How to Spot a Great Contractor

Hey, here's a question for you. How many contractors does it take to screw in a light bulb? Well, I'll let you know when one of them calls me back.

All right. All kidding aside, in a profession where reputation is everything, most contractors want to do a good job for you. So today, Kingdom Advisors President Rob West has some questions to ask one before hiring one, and then we take your calls at 800-525-7000.

800-525-7000. I'm Steve Moore on the spot, a great contractor. Next, right here on MoneyWise Live. Well, Rob, I want to say we couldn't resist that joke at the top, so we should make it clear that contractors are very busy people and they can't always get back to us right away. Wouldn't you agree?

I would, and I would also say that if you have an email to send, send it to Steve at MoneyWise.org. Those guys carry a lot of heavy tools on their belt, so I try to stay away. That's right, exactly right. And let me just say, most contractors, I would agree, are hardworking, honest people, and we would hope that especially applies to our Christian brothers and sisters who do contracting work. That's right, and we want to be able to spot them, so I understand you have a list of questions, or at least a few questions for us, that we might want to ask first, huh?

Well, that's exactly right. The first thing we would want to ask for is a list of recent references. Two or three should do it for most people. If you get positive feedback from folks who've hired the individual within the last few months, well, you can be confident about the answers to all of the questions. And the next question is, Steve, how long will it take you for you to complete the work? You want to get an idea of where you land on their list of priorities. Most contractors have more than one customer at a time. That's the nature of the business. A great contractor will give you a realistic timetable for getting the job done.

That's right, and that's important. Okay, what else do we ask a prospective contractor? That would be, who do you work for?

Now, hopefully a Christian contractor would say, well, I work for the Lord, but at the very least, you want a contractor who says, I work for you, of course. The answer will tell you a lot about the individual. All right, I would never have thought to ask that. Good question.

All right, what's next? Well, that would be, how much experience do you have doing this particular job? If a contractor specializes in laying carpet, let's say, expecting them to do a good job installing a hardwood floor might be asking too much, depending upon their area of expertise. Okay, I can see that. Ideally, you want someone who's done the work many times. And again, those references will come in handy. But on the other hand, Rob, everyone has to start somewhere.

You know, if we insist on hiring only those who've been in business for 20 years, how are the new guys and girls going to get a start? I guess that's true. Yeah.

But when it's your home and your job, well, you probably want some experience. Okay. All right.

What's next on your list? Well, this next one is crucial, Steve, if you're having electrical or plumbing work done. And the question, of course, is, are you licensed and bonded? The answer has to be yes, you'll want to see proof of that. All right, no argument there.

All right. What's our next thing to ask a contractor? Well, next is, will you give me a detailed estimate? You see, you want the individual to explain in the what's in the estimate and why it's needed. For example, if new equipment is being installed, like a furnace or a water heater, ask about the particular make and model and why it's the best choice. A great contractor takes pride in submitting a comprehensive estimate and explaining why it's competitive. You want to get two or three estimates from different contractors and keep in mind that a very low estimate could mean that the work will suffer.

Here's another one, Steve. How important are details to you? For example, how does that new hardwood floor transition to the carpet in the hallway? Is it the same height? If not, how will you account for that? New work will always have to mesh with existing materials. So you want your contractor to take things into account like that. Okay, hadn't thought of that one either.

All right. Anything else before we have to hit our break here today? Yeah, I would say the next one is, will I be able to live here while the work is done? If the contractor has to use power tools, for example, and you have a toddler who needs a nap, well, that might be a problem. You may want to consider staying with the in-laws while the work is done. I would also ask who's responsible for the cleanup. Where will the workers take their lunch break?

Do you expect bathroom privileges? You want to work out those details with your contractor upfront, especially during these COVID times where you want to understand how they're protecting themselves and your family at the same time. Okay, we'll come back and chat some more about this. If you're a contractor and you'd like to weigh in, well, we'd love to hear from you. 800-525-7000.

800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live. Money and life run on the same track. But unfortunately, sometimes it seems like your money is heading in a different direction from your goals. In Never Enough, Three Keys to Financial Contentment, author Ron Blue helps you to break down all your financial options to a basic four and then shows you how to keep it all chugging along in the right direction on the same track.

