Boo! Scaring Away the Ghosts Of Life's Past

Blogger Stacey Margo writes about letting go of the past.

Take Me Out to the Ballpark, but Watch Out for Flying Baseballs!

Attorney James McCarthy advises readers on whether baseball teams are liable for injuries.

Get Real

Who Pays for a Short Sale Negotiator?

Lisa Loper of the Scott Loper Team explains the value of a 3rd party negotiator when purchasing a short sale.

A 3rd party negotiator can be invaluable to the success of a short sale.  Good 3rd party negotiators have established relationships with many banks.  They know the in’s and out’s of how to best handle each individual short sale which is unique with respect to the seller’s situation and their bank’s requirements. The process gets even more complex when there are two loans (a first mortgage and a second mortgage) with two different banks. While the seller’s agent may be able to negotiate directly with the bank, a good 3rd party negotiator who specializes in short sales will often produce the best results for the buyer (i.e. approval at the most favorable terms and in the shortest amount of time).  Considering that a real estate agent may …

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Get Real

Key Element to Selling a Home

Make your home as available as possible to prospective buyers

You’ve heard good real estate agents talk about how to prep your home to get it sold, how the first physical visit by a prospective buyer is actually the “second” showing, if it was marketed correctly on the internet with high quality photos, photos and more photos, how condition of the home is as important as location in today’s market.  So if you’re a seller and you’ve completed this check list, what is the next key element?  That would be: making your home as available as possible for showings to buyers.  If the house can’t be shown, it won’t be sold and will linger, adding to days on market.  And, statistics show that the longer it is on the market the less the seller receives in proceeds.   It is not uncommon for buyers to have a bulk…

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Dear Lizzie ...

Doting Mom Must Set Limits for Dating Daughter

A single mom questions the appropriate time to let her 15-year-old daughter begin dating with friends and one-on-one.

Dear Lizzie, I have a question about when my child is old enough to start group dating and dating alone. I have a daughter that’s 15. She told me how she’s liking boys in her class and how boys like her. She wants to go out to the movies and to the mall with these boys. I don’t know if she wants to date one-on-one yet. When do you think is the right time to let your baby go? I’m sure there is a proper timeline to let them do what they want to do, but how do I ease into it? Scared Single Mom, Lansdale   Dear SSM, This is just my advice, but I think 15 is the perfect age for a son or daughter to start group activities with friends. As long as they plan ahead to go to the movies, or to the mall, or out to eat, or to go swimming together, 15 …

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Dear Lizzie ...

The Kid Isn't Alright in Parents' Divorcing Situation

A father wants to divorce his wife, but he has concerns over his daughter's feelings.

Dear Lizzie, I am 40 years old, and I have been married for five years. My wife and I have a beautiful 3-year-old daughter together. Of those five years, three of them have been horrible. I stuck through it for four years, and the last three have been nothing but heartache and misery. I’ve tried to continue and make it work, but I’m at a point where I am so tired and exhausted. The marriage is over. One night, I met a very attractive woman. We went out on a date, but we didn’t do anything. We sat and talked for two hours—nothing physical. My wife found out about it, and I finally came clean, and it solidified the end of my marriage. The worst part is my daughter is stuck in the middle. She spends time away from me with her mother. We …

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Dear Lizzie ...

Stepsisters Must Settle Silence After Loss of Baby

Five years ago, a stepsister lost her baby in utero and her stepsister sent condolences through email, amidst her own personal struggles and pain

Dear Liz … My stepsister refuses to talk to me. It has been about 5 years now since we last spoke. The reason I got for this – not from her, but from other family members – is because I wasn't there for her during the death of her baby in utero. I did email her my condolences and wished I could be there. Around the same time she lost her father and another family member as well. I know she was hurt, but I really didn't know what to say especially where I was with my life. I was in a failing marriage to a man who had told me on several occasions that I was worthless and that I should kill myself. He said these things in front of our son, which made it worse. Throughout our marriage he would webcam women in chat rooms and meet up for …

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Dear Lizzie ...

Mother-in-Law Must Back Off on Demands of How to Raise Family

A son-in-law wants to confront his wife's mother on her suggestions on how they should raise their children.

Dear Lizzie, I am writing to ask for advice because my mother-in-law is a witch! She meddles in everything, she stops over without calling, and we don’t have kids yet, but she tells us how to raise our children as far as religion and schooling. My wife will not say anything to her mother about how she’s intruding in our life. It should be me and her to discuss what we’re going to do as parents. We should be our own family unit, and we should come first. We are our own family first, and then everyone else is extended family. My mother-in-law acts like top dog, and she comes first beyond everyone. Please help me figure out how to get through to my mother-in-law and wife. - Son-in-Law, Chalfont   Dear Son-in-Law, You are 100 percent correct …

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Dear Lizzie ...

Cheating Fiancee Must Come Clean Before Wedding

A fiancee cheated with an ex-boyfriend, but regretfully ended it. Now, her soon-to-be husband wants the truth.

Hey Lizzie, I have a sticky situation here.  I have been dating my girlfriend for over four years. I am 32, she's 29.  We have had a great relationship, and in January, I proposed. She said yes, and we have begun to plan our wedding for 2012. A month ago, her ex-boyfriend’s wife contacted me on Facebook. She informed me that my fiancée and her husband had been seeing each other in late January through March of this year. She and her husband were splitting, and she wanted me to know, because she thought it was "the right thing to do." I was really upset by this news. I wanted to calm myself down before I did anything rash. I didn't speak about it to my fiancée.  I did some snooping when she left her laptop on. I found emails that had ended …

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Dear Lizzie ...

Man Must Tell Sexual Harasser to Back Off

When you hook up with a co-worker, it can lead to bad situations.

Dear Lizzie, I work with a woman, and we have somewhat of a past. We hooked up a couple times outside of work, but we never got serious. I thought we mutually ended the affair. Recently, she has been sexually harassing me at work. It is often very subtle, and no other co-workers know about what happened. Most of the time I am uncomfortable with it all. I have told her to knock it off, but she must think I’m not serious about it. Even outside of work, she continues to do this stuff. The last thing I want to do is file a sexual harassment case and make the whole thing public. What should I do? - Harassed, Reading   Dear Harassed, First and foremost, you need to take matters into your own hands. This means speaking directly to this woman. The…

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