The banks are changing the rules- Fees! Fees! Fees!

November 30, 2010 financial literacy, Uncategorized 2 comments

I got a notice today from my bank that the rules are changing. Though they “truly value” my business, they have to let me know that my free checking account is no longer free. There will now be a $10 a month service charge! “But wait” you say “there must be a way to get out of it”. There are some ways to get out of the monthly service fee, but unfortunately I do not qualify for any of them.

How can I avoid the $10 monthly service fee?
• Have a direct deposit of $500 or more,
• Or keep an minimum balance of $1500
• Or keep an average balance of $5000 combined in the accounts I have with them

Since I work for a small nonprofit we do not have direct deposit, though I miss the days when my paycheck would magically appear in my account. I utilize these accounts to run my rental and handle my day to day expenses and do not keep a lot of cash in them since interest rates have been averaging less than .25%.

In order to get the best of both worlds my husband and I operate our join expenses and emergency savings account out of our credit union accounts. This works out well since the branches are less conveniently located for the credit union, but we find the fees to be lower and interest rates to be higher. So we operate our daily expenses out of the more convenient bank accounts we have individually and then utilize the credit union accounts for the joint bills. The system worked great until I go this notice!

So what do I do? Do I transfer all of my accounts to the credit union in order to avoid the fee, but then have to deal with finding a branch every payday, when the rent comes or get other checks (I will be so sad to see my deposit by my phone function go)? Do I take the $10 a month hit? Do I transfer $5000 over to ensure I don’t get a fee, but then get next to nothing in interest? Do I look to see if I can get a better deal with another larger bank and hope they don’t change their practices shortly after?

Tenants in Foreclosure- Story gets national attention

November 29, 2010 financial literacy, Tenants in Foreclosure, Uncategorized No comments

My blog has now sparked interest from national media!

A couple of weeks ago I was awoken as my phone rang at 6am with an unfamiliar out of town phone number. So I did what any reasonable person would do and let the call go to voicemail. Later when I came into the office and listened to my work voicemail (yes, I transfer all of my work calls to my cell) I found a voicemail from Kelli Grant from Smart Money waiting for me.  Grant was intrigued by my story which Brent Hunsberger wrote about in the November 7th Oregonian article, Surprise! Renters in foreclosure have rights, and let me know that she wanted to include some quotes from me in her upcoming 10 things article.

After returning to my office this morning after a long holiday weekend I find a Google Alter email letting me know my name appeared in her recent article, 10 Things Your Landlord Won’t Tell You. Go figure, the #1 thing was “This building is in foreclosure.”

I have to say I love the national media attention, but do wish that it was for a different reason. Reading Grant’s article I was truly shocked to read that “Renters accounted for 40% of families facing eviction from foreclosure in 2009, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.”

No update from me on my situation. The next scheduled date for the home I live in to be sold at auction is this Friday December 3rd. I’ll be sure to update you once I’ve called the trustee to get an update.


What do you think is happening? Do you think the home is really being modified? Is the bank just postponing the sale date for some reason to benefit them? Have the homeowners have filed bankruptcy causing the delay?

Tenants in Foreclosure-Nov 5 update

November 5, 2010 financial literacy, Tenants in Foreclosure One comment

Good news!  My story has sparked the interest of Brent Hunsberger from the Oregonian while we met for coffee on Monday.  He immediately went back to his editor and asked to write about tenants in foreclosure.  So this weekend you’ll find Brent’s article focusing on tenants in foreclosure.

I figured that warranted a timely update to the blog.  The most recent sale date of the home I rent and live is was November 3rd.  It was funny, this week Brent and I met for another coffee meeting on Wednesday and as we were talking we realized that my house could at that moment be in the process of being auctioned on the county steps.  He was waiting for a reaction from me on this, but I told him I really didn’t have one.  This was the third date I had been given by the trustee that the home would be auctioned.

Quite honestly I didn’t even get around to calling the trustee to find out the outcome until last night and that was only because Brent followed up with me.  Well…..it got postponed to December 3rd.  That means my landlords are entitled to the November rent and they were sure to email me this morning letting me know rent was due.  I didn’t even bother to respond to them.  I just transferred the funds into their bank.