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Good to have you with us today. It's MoneyWise Live with Rob West. I'm Steve Moore, and here on this program, well, we talk about God's view of how you manage your money, whether it's giving, saving, buying, saving for college, buying a car, buying a house. Maybe it's giving and generosity, setting a lifestyle. Well, the Bible talks about all those things and much, much more. So give us a call today if we can help you, if you have any thoughts or comments in that regard, 800-525-7000.

Rob, any final thoughts? Because I know between the two of us, we've probably hired all sorts of contractors. I mean, in the past year, we hired someone to work in our kitchen, we had someone replace a dishwasher, I hired people to cut down some huge trees, I hired a roofer to replace our entire roof. All those people, I think, would fall under the heading of contractors. And God bless you if you find a good one and an honest one, even an auto mechanic. If you can find someone who does their job is unto the Lord and they're honest, boy, write their name down on your list and treasure it with your heart. Yeah, the last contractor I hired, Steve, was as a result of a 90-foot tree that ended up in my backyard that did not originate in my backyard during a tropical storm that found its way into Atlanta.

But yeah, that was fun. No, I would just say, though, perhaps the last question, Steve, that I didn't mention a moment ago is, what payment will you need to start the work? You know, a great contractor won't need all of the money upfront, but it's not unusual for a contractor to ask for some payment before beginning the work. It might be necessary to purchase materials, for example, usually half of the total amount or less. And you know, especially right now, you know, a lot of the raw material costs are going through the roof. Wood is a lot more expensive now. Concrete. A lot of people are doing home renovations right now during the pandemic because they can't travel, so they're redirecting money into home improvement. Well, that's causing a lot of these raw materials to skyrocket, and some contractors are able to buy more upfront, all the materials they'll need for the whole job and save you some money.

So those kinds of things, I think, are really key to understand. Okay, I like it. Again, our phone number, if you have a question today for Rob West, anything financial, 800-525-7000. Let's begin by going to Tampa. Hey, John, are you a former contractor or something in the contracting field? Well, I am retired as a former material supplier to contractors. They were my major customer base in the mechanical insulation business, but I have a couple of suggestions of some other questions that potential clients might ask a contractor if I may share those with you. And they both have to do principally with the financial viability of the contractor. Customers really don't know what kind of shape a contractor is in until they do a little investigation.

It's very difficult to do. But one suggestion I have, which I did myself when I had a roofing job, was call the major local suppliers and ask them for a reference of contractors who pay their bills. Those are going to be the most reliable and those ones who won't have, and this is the second stage of the suggestion, won't have the material supplier file a notice to owner, which can potentially place the client in double jeopardy for payment. Now, the lien laws differ from state to state. But in Florida, we have what's called a notice to owner. So that's a very good question to ask whether the supplier will be filing a notice to owner. Interesting.

I love it. That's really helpful. And obviously, you've been on the other side of this equation. So you know a little bit about how this works as you've navigated this industry. Anything else, John, that comes to mind before we let you go? No, there's two helpful suggestions other than to say thanks very much for putting your program on the air.

It's very, very reliable information. I appreciate you guys doing that. Well, thank you for your call today. Yes, sir.

God bless you. John, what are you doing now? Are you in this business at all any longer, John? I mean, do you have a hammer at least? Well, I'm a part time consultant, if that tells you a lot.

I'm 70 years old now and my wife and I are trying to enjoy our retirement. But I find it difficult after almost 40 years in the business just to walk away from all my contractor friends. So I get calls all the time and help them out when I can. I love it. John, God bless you. Thanks so much for your call today. Thanks, guys.

Bye-bye. I love talking to these guys. You know, they know so much. You know, whether it's plumbing or whatever, I just stand amazed because as you know, I'm a regular visitor to my local hospitals as I attempt one project after another and then I end up having to give blood or they take blood or dress a wound or something like that.

So I'm always, you know. You're the guy who grabbed hold of 220, right? Was that the shock that you got?

Yeah, 220 in one hand, 220 in the other. And I was working on plumbing and electrical all at the same time. And those two things do not mix. You know that oil and water analogy? Yes, yes.

