Car Parked Got Hit - Whose Fault?

Question:
Hi, my truck was parked out side my house and a suburban was pulling out from the house in front of mine and damaged my trucks bumper and etc. Whose fault is it and whats going to happen?


Answer:
If your truck was parked and no one was in it, there’s no question the suburban is at fault for hitting your parked car. Some people get up in arms about hitting a parked car that is in a no-parking zone, but the law makes no distinction. Hitting a parked car places the suburban at fault.

You haven’t given me a lot to go by in terms of your special circumstances, so I can only give you a general picture of what will happen. The Property Damage insurance on the suburban should pay for your damages, unless you prefer to go through your own insurance. In either case, you call the insurance company, file a claim and wait for the appraiser to view the damages.

The appraiser will report on the damages that are visible on the surface. Only after a body shop takes down the car to repair it will you know if there is additional damage underneath. In that case, the shop will order a supplemental appraisal, sometimes called a “supplement.” The insurance company will pay for the remaining damages after that. They can pay you or pay the shop directly with your signature to authorize the payment.

In very rare cases, the parked car might have some liability. I once handled a case where a paver was left overnight on a job site. It was black and the workers did not place cones around it and it had no reflective tape. In addition, there were no streetlights in the area. A driver struck the paver while exiting a parking lot. In that rare case, the paver was 75% at fault for not marking the machine. If your car was somehow obscured so that no one could have known it was there, it’s possible the other driver has less than full responsibility for the accident.

It’s highly unlikely a car would ever fit this circumstance because turn signals are reflective. It’s hard to miss seeing a car parked, even in the dark.

If you do not wish to have car accident happen and can't get any claim from it, you should go and get a car insurance to cover your car if anything happen.

Your Bad Credit Mortgage Options

If you have bad credit and you are thinking about buying home, it is important to figure out if you are going to qualify for a bad credit mortgage. It’s a good time to think about buying, if you have your financial house in order. Interest rates are really great right now and that includes bad credit mortgage rates.


Estimated Amount To Come Out With Your Initial Fund?

The first question to answer is do you have a down payment? Most lenders won’t talk to you, these days, unless you’ve got 15 or 20% of the home’s value as a down payment. The next important thing is to know your credit score. It can be in the 500s and you may still qualify for a loan. Knowing your credit score will give you some sense of how much of a down payment you need, as well as how much house it’s likely you’ll get a loan for.

 If you have a house and bad credit and you are thinking about refinancing, bad credit refinance is also an option. You need to evaluate the idea of refinancing your home very carefully. Even if you had great credit, it’s not a decision to make lightly. You need to ask yourself two important questions: First, are you going to stay in this house for more than five years? If you plan on moving in less than five years it makes no sense to consider bad credit mortgage refinancing. With the time and the money it will cost to go through with, the refinance costs will not be recouped in less than five years.

Should You Go for 15 or 30 Year Mortgage?

The second important question to answer before you decide to refinance is this: are you back to a 30 year mortgage? Many people, in order to lower their monthly mortgage rate, will opt for the refinance at 30 years. While this might be smart, you need to know what you’re signing up for. Is it worth a lower monthly mortgage payment to find yourself with 30 more years left to pay on your house? Is your income likely to improve in the short run? Do you have other options? Answer these questions honestly in order to decide on the right course of action.

If you have bad credit that’s an indication of one of two things either you have money management problems or you have an income problem — or both. If you have not been successful and managing your finances than a mortgage or refinance is only going to highlight these problems. If you have an income problem, it’s crazy for you to think about buying a home or staying in your current home. If you cannot afford the home you have currently, you need to make the tough choice to give it back to the bank and find an apartment.

For mortgage, you may take a look at the loan review of Costco to get some insight before applying for your loan.

Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card Review

The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card is a rewards based credit card aimed to travelers to help them save money on hotel accommodations worldwide and is provided by one of the largest companies in the hospitality industry. Starwoods Hotels and Resorts Worldwide has more than 900 properties worldwide -- including resorts, hotels and residences and the it employs almost 150,000 people. The card is offered in partnership with American Express, one of the leading credit card companies in the world, and the card is available in different countries, including the US and Canada.

What does the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card offer the customer?

As with any rewards credit card, this card is aimed primarily at those who regularly travel -- not only does it have the entire property list of Starwood hotels and resorts, but there is also rewards to be earned and redeemed with over 300 airlines across the world. Like every reward card, you get points for every dollar spent -- for every dollar you spend using the card, you received 1 Starwood point. These points can be collected a redeemed, such as an example when you reach a dollar value of $40,000 worth of purchases on your card in a year, you received a free weekend night stay at  Starwood hotel. These hotels are often luxury accommodations.

