Saturday, December 15, 2012

List of important things to do and to have when relocating to a new address


In the past, I did a couple of relocations both local and overseas. Before, during, and after relocation, it is often painful, stressful, expensive, and troublesome. The worst of the worst, is even living with people that are "good" at the beginning and bitter towards the end especially when money is on the table. The worst situation of all my relocations was to live with persons that were my "friends" at the start but then turned out to be abusers, gold diggers, preying and taking advantages of me and my kindness. When you buy a property, make sure that you buy it for yourself and that it is 100% owned by you. If you cannot afford a home, townhouse, or condo, DO NOT BUY IT WITH ANOTHER PERSON.

In the past, I bought a condo with another person and had a mortgage of 5 years fixed rate. On the second year of the mortgage, I found a good and better paying job in another province, same country. The first agreement was to sell the condo and split the profit or loss expenses in half and I would give her the payment for her first and last rent of the apartment. However, she disagreed and opted to buy the condo for herself instead. She strongly disagreed because she reasoned out that she will rent an apartment but will waste money in the drain in the long run. So, she refused the first agreement to sell the condo. She would not sign if the condo would be sold to a different person.

On the second agreement, an estimate of the costs to sell the condo was provided by the agent and sounded a reasonable choice for me instead of paying rent on my new address and at the same time paying mortgage on my old place (condo) while it is on the market and not yet sold. However, during the processing of documents related to the sale of the property, certain expenses were incurred outside and beyond the estimate and the estimated amount of expenses would be exceeded and she pressed on me to pay it 100% of the extra expenses in excess of the estimated amount and herself without spending a dime. I was devastated, it was hell living with this person and a terrible mistake to buy the property with this person!

Concerning relocation, I listed below some of the most important things for you to do and to have before, during, and after the move:

- Don't settle for a cheap place and compromise theft, crimes, and other dangers from the community
- Find a place that is convenient and close to schools, supermarkets, bus routes, malls, hospitals, etc.
- Lease insurance or mortgage insurance
- Piggyback of Power (electricity)
- Inspection of suite or apartment, take note of damages before you move in
- Make sure there is no smell of paint or other unwanted stink
- Book the elevator in advance for moving in or moving out
- Organize and pack your house goods and items nicely and squarely, convenient to carry with less risk of being damaged
- Passport, make sure it is not expired
- Cash in your wallet, for taxi and other incidental expenses
- Call and or update your change of address on file in your banks, credit cards, insurances, pension plans, bills, taxes, businesses, etc.
- Cancel your old bills and services connected to the old address
- Duplicate your keys

Stay Order


What is a stay order?

A stay order is a temporary order issued by a court to temporarily suspend or stop the execution of a judicial proceeding (court judgment).

Why does an insurance company or a pre-need company receive a stay order?

When an insurance or pre-need company is going bankrupt, losing its business, or having more debts than profits, the company would file for bankruptcy. When a preneed company has too much liabilities, the goverment might stop the company from selling new plans, which would eventually lead to bankruptcy in most cases. To legally file for bankruptcy, the losing company submits legal papers to a court saying that its business is going bankrupt. After the court receives the paper documents from the company that is going bankrupt, the court will then issue a stay order. Other cases where a company receives stay order is when it has a proposal for corporate rehabilitation (a more favorable option than liquidation).

What happens to the company that received a stay order? What are the effects of a stay order to a company?

The company who filed a bankruptcy and received a stay order will temporarily not pay its debt. The company is not allowed to pay its liabilities. The company is also prevented from disposing (selling, leasing, transferring, giving up) any of its properties. The company's suppliers of goods and services are prohibited from witholding (refusing to give, holding back, suppressing) the supply of goods and services. The company is required to pay administrative expenses incurred after the issuance of a stay order. Creditors and collection agencies are stopped from collecting debt payments by virtue of the stay order issued by the court.

What does a stay order mean to a planholder? What are the effects of a stay order to a planholder?

If you are a planholder in a company and the company filed for bankruptcy and as a result, receives a stay order, you will not receive any money even if you terminate or cancel your plan. It does not matter whether you partially paid or fully paid your plan, you will not receive any money upon cancellation or termination because the stay order is still in effect. Claims of planholders will be stopped. However, plan holders who terminated or cancelled their plans BEFORE the stay order was issued can receive claims and be given back their money invested. Planholders, creditors, stockholders, and other stakeholders are directed by the court or insurance commission authority to file comments, suggestions, oppositions, or to attend hearings and consultations. The court also requires the company to post the stay order in its offices, gates, doors, etc. where people can clearly see it. The company has to publish the stay order in a newspaper of general circulation and to publish, post, and make the stay order available for download in the company's website.

What can a plan holder do when his insurance or pre-need company is issued a stay order?

Stay order issued by a Court or an Insurance Commission is usually 4 to 5 months in duration. When the date of the stay order is reached, the court will decide and pass judgement as to what happens to the bankruptcy case or rehabilitation plan proposal filed by the company. Therefore, the planholder has to wait for the decision of the court. When the court says that the insurance company has to give back the premiums of planholders that cancelled plans, then that is what the company is legally required to do. It would be unfortunate if plan holders do not receive 100% of what they contributed. Risks such as this (not getting back all the money that you invested) are ever present and often high in pre-need, pension, education, retirement, and insurance companies. So, you have to be very careful when investing. You might be better off putting your money in your bank than investing and ending up losing money, not to mention the taxes and headaches, pains, and griefs, associated to these investments.

What does it mean to "Lift a Stay Order"?

When a court lifts a stay order, it means that the stay order is no longer in effect. The company will follow what is ordered by the court in its judgment regarding the bankruptcy case or rehabilitation plan proposal filed.