Yeah, well, plumbing and electrical, those don't mix either. Kent, Ohio. Hello, Susan.

How can we help you? Yes, I'm a teacher and I'm able to retire this year and trying to make a decision. I can choose a joint survivor annuity and get $6,600 a month or I can choose to do a plop like a lump sum and take half of the money and invest it. And just wondering how to make that decision.

Yeah, very good, Susan. So you're referring to the plop distribution, which is the partial lump sum option plan for a teacher's retirement. And so, yeah, this is that classic question of, do I take the annuity, the monthly income stream or that lump sum? In one case, you have a guaranteed stream of income, as you said, Susan, with survivor's benefits, meaning your spouse would continue to earn that beyond your life. Or do you take then the risk of the full amount, which gives you access to the full amount of the funds if you needed to tap them for other reasons, but you bear then the weight of the responsibility of converting that to an income stream. And, you know, for all intents and purposes, that means investing it and with that comes risk.

But you also have the principal balance as well that you can work with if you need it. Tell me what you said the monthly payout was going to be. So if I do leave it with the retirement system, it would be $6,638 a month. The option, I can't do a full plop, I can do 50%. And then I would, in that way, I would still get like 81% of the monthly, but I would have 50% to invest.

And what would that be? Have they said what that number is? I would have $5,375 a month, and then I'd have $254,000 to invest. Okay, $254,000. So if we take that $254,000 and we were just to try to earn 4% a year, you know, that would throw off about $10,000 a year in income, where you would hopefully not have to touch the principal at all. And if we take that into a monthly amount, that's $850 a month.

And then what did you say they were going to give you on the monthly payout? If you take the 50%? $5,375. Okay, so if you take $5,000... So like annually, it would be $15,000 less annually. Okay, but if we add the roughly $846 to the $5,375, now you're at $6,221. So you're still 400 short, but you've also got about a quarter of a million dollars that you've got access to, if you needed the funds, which I think gives you the best of both worlds. Because, you know, if you needed to tap them a major expense, unexpected medical situation, or down the road, you needed in-home care or something like that, you've got access to these funds, and you've got nearly the same amount of income coming in, the majority of it being guaranteed monthly, the other portion as a result of a conservative income-based investment portfolio.

So I kind of like that option. How does that roughly $6,600, or in my case, $6,200, square with what's needed to cover your monthly expenses? It's adequate, yeah.

And my husband will still, is a teacher as well. So yeah, it's adequate. And as you and he talk and pray about this, are you leaning one direction or another? Initially, I was leaning towards leaving it there for the security. But as I've asked for godly counsel, you know, it seems like it's wise or prudent financially to go the other route. So Yeah, yeah. Well, the thing, yeah, the thing I like about it, Susan, is, I mean, obviously, you want to have peace of mind, you're the steward of God's money that has been entrusted to you, and your husband is one flesh.

And so you all need to prayerfully consider this decision and make it together. But I like the option of you having access to these funds, again, for unexpected reasons, but also having the guarantee of, you know, just about 1300 dollars shy of what you would have had, because you'd still have 53, roughly $5,400 a month coming in. And I think you won't have much trouble converting that lump sum amount to an income stream with a prudent investment portfolio that really is equivalent to what you would have received each month, but with the benefit of the access to the principal. So I think perhaps your next step, Susan, is to visit with some financial professionals in your area. If you don't already have one, I'd go to our website moneywiselive.org, click find a CKA and interview two or three in your area, get them to run these scenarios.

Because if you do the partial, you're going to need a trusted investment advisor to invest this for you with the purpose of generating the income you need on a monthly basis. Susan, we're glad you called today. Thank you so very much. We have to pause for another break.

We'll be right back. This is MoneyWise Live. You probably have a strategy for your finances, your career, even your retirement. But do you have a strategy for your giving? At the National Christian Foundation, we can help you create a giving strategy to inspire your family, maximize your resources and leave a lasting legacy of faith.

