September 25, 2012 – Some good news is on the horizon for homeowners in a financial pinch who feel trapped in their home. New rules will go into effect November 1 for home mortgages either owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

These two government sponsored agencies hold authority over at least 60 percent of the home loans in this country, and until now have been notoriously difficult to work with when it comes to distressed borrowers facing either a foreclosure or a short sale.

September 11th – Generally, one who finances the purchase price for real property gives little thought to whether the lender will be upset about the purchaser/borrower’s efforts to alter the improvements on the property.

As will be seen below, the lender’s interest in post-purchase activities can be very important. In 2005, New Faze Holdings and another entity purchased improved real property located in Sacramento from the Fait Trust. The purchase price was $525,000.00. The balance after a 10% down payment was evidenced by a secured note in favor of the Fait Trust.

September 11th, 2012 – The changing of the guard has begun. Members of “Generation Y” (born between 1982 and 2000) are permeating the workforce, creating cultural shifts in our business environments. While many of us “tenured” business folk believe in not quitting until the job’s done – not to imply this is (or was) necessarily the right or only way – this next generation seeks more than just work as a path to fulfillment.

Recently a client of mine, a vice president of operations, hired her replacement. The VP is a baby-boomer. She works what she considers normal business hours: she’s there before the client arrives and is there after the client leaves. Her new hire, though, works from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. without fail.

September 11th – It doesn’t take a lot of persuasion to convince leaders of nonprofit organizations that any upstanding community enterprise that depends on community support should have a roadmap charting its future course of action.

What happens beyond that point of agreement, however, could be considered a religious mystery. For a surprisingly large number of nonprofit organizations, envisioning the future equates to a one-day retreat with the caveats that a top-notch facilitator at a rock-bottom price will lead the session and “the right people” must be in the room. From there, the key decisions include determining which staff, if any, should be present, identifying the topics that should be avoided, and safeguarding the gathering from the pitfalls that characterized the last go-around.