VoiCe the - Canton - Forest Brook Community Homes Association

T he
J une 2008
Your Association
Board Members
Maury Klein
President
397-3385
Chuck Lozen, Jr.
Vice President &
Acting Secretary
397-3897
Terri Dewyer
Treasurer
397-0360
Steve Carson
467-3961
Sherri Carson
564-9986
Greg Gorski
Bruce Koldys
Ione Skaggs
Editor, The Voice
397-9379
ioneskaggs@gmail.com
Newsletter
of the
V oice
F orest B rook C ommunity H omes A ssociation
It’s Summer Again!
Please join the Forest Brook Community for
the 2nd Annual Party in the Park!
When? July 19th at 1:00 p.m.
We’ll have Hamburgers, Hot Dogs,
and Munchies. Soda provided.
There will be games for the kids.
Just bring a dish to pass!
(but please, no alcohol)
Please rsvp no later than
Wednesday July 16th.
For questions and responses, call
Sherri Carson at (734) 564-9986
or email sacgoofnoff@aol.com
Looking forward to seeing you there!
On the Playground
by Sherri Carson
We have made a great deal of progress cleaning
coming to keep the park looking great and taking great
and updating the park. Recently the new play set was
care of it will allow us to make all these nice upgrades
power-washed and stained to make the equipment look
for new equipment. Please let us know if you have any
better; it’s getting great use. There were great steps
suggestions for adding to the park or anything else.
taken to improve the old picnic tables.
If anyone should happen to see anyone
We now own two new steel picnic tables
abusing the equipment in the park, please
Canton
and a new steel garbage can. It looks
feel free to call the police. We have
Public Safety
great! We also removed the very beat up
spoken to them about our problems in the
Non-Emergencies:
backstop on the baseball field and hope to
past and they suggest we contact them if
734-394-5400
replace it in the future as funds become
anything looks not-quite-right. There will
available. The swings have been replaced.
be signs posted for the general associaWe now have four new big swings and four new baby
tion meeting where your comments and suggestions
swings. We are hoping that the improvements keep
can be heard. Hope to see you there.
When A Loved One Passes Away
By Maury Klein
Attorney at Law
The family is devastated, the tears still flow. It
doesn’t seem the time to consider money, property, and
preservation of assets. But your loved one likely valued
the things of this world and carelessness now can rob
the family of things you were meant to have.
First Steps:
• Review and make copies of any Will and Codicils.
(A codicil is an addendum to a will.)
• Does the will name a Personal Representative?
This is the person designated to be in charge and
make necessary decisions.
• Order at least 10 death certificates.
• Review all property and organize into categories:
Land/houses
Bank accounts
Stocks, bonds, T-bills
Cars, jewelry, or other things of value
Any other items of value such as collectibles
If you believe there is a possibility that the family might have some disagreements, consider taking
pictures of the items in the home and having family
members acknowledge in writing that these things are
the property of the Estate.
Make a list and note if the property has two names
already on it such as a joint deed or jointly held bank
accounts. These properties may have transferred
automatically.
If the house is now unoccupied, you need to notify
the insurance agent of this change. It means a jump in
rates but the company could refuse coverage because
you didn’t disclose the change from occupied to empty.
Special Note:
There are ways of “bypassing” Probate altogether
by transferring property but these transfers have ramifications such as tax liability, re-valuation and other
issues. One of the worst I have seen is misuse of the
“joint tenancy with full rights of survivorship” deed.
Speak to an attorney and ask questions like, “What
if we disagree or split up?” before you re-deed your
home or any property using the quote above. Also, regardless of how many properties you have your name
on, you may have only one primary residence for
purposes of choosing a homestead exemption. Also
you may have to file a “Property Transfer Affidavit”
even if you remain the primary owner of the home.
Forest Brook Community Homes Association • P.O. Box 87552 • Canton, MI 48187
Legal “Briefs”
by Maury Klein
Attorney at Law
Because so many people are in trouble as a result of
the mortgage crisis, I felt I had to get this message out.
I also feel compelled to address the matter of the
tax “rebate” paid or coming due for many of us.