To learn how visit moneywise.org slash ncf. The financial wealth you leave behind could be the best thing that ever happened to your loved ones, or the worst. In splitting heirs, giving your money and things to your children without ruining their lives. Ron blue explains why it's important to make these decisions now instead of forcing your heirs to do it later. Splitting heirs will foster a real appreciation for the precious resources that God has entrusted to you.

And it's available when you click the store button at money wise live.org. Hebrews 4-12 says, For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword. Here's Beth Moore with a quick word. Holiness is not just one of God's attributes. Holiness is in every attribute he's got. He has he has holy love. He is the holy justice. He is holy and everything he does. So it is not one attribute. It's in every attribute he's got.

So listen to this. He further argues that power without holiness would degenerate into cruelty. Omniscience without holiness would become craft. Justice without holiness would degenerate into revenge. Goodness without holiness would be passionate and intemperate fondness doing mischief rather than accomplishing good and freedom without holiness mere license. It is the holiness of God that constitutes the perfection of all his attributes that his position and his practice are always identical.

One never veers from the other. I've got to know that we've said before and I think it's an important thing to hear and I think it's an important thing to say. God is not messed up. You know, we just live in such a messed up world and I've been messed up. I've been messed with.

You have to. But we get we very often will somehow transfer to God something based on the activity of man that could not be further from the true attributes and holiness of God. God is not having emotional problems. You've been listening to Beth Moore with today's quick word. Beth is excited to announce now that faith has come a study of Galatians is available as an online experience or as a printed workbook edition.

Grab your copy today at BethMoore.org. You know, I'm not sure about air conditioning and plumbing and things like that but if you need a budget contractor around here some people refer to them as budget coaches. We can help you with that. Just visit our website MoneyWiseLive.org and not only will you find an easy way to connect with a budget coach but also a way to connect with a certified Kingdom advisor in your area. They both do similar kinds of things but if you need some help with your actual investments that's where a certified KA in your area would help.

If you need help with basic things like budgeting and you know looking at your spending and learning out or learning how to determine how much is coming in and how much is going out well in that case you need a budget coach and you can find both of them when you visit our website MoneyWiseLive.org. All right let's move along Murfreesboro Tennessee. Hello Wayne I understand you are a contractor huh? 43 years I'm just getting started yes. What kind of a contractor Wayne? Well I have developed and built numerous subdivisions, single-family, townhomes. I built office parks, office condominiums and I had the wonderful privilege that I built a moody radio station in Smyrna Tennessee for Nashville 91.7. I built it 20 years ago.

Nice job. I love moody radio and I think your topic today is so timely and I have just a few ideas to give you that I think would be helpful toward consumers. Okay you have the floor Wayne.

Words are words are interesting because sometimes when we use a word it can have more than one meaning. When you use the word contractor and I was listening to you guys talk you were having a pretty big bowl of things for a contractor but if we would think of it this way many people call my office and need something and they don't need a contractor they need a subcontractor. They need a handyman. They need someone to replace their floor covering. They have an electrical issue but they don't need a general contractor they just need someone that can do the work. I would ask for more sizable jobs because you could think in terms of additions, remodeling and new construction. Those generally would have a contractor that would be like a general contractor. He takes on the whole job, he hires the subcontractors, he does the work. One thing I would ask them is do you belong to the Better Business Bureau? The Better Business Bureau is a great avenue to keep a sterling reputation with and I can tell you if somebody doesn't like what you do and if you're not able to come to an agreement and they file a complaint a good contractor will do everything he can to get that resolved.

What you got is most people in these kind of jobs are good guys and they're trying to beat people but then you get a few folks in here who are rascals and they give everybody else a bad name for what they're doing. So I think the idea of do I need a subcontractor or a contractor? Use the word that people are really confused about that's licensed and bonded. If you're a general contractor and that would be if you need a small job or a handyman you won't have to pull a permit. The question is do I have a job that requires a building permit or is it just a small something that doesn't change anything structurally so I could use a handyman?

Yes. Okay well you've given us a real education here today Wayne and this is really helpful. You know I'm thinking of it in terms of for instance if you needed a new roof people would say well you need a roofing contractor.

