Recession Briefing: Take the Foreclosure Tour!

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Cape Coral, Fla., is a reluctant symbol for the excesses of the great American real estate bubble: foreclosed homes served up as tourist attraction. A shiny green tour bus takes speculators around the town looking for deals. Nearly a third of the houses in the area have been touched by foreclosure in the past three years. (New York Times)

With food-stamp use at a record high and surging by the day, an overlooked subgroup is growing: recipients with no cash income who live solely off of the government food subsidies. (New York Times)

As a result of the glut of foreclosures, agents and homebuilders across the country are complaining too many appraisals are coming in low, scuttling deals. The National Association of Realtors says nearly one in four of its members has reported clients losing a sale due to botched appraisals. (USA Today)

Fairly Legal: Severance 101

Tips and insights from our legal experts.

“So… how big is your package?”

It’s a question that used to be taboo, something only discussed between intimates. But these days, virtually no one is too shy to ask about the dimensions of someone else’s severance deal. In fact many people can’t help but compare what they received against the packages of their friends, enemies and former coworkers.

It’s natural to want to know how you measure up. And information sharing in this regard can be valuable because as you’ve no doubt realized by now, severance packages come in all shapes and sizes—some generous, many decent, some completely non-existent. So what’s fair and what’s your legal due… and technically what is severance anyway?

Severance, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary is: “The state or condition of being severed or separated, as in the ending of a relationship.”…

The Incredible Shrinking Severance Check

When the check comes in the mail, it’s never as big as you imagined it would be. You were promised eight weeks, but the amount is closer to six.

Before your paranoia has you wondering whether you’re finally being penalized for illicit use of the office photocopier or swiping extra cream cheese packets from the cafeteria, you could try…

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