I wrote the following letter to our property manager following an incident with our condo security company.  The security company owner apologized and the guard in question was removed from our property.  Both the property manager and owner agreed that his behavior was unacceptable.

Do you have security guard stories to share?  Please use our comment form.  We’d love to hear from you.

I want to file a complaint  against the security guard who was on duty last night.

I used the flashing lights on my car  around 6:15 pm, but failed to turn them off.  The lights were flashing when I returned to the condo at 6:30 pm (when it was still light out) until 9:00 pm, when a resident phoned me.  She noticed the lights from her window and warned that my battery was draining.

In fact, by the time I reached the car, the battery was dead.

It was impossible for the security guard to miss the flashing lights, since I’m parked near the entrance to the building.

He undoubtedly saw them blinking for several hours while he circled the parking lot.  But he didn’t bother to phone me.

I found him riding around in his little vehicle, no more than 30 feet from my car. I demanded to know why he failed to alert me. The guard replied: “It’s not my job. My job is to stop cars that shouldn’t park here.”

WHAT?  I then said, “It’s your job to warn residents if their lights are on.  You work for us.  WE pay your
salary.”

He said: “No, it isn’t my job.  If I have free time, then I might do something.  But it’s the resident’s problem, not mine.”

I waved down a passing cab and asked for help.  Our security guard watched with amusement while the cab driver jumped my car with cables I had on hand.

Another owner left her parking lights on several months ago.  But the guard on duty that night never phoned.  How much effort could it possibly be?  Clearly, our security guards think they work for bricks and mortar, not for the people who pay their salaries.

A security guard also plastered a visitor’s car with the type of warning stickers that can’t easily be removed.  What’s wrong with this picture?  The visitor had a temporary parking permit hanging in clear site!

Imagine if there was a life-threatening emergency? How fast would our guard would he drive his little cart in the opposite direction?

Respectfully,

Dr. Joyce Starr

Condo Security Guards: Your Rights – Their Responsibilities originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on December 21, 2011.

The following article was authored and shared with our readers by Florida foreclosure expert, attorney Evan Rosen.  I interviewed Evan on the foreclosure process, specifically: how banks and third-party groups foreclose on homes without proper documents – and ways you can stop them.  Enjoy the audio and Evan Rosen’s insightful article below. ~ Dr. Joyce Starr

Understanding the Foreclosure Process

by Attorney Evan Rosen

We all regularly hear about the “foreclosure crisis” going on in our country but what you may not know is that the situation in Florida is far worse than in any other state. According to the latest statistics released by the Mortgage Banker’s Association, Florida accounts for 23.7% of all foreclosures nationwide; which correlates to 466,454 homes. Not only is this the largest number of any other state, it is larger than the total number of loans in 22 other states combined. The result is our courts are backed up with a caseload of 260,185 cases. Couple that with the termination of special court funding for foreclosure cases which took effect on July 1st and it appears the crisis in Florida is only getting worse.

So how did this backlog swell to such an enormous figure? Why does it take so long for a bank to foreclose?

This was not always the case, right? Well, we know that before Wall Street started selling shares of stocks in pools of mortgages through a process known as securitization, foreclosures could be handled within a few months. Now, in great part due to the banks’ rush to profit and lack of proper simple documentation required in any real estate or mortgage transfer, as well as the lack of complicated documentation required as a result of the securitization process, no one knows how long some cases will take because in many instances no one can properly prove who is entitled to foreclose.

Like every other plaintiff in any civil lawsuit, the plaintiff has the burden to prove all elements of their case by a “preponderance” or greater weight of the evidence. In a foreclosure action, the entity entitled to foreclose must successfully prove by this standard, among other things, that they are the proper party; the entity or person actually entitled to receive payments due under the terms of the note; and/or the party entitled to foreclose under the terms of the mortgage.

This is generally referred to as “legal standing” and often, the banks cannot prove they have it. What follows is a chart illustrating the time periods in the pre-foreclosure and foreclosure process in Florida.

