying taxes creeps through their pockets and senses. Whether we like it or not, we have to file our…