What we're really talking about there is a subcontractor because that's the individual who's going to do the actual work or company versus as you said a general contractor which would be typically a much larger job who's coordinating the whole project and hiring the subs underneath the general contractor. So that's great and the distinction there on whether or not a permit is needed related to licensed and bonded is really helpful. So man Wayne you've been really encouraging today and helpful to us. We appreciate your call. Hey Wayne.

Program trying to listen to it as much as I can. All right we appreciate that Wayne and thank you for your hand in building the station in Nashville. Last time I checked it was still standing.

No leaks in the roof. Yes it is. I mean you killed it buddy. You killed it. We're glad you called today. Thanks very much.

Okay. All right well that was Wayne from Murfreesboro and he did a wonderful job on one of our stations and for that we thank him and we thank God. Hey we're gonna pause here for a brief break then we'll come back and chat with Lynn, Nancy and Jesse and maybe you too 800-525-7000. If you have money in a retirement account or just a general investing account you know the stock market can sometimes be like a rollercoaster but it is possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind in investing no matter what's happening in the market. You can see a short video webinar on that topic at soundmindinvesting.org. Since 1990 sound mind investing has sought to offer financial wisdom for living well.

soundmindinvesting.org. Christian Health Care Ministries enables believers to meet their health care costs affordably biblically and compassionately. It's not insurance but a voluntary cost sharing ministry based on the biblical example of Christians sharing each other's needs and members aren't fined under the law for not having health insurance. Christian Health Care Ministries might be your health cost solution. Call 800-791-6225 or visit chministries.org. It's been lingering in your mind for the past few months.

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That's moodyjobs.org. Well most of us aren't Bible study geniuses. That's why Moody publishers created the everyday Bible commentary series. Daniel, Isaiah, Acts, Romans and Revelation. Every commentary brings you important historical background, insights from the original language, help with difficult passages. The everyday Bible commentary series for people like you.

More at moodypublishers.com. Siri I need some help. What's up? Well sometimes I feel like I can't get a handle on my money. I mean where does it all go? Hmm it sounds like you need the MoneyWise app. It's a free app that will help you plan your budget and track your spending. Like the three dollars you spend every morning on coffee.

Well not every morning. You'll also get access to free biblical financial advice. Sounds awesome. Let's do it. Okay searching for MoneyWise on the App Store.

Learn more at app.moneywise.org. With SRN News, I'm John Scott. Democrats say the House will consider the impeachment of President Trump on Wednesday, one week after riots in the nation's capital. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Democrats on a call that members should plan to return to Washington on Tuesday evening to consider a House resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke a constitutional authority to remove Trump from office. That resolution is expected to pass but Pence is unlikely to act.

Hoyer says the House will then consider impeachment on Wednesday. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signing a bill that gives the state a new flag that has a magnolia and that no longer carries the Confederate battle emblem. On Wall Street today stocks closing lower the Dow dropped 89 points the NASDAQ off 165 and the S&P fell 25. This is SRN News. Taking your phone calls today toll free 800-525-7000. I'm Steve Moore over there. That guy he's your financial contractor Rob West, Chicago, Illinois. Hi Lynn what's your question?

Hi I just have a quick question. I don't know if you guys can answer it but I've been divorced for about 20 years now and I've had a couple people tell me if my ex-husband should pass which he has not would I be would I have any input into getting any other Social Security? You know. Well Lynn were you married for at least 10 years?

Yeah. Okay yeah so a divorced spouse may be eligible to collect Social Security based on the spouse's work record as long as the marriage lasted for 10 years and then the divorced spouse has to be at least 62 years old and of course not remarried and then if the requirements are met the divorced spouse can get as much as 50% of the former spouse's benefits. Now that wouldn't be in addition to your own Social Security the Social Security administration would give you the greater of the two that you qualify for but again if long as you're 62 not remarried at least 10 years married prior to the divorce then yes you could claim spousal benefits. Do you have your own benefits coming though?

Yes I do. Okay so you might have more and I'm just the other part is he remarried so does that put a glitch in things? That doesn't. No it's whether or not you remarried but keep in mind you're as a spousal benefit it's only 50% of his benefits so it could be that even though his are higher yours still may be higher than his when you factor in you'd only be entitled as a spouse to 50% does that make sense? Yeah but with the new wife would I be putting that 50% with the new wife then or what?

