Jennifer Arsenault

There are many unfortunate scenarios that can happen to anyone who is a renter. Knowing about these scenarios can greatly improve your chances of NOT ruining your credit or your rental history. I think one of the most common catastrophes can result from signing a lease with a roommate. While roommates are fantastic (I’ve a had a few myself) there are some issues that can arise that are much worse than bad bathroom habits.

Scary Roommate Scenarios

The Rebel Roommate: Your roommate has a party with out your knowledge. He calls it hanging out with a few people after work at 1 am on a Tuesday. Your neighbor calls security to voice their complaint. Are you at fault? Yes, you’re responsible. Not only are you responsible for the noise and any damages but there is also the chance your landlord could give you notice to move if it is a reoccurring problem. Every tenant has the right to peaceful enjoyment of their home.

Keep in mind some people live in tombs where you can hear the clock ticking. I once had two neighbors feuding over television noise…one was a tomb dweller and the other enjoyed WWF every evening. <sigh> Sometimes it’s difficult to discern peaceful enjoyment…just part of the joy of living with lot’s of neighbors.

The I Don’t Have My Share of the Rent Roommate: What happens when your roommate can’t cough up their part of the rent? Many leases require that anyone over the age of 18 sign the lease. When all parties sign the lease it normally means that you are jointly responsible (Like Marriage) unless there is a specific clause that states otherwise (many college towns may have specific leasing programs designed just for this).

Under normal circumstances, just because you paid your half doesn’t get you off the hook for the other half, the notice to pay rent or quit (eviction notice) will be made out in all names. This includes co-signers.

The I'm Moving Out before the Lease Expires Roommate: So your roommate is in love and can’t wait to move in with her honey. Leaving you high and dry…unless you decide to release your roommate from the contract. Your landlord will also have to agree to the release and normally it will be contingent upon you qualifying to pay the full rent on your own. If your landlord won’t allow it, or perhaps you want to hold your roommate to the deal you have full rights to do so. However, if your roommate doesn’t pay their share each month after moving, you’ll have to come up with it on your own or face eviction proceedings. The upside is that by keeping all of your documentation including rental receipts you will have a very good case in civil court to sue for the monies owed.

TO BE CONTINUED:

There are a ton of other SCARY SCENARIOS when signing a Lease is involved. If you have any questions or Scenarios you’d like to add I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or shoot me an email at Jen@RealtyJen.com

Oklahoma City Home and Garden Show

333 Gordon Cooper St, Oklahoma city, OK 73107 | Website | (800) 466-7469

With more than 400 local and national exhibitors expected, the Oklahoma City Home & Garden Show will be blooming with new, money-saving ideas that visitors can utilize in their own homes and gardens. From HGTV’s “Design on a Dime,” Summer Baltzer will educate show attendees with tips and tricks for the design- and budget-conscious do-it-yourselfers.

Seminar Schedule:
-Summer Baltzer of HGTV's "Design on a Dime" speaks at 2 and 6 pm Saturday and noon and 2 pm Sunday.
-Author and TV personality Sue Whitney will discuss "Junk Beautiful...How to Refresh Your Home Inside and Out, Junk Market Style" at 1, 4 and 7 pm Friday; 1, 3 and 7 pm Saturday and 11 am, 1 and 3 pm Sunday.

There will also be a silent auction at this year's Oklahoma City Home and Garden Show. Oklahoma artists and local celebrities are painting "Doors to a Brighter Future" to benefit Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity. Using inventory from Habitat for Humanity's Renovation Station, interior and cabinet doors will be painted, displayed at the show and sold in a silent auction. Muralist Bob Palmer, University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University sports teams have decorated doors.

Admission is $10 for adults and free for children 12 and under. For a $3 discount, tickets can be purchased online at www.oklahomacityhomeshow.com. For more information about the event, visit the website or call 800-466-7469.

klahoma City is doing well! We’ve heard it again and again…”Oklahoma City is Recession Proof”. Well the proof is in the numbers, while we have had lower numbers in 2009 compared to 2008 it’s to be expected. This year so far in numbers has proven to be nonetheless consistent where Real Estate is concerned. I’ve been getting a lot of questions from naysayers on what will happen when the tax credit goes away. I think most of us agree we hope it is extended because it has been an excellent program and has helped many people purchase a home when they wouldn’t have done so under normal circumstances. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is working very diligently with their lobbying efforts to not only extend the tax credit but to even possibly open the credit up to anyone who purchases a home.

The National Association of Realtors® is calling upon its 1.2 million members to urge Congress to extend the successful homebuyer tax credit into next year.

Since its inception earlier this year, the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit has brought 1.2 million new buyers into the market—350,000 of whom would not have purchased a home without the credit, according to NAR. The credit is due to expire November 30.

“Now is the time for Congress to keep this recovery going by extending the tax credit through 2010 and making it available to more homebuyers. We have all seen how the credit has been a spur to bring homebuyers into the market, and have seen the beginnings of a real recovery in the housing market. Housing has always led this nation out of economic downturns, and can do so again,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Realtors®, the leading advocates for homeownership and housing issues, will be writing to their Senators and Representatives to tell them of the successes with the tax credit thus far and to press them to extend and expand it now.

