Recession hit home!!!!!!

[jibbby]

Ruined!!!

Just yesterday my tenant of 15 years, whom runs a used car dealership business out of my property in Los Angeles, Ca. calls me and says he has not sold a car in four months..He says he can no longer pay the $5000 per month in rent until he sells his condo....He is now deliquent on his rent... He is requesting 6 months free rent until his condo sells at which time he will repay all past due money owed.... I have asked him to try and sell the business, he says he has tried already and there were no takers.. He is a good honest Korean man with a family but I may be forced to evict him and I feel so bad about it...I don't know what to do as I see this plan of his as only a temporary fix????....:worried:

To make matters worse my night time Contracting business is now shut down, as major restaurant chains that employeed me such as PF Changs, El Cholo, etc..are cutting back on there monthly operating expenses and now doing in house repairs... I had to let go my employees which was very sad for me...Had this business for 10 years running with no problems....Apparently, restaurant business in the last few months has slowed down too...

Lastly, my credit card companies are reducing all my credit card limits as they see a negative am loan running out on my house in Santa Monica, Ca....I am currently trying to sell it, bad timing as well.....I went from $120,000 in credit limits on 4 cards to now just $50,000 on all... I had excellent credit too with a 750 fica score..

I am now forced to use my retirement savings to pay all bills and mortgage in the mean time, it's draining fast... I am now currently looking for a recession proof job...Interviewing today infact for new employement.. Being a business owner for years to now working for someone isn't the greatest feeling in the world either..

I almost feel like I have been cursed somehow as this has all happened unexpectedly in the past few months... Never saw this coming like this, WOW!!! To think I was just looking at a used Z06 Corvette to buy last month, forget that!!!!

I got my health and my faith and I will be just fine... However, this is definetely the toughest financial time in my life no dought... Just a little bit stressed right now which is a foreign feeling to me....:thumbsdown:

Detroit, Michigan I know exactly how you feel.... Let's keep it positive though and hope Obama and the boys can turn things around maybe...


CURIOUS? IS ANYONE ELSE FEELING THIS RECESSION?

 

[cribbj]

That sux big time John....

The oil industry isn't a bad place for contractors, depending on what your expertise is; it's just tough to break into. Once you're in, the money can be very good, and in some areas, the work can be stable. Surface operations, production, and refining are the most stable areas, and the jobs with the oil companies themselves are more stable (but harder to get) than the contractors.

Too, international work is more recession proof than domestic. I rode through a number of feast/famine swings in the industry from the mid 70's to the late 80's, then went international. I haven't worked in the US in over 17 years except for a small six month stint in 2000, and frankly, I don't miss it a bit. Once the international bug bites, many never go back.

 

[cjsupra90]

Jibbby, yeah there are lots feeling it. I've been out of work since aug. 28th. Never saw it comming either. The company I worked for as a Fabricator / Welder did contract work for Government, Military, Aerospace, and Nuclear Power production. You know its pretty bad when those four areas of possible work have nothing to give to your company for work.

 

[och]

Damn, sorry to hear that man. Don't know what kind of advice to give you on your tenant situation, if he's a honest man and will repay you as he promises, maybe its not a bad idea to let him stay. You will have a hard time finding new tenant nowadays with small businesses going belly up left and right.

As far as getting a job, I wouldn't rush into this. I would try and expand my business into different areas. Also, some of your competition migh hang the gloves in the near future, so you will have more opportunities.

Me, I just couldnt imagine getting a job after being a business owner for a few years. If I had to get a job, it would literally break me inside.

 

[Lextreme II]

John,

I am sorry to hear that. Things are getting tougher not only in the US but globally. Asia is suffering big time. The economy slow down in the US and orders are decrease from China so there are many factories that are closing too. As for me I work for myself and my overhead is very low. I would not be affected too much. Yes perhaps decrease income but not unemploy. My wife has a good job too. She is a pharmacist and has a very stable income. However, we are cutting back on non essentials. Our family have been doing our earthly duty for the past 10 years to God. Our 10% of income still goes to our church and we dont plan to cut that back at all.

However, one of my older brothers works for furniture company and now they downsizing and moving away so my older brother might be out of a job soon. My second brother works for the Circuit City and u know what happen to them. So yes the recession does affect me.

 

[ambermarine]

Hi Jibbby
I have lived through three recessions here in the UK mainly allied to the construction industry service side Scaffolding Temporary site Accommodation rental,I learned pretty quick to get lean and quick and play in as many areas as possible to spread my risk of finding losses or not finding work.I know it sounds easy when all around you is falling down but it gives you a target and takes your mind positive .Hope you give the Korean a chance if you don,t have someone in the place it could get trashed or unisurable so better a devil you know. All the best
Ambermarine.