No no no no that's your benefit has nothing to do with his marital status in that his new wife it's all about your situation if you don't remarry then you are entitled to 50% as a as a spouse or in this case a former spouse but again they will look at your own benefits to see which is higher and you'll get the greater of the two. Okay thank you very much. Okay very good Len thank you for calling God bless you. 800-525-7000 we have open lines if you'd like to call in and chat with Rob West today about anything financial now is a great time to try to get through.

Cleveland Ohio hello Nancy how are you today? Oh fine thank you my question is my niece she has a lot of medical bills which she was in the hospital and she had no insurance coverage at that time she incurred a lot of medical bills and other bills and I'm looking for consumer credit counseling for her that will consolidate her bills that sure have one low monthly payment. Yeah yeah it's a great question Nancy I know you mentioned she's got some medical bills does she as a result of that situation did she amass some credit card debt along the way as well?

No I'm just thinking that some I know no the answer is no. Okay because credit counseling may or may not be applicable here I mean certainly they can work with medical debt but where it's most effective is with credit card debt what you'll find is with medical debt they're very willing to work with you to set up them a monthly payment you know in some cases it involves interest in other cases it does not whereas the credit card companies typically you're going from a high rate to a pre-negotiated credit counseling lower rate and that's where the real benefit comes in but it's still worth a phone call we've partnered with Christian credit counselors they've been doing this for a long long time staffed entirely by believers they're very reputable as a non-profit credit counseling agency and that is the way to go if you're going to consider you know looking at you know bringing it all into one monthly payment keep in mind this is not a consolidation loan there's not a new debt that's taken out that brings all of this debt together in one they simply allow you to make one payment because you're paying to them and then they distribute it based on their negotiated amounts and rates but you may find that it's not effective and they'll tell you this so it's still worth a phone call but given that she's really you know doesn't have any credit card debt to speak of but the next step is for you to visit their website and reach out to them it's christiancreditcounselors.org. Nancy god bless you thanks so much for calling us today uh Dalton Georgia Jesse what's your situation and how can we help? Well I'm uh 61 uh 362 the end of this year and I had a mobile home on some property and sold the mobile home off of the land and kept it and bought an additional acre and was you know we're looking at building a house on that property and uh was considering using my 401k or a lot of it to do that with as opposed to getting a loan at the bank now the banker suggested that I use the 401k as opposed to incurring interest and closing costs and all that and having a payment uh and I wanted to see what your thoughts on it was and also what do you think about the tax rate now income tax rate as opposed to maybe towards the end of the year when I or the early next year when I would actually pull the money out. Yeah yeah very good uh I'm not a big fan of this approach Jesse but let me ask you a couple of questions are you still working?

Yes. Okay and how long do you plan to continue to work? Uh probably at least until the early part of 22 maybe own into it until I make $18,000 if I'm already signed up to uh draw social security. Okay have you done a retirement budget basically projecting what your expenses are going to be each month in retirement?

