The post Being a renter in Arizona kind of sucks! appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.
]]>Yesterday I mentioned that our landlord informed us that the home we are renting was being put on the market and that we would need to show the house to potential buyers, this is not good news to us!
We looked over our lease and had a family member and real estate expert, Jerry, look over the lease. Nowhere in the lease does it say that we are obligated to show the home to potential buyers and agents (like it did in the previous lease we signed for another home) but it does state the landlord must provide 48 hours notice of intent to enter.
We only have 3 months left on this lease and we would prefer to not be showing the home in addition to trying to plan and research a cross country move. Plus we have a medium sized dog, who is not friendly to strangers and we have inside cats who have to be prevented from escaping the house so allowing strange people into the home when we are not present isn’t really an option. It is barely possible when we are home!
So I went online to do some research. I found this page which outlines that in Arizona according to A.R.S. § 33-1343
“the purposes for which a landlord may enter a rental premises are to:
• Inspect the premises
• Make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements
• Supply necessary or agreed services
• Exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen or contractors”
So it seems like we are going to be forced to show the home we are renting even though it was not agreed to when we signed the lease. Apparently that is the crappy law here in Arizona that favors the f*&kers landlords.
I emailed the landlord about how this is an inconvenience for us and I warned that our dog was not friendly and that entering the home without us being present was a very bad idea for them since our dog is not nice to strange people. I also stated that we were not agreeing to anything at this time because we were waiting for more information about our rights.
The landlord responded that we had nothing to agree to and that the only right we had was the right to a 48 hour notice of intent to enter. He also went on to say that after the 48 hour notice was given we could not refuse the showing and that they could enter whether or not we were home.
Then my phone rings and it is our landlords secretary stating that they were trying to schedule a showing for Saturday, which is 2 days/ 48 hours away. We wont be here for the showing but I am sure they will just do what ever the hell they want to!
I am now wondering if the landlord can “check keys out to possible buyers and their agents” and allow them to show up here unaccompanied while we aren’t present, I was under the impression the landlord had physically to exhibit the dwelling under this law, can they just give keys to anyone who comes by and allow them to enter after giving us notice? What if we aren’t able to be home, can they enter the home anyway? What do you think?
If they do enter the home they will be unpleasantly surprised and possibly bitten in the ass by our very protective dog.. Maybe we will leave some sex toys out around the house! Bet that would cut the visit short huh? I am so flipping MAD!
The post Being a renter in Arizona kind of sucks! appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.
]]>The post Credit and how they are screwing you. appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.
]]>This movie made me very, very angry because it shows how eager top lenders and collectors are to make a buck by ruining your credit and possibly your life. Creditors want to give you credit when you need it most because they know they can make money off of you. When money is tight it’s easy to think that credit cards will save the day and often times people don’t pay attention to the deadly fine print. Creditors know you are desperate and that you will simply agree to their insane terms. This is how they begin screwing you, once you agree to the terms and are financially strapped often times you have no way out.
The most sickening part of the movie is that creditors are portrayed as preying on those people who are just barely scraping by. They promise “too good to be true” things and we jump on board without completely understanding what we are agreeing to and assessing the long term affects of the agreement. Credit is good when you can pay off the total balance of charges each month, it is bad when you need it to live and you can only make the minimum payment each month.
In the movie these two mothers set out to try changing what was and wasn’t allowed, they tried to get a bill passed to protect consumers but it was two women against the corporate giants… They were squashed and we will continue to get taken advantage of until we realize that creditors are out to make money off of us any way they can, stop wholeheartedly trusting them!
The best way protect yourself is to smarten up! It is the consumer’s responsibility to keep their debt manageable, creditors may be sending you offers but that doesn’t mean you can afford to accept them. Believe it or not creditors are eager to lend to those they suspect might not be able to make good on the agreement- why? So they can make a killing off of charging you interest and other fees. I am a perfect example of this!
Right after I graduated high school I wanted a computer of my own. I knew I would be moving from my parent’s home soon and that I would need a computer to do school work. I was not financially stable and had no credit history but I found a deal online. They would give me a loan that would pay for my computer and I would pay a set per month fee towards the loan to make good on the amount I borrowed. I was approved for a $2500 credit limit on the loan and my computer actually cost $ 1373.88, they loaned me about 45% more than I needed to purchase the computer- that should have been a warning sign to me. I bought the computer back in 2001 and obviously defaulted on the loan, my credit report stated back in 2007 that my balance had grown to $2056 after all the late fees and interest fees, That is $682.12 in fees! I was not credit worthy yet they loaned me what I needed plus and extra 45%, do you think they expected me to default and incur delinquent fees?
An alarming number of Americans are in debt these days. Collectors are harassing you, the pressure is felt and it sometimes seems like there is no way out of the mess. What’s done is done debt wise, you can’t take it back now but you can learn from it! Don’t run from your money troubles, assess them and determine your financial situation. The worst thing you can do is get into more debt to remedy your current debt, that is what creditors want you to think and that is how they trap you!
If you have a debt that has recently gone into collections you should spend some time learning how to demand debt validation and how to protect your rights. Some collectors won’t complete the debt validation you request which means they can not report the “un-validated debt” to your credit report.
If the creditor does validate the debt often times they will demand payment in full for the debt. Most people are not financially able to pay off the debt in full but few know that most collection companies will accept partial payments, even though they say they wont.
“Does the collector have to accept my partial payments? No, they do not and many of them will claim that they won’t accept a partial payment. Collectors want you to send them a lump sum payment and they don’t care if you have to borrow it from a relative, skip your car payment or take a cash advance from your credit card. So they use very aggressive tactics to scare you in to paying the debt in full as quickly as possible. But the smarter thing to do is to pay them only what you can afford to pay them. Keep paying your house and car payments, don’t borrow money from relatives or your credit card and pay them only what you can afford each month. Send it in every month even if they keep sending it back. Keep proof that you’ve been trying to send them money. This will significantly reduce your odds of being sued, as most collection attorneys know that a judge, when presented with evidence that you tried to pay the debt, will yell at the plaintiff for wasting his time with an unnecessary suit when the defendant was trying to pay the debt. Eventually, most collectors will give in and accept the partial payments.”
Forgive yourself for your financial mistakes and start learning your options. If you are currently being harassed by collectors you need to read the Fair debt collection facts for consumers, you have rights and you can minimize the stress and harassment by learning your rights and demanding that they are respected. Don’t let the collectors bully you or convince you that your life is over, and don’t ignore your debts. This often only makes them worse, you made a mistake and it will take time to remedy but it is fixable.
Wondering how long a creditor has to collect a debt from you? Believe it or not each state sets a time frame in which collectors have to collect the money owed. After this time frame (statues of limitation) has passed you still owe the money and a collector may still take you to court but you can ask the judge to dismiss the suit on the grounds that the statute of limitations has expired.
I found some other interesting information online. Did you know that when a derogatory item on your credit has been charged-off and 7 years has passed that the same item cannot be re-entered on your credit report? This does not mean you don’t owe the debt it just means it can’t be re-entered on your credit bureau file after it has “rolled off”. This is good information to know if you get a call from a collector who is telling you the debt will ruin your credit. If the debt has rolled off it’s done, you still owe money though.
I found a great question and answer site that deals with credit & collection, you may find helpful information in reading the questions and responses here.
The post Credit and how they are screwing you. appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.
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