I’ve really become so bitter over the whole thing.  Early on in the process I thought I might want to buy the house myself, but now there’s no way I’d want to.

Tenants in Foreclosure- Oct 29 update

October 29, 2010 financial literacy, Tenants in Foreclosure, Uncategorized No comments

Tenants in Foreclosure- update
It’s that time of month again where I pay my bills that are due on the 1st and of them the rent is always at the top of the list. Still, when you rent a home that is in foreclosure you cannot just automatically pay it like you normally would. For the last six months I have had to deal with the uneasiness of wondering when I’m going to be asked to move out of my home because of the landlords allowing it to go into foreclosure.

As I’m getting ready to get an update on the foreclosure someone drives up to my home and stares at it out their window, writes down some notes on a clipboard and snaps a photo. I’m quite sure they were hired by the bank to see if the home was still occupied and in good repair. Still, this is a very unsettling feeling to know that someone is watching you.

So today I made my (what now has become monthly) call to the trustee to find out who is entitled to my rent payment. When I called last month they said the foreclosure was on hold and the sale date was postponed to Nov 3rd. Today…no change. So I will wait to pay the rent and call back next week after the 3rd.

November 3rd is the third date that has been listed for the home to be sold at auction. Still, I have only ever received two pieces of mail from the bank or trustee and those were both last Spring notifying me that the home was to be sold at the end of August.

The new legislations requires that a tenant is notified when I home is in foreclosure, but why isn’t it required for them to update me on the status. It would seem that if the sale date was changed the tenant who lives in the home would again need to be notified.

Why doesn’t the bank provide resources for the tenant? Why is it now my responsibility to find out if the landlord actually has a right to my rent payment?

I’ve come to dislike and feel uncomfortable in my home. Still, finding a new place to call home is proving to be just as frustrating. I’ll write about that soon.

Managing finances jointly

October 25, 2010 financial literacy, Uncategorized No comments

Managing finances jointly
Shortly after my husband and I moved in together we decided that we’d need to figure out a way for us to manage our joint bills. The struggle for us was that we had both always managed our own finances and also were the main ones who handled them in previous relationships. We are both self-proclaimed money experts and dare I say…control freaks. So with money being in the top three areas of conflict between spouses it really was something we were concerned about. So how did we make this work? Here’s how we’ve handled it:

• Maintained individual accounts
We both like maintaining our financial autonomy so we both maintained individual checking and savings accounts. We both have our paychecks deposited into our individual accounts and manage our personal budgets independently. It’s funny because we still find ourselves fighting over the bill at dinner sometimes because our money is still very much our own for these types of expenses. So if I decide to splurge and buy a purse that is way to expense, he can’t say anything because it came out of my personal funds.

We each have an investment property that we rent out so we utilize our personal savings accounts to manage the income and expenses of the rental properties.

• Opened a joint account
We felt the best way to manage the joint housing expenses and saving goals would be to open a joint checking and savings account. We added up all of the housing expenses and then divided up proportionally by the amount of income we bring in. Since we don’t make the same amount it wouldn’t be fair for us to divide the bills in half. We add all of our bills in here including his car and my student loans. We are together so we see these as joint expenses.

After decided on the process the big debate on who was going to manage the joint account? Remember, we are both self-proclaimed money experts and control freaks. Well, though my husband was quite good at managing his finances he was still in the dark ages because he balanced his account with a paper account register. Whereas, I utilized Microsoft money and had all of by transactions categorized and compared to my budget. So it was decided that I got to handle the joint accounts!

So far this process has worked great for us. We only utilize the joint account for joint expenses that we agree on. Neither one of us wants to short the joint account so usually there are many expenses that we would agree to take out of the joint funds but instead we work to pay for them out of our individual budgets. The result has been a very healthy joint account balance at all times, allowing for more money to go into the joint savings or to be spent on fun things like family vacations. Still, on the other end that does mean there are many times where our individual accounts are quite low. Luckily we get paid on different schedules so usually the other can help out when needed.

