Alabama Man Charged for Sending Fraudulent Promissory Note

A federal jury late Tuesday convicted a Pinson man and member of an anti-government Sovereign Citizens group for mailing a fictitious financial instrument to pay off his home mortgage, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein, Jr. The jury convicted Donald Joe Barber, 64, of mailing a fictitious “bonded promissory note” to his mortgage servicing company on March 10, 2008, in a fraudulent effort to satisfy his mortgage. Barber presented the fraudulent $10 million note as if it were a valid financial instrument drawn on a secret U.S. government account. U.S. District Judge Inge P. Johnson scheduled Barber’s sentencing for July 31. “Self-appointed ‘sovereign citizens’ preach an extremist, anti-government ideology to their followers and teach a myth about American history that is untrue,” Vance said. “They often use this mythical ideology to justify crime. Sovereign citizens may disavow the authority of the U.S. government, but it exists and my office will use it to prosecute those who break the law,” she said. “The guilty verdict handed down in this case should serve as a deterrent to others who claim to be ‘sovereign citizens’ and attempt to use a redemption scheme to fail to pay just debts,” Schwein said. “All citizens should be wary of individuals or groups that claim they can inform you on secret bank accounts and should report that activity to the FBI,” he said. The FBI describes members of the sovereign citizen movement in the U.S. as U.S. citizens who openly reject their citizenship status and claim to exist beyond the realm of government authority. Affiliates may use their self-appointed status to justify threats, violence, or crime, including theft and fraud. The maximum sentence for this crime is 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Fees Not Based on Listing Agreement With Mediation Clause Affirmed on Appeal.

Quicken Deluxe 2013 (Google Affiliate Ad) Sometimes it all depends on the contractual agreement under which you are awarded attorney’s fees. We have done some recent posts on the mediation condition precedent which can disqualify fee recovery depending on whether it is not pursued before commencement of a suit or even during the course of a dispute. A losing party lost a promissory note and listing agreement dispute, with both agreements having a fees clause (but only the listing agreement having the mediation condition precedent). The price of a loss was quite hefty, with loser being hit with attorney’s fees of $219,171.18 and other costs of $19,205.34. Loser mainly hinged his appeal on the victor’s failure to allegedly mediate. Didn’t work under the facts at issue, said the appellate court in affirming the fee award in Keith v. Shuttleworth, Case No. D058881 (4th Dist., Div. 1 June 14, 2012) (unpublished). The complaint was upon a promissory note, which does not require mediation before commencement of litigation. Although suggesting the note arose from the listing agreement, this theory was never presented below and was not supported by an adequate record. Beyond that, the judgment on the complaint was never appealed, so it could not appeal the award of fees on the complaint. Because winner was entitled to fees for winning on appeal, the appellate court deemed it the “better practice” to allow the trial court to fix such fees once the dust settled from the appeal.

Business Promissory Notes Are Valuable Investing Tools

Understanding the Value of Business Promissory Notes The Sin of Self-Delusion All investing is an inexact, challenging activity. Investing is more like an art form than an actual science. Specialized investing, such as promissory note investing, is a relatively small and distinct category that has many of its own individual rules. Business note investing, a sub-category of note investing is even more special and distinct; it has additional special considerations and rules that impact its successful implementation. Today, in this low interest rate environment, investors are looking for higher yields then what are being offered by traditional investments. Bank savings accounts, Bank Certificates of Deposit, U.S. Government Bonds, and most corporation bonds are just not doing the job. They do not provide a high enough yield. You should seriously consider investing in promissory notes, in general, and business promissory notes in particular, if you truly want to enjoy higher yields. They really do provide higher yields. But, don’t overestimate your own knowledge of the subject, or underestimate its uniqueness. Don’t delude yourself with overconfidence. Get expert guidance to avoid making unnecessary errors in the valuation and risk associated with business note investing. Work with an experienced business note expert. The Keys to Smart and Profitable Business Note Investing Typically, when a business sells, the buyer needs financing to consummate the purchase. The source of financing may come from a bank, or from a private lender, or from the seller of the business; and, as is often the case, the financing is a combination of these sources. In this article our focus is not on the bank financing aspect, it is on the private lender financing and the business seller’s financing. These two financing sources are evidenced by private business promissory notes. We will focus on the “business loan package”. It consists of the business note and all of the additional loan documents contain in the “loan package”. The goal of this article is to identify and explain some of the key concepts and negotiating points inherent in business notes and business note financing. The appraisal and valuation of business notes is based upon understanding the impact of these key elements and their relationship to the fair market value of a business promissory note. The value of your investment depends on the proper structuring of the “loan package”. Key Elements Repayment Period: typically, a term of two years to ten years is reasonable; from the lender’s point of view; a repayment period of two to five years is desirable; from the borrower’s point of view, five to ten years is desirable. Payment Schedule: typically, regular payments of principal and interest are schedule monthly or quarterly; this plan of combining interest and principal in one payment is called an “amortizing loan”: it is self-liquidating. This plan is best for the lender. Interest Only-Balloon: this payment schedule is not self-liquidating. The borrower makes periodic payments of interest only, no principal reduction. At the end of a specified period the entire unpaid balance comes due in full. This happening is called the “ballooning of the principal owed”. Many borrowers favor this plan because it reduces the amount of their periodic payment. Down Payments: typically 20% to 35% of the purchase price is required as the down payment; this range is best for the lender; borrowers usually favor lower down payment amounts. Interest Rate: typically the interest rate is above the prime bank lending rate—usually in the range of 6.5% to 9.0%; if the loan period is for over two years, the interest rate may be “adjustable” annually or “floating” in order to keep its relationship to a benchmark rate or the inflation rate. Naturally, the lender wants to get the highest rate available, and the borrower want to pay the lowest rate. Collateral Security: generally, the borrower’s promise to repay the loan is supported or by/backed-up by some tangible asset; that asset is called “collateral security” because it is not the primary security; it is only available if the borrower defaults on the repayment promise. The specific type of asset used is dependent on the nature of the business and the elements of the transaction. It can be real estate, a co-signer, inventory, accounts receivable or any combination of these. As is normal, the lenders want as much collateral security as possible and the borrower want to provide as little as possible.