McMillan added that the market has improved, but it has not yet fully corrected itself. “The credit needs to be available for an additional period of time in order to sustain the progress that’s been made so we can continue to see our markets fully recover. Uncertainty about the future of the credit will dampen consumer demand. The only way we can assure that the progress we've made can continue is to extend the credit and to do that now,” he said.

As the current deadline for the credit looms, potential homebuyers need to complete a contract, satisfy any contingencies, secure financing and go to closing by November 30. In today’s market, NAR estimates that it generally is taking between 45 and 60 days from contract to closing. My personal averages are 30-45 days from contract to closing.

“That means potential homebuyers who qualify must act now, and so must Congress,” McMillan said.

Only 64 Days until the $8,000 Tax Credit ends, one of the highest incentives to purchase a home our country has ever seen…

Voters will head to the polls on April 7 to cast their ballot in the Mustang Public Schools bond election. By using a combination of general obligation and lease revenue bonds, the district will be able to have one bond election that will take care of the needs of the district for the next three to five years. The $58 million bond will be sold in a series stretching over several years, keeping tax levels steady with no increase.

HERE IS YOUR PART!

Most of us who live in the Mustang School district are typically left out of Mustang's voting Matter's because we do not live in the "Voting Square".

This time your vote matters! We can't leave this up to the "Voting Square". This bond issue will only get passed if those of us NORTH of 59th Street go out and vote. Tell your neighbors, tell your friends, tell EVERYONE....April 7th is important for the Mustang School District and the future children of the Mustang School District.

Mustang High School

Approximately $38 million of the bond funds will transform the aging Mustang High School campus, where the average age of the classroom buildings is more than 40 years old, to a facility that meets the standards of a 6A school. New construction, which includes new academic buildings, a media center, cafeteria and commons area, will greatly increase the school's capacity. The new construction will also tie the separate academic buildings together, dramatically increasing the ability to secure the campus.

Bonnie Lightfoot, superintendent, said improvements at MHS have taken a back seat for several years while the district worked to keep up with the student population growth at the elementary level.

"For several years, the Mustang Public School District has been forced to address immediate needs at the elementary level before we looked at the work that needed to be done at Mustang High School," Lightfoot said. "What is necessary at the high school required more funds than we were capable of through general obligation bonds. A combination of lease revenue and general obligation bonds is allowing us to take care of the needs at Mustang High School in a timely manner instead of accomplishing it piecemeal over many years."

The proposed plans call for a two-story academic building to be constructed in front of the Central Building. The more than 79,000 square foot facility would house 28 classrooms and administration offices. It would give MHS a new and visible main entrance. A new and enlarged media center and cafeteria would open onto a new commons area in front of the MHS auditorium. For the first time, Mustang High School would have a visible, secure main entrance, and the classrooms would be under one roof.

A new ninth grade center is also planned. The South Building on the MHS campus would be razed to make room for the new multi-story classroom facility. The ninth grade center would include more than 35 classrooms and move the freshmen back to the high school campus. Administrators made the decision to relocate the freshman after a quality time analysis showed how much instructional time is lost transporting students hourly to the high school campus for classes not available at Mustang Mid-High...continued here

Mustang North Middle School and Mustang Creek Elementary

The bond also includes funds for classroom additions at Mustang Creek Elementary and Mustang North Middle School. Mustang Creek Elementary is nearing capacity and has no extra classrooms. Should the bond issue pass, the additional classrooms at Mustang Creek Elementary will bring the district one step closer to being able to offer all-day kindergarten.

Bonnie Lightfoot, superintendent, said the district put a task force in place three years ago to coordinate the creation of an all-day kindergarten program.

"One of the main hurdles we have faced is finding the space to offer the program. Thanks to the voters, we were able to open Mustang Centennial Elementary in 2007. That made a dramatic difference in the classroom space at the elementary level. Mustang Creek is the only school where classroom space for the program is not available. We will only offer the program when we can offer it at every school and give each child the same opportunity."

The bond would also make it possible to enlarge the cafeteria at Mustang North Middle School. With more than 900 students in the building, six lunch periods are necessary to serve the students.

For more Questions & Answers concerning the Bond Issue visit http://www.mustangps.org/Q&A.html

If you're not registered to vote or need to change your address, you have until this Friday, March 13th to post mark your voter registration form.

Forms can be downloaded at http://www.ok.gov/~elections/voterreg.html or forms are available at every school and at your local tag agency.

YOUR VOTE MATTERS!! PASS IT ON!

Don't miss the Hager House Ladies Event this Saturday from 10am - 5pm! If you love purses, candles, scrapbooking, spa products and other fun things that Ladies love then you'll definitely want to visit this One Day Event tradeshow. There will even be a masseuse there to help you ease into this beautiful weekend.

Drawings for Door Prizes and Booth Prizes will also be held including a free scrapbooking weekend at the Hager House Bed & Breakfast! So get your ladies together and join in on this wonderful event!

This event is a come and go so feel free to stop by to tour the Bed and Breakfast while seeing all the great displays, products and services.

Hager House Bed and Breakfast 619 Hoff Avenue, El Reno

Visit http://www.hagerhousebandb.com/ for a printable online map or for more info on the Bed & Breakfast!