PRE-FORECLOSURE TIMELINE

Day 1 Payment due, no payment made
Day 7-1 Call from Lender/Mortgage Servicer
Day 16 Late charges begin to accrue
Day 20-25 Call and letter from Lender/Mortgage Servicer
Day 30 Default reported to Credit Bureaus; Lender/Mortgage Servicer sends second letter
Day 40 Lender/Mortgage Servicer sends letter with payment options
Day 60 Lender/Mortgage Servicer sends demand letter or “Acceleration Notice,” Credit Bureaus update their reports.
Day 90 Lender/Mortgage Servicer sends file to attorney, Credit Bureaus update their reports
Day 90+ Any time after 90 days the entity claiming their entitlement to foreclose can file suit. In a scenario in which the entity seeking to foreclose is not the same entity as the original mortgagee or lender, and with competent counsel, this process alone can take more than 12 months.

FORECLOSURE TIMELINE

Day 1 Complaint and Lis Pendens are filed and served with a summons on the property owner.
Day 20 A responsive pleading is due. If not filed, plaintiff moves for default judgment. With competent legal counsel, there can be a multitude of legitimate issues raised via motions, hearings, and discovery requests which would extend this time period greatly.
Day 45 – 60 (If not represented by competent counsel) – Court schedules hearing for default judgment and at the hearing enters final judgment of foreclosure. By statute, the court should order the sale of the property on a specified day within 20-35 days of the order. However, sales can still lawfully take place later than 35 days and are sometimes taking many months after the order is entered.
Day 80 – 95 (If not represented by competent counsel) – Notice of Sale published once a week for two consecutive weeks in local publication, with last posting at least 5 days prior to sale; auction sale conducted; winning bidder applies 5% deposit from funds advanced electronically prior to sale and then pays the rest by noon the following day. Dade, Broward and Palm-Beach Counties conduct their auctions online. Certificate of Sale is filed “promptly” after sale and Right of Redemption ends when certificate of sale is filed.
Day 105 (If not represented by competent counsel) – Ten days after filing Certificate of Sale, Certificate of Title is issued – Title vests, no further action necessary unless property is still occupied.
Day 106 -119 (If not represented by competent counsel) – 1 -14 days after Certificate of Title issues, if property still occupied, sheriff issues Notice to Vacate.
Day 119 – 140 (If not represented by competent counsel) – 1 – 21 days after Notice to Vacate, sheriff vacates the property.

If, on the other hand, the entity seeking to foreclose is not the same entity as the original mortgagee or lender, and the owner has retained competent counsel, this process can take years, if the bank is ever able to foreclose.

The above is just an overview to help understand the current state of the foreclosure process. For more details or if you have any questions or comments, you are welcome to call or e-mail the author of this article for more information.

Evan M. Rosen
Rosen & Rosen, P.A.
4000 Hollywood Blvd, #725-S
Hollywood, FL 33021
954-981-1852(Phone)
erosen[at]rosenandrosen.com
www.rosenandrosen.com

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Foreclosure & Mortgage Crisis: How to Stop the foreclosure process 

Foreclosure Process Inside Story. Attorney Evan Rosen: Why Banks are Slow to Foreclose. originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on August 29, 2011.

Non-smoker Rights eBook

The real objective was to stop owners from smoking inside their units, but without directly attacking smokers. I opened the bulletin with “cooking” and closed it with “food.” Perhaps you could use a similar document in your condo. Feel free to share it with your board and manager.

For years, my arguments regarding the dangers of secondhand smoke fell on deaf ears. I was victimized by the smoker next door and frequently attacked when I raised the issue at Board meetings. Researching the laws and hoping to help others fight back, I wrote the book, Secondhand Smoke Crimes. Gift the paperback to your neighbors or download the eBook version.

Today, to their great credit, our Board and property manager are pressing forward with environmental initiatives. I didn’t give up, and neither should you.

Healthy Environment – Clean Air

Dear owners and tenants:

Our condo association earned a prestigious environmental award in 2011. The Board and Management are taking active steps to create a healthy environment and clean air for all residents. As you know, we share a common air conditioning and heating system.

Here’s how you can help.

1) Do not leave your unit door open when cooking. Cooking fumes settle into the hallway carpets and walls. Do not leave your unit door open in an attempt to cool your apartment. We want to reduce, not increase, our common electricity costs.

2) Do not smoke inside your unit. When a smoker opens his/her unit door, cigarette fumes and toxins travel into the corridors and remain there for the long-term. You have a right to smoke on your balcony with the door closed. Please do not inflict your habit on your neighbors.

3) Do not smoke in the pool area. The pool is a common area. Smoking is prohibited in common areas – even outdoors within the private property!