Tenants in Foreclosure- October update

October 11, 2010 financial literacy, Tenants in Foreclosure, Uncategorized No comments

Tenants in Foreclosure- Update
I decided it was bad form to keep you all hanging for another month on what is happening with the home I rent which is in foreclosure. Last I updated you all I let you know that the auction was on hold but had a sale date of October 4th (the 2nd sale date we’ve been given). I called on September 29th to see if the status had changed and it had not. I emailed the landlords to see if they had any updates, they said they did not and they were not even award of the October 4th auction date. I called again on October 1 because rent was due and it still said that it was scheduled to be auctioned at the county steps the following Monday October 4th. Well, it seemed silly to pay rent to the landlords if there was the possibility that the home would be sold in a couple of days and they would no longer own it. So I didn’t pay the rent since it technically was not considered late and accrued a late fee until October 6th.
On October 5th I got an email from the landlord reminding me that rent was due and would be late if I didn’t pay that day. I called the trustee’s automated system and found out that once again the sale date had been postponed, this time till the beginning of November. So again we wait….

Writing my annual report letter

October 3, 2010 financial literacy, managing a nonprofit, starting a nonprofit, Uncategorized No comments

Writing the annual report letter is always such a challenge. Each year I’m given one page to highlight our accomplishments for the year and talk about what’s to come. This year is even harder as I was told by my Development Director that I only get half a page this year. So here’s what I’ve got. Consider it a sneak preview of our annual report.

It’s hard to believe that we just finished our fifth year of bringing financial education to the Northwest. This is a huge milestone for us as it should be for any organization, especially in this economy. Half of new businesses do not survive more than five years, for nonprofits it’s been estimated that figure is even less with only one third hitting the monumental five year mark.

So as Financial Beginnings celebrates five years of service to our community I would like to thank all of you who helped to make this happen. Schools and community groups have welcomed us with open arms. Youth and parents who have utilized the valuable life lesson we provide. Businesses and individuals who have supported our cause by providing their time and resources. All of this support in a time when we have all been struggling.

Even though we have been doing this for five years I still feel like this is just the beginning. How can we maximize our resources and continue to serve the ever increasing demand? I think we’ve figured out the answer… partnerships. We have been working to enter into several strategic partnerships here in the Northwest which will allow us to serve more and provide more, for less.

Thank you all for your continued support. I look forward to discovering with you what the next five years will bring.

So what do you think? Am I on the right track?

Tenants in Foreclosure- Update

September 29, 2010 financial literacy, Tenants in Foreclosure, Uncategorized No comments

Tenants in Foreclosure- Update
I realize that I left you all in the dark on August regarding the auction of the home I live in. On August 17th when I wrote the last post I was still assuming that my home was going to be auctioned on the county steps the following Monday August 23rd. Well, just a couple of days before the auction date I called the trustee’s automated system and found that the auction was on hold and had been postponed until October 4th. So here I am again, just days away from the home I live in possibly being auctioned off.
I called the trustees automated system today and it says the same thing it did in August. The home is on hold and scheduled to be auctioned on October 4th. This puts me in a difficult position. My rent is due on Friday and I always pay on the 1st even though I have the five day grace period. I emailed the landlords to see if they can provide any updates, but to date their updates have been less that truthful or helpful.
Since my lease does allow me a five day grace period I think I will just hang onto my rent until I am assured that it is not sold on the 4th. If it were sold that would mean the landlords would receive rent for the entire month of October even though they only owned it for 4 days.
More to come next week…

A New Team Member!

September 24, 2010 financial literacy, managing a nonprofit, starting a nonprofit, Uncategorized One comment

My name is Josh Gordon, the new Program Coordinator for Financial Beginnings.  I joined the Financial Beginnings team at the end of August.  I came here because our communities desperately need young people to receive a financial education.   I am extremely happy to be here and I want to tell you all a little about myself and my role.

I graduated from Willamette University in 2009 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. I excelled in finance, accounting, and mathematics and I am confident my academic success will be an asset at Financial Beginnings.

Before starting at Financial Beginnings I worked in financial planning, real estate, law, information technology, and sales.  I plan to draw from my previous experiences to expand the capacity of the Financial Beginnings program.