 

[jibbby]

Thanks for all the friendly replies people, I do feel much better today as I now have a game plan..The initial shock to these types of things weighs heavily on your emotions at first, that is until cooler heads prevail...

I am going to meet with my Korean tenant today and discuss what will work best for him and his business... I use to own a dealership off the same property so I have a good idea on how it all works.. Maybe I can offer some good advise and financial help as well... 3:00pm is our meeting time today and it is 12:00pm now... I really hope we can work something out, he tells me it is getting really bad in Korea aswell where he is currently trying to sell his condo.. It's definetely global now...

John, thanks for the overseas and contracting job advise.. I am 40 years old now and just don't want to break my back all day long working construction... I am currently looking more towards a desk job as I use to work with property management and commercial leasing for 10 years in my early 20's.... The forclosure industry is wide open to now for employment, it figures... I maybe going in that direction for employment....

CJ supra- You got stung too, really sorry to hear that... Just keep it positive and be proactive my friend as I am doing and you will find work..

OCH - I will always be seaking to start another business I just do not have the capital or time right now to try it... A few years from now I will come up with something I am sure..... I am trying to really get excited about getting a job rather then dwelling on the all the negatives... That is best approach I can think for my sanity..I know with a very positive attitude and strong desire to work that will also show up at interview time and most likely land me the job... Sometimes we must swallow our pride...

Going down the list....

Lex/Dave - Fortunately for you, you have choosen a field of work that is pretty much recession proof..Health care is a human need as people will always get old and sick..

I didn't think China is suffering like you say? Wow, that's bad.. Oh, and your smart to continue to tithe like you do, there is something to that... My brother tithe's 10% of income to charity, does very well and always has in a very bad industry and part of the country, Columbus, Mississippi.. He swears by it...

ambermarine - Three resessions? Wow, your like an old war horse... I am definetely guilty of poor financial planning.. I make money and also spend it.. I just never thought this to happen to me as I always believed living LA, California the economy would never start to see bad days.... It appears I was painfully mistaken..... Live and learn.. You better believe I will plan better from this point forward...This is a total eye opener for me...

 

[Zuffen]

JIb,

I've been through too many recessions, I guess that's because I'm old. Hey there have been some great booms as well.

We al forget in the goood times that the bad will come as sure as tomorrow. We all need to be a little more like skwirells (spelling?) and stock up for the bad times.

No recessions are easy to weather and we all suffer to some extent.

The first thing I do is pull in my personal expenditure. It's surprising what you can cut back on without suffering too much. This may not help the world spend its way out of the recession but it saves sleeping on the street.

I'm fine on this recession as I'm retired and can survive a few years on my cash assets without hitting up stocks or real estate.

I wouldn't like to be in any business where people can opt not to spend such as restaurants or motor dealers. You picked to two worst!

 

[Lextreme II]

Jib,

Hope this help. Recession Proof Businesses

 

[jibbby]

Thanks Rod and Dave...

Well, I did have a lengthy discussion with my tenant today to see where his used car business stands.... To my suprise my tenant had the car lot 100% full of nice cars when I pulled up...Totalling more then $800,000 in assets which he the tenant owns outright. Alot of his cars value around the $15,000 to $25,000 range.. Newer Camry's, Merc's, Mini Coopers, and Lexus's too..The business location and consumer interest still thrives in that area.. The dealership is top notch from what I can tell... The problem for used car dealers now in the US is that the dealers can no longer get the easy finiancing for their prospect car buyers... Finiancial lending institutions have simply tightened up big time... Just so happens most people wanting to buy used cars in this price range don't just walk in with $20,000 cash and drive away.. Infact according to my tenant 80-90% of his potential used car buyers do require lending of sorts...... So his nice cars sit in the lot..

Cars simply aren't moving as quickly as before and that is the very reason my car dealer tenant is struggling... Having five kids and 4 employees to support doesn't help matters either...

Anyway, I negotiated down his monthly rental lease 33% for the next four months to see if things pic up for him..... He is determined to make the business work. If he needs to pay me rent with his cars then I said that could possibly be a option I would consider in the future....... I am confident we will work things out one way or another...Time will only tell...

Zuffen you said it best about being prepared for recessions.. As history repeats itself, there will be good times and bad times thru out ones lifetime.... That's a guarantee so one should save accordingly.... Lesson learned..