4) Do not leave food or sodas on your balcony, at the pool or in other common areas – including the trash room. Food attracts ants and other undesirable creatures. The Association spends a considerable amount of money each month to prevent infestation. Please do your part to ensure a healthy environment.

From fellow unit owners and tenants,

Thank you for your support!

Related Post:

Cigarette Addicts: How they Rob Your DNA & Threaten Your Life

Condo Health – Clean Indoor Air – No Smoking Inside Your Unit originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on August 18, 2011.

Surely you’ve seen the blog post A Box You Want to Uncheck on LinkedIn by now – I think I saw it Tuesday and it quickly went viral.  In essence, LinkedIn is doing social advertising.  Unbeknownst to most users, they had opted in to have their name, photo, etc. appear in ads that their connections might see.

And the “how-to” from Steve Woodruff on where to find the box!:

Apparently, LinkedIn has recently done us the “favor” of having a default setting whereby our names and photos can be used for third-party advertising. A friend forwarded me this alert (from a friend, from a friend…) this morning.
Devious. And I expect that you, like me, don’t want to participate.

1. Click on your name on your LinkedIn homepage (upper right corner). On the drop-down menu, select “Settings”.
2. From the “Settings” page, select “Account*”.
3. In the column next to “Account”, click “Manage Social Advertising” .
4. De-select the box next to “LinkedIn may use my name, photo in social advertising” .
Nice try, LinkedIn. But, no thanks!
*UPDATE: After you finish with Account, check the new default settings under E-mail Preferences (such as Partner InMails); and Groups, Companies & Applications (such as Data Sharing with 3rd-party applications). It’s a Facebook deja vu!

 

LinkedIn Abused Trust – Said, Oh So Sorry – Uncheck the Box originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on August 12, 2011.

With over 250 million tweets a day and a billion Facebook posts, is it a wonder that many ‘thought-leaders’ can no longer hear themselves think, let alone solve the problems that confront us? How much time do Members of Congress waste tweeting or facebooking – and to what purpose? Perhaps a day or two of relative silence by national leaders would do us all a world of good.

US Library of Congress poet laureate Philip Levine wrote a poem about too many words in 1999: “He Would Never Use One Word Where None Would Do.”

“Fact is, silence is the perfect water:
unlike rain it falls from no clouds
to wash our minds, to ease our tired eyes,
to give heart to the thin blades of grass
fighting through the concrete for even air
dirtied by our endless stream of words.”

I recently participated in a teleseminar about the relationship between social networking and the business bottom line. The speaker owns a company that markets social networking strategies to companies large and small.

He opened the teleseminar by bragging that he personally follows several thousand tweets every day while handling a myriad of tasks for his business. I asked myself, “And he hasn’t yet lost his mind?”

It’s well known that multi-tasking makes us less, not more productive – creating distraction and noise on the brain. Could keeping up with thousands of tweets and Facebook posts daily eventually numb or even destroy our brain cells – something like a “repetitive stress social networking syndrome?”

The fellow went on to state that the average gain for companies that vigorously employ Twitter and Facebook is an 8 percent increase in the bottom line. If true, it could mean a great deal of money for medium size and large companies who can afford to hire staff to keep their social networks humming. (Since he’s trying to sell social networking, his numbers might be suspect.)

He even suggested that business owners encourage their staff to post their thoughts throughout the day and then follow the chatter – like an internal Twitter on steroids. Can you imagine the chairman of a billion dollar company having nothing better to do? Would you invest in that company?

But what about small business owners and entrepreneurs who are already stretched thin? Is keeping up with Twitter and Facebook a plus or a drain on your productivity and income? Can you handle it with current staff or is it necessary to add staff? How do the financial benefits compare to the costs and time output?

We’d love to hear from you!

Social Networking + the Bottom Line: When is Silence the Perfect Water? originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on August 11, 2011.

This took place in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A lawyer purchased a box of 24 very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against, among other things, fire.  Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company.  In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost “in a series of small fires…”

The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason, that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion.

The lawyer sued and WON!

(Stay with me here…)

Delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous.  The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company, in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be unacceptable “fire,” and was obligated to pay the claim.

Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the cigars that perished in the “fires.”

NOW  FOR THE BEST PART…

After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!!

With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine.

Best Lawyer/Insurance Story of the Year, Decade & Century originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on August 9, 2011.