Not only does the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card offer points to be redeemed for discounted or free hotel accommodations and airfare, but it also offers other benefits such as the chance to get tickets to various show, concerts and events by advanced notice and being able to obtain prepurchased tickets. Since the card caters to travelers, it also offers all the travel insurance one could imagine with trip cancellation, medical and car rental insurance.

The card also has a business credit card option and this gives all of the exact same benefits to the customer, including benefits catering to small and independent businesses such as disability insurance and protects against the misuse of the card by company employees.

Who should get the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card?

The simple answer to this question is for anybody whop regularly travels, especially for business purposes. Not only does it greatly benefit the person who is traveling on behalf of their company -- staying at various hotels nationwide or worldwide and regularly traveling by air, but it also benefits the person traveling for their own business purposes and using the credit card to make business purchases. All purchases will collect points and be able to be redeemed towards further travel.

The card is also useful for the person who regularly travels for personal reasons, such as pleasure and visiting and who will be putting large dollar amounts for purchases on their card. If the person is making substantial purchases throughout the year, and travel is a large part of their life, this is a good card to use.

The Starwood Preferred Guest Card is aimed at all travelers, business and personal, and is meant to reward them for all purchases made on the card.

P/S: If you love to go shopping without having to take a lot of cash with you, you can consider apply for Sam's Club credit card which can be a great choice for you.

THE Economy vs. YOUR Economy

Between, email, phone conversations and appointments, my assistant and I decided that I’m talking with and advising upwards of 400 people a month in some way about their personal finances.  I have a lot of opportunities to hear about how things are going with the general public, and very often common themes emerge.

Many are asking the question about how to buy their first home.  Many are in a home and would like to move to another.  Some are interested in taking on an investment property.  Others are concerned about their investment portfolio and want to know what, if anything, they should do in light of the last year’s happenings.  One of my clients is having their fourth child in a two-bedroom home.  More and more, it’s about a job change or the desire to make a job change, or even start a business.  And most often the conversation is an overlap of two or more of these kinds of events or goals.

It’s difficult for any of us to take a non-emotional appraisal of our own situation and see it for what it is, but it’s never been as good a time to do that than it is right now.

My goal in today’s short post is to encourage my clients and readers to make one paradigm shift before approaching any of these life changing ideas and goals.

One simple change in thinking:

Look at THE economy at large through the lens of YOUR personal economy and not the other way around.  Many are coming in ASSUMING that because “things are bad out there” that their situation is bad too.  They are looking through a foggy lens steamed up with media frenzy and “get out of debt” radio ads and are having a hard time seeing their personal economy for what it is.  They look at their situation and only see a lower-value home and a lower-value 401k.  Two values that in the grand, long-range scheme of things are meaningless to most of us.

Well at least 85% of us.  Why 85%?  Well, for the 15% of Michiganders who are not employed (and want to be) their personal economy has real challenges.  But for the rest of us (and even most of you unemployed folks out there) a market like this one spells OPPORTUNITY.

Look for opportunity.  Use your personal economy to take advantage of opportunities in the greater economy.  This is an easier task now than it ever has been before.

Economic Benefits of Construction Industry

Construction work, in any form, in any country, is a sign of a thriving economy. Construction may involve building of factories, etc. However, this work will be on a limited scale. Large-scale construction, covering the entire country, will only be when building new homes. People are eager to own homes, and the mortgage scheme has helped them in the process. It means money is not stored in any one place, but is being put to productive use, giving a boost to the economy of the country.

Creation of Jobs

Any construction involves a huge amount of work, especially civil work. Constructing homes of different types, for various classes of people, involves the employment of a huge work force of different types of workers. A good percentage of them consist of skilled workers like masons, carpenters, electrician, HVAC mechanics, etc. The potential for employing all these people continuously has become possible with a booming business of house construction. Home mortgage loans have encouraged this process to gain momentum and are sustaining it.

It is not only in the case of skilled workers that the employment opportunities are good. Even white-collar workers are in great demand. Majority of home construction is done through mortgage loans. Mortgage process means going through a proper legal process. Qualified and experienced staff in the office is required for carrying out this work. Intermediaries, who help in mortgage negotiations, are also able to make a good living by using their negotiating skills.

Revenue Collection

Any improvement in the economy of the country is naturally reflected in the revenue collection of the government. House construction involves many people, who earn money, and pay taxes to both State and Federal governments. Greater the tax collection better will be the social benefits for the people of the country. Increased tax collection also involves the creation of more jobs in the Government Revenue department. Thus, job creation and revenue collection becomes a chain process.

Some studies in the matter of tax collection have brought out staggering results. On an average, every new home that is built brings revenue of nearly $90,000 for the Federal and State governments, who share it on a nearly 3:1 ratio. One can imagine the collection, if the estimated house construction of nearly 2 million homes is carried out in a year. The present estimate shows that with the type of work going on, millions of people will be working, earning money and contributing to the economy of the country.