I bring a fresh perspective to the team and my primary ambition is to identify new opportunities for Financial Beginnings.  Over the next year I will be actively involved in volunteer recruitment, training, and management.  In addition, I aim to increase the number of students educated via the Financial Foundations and Banking on Our Future programs by 20-30%.  To achieve this I will expand our programs into new schools and into new regions.  I will look for opportunities not only in schools but also in community organizations, local businesses, and our existing network.

Throughout the coming months I will develop and launch a series of teacher training workshops.  It is vital teachers are equipped with the correct information and resources in this era of financial uncertainty.  I am tremendously excited to develop new programs for Financial Beginnings. I am also pondering other ideas to continually improve the efficiency and scope of the organization.  You will have to come back to find out the details! 🙂

I will use this blog to inform you of new developments in Financial Beginnings, to present free available resources, and to offer new ideas and analyze existing ones.

My experience so far has been fun and productive.  I welcome ideas, comments, and concerns.   I look forwarding to hearing from you, thanks for reading to the bottom!

“If you can count your money, you don’t have a billion dollars.”

Josh

Tenants in foreclosure- The lease

August 17, 2010 financial literacy, Tenants in Foreclosure, Uncategorized No comments

Tenants in Foreclosure- The Lease

It has been a while since I’ve given an update on my situation. Quite honestly, I didn’t know that anyone was reading until last week when I was speaking to my friend, Nicole from Bank of America, and she told me she was dying to know what was going on. I was thrilled that someone was listening! I’m hoping others are too.

There is not much to update on my home. I am constantly in a state of feeling unsettled. We have begun to look for a home to purchase, but I think I’ll write about that in another post.

My landlord has been working with me after my strong response to his attempt to evict me from the home. I did offer to sign a six month lease with the landlord and continue to pay at the current rate that I have been. Why would I sign another lease when the home was still in foreclosure?

My lease coming up due put me in a hard situation. In July my landlord could have told me that he did not want to renew the lease and give me 30 days notice to move out. This would not have been in his best interest though because he would have a really hard time renting the home after I left. If her were to rent the home again he would legally be responsible for telling the new tenants that the home was in foreclosure.

The reason why I wanted to sign another lease was because it would allow for me to stay in the home longer if the home was sold due to the foreclosure. The new legislation provides for protection to tenants who are affected by a home sold due to foreclosure.

In Oregon, if you home is sold and you are a tenant here are the timelines you have to work with on moving out. The landlord or new owners have to provide you written notice that you need to move out:
• If you have a month to month rental agreement then you must be provided with a 90 day notice to move out.
• If you have a lease, then you are the best off because the new owner must allow you to stay in the home until the lease expires. The only way that you would not get the full lease time would be if the new owner intended to use the home as their primary residence. If that was the case then they would have to give you 90 day notice.
• If your lease is set to expire in less than 90 days, then the new owners still have to give you 90 days to move out.

So you can see that my having a lease is in my best interest to be able to stay in the home as long as possible. My concern with not having a lease was that I would have to move out of the home sooner. My existing lease did not default to a month to month contract once the lease expired so I without a lease or month to month contract I run the risk of having to leave sooner if the home is sold.

Even though my landlord told me on July 14 they would sign the 6 month lease I requested in my July letter they did not provide me with the new lease agreement until Aug 1. Since I felt that I had the upper hand here I requested some items in the lease that I would not have normally asked for including:
• There would be no security deposit on the home while it was in foreclosure. I agreed that if the home came out of foreclosure I would reinstate the security deposit within 30 days of notice.
• There would be no penalty for my terminating the lease prior to the end with 30 days notice. I felt this was important because due to the situation I am not forced to look for a home to purchase. If I find the perfect home before the lease is up I want to make sure that I can get out of the lease without penalty.

The landlord seems to have slowed in response, so as of right now I do not have a signed lease back from him. I’m not too concerned though because he has now accepted rents from me beyond the lease period which sets precedence for month to month contract.

Still, there is still a sale date set for August 23rd on the county steps. My next post will talk more about my gathering information from on the foreclosure.

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