The following questions were included in last year’s GED examination. These are genuine answers (from 16 year olds) . . . and they WILL breed.

Q. Name the four seasons
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists

Q. How is dew formed?
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q. What causes the tides in the oceans?
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight.

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on?
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed.

Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election.

Q. What are steroids?
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs (Shoot yourself now, there is little hope)

Q. What happens to your body as you age?
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery. (So true.)

Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes?
A. Premature death.

Q. What is artificial insemination?
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow.

Q. How can you delay milk turning sour?
A. Keep it in the cow. (Simple, but brilliant.)

Q. How are the main 20 parts of the body categorized? (e.g. The abdomen)
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts – the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A, E, I,O,U.

Q. What is the fibula?
A. A small lie.

Q. What does ‘varicose’ mean?
A. Nearby.

Q. What is the most common form of birth control.
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium. (That would work.)

Q. Give the meaning of the term ‘Caesarean section’?
A. The caesarean section is a district in Rome.

Q. What is a seizure?
A. A Roman Emperor. (Julius Seizure, I came, I saw, I had a fit.)

Q. What is a terminal illness?
A. When you are sick at the airport. (Irrefutable.)

Q. Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A. Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and they look like umbrellas.

Q. Use the word ‘judicious’ in a sentence to show you understand its meaning.
A. Hands that judicious can be soft as your face. (OMG)

Q. What does the word ‘benign’ mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight. (brilliant)

Q. What is a turbine?
A. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head.

GED Examination – Mind-boggling Answers – Laugh or Cry originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on August 3, 2011.

At first read, I thought this headline was a joke: “Google – a prominent beneficiary of national home loan and foreclosure crisis of the past two years.”  Every form of media that accepts money in exchange for advertising has been a beneficiary of every scam, sham and shyster campaign ever propagated on the public. The housing crisis is simply the critter de jeur.

Now we need a congressional hearing and investigation by  the New York Times, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and the Monkey’s Eyebrow Weekly Gazette. And we need new laws in place – I mean right now – hey, let’s create a new federal agency and have them police Google’s role in the housing crisis.

Let’s trample this country’s greatest and most utilized of all inalienable rights – people have the right to be just as stupid as they want to be.

The new agency could be called the FSA. Federal Stupidity Agency. I can see it now – unemployment would be totally eliminated since it would take millions (make that billions) to staff the enforcement division. There could even be specialty divisions within the agency – the Redneck division, a special SWAT division for San Francisco, a cyber stupidity division for those that can’t resist Facebook and MySpace. Stupidity deployment teams would be on call, 24/7, for emergency deployment to areas manifesting out of the ordinary stupidity.

They could modify Obamacare to make sure that stupidity was covered under the new national healthcare, leading to even more jobs for rehab workers, social services and crisis management – this would even solve the illegal immigrant problem. Policing stupidity would require insane numbers of enforcers.

The housing crisis could be totally eliminated – every person successfully completing the Stupidity Rehabilitation program ( another federal agency ) would be given a free foreclosed home. And when they run out of foreclosures for the give-away, they could come and take yours and mine.

After all, stupid is as stupid does.

That was fun.

written by:  Anonymous – Just in case someone (stupidly) takes it seriously and enacts the FSA.

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Caution – Second Stimulus Ahead: Spreading Crumbs of Wealth on the Middle Class

Unemployment has reached 10.2 percent, 190,000 jobs were lost in October, and 79 percent of Americans say the economic downturn has forced them to get by with less. Eighty-seven percent are worried about the future of the nation.

Does Social Networking Give Productive/Creative Loners a Bad Rap?

Is social networking giving productive/creative loners a seriously wrong-headed economic disadvantage? The term “loner” once suggested the self-confident, silent type who said little but knew more than he/she let on. A person of few words who got the job done. An achiever, a person with a rich, goal-oriented inner life – …

Right to be Stupid vs New FSA – Federal Stupidity Agency originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on July 20, 2011.

The recent terrorist attack on the Inter-Continental hotel in the Afghanistan is another reminder that hotels must be secure. You’re probably thinking that US hotels are quite safe. Don’t be so certain. While it’s unlikely that a group of terrorists will land on the roof of your hotel, what if they did? What plans, precautions has management taken to deal with hotel security emergencies of all kinds. Terrorist attacks? Fire? Evacuations?