No not really but my wife she still works and I'll be insured under her employer which is actually the same we have the same employer but she'll still be working. All right yeah I think the thing I want you to look at is really understanding what is your retirement picture going to look like financially uh on a monthly basis what is your budget uh hopefully your expenses you know are modest I like the fact that you're completely debt-free although we're looking potentially at taking on a mortgage at this point but I want you to understand what those monthly expenses are both fixed and discretionary meaning the things you get bills for in the mail as well as the spending you do outside of that you know eating out and buying some clothes every now and then and you know those things that are truly discretionary and then I want you to compare that with the income sources you know you'll have social security your spouse's ongoing income for however long she is working and then beyond that you know what else do you need to try to make up because really what we would typically want to do with that 401k is let it grow as long as you can and then at some point roll it to an IRA and convert it to an income stream you know we would typically use around four percent a year of whatever that balance is if it's managed properly that you should be able to throw off in the form of income without ever impacting the principal balance and hopefully that income stream plus social security plus any other retirement income you have coming in will more than offset what you need for your budget and I think that's really the driver here the downside of using the 401k for the house is that you're going to pay all that tax up front so you're going to pay you know a hundred percent of that withdrawal is going to be taxable which is going to be a pretty big bill which makes this fairly expensive money to get access to because you're going to take a pretty big haircut rather than you borrowing working that into your budget and then moving forward from there but I think the next step is to get a handle on that budget before you make a decision so I would encourage you to go there next and if our budget coaches can help just visit them at our website MoneyWiseLive.org once you know that then give us a call back. Jesse thank you very much for your phone call today you're listening to MoneyWise Live with Rob West here's our phone number 800-525-7000 we'll be back with more after this. If the heavy burden of debt is robbing you of freedom and peace of mind Christian credit counselors can help. We're a nationwide non-profit credit counseling organization that has helped over 300,000 individuals in the last 27 years get out of credit card debt 80 percent faster while honoring that debt in full. To learn how Christian credit counselors can help you visit christiancreditcounselors.org that's christiancreditcounselors.org or call 800-557-1985. 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uh a family friend got behind in our mortgage in july of august their last year um and uh so right now it's in collections and they have told her she has to pay twenty four hundred dollars um or it'll go into foreclosure and she has to pay it by the 17th um and she right now she has eight hundred dollars so she still needs sixteen hundred dollars by then so i wanted to find out um how does that work is there anything she can do so it won't get foreclosed yeah yeah well keep in mind kathy and i appreciate you checking on her behalf you know under normal circumstances you can typically miss four payments before the foreclosure process begins but it does depend on a number of factors including the lender's particular policies and the housing market during the coronavirus pandemic the federal government protected mortgages insured by the federal housing authority or backed by fannie may or freddie mac against foreclosure for an additional 60 days beyond that but during that pre-foreclosure period they do give the homeowner in arrears time to get caught up on the loan or work out foreclosure avoidance like what's called a mortgage modification where if she can demonstrate or they can demonstrate the hardship that resulted in their situation they may be able to to work it out by reducing the monthly payment or taking an amount that was in arrears and putting it on the back end and modifying the loan because keep in mind the lender doesn't want to go through foreclosure it's expensive and you know it'll result in them collecting less than they would have if they can work something out so you know the other option is what's called a short sale where they agree to take what it's worth even if the selling price is going to leave them with a deficiency balance meaning it's sold for less than they owe on it but the the lender agrees to to accept that because that'd still in some cases be higher than what they might get if it's sold by auction um so auction um in terms of where they go from here you know i think perhaps that 2400 number um you know is the amount needed to avoid starting foreclosure at this point and that's typical of what would be communicated and they typically have a deadline for paying that so i think at this point it really comes down to first what is their ability to pay moving forward what what led to this situation was there a loss of a job is there enough you know monthly income right now that if they could work something out to get monthly payments going again they have the ability to do that or has something changed that really is not going to allow them to get current even if the loan were to be modified that's kind of the first situation is understanding where they're at financially and then second opening up that conversation to begin that process of seeing if there's a way to work out foreclosure avoidance like a loan modification or a short sale if they're willing to just let go of the property um is that helpful was there something specific though beyond that you were you were wanting to understand well um she had mentioned that that the collection said it was because i i was just wondering if if they could move that date or if she would pay the 800 she made it sound like if she paid that 2400 that um then she was paid up until next month but but she mentioned a breach of uh some kind of breach of i thought his breach of contract but i don't think that's the word she used um yeah okay well it's all about communication with these so i would just encourage you to encourage her to go back to them and just be real transparent about where she's at and see if she can't work out in this case it sounds like a loan modification would be helpful perhaps taking what's in arrears putting it on the back end of the mortgage and then seeing if she can get current