First off to those of you who are in difficulty, it may
be possible to seek help from the FHA, but this avenue
is only open to those who have at least 3% equity left
in the home. Equity is the current value of your home
less what you owe on it. So, for those who refinanced
for the full value of the home — or even 125% of the
value — FHA is not an option. Instead, get on the
internet and go to www.michigan.gov/mshda and click
the link that says “Save the Dream.” This may give you
some options you would not otherwise have had.
This is not a rebate but an advance refund of a possible 2008 tax refund. The government is essentially
asking you to go out and spend money in advance to
prop up the economy in the short term without thinking
about your personal situation in the long term.
If your home is in the foreclosure stage, I regret to
tell you that Bankruptcy is not an option. It might slow
the process down but only by a few months. Banks and
other lenders have the right to petition the Bankruptcy
Court to allow the foreclosure process to start again.
Bankruptcy attorneys might suggest it’s the way to go
but if you don’t basically have the money to pay off the
mortgage amount and just need a breather, you would
likely still lose your house.
If you have been foreclosed on, you need to know
that you have a full six months in which to move out.
You do not have to make any payments during this
time and should save money and consider your options.
If you have any chance to do so, you can re-finance
the house and pay off that mortgage and restore your
rights. Don’t be silenced by embarrassment. Get the
facts you need.
We all look forward to our income tax refunds to
help us pay bills and get over any spring shortfalls.
Just imagine that next spring you could really use that
money. Perhaps you’ll even be counting on that refund.
Then will come the news that you got your $1200
refund in 2008 so in 2009 you get nothing or next to
nothing. All because you got a “rebate” in this year.
Do the right thing right now. Bring your property
taxes or mortgage payment up to date if you’re behind.
Pay down the highest interest credit card debt. Put the
money in some secure account where you’ll earn the
highest interest. The Wall Street
notAll!
be sorted
Wemess
Can will
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out for a very long time. Don’t
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 Custom
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 Home Networking (with Shared Files)
before election time.
 Internet Security and Firewalls
Aside from acting as your Homeowner’s
Association
 Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam
President, Maury Klein is a solepractitioner
with offices
Parental Controls
We’ll
repair
your
PC
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home.
in Southfield. Since being licensed
as an attorney in 1985,
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Computer Training,
heComprehensive
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been
elected
Chairman
of the State’s General
 Hardware Upgrades and Printers
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and currently is Editor
“The
General
CompetitiveSection
Pricing: $45/Hour
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Contact us at anytime:
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the Newsletter of that
organization.
His office
Data Backups
716.716.5320 or
phone
is 248-423-9333.
muzecomputers@gmail.com
Visit our website at www.muzehost.com
Forest Brook Community
Homeowners’ Association
now on the Web
http://forestbrookhomes.org
Bruce Koldys, Webmaster
734-578-9345
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We Can Do It All!
 Custom Build Computers
 Windows 95 through Windows Vista
 Home Networking (with Shared Files)
 Internet Security and Firewalls
 Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam
We’ll repair your PC in your home.
Comprehensive Computer Training,
Basic through Advanced
Competitive Pricing: $45/Hour
Contact us at anytime:
716.716.5320 or
muzecomputers@gmail.com
 Parental Controls
 Microsoft Office
 Hardware Upgrades and Printers
 System and Speed Tune-Ups
 Data Backups
Visit our website at www.muzehost.com
Forest Brook Community Homes Association • P.O. Box 87552 • Canton, MI 48187
Special Thanks to
Though it is terribly overdue, on behalf
of the Board and the membership, I’d like to
extend special thanks to Steve Carson and his
staff for taking it upon themselves to clean the
graffiti off the park sidewalk last summer.
Thank you, Steve, for your selflessness,
community-mindedness, and expertise.
CODE OF ORDINANCES
CANTON CHARTER TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN
Property maintenance standards
Article I. Sec 78-2.C(8) Shrub and tree maintenance. All trees and shrubs must be kept trimmed so as not
to encroach upon any public sidewalk or pathway. Clear headroom must be maintained of at least seven feet
zero inches in height.
Article I. Sec 78-2.C(9) Grass height. Grass in all landscaped grass areas shall not be permitted to grow
higher than five inches in height.
Additional information is available at http://www.canton-mi.org/government/ordinances.aspx
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