 

[JamesN]

I got hit real hard as well. I'm in the automotive industries and we are almost at the eye of the storm. My salary got hit pretty hard this year compared to last year income. And I'm very worried about up coming January through March months where my job could be very much affected. I'm cutting back quite on bit on spending and traveling.

 

[jibbby]

Hey James, I thought you were studying to be a doctor or something?... Something with the medical profession...Did I mistaken you years ago, or did you change professions?

What do you do now in the automotive industry? I hope you end up ok James, as I really have nothing but good wishes for you...

 

[stevechumo]

Rainy days, folks... If you can survive through this time, I'd expect the economy will boom again big time. It shouldn't go too much worse than this. It'll get better within several years. And when it gets better, I believe it'll change the beliefs of the world a lot compared to the traditional beliefs. Economy recessions aren't the automatic thing, they're the cycles that are manually done. However, they become the routine and seem to be believed as the automatic thing. The economy cycles "down" or "up" are always matched and affected with the certain activities/actions taken by the governments. And that depends on whose side the goverments are on. That's the balance of power and money. There're other theories about economy recessions, but I think the main thing is as above. Usually, the less powerful countries are affected by the more powerful countries, and the effect becomes globally when we have global trading and commerce.

 

[XR8tt]

This recession has been on the cards for about two years..
It's not so much the spending.. It's the credit card dept..
Or dept in general..
It's not too bad down here.. depends what industry your in??
Car sales are much the same, esp the bigger cars..
Though fuel has dropped from up to $1.70 a litre to around $1.00 litre..
So they should pick up..
The guys who have leased vehicles cannot get out of them without losing around $20k .. Resale has dropped...

 

[Lextreme II]

Gas has been down alot here in the US. I have seen as low as 1.66 per gallon as of yesterday.

 

[stevechumo]

The recession hit my home yesterday. My dad just got laid off just right after he got his Master in psychology last month hoping it'll hold him to that job...uch:

 

[XR8tt]

Who would have thought ..
Honda pulling out of Formula 1 ..
Seems it will be a fire sale! They won't get much in these times..
It's not like Honda are going to supply engines or technology!!

Though?? In these times you'll find smart people make money with the right decisions... Not all of them high paid CEO's either...

 

[Thermactor]

I'm still weathering the recession. I'm a student with zero debt and I'll graduate with no debt, but also no job..

 

[StacytheBloke]

honda out of f1,
suzuki and subaru out of wrc,
china talking about stopping hosting a gp,
seat out of touring car in the uk

motorsport really appears to be being hit hard. What is WRC without subaru?

on i lighter not and luckily for me i am in a recession proof job (i hope) i design medical, petrochemical and polymer lab equipment, luckily people don't stop getting ill in a recession, and thanks to the NHS in the UK the budget on spending is fixed for the next 5 years. Just need to make sure i don't do something silly and get sacked!

 

[jibbby]

I believe credit card debt and easy bank lending in recent past years is the main culprit for this recession... I have a friend with $75,000 worth of credit card debt that he can no longer pay back because he too had to shut down his furniture business and go out of business.... He was considering filing for bancruptcy but decided not too...

The credit card companies are suffering big time right now, because there is really nothing they can do to collect their money owed to them... They can damage your credit rating and keep the debt balance showing for years on your credit reports and that's about it.... Credit card companies usually don't pursue judgements against you in most states, they also cannot harrass you for too long either as you can send a letter saying "don't contact me anymore" and legally they can't, and that includes collection companies hired by the credit card companies themselves....

Also, once you default you can hire a debt consolidation company to assist and negotiate down your total debt with all the creditors..My friend is working with one now called Curadebt, but has to wait three months until all his credit cards go into full collection...At that point the debt consolidation companies can negotiate down the debt with each creditor as much as 60%-70% off the original balance..No interest with very small monthly payments are then agreed upon in writing until the balance is paid off in full.... The kicker is if you agree to this, your credit ratings are not totally destroyed, balances on the credit reports will show them being paid off in full......It's just crazy....

The credit card companies go for this as they know they cannot recieve money back any other way... If they don't agree down the debt balance it basically never gets paid back or even worse bancrupty can be filed and then they lose everything..

Our government and legal systems here in the USA really protects the consumer is so many ways... When my friend explained all this to me I was shocked...

As I said credit card companies have reduced my limits for almost no reason, and I think that is a direct result of many people defaulting on their credit card debts... I also had extremely high limits too..

I am curious as to what the future holds for Credit card companies... We hear alot about home forclosures but not so much about credit card defaulting...