as long as she has the ability to stay current you don't want to work out a modification and then fall behind again she needs to get on a plan that she has a reason good reason to believe she can continue with so i just encourage her to go back to them see if she can uh you know explain what the situation is and work out a plan moving forward that she can actually comply with because again keep in mind they don't want to foreclose if at all possible and so i would hope especially as it gets closer and closer to this deadline that they would be willing to work with her rob what about the body of christ in a scenario like this is this where the local church might be able to step in or might want to step in and if so are there any dangers to be wary of in a situation like that yeah i think the key is just to do it in the right way as you know if uh if this person is a part of a local church that would be a great opportunity for a benevolence ministry to step in but you know a good male benevolence ministry is going to want to know what is the situation that led to this is there a workable plan moving forward will this money that's uh you know put down to bring this mortgage current you know actually help to move her forward or is she going to be in the same situation 30 days from now so yes i think this is a great opportunity for the body of christ but to do so in a way that's wise and not just postponing the inevitable we want to work toward real solutions right and the same thing uh would be true kathy if you're personally thinking of uh giving her the money now if it's a loan that would be different than if uh it's an actual gift and so you'd want to be really clear about that a gift or a loan and whichever put it in writing so that there's no confusion down the line only say that because we've seen confusion in situations like this many times in the past and you'd hate for it to go in that direction but we appreciate your generous heart and your phone call today thanks very much illinois diane what's on your mind yes hello thank you first of all thank you for taking my call sure um well my neighbor who we exchanged a lot of stuff so he says miss diane listen i want you to go online to fidelity and register to be a broker because i know you need some money he's going to help me invest right so i went online because he was with fidelity with his job or whatever and i tried to open up a broker's account but it said i already had a broker's account yeah so i um um it's sad for me to call the 1-800 number i called away 1-800 number this morning i'm so glad that i turned the radio on um and it said uh the guy the young man said that um so i asked him i said well you know what i need my username and my uh password so he says well okay um give me all the jobs that you've ever worked for so i started giving him well unfortunately my husband my first husband was in the military so we traveled for like the first 12 years of my life then i was separated but anyway he wasn't able to find he said he wasn't able to find anything and um his supervisor came on and said well what we're gonna do is close out this old account and i told him no sir i said because um i really feel like there's some money somewhere for me there with fidelity um i had moved out of state uh for around about seven or eight years and it could have gotten lost because you know you move out you come back you're not even at the same address so i was wondering is there some way that i could find uh how uh what account that i have because what they want to do is close out the other account i swear do i have any money in there yeah well i think i think the next the first question diane is i mean this should be very simple uh you know all they would have to do is put in your social security number and up would uh come up on the screen any brokerage accounts you had at their institution and then it's just a matter of confirming your identity as being the one to that actually has the name on the account because every you can't open a brokerage account without a social security number and that social security number is linked to that account whether it's a retirement account a taxable account whatever it is and then once they have it up on their screen it's just as simple as you know what information they need from you to verify your identity so they can give you information on that account as soon as you identify the account then you'll want to ask for them to send you a statement so you can see what is the balance what is the history on the account when was the last activity and then you can decide how to proceed closing the account with a zero balance taking a withdrawal to close out the account and they send you a check because there's actually a balance there so I think what you need to do is perhaps just go to the fidelity main fidelity website get the customer service number and just say listen I tried to open an account I couldn't I don't want the web department I just want you to look up my to see if I have any accounts there you know by my social security number and you know once you do that I think you should be able to proceed I'm not sure why they were asking you all these questions and then not telling you what the what the balance was it sounds like there was some confusion you could also go and look for the asset search websites that are out there one of them is called unclaimed.org unclaimed.org and basically what these sites do is they will go out and look for unclaimed financial accounts that have balances and if you believe you may have some accounts out there a site like this one or any number of others could do that search for you to look for these balances on these stale accounts that are dormant but have not been claimed and and that could be another way to go about this but I'd go back to fidelity one more time see if they can do a search by your social security number. Diane we wish you the best with that thank you very very much and it's amazing when you find out how many people have millions of dollars out there in the ether that really is that really is lost and those some of those websites do a really good job of connecting people with their money but we could probably do an even better job if we'd be more detailed in our own finances and things like that and now that we're online these days in some some cases that makes it even easier right Ralph? Well that's exactly right to be able to find these and be able to act on them it really does make it more simple. Thanks Ralph. Hey MoneyWise Live this program is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media thanks so much for joining us today for listening in if you don't mind tell a friend and then come back and join us again tomorrow for a brand new edition of MoneyWise Live.