Montgomery County crunches down on property tax credits

Montgomery County officials are going after homeowners who wrongly received state and county property tax credits. About 1,956 homeowners received the tax credits worth slightly less than $700, and county officials are estimating they could collect as much as $5.4 million for the credits, incorrectly given out between 2009 and 2012. County officials have collected about $134,000 from 216 accounts and expect to bill about 900 more in the coming months. Montgomery County has a 68.8 percent homeownership rate, which equals slightly more than 264,000 homes, according to census data. The property tax credits are given only to homeowners who live in their house; those who rent out their houses do not qualify. Rob Hagedoorn, the division chief of treasury in the county's Department of Finance, said in most cases it's not homeowners maliciously taking the tax credit; rather it's that homes are inaccurately classified in county records. Sign Up for the Daily E-dition newsletter! "In some cases, people might not have even known about it," he said. To find the discrepancies, the department compared rentals listed online and what each home was classified under in the county tax code. The $5 million in potential revenue will be put back into county funds. The county is currently facing a $134 million budget hole for fiscal 2014. In the housing crash of 2008, many homeowners turned to renting their houses because they couldn't sell and didn't go through the proper channels to acquire a license to rent, which would automatically change the tax classification of a home, Hagedoorn said. He said the problem possibly also occurred because up until December, homeowners did not have to apply for the credit. Last year, county officials realized they might be losing money and created a unit to double check which homes were getting the credit and which homes should not be. But the process has now changed: Residents must apply to receive the credit, meaning potentially fewer discrepancies in the future. The unit is scheduled to report its findings to a County Council committee on Monday. This is the first time the numbers have been documented. Council President Nancy Navarro, D-Eastern County, said she is interested to hear the unit's take on how the process has been going, and whether it's had an effect on county taxes. "Obviously, a lot of these things have to do with trying to look very deeply in what's going on," she said, referring to county officials going through minute details in records to find potential sources of revenue. "It's very important, for me, to hear from the administration what their take on this is."

How to Approach Private Lending

1. Find a Lender /Borrower
Private lending has experienced an explosion of growth due to many of today's economic factors.

Borrowers: Banks and commercial lending houses have tightened requirements and are declining normally acceptable risk loans. Borrowing money from someone you know makes a lot of sense!

Potential Lenders: These are people that have established themselves and are in a position to loan money. They also may find that the interest rates they are being offered by banks in the form of CD's and other investment vehicles too low. Usually this is someone you know and wants to see you succeed.

2. Agree on Loan Terms
Pick and agree on the loan terms you will use. Standard terms include:
• Loan amount
• Interest rate
• Term
• Repayment type
• Repayment frequency
Interest rates vary, so use our Resource Center to help you choose. You and your lender should discuss the alternatives that you each have and agree on the rate that provides a win-win situation for you both.
3. Create Formal Documents
Approach your lending relationship in a professional manner. Introduce a neutral "third party" that can help eliminate the emotions from the transaction.

You will need a promissory note to document the loan.

The Agreement Builder™ will guide you through the process of creating a professional Promissory Note. You input the amount of the loan, interest rate, repayment terms (months/years), due dates and any special conditions and The Agreement Builder™ creates a legally binding promissory note.
4. Set up a Repayment Plan
One2One's Agreement Builder™ generates a list of due dates and payment amounts ($) that make up your repayment schedule for your loan agreement.

The Borrower must remember to send a check in advance of each due date. There is usually no "payment book" or monthly invoice that is created by the Lender. You can also have an accountant or private lending company service your loan.

Remove the on-going, potentially emotional hassel: have One2One Lending send e-mail payment reminders to the Borrower on behalf of the Lender. Stick to your loan agreement!