Georgia Non Competes: Do the Risks Outweigh the Benefits?
Posted: August 21st, 2008
Category: commercial news, real estate news
The most recent Atlanta Business Chronicle included an article that SunTrust was relieving certain of its corporate officers from their non compete agreements. The article further discussed the most important aspect of non competes when you hire a chief executive officer or a salesperson in Georgia.
In Georgia, non competes are very difficult to enforce, more importantly, a bad non compete also results in a court throwing out a perfectly enforceable non solicitation provision. What SunTrust and other companies are appreciating is that relationship driven businesses are usually better off leaving out a non compete rather than risk losing an enforceable non solicitation clause if a court finds a non compete unenforceable.
Remember restrictive covenants come in four basic types:
1) Non competes: Don’t open up down the street and compete with my business;
2) Non solicitation of customers: Don’t solicit my clients and customers;
3) Non solicitation of employees: Don’t solicit my employees;
4) Confidential information and trade secrets: Don’t disclose my salary list or don’t disclose my proprietary software.
As always, your trusted legal resource for practical advice.
Additional Real Estate Resources:
Discussion: Comments
Real Estate Homestead Idea
Posted: August 21st, 2008
Category: First Time Buyers, Real Estate Finance
One of my favorite real estate bloggers is The Notorious R.O.B., not just because his blog name makes me smile, but because he is one of the most thorough writers and has a very keen mind for analysis. He covers everything from MLS to NAR and lots of commercial real estate topics. I recently read one of his genius ideas about making the Homestead Act updated for the 21st century. Here are Rob’s ideas:
“Rough outline of a new Homestead Act:
* Banks surrender the property to the municipality. They can claim a loss for future tax writeoff, but importantly, they get the property off their balance sheets.
* Municipality waives all back taxes, transfer fees, etc.
* Utilities write off all water/electric bills, etc.
* Property is made available as is to any legal resident willing to live there.
* You must stay in the residence for at least five years.
* During your stay, you must maintain the house in reasonable condition and not engage in any illegal activities in the house.
* It must be your primary residence for those five years.
* You must pay all property taxes and fees associated with home ownership, such as for trash removal, water and sewage, etc.”
I doubt there is any chance in hell that these ideas are ever considered by Congress, but I think it’s a great way to make people think outside the box about real estate laws. I encourage each of you to read more from the Notorious R.O.B.
Additional Reading:
Discussion: Comments
HitMeLater makes Inbox a To Do List
Posted: August 17th, 2008
Category: real estate news
I have been using my email inbox as a to do list for years. I just leave the mail unread to remind myself I need to take action on the content. The problem is that sometimes my unread emails get buried at the bottom and forgotten about. Problem Solved: A Snooze button for Email
HitMeLater is a great solution to using your Inbox as a To Do List. You can forward any email to “24@hitmelater.com” and it will send it back to you 24 hours later, placing it on the top of your inbox pile. You can change the number of hours to anything you like, up to 1,000 hours ahead (8@hitmelater.com sends it back eight hours later). You can even use days of the week, ex: “thursday@hitmelater” sends it back to you on the following Thursday.
*Hidden trick: send an email to “2weeks@hitmelater” and you will get an email in two weeks reminding you to take action.
TechCrunch adds:
“If you send it something it doesn’t understand, HitMeLater sends back a polite email message saying “We’re not sure what you want.””
HitMeLater site states it’s “free, secure, spamless, and doesn’t require registration.” If these remain true forever, then what a great solution for email management.
Discussion: Comments
4 Reasons To Buy an Atlanta Area Home before October 1st, 2008!
Posted: August 16th, 2008
Category: Atlanta Real Estate, Marietta Real Estate, Roswell Real Estate, Woodstock Real Estate, real estate news, tips, tools & tech
4 Reasons to Buy a Home before October 1st, 2008!
$7500 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit
Atlanta First Time home buyers can receive a $7500 credit on their 2008 returns for purchasing a home between April 2008 and July 2009. So, in addition to your itemized deductions you will receive for being a homeowner, there is another $7500 to reduce your income just by purchasing a home.
Sunset Date for Nehemiah Down payment Assistance is September 30, 2008.
The Nehemiah Downpayment Assistance program is one of the few ways to have a seller pay for part of your down payment. Sellers have always had the ability to pay closing costs. However, the ability to actually make part of the down payment has been a questionable practice where many of these amounts were paid after closing or POC (Paid Outside of closing). At any rate, this program ends on Sept 30, 2008 so if you need help with a down payment you should get moving.
Call me if you have any questions!
FHA Free-Money
The FHA has set up a 5 to 1 matching down payment grant up to a total amount of $10,000. This program is based on family income level and is reflective of the county that you live. However, if you want to purchase a home, this may be the best way to get FREE MONEY. Government Grants!
Change in FHA Down payment Requirement
Though most of us are not familiar with FHA loans, today (post mortgage meltdown) these loans tend to be the most available mortgages. The US government has raised the lending limits of all government sponsored mortgages which makes the FHA very useful for home purchases of $200,000 to $400,000. However, most FHA’s in the past required a 3% down payment. Though you now know that sellers can pay this for you or even the government, the rate will now change from 3% to 3.5% for all loans after October 1, 2008.
If you have questions about these programs as they relate to Atlanta Real Estate you can call or e-mail me. Even though I do specialize in commercial, I do locate and represent residential properties.
Just ask!
My mortgage broker, and friend, is one of the most knowledgeable originators in the country and so any questions you may have will answered ASAP! According to the FHA, a “First Time Homebuyer” is anyone who has never owned a home, or has not owned a home in 3 years.
Discussion: Comments
Maxsell Real Estate Climbs Top Real Estate Blog Ratings
Posted: August 16th, 2008
Category: real estate news
Maxsell.net moves up 14 spots from 42 to 28 on Jon Washburn’s Top Real Estate Blogs. Sorry we could not make the ceremony, so we sent Halle Berry to accept on our behalf.
Our acceptance speech…we’d like to thank mom, dad, God above, our fantastic agents, our partners in the industry, the academy, Active Rain, our roadies, and most importantly you - our fans! We would not be considered an industry leader if you did not click on our links, refer others to our sites, google our name, comment on our blog, and be the best fans in the world.
Discussion: Comments
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