I did an interview on this very topic with David Benton, Vice President and General Manager of the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia, following the terrorist attack on a hotel in India. Little has changed. The tips and insights that David provides should be filed under: Travel Safe!

Listen and learn.

Visit the prior hotel security post:

Travel wisely and well,

Dr. Joyce Starr

Hotel Terrorism – Hotel Security: How to Keep Your Family Safe originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on July 4, 2011.

We all love coupons — the prospect of saving money in harsh economic times. But is Extreme Couponing addictive? What are your views? Listen and/or read below.

Is there a dividing line between savvy couponing and Extreme Couponing?

Where is the milk?

There’s a show about Extreme Couponing on cable. We see women (and a few men) spend the majority of their waking hours cutting coupons from 4 or 5 newspapers, finding and printing website coupons and filing coupons. They organize the coupons in large binders, often several binders.

Tiny tots cuts coupon for fun.

A few hours a week, perhaps even daily, they force their kids to do the same. Tiny tots, only 4 or 5 years old. Kids of all ages. We’re told the children love it, that they’re enthralled by the “life lesson.” Give me a break.

Did you love sitting at a table for hours at a time with your mom doing something so boring when you were a kid? Shouldn’t they be out playing, doing homework or just being kids?

Grocery store attack

Extreme Couponers attack. They drive to the store and buy thousands of dollars of goods they can’t use or won’t use for years, for nothing or close to it. We see them doing this repeatedly.

They don’t purchase the healthiest food for their kids. No, they buy boxes upon boxes of cereal full of sugar, just because these brands are on sale. Cans contain aluminum. Aluminum is not healthy. An occasional can of food or soda won’t harm you. But a diet of canned foods and soda can reduce the years and/or health quality of your life. So far as we see on the show, that’s what their children live on.

The show seems to be more about how to scam stores than wise advice on how to save money. One woman purchased a year’s worth of diapers. She isn’t pregnant and doesn’t have children. But she beamed at the camera: “When I do get pregnant, I’ll have the diapers.”

Little or no fresh food as possible

Note – and this is very important. The televised Extreme Couponer is never observed stacking a cart with fresh fruit and vegetables for her children. Stores and websites don’t coupon perishable items as frequently or generously as they do non-perishable goods. The Extreme Couponer leaves the store with 4 or 5 carts. But there is little or no fresh food in her/his cart. Not even milk. What are their children eating? Canned foods, candy, sodas, junk?

Empty shelves

Extreme Couponers are indirectly taking money from the pockets of fellow buyers. How? Let’s say you heard about a sale on bottled water, but the Extreme Coupon person got there first.

She doesn’t buy 7 or even 14 bottles for the week. No, we observe the couponer throwing every available bottle into her cart. Hundreds of bottles. The shelf is now bare.

I’ve seen entire shelves remain empty for days, perhaps even a week, before the store can restock. You’re forced to waste time and gas on a follow-up visit or find another store with the same item.

The Extreme Couponer picks up a hundred or more of the same item, just because she/he can. Many resell it. A few,
we’re told, give a portion of their stash away to soldiers and families in need – or just kids in the neighborhood who enjoy a treat.

Wait in line

The Extreme Couponer can take a half hour or more to check out – given all the items and coupons to be scanned. Frequently, the cash register breaks or shuts down from excessive coupon scanning. Then the check-out clerk is instructed by a manager to count all the coupons by hand. (Bet she/he loves that job.) Meanwhile, you’re left waiting in line or with one less register to help you save time.

An Extreme Coupon hoarder returns home and stacks her goods in every available corner, including the living room and one or more bedrooms (a child’s bedroom, naturally). She’s ecstatic.

Seven Eleven

The house looks like a Seven Eleven. Cardboard boxes, cans, stuff which emits chemicals into the air and decomposes over time. The family is breathing Coupon Addiction night and day.

No matter. The Extreme Coupon hoarder is able to save enormous sums of money. The costs in health, quality of life and consequences for your life are not important. One thing is certain: One a person takes this path, there’s no turning back. Healthy activities, creativity, education and/or professional endeavors are pushed to the back of the proverbial shelf.

Extreme Couponing can become your chosen field for life. It’s addicting.

Extreme Couponing. Is it the New Addiction? Couponing Pros & Cons. originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on June 10, 2011.