VoiCe the - Canton - Forest Brook Community Homes Association
Transcription
VoiCe the - Canton - Forest Brook Community Homes Association
T he J une 2008 Your Association Board Members Maury Klein President 397-3385 Chuck Lozen, Jr. Vice President & Acting Secretary 397-3897 Terri Dewyer Treasurer 397-0360 Steve Carson 467-3961 Sherri Carson 564-9986 Greg Gorski Bruce Koldys Ione Skaggs Editor, The Voice 397-9379 [email protected] Newsletter of the V oice F orest B rook C ommunity H omes A ssociation It’s Summer Again! Please join the Forest Brook Community for the 2nd Annual Party in the Park! When? July 19th at 1:00 p.m. We’ll have Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, and Munchies. Soda provided. There will be games for the kids. Just bring a dish to pass! (but please, no alcohol) Please rsvp no later than Wednesday July 16th. For questions and responses, call Sherri Carson at (734) 564-9986 or email [email protected] Looking forward to seeing you there! On the Playground by Sherri Carson We have made a great deal of progress cleaning coming to keep the park looking great and taking great and updating the park. Recently the new play set was care of it will allow us to make all these nice upgrades power-washed and stained to make the equipment look for new equipment. Please let us know if you have any better; it’s getting great use. There were great steps suggestions for adding to the park or anything else. taken to improve the old picnic tables. If anyone should happen to see anyone We now own two new steel picnic tables abusing the equipment in the park, please Canton and a new steel garbage can. It looks feel free to call the police. We have Public Safety great! We also removed the very beat up spoken to them about our problems in the Non-Emergencies: backstop on the baseball field and hope to past and they suggest we contact them if 734-394-5400 replace it in the future as funds become anything looks not-quite-right. There will available. The swings have been replaced. be signs posted for the general associaWe now have four new big swings and four new baby tion meeting where your comments and suggestions swings. We are hoping that the improvements keep can be heard. Hope to see you there. When A Loved One Passes Away By Maury Klein Attorney at Law The family is devastated, the tears still flow. It doesn’t seem the time to consider money, property, and preservation of assets. But your loved one likely valued the things of this world and carelessness now can rob the family of things you were meant to have. First Steps: • Review and make copies of any Will and Codicils. (A codicil is an addendum to a will.) • Does the will name a Personal Representative? This is the person designated to be in charge and make necessary decisions. • Order at least 10 death certificates. • Review all property and organize into categories: Land/houses Bank accounts Stocks, bonds, T-bills Cars, jewelry, or other things of value Any other items of value such as collectibles If you believe there is a possibility that the family might have some disagreements, consider taking pictures of the items in the home and having family members acknowledge in writing that these things are the property of the Estate. Make a list and note if the property has two names already on it such as a joint deed or jointly held bank accounts. These properties may have transferred automatically. If the house is now unoccupied, you need to notify the insurance agent of this change. It means a jump in rates but the company could refuse coverage because you didn’t disclose the change from occupied to empty. Special Note: There are ways of “bypassing” Probate altogether by transferring property but these transfers have ramifications such as tax liability, re-valuation and other issues. One of the worst I have seen is misuse of the “joint tenancy with full rights of survivorship” deed. Speak to an attorney and ask questions like, “What if we disagree or split up?” before you re-deed your home or any property using the quote above. Also, regardless of how many properties you have your name on, you may have only one primary residence for purposes of choosing a homestead exemption. Also you may have to file a “Property Transfer Affidavit” even if you remain the primary owner of the home. Forest Brook Community Homes Association • P.O. Box 87552 • Canton, MI 48187 Legal “Briefs” by Maury Klein Attorney at Law Because so many people are in trouble as a result of the mortgage crisis, I felt I had to get this message out. I also feel compelled to address the matter of the tax “rebate” paid or coming due for many of us. First off to those of you who are in difficulty, it may be possible to seek help from the FHA, but this avenue is only open to those who have at least 3% equity left in the home. Equity is the current value of your home less what you owe on it. So, for those who refinanced for the full value of the home — or even 125% of the value — FHA is not an option. Instead, get on the internet and go to www.michigan.gov/mshda and click the link that says “Save the Dream.” This may give you some options you would not otherwise have had. This is not a rebate but an advance refund of a possible 2008 tax refund. The government is essentially asking you to go out and spend money in advance to prop up the economy in the short term without thinking about your personal situation in the long term. If your home is in the foreclosure stage, I regret to tell you that Bankruptcy is not an option. It might slow the process down but only by a few months. Banks and other lenders have the right to petition the Bankruptcy Court to allow the foreclosure process to start again. Bankruptcy attorneys might suggest it’s the way to go but if you don’t basically have the money to pay off the mortgage amount and just need a breather, you would likely still lose your house. If you have been foreclosed on, you need to know that you have a full six months in which to move out. You do not have to make any payments during this time and should save money and consider your options. If you have any chance to do so, you can re-finance the house and pay off that mortgage and restore your rights. Don’t be silenced by embarrassment. Get the facts you need. We all look forward to our income tax refunds to help us pay bills and get over any spring shortfalls. Just imagine that next spring you could really use that money. Perhaps you’ll even be counting on that refund. Then will come the news that you got your $1200 refund in 2008 so in 2009 you get nothing or next to nothing. All because you got a “rebate” in this year. Do the right thing right now. Bring your property taxes or mortgage payment up to date if you’re behind. Pay down the highest interest credit card debt. Put the money in some secure account where you’ll earn the highest interest. The Wall Street notAll! be sorted Wemess Can will Do It out for a very long time. Don’t be taken in by the Custom Build Computers Windows 95 through Vista government’s quick fix to make politicians Windows look good Home Networking (with Shared Files) before election time. Internet Security and Firewalls Aside from acting as your Homeowner’s Association Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam President, Maury Klein is a solepractitioner with offices Parental Controls We’ll repair your PC in your home. in Southfield. Since being licensed as an attorney in 1985, Microsoft Office Computer Training, heComprehensive has twice been elected Chairman of the State’s General Hardware Upgrades and Printers Basic through Advanced Practice and currently is Editor “The General CompetitiveSection Pricing: $45/Hour System andof Speed Tune-Ups Contact us at anytime: Practitioner,” the Newsletter of that organization. His office Data Backups 716.716.5320 or phone is 248-423-9333. [email protected] Visit our website at www.muzehost.com Forest Brook Community Homeowners’ Association now on the Web http://forestbrookhomes.org Bruce Koldys, Webmaster 734-578-9345 lip and save • clip and save • clip an d save • clip and save • clip and save • clip and save • clip and save • clip and save • clip and save • clip and save • clip and save • clip and save • clip and save • c We Can Do It All! Custom Build Computers Windows 95 through Windows Vista Home Networking (with Shared Files) Internet Security and Firewalls Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam We’ll repair your PC in your home. Comprehensive Computer Training, Basic through Advanced Competitive Pricing: $45/Hour Contact us at anytime: 716.716.5320 or [email protected] Parental Controls Microsoft Office Hardware Upgrades and Printers System and Speed Tune-Ups Data Backups Visit our website at www.muzehost.com Forest Brook Community Homes Association • P.O. Box 87552 • Canton, MI 48187 Special Thanks to Though it is terribly overdue, on behalf of the Board and the membership, I’d like to extend special thanks to Steve Carson and his staff for taking it upon themselves to clean the graffiti off the park sidewalk last summer. Thank you, Steve, for your selflessness, community-mindedness, and expertise. CODE OF ORDINANCES CANTON CHARTER TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN Property maintenance standards Article I. Sec 78-2.C(8) Shrub and tree maintenance. All trees and shrubs must be kept trimmed so as not to encroach upon any public sidewalk or pathway. Clear headroom must be maintained of at least seven feet zero inches in height. Article I. Sec 78-2.C(9) Grass height. Grass in all landscaped grass areas shall not be permitted to grow higher than five inches in height. Additional information is available at http://www.canton-mi.org/government/ordinances.aspx visit www.freecycle.org The mission of the Freecycle organization is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the burden on our landfills while enabling members to benefit from the strength of a larger community. Copyright © 2003-2007, The Freecycle Network™ (http://www.Freecycle.org). All rights reserved. Freecycle and the Freecycle logo are trademarks of The Freecycle Network in the United States and/or other countries.