My finance view

Marriage break-ups can be tense. And when divorcing couples sell their homes, it’s buyer, agent and everyone else beware.

There are about one million divorces a year in the United States and in most cases, there’s a home that needs to be sold. That can mean great bargains, because couples divorcing — like those in foreclosure — are often among the most motivated of sellers, willing to accept offers below market value.

Still, house hunters may well pay the price in terms of aggravation and time when working with these sellers.

Buyers must wade through the venom generated by the divorce. Often, one spouse is anxious to sell while the other tries to sabotage the deal — either out of spite or an unwillingness to end the marriage.

"Most of my divorcing clients dislike each other very much so navigating the transaction can be tricky," said Scott Weeda, a Seattle-based real estate agent who specializes in divorce.

In other cases, one spouse may delay signing off just to aggravate the ex. Other times, one party may want to maximize the profits while the other just wants to get out.

"In many cases, the joint ownership is the only remaining tie that connects couple selling," Weeda said. "They sometimes want to cut that ASAP."

Buyers may find themselves in agreement on a deal with one spouse until the other vetoes the deal. Sometimes, buyers don’t even know there’s a problem until the last minute.

Charles Vallis, a Massachusetts-based agent for discount broker Redfin, had a recent sale in which his buyers went to contract and had a closing date, but then the wife in the divorce disappeared.

"She was nowhere to be found for the last few days before closing," said Vallis. "The day before, their attorney notified us that they might not be able to close because the wife was unreachable faxless payday advance."

One of the buyers, Megan McGuire, who works in public relations for a large law firm, said she "floored" by this. "We thought it was really reckless on her part."

She and her husband, Josh Ledeen, had already given notice at their rental and had made a date with the movers. "We would have been out on the street," said McGuire.

Vallis kept leaving messages for the wife and calling her attorney, who couldn’t reach her either. Luckily, her husband was anxious to sell. He even changed the locks before the final walk-through because he feared his wife might damage the interior.

After days of desperately trying to contact the wife, the sellers’ attorney finally got a call back and read her the riot act about the legal consequences of breaching the contract. The sale closed on time — but the agitation cost the buyers sleepless nights.

To try and avoid these situations, Randy Morrow, an Arlington Va.-based real estate agent who represents divorcing couples, tells potential buyers to find out early whether a divorce is acrimonious.

"Then, there’s a very good chance the settlement will not happen on schedule," he said. "Buyers should talk to their agents about placing protective language in the offer. If a case is really nasty, I would tell my clients to run."

Carol Ann Wilson, an expert in divorce financial planning, also advises house hunters to delve deeper into the sellers’ backgrounds if the sale involves a divorce.

"If buyers find that both parties haven’t signed off on the selling agreement," she said, "buyers should back off. The deal could be easily derailed." 

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, raised prices on hundreds of toys this month, squeezing more out of sales during the biggest shopping period of the year.

Wal-Mart managers in the U.S. received instructions to mark up an average of 1,800 types of toys per store, according to a company e-mail dated Nov. 30 obtained by Bloomberg News. The e-mail didn’t disclose specific increases. The prices were changed “to better enable your store and the company to have a successful financial month,” according to the e-mail.

The directive from Wal-Mart, which has 3,800 U.S. stores, told managers to do the markups as soon as possible. The move may help Chief Executive Mike Duke fulfill his October prediction that sales in U.S. stores open at least a year will be positive this quarter, after six straight drops.

“In previous years Wal-Mart has come out and hammered everyone with unbelievably low toy prices,” said Eric Johnson, director of the Center for Digital Strategies at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H. “They stepped away from that this year, and after Thanksgiving their prices have crept back up.”

The price increases were due to temporary discounts on products that ended Nov. 30, Ravi Jariwala, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, said.

“Once a rollback ends, the item returns to its original everyday low price,” he said in an e-mail.

Wal-Mart, the biggest toy seller in the U.S., is vying with Target Corp., Toys R Us Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. for sales of playthings, which may advance as much as 3 percent this year, according to market researcher NPD Group Inc. About 40 percent of annual toy sales occur in November or December, NPD said.

Target has boosted the number of toys in its holiday catalog by 10 percent, though the total number available is the same, according to spokeswoman Tara Schlosser. Toys R Us has opened 600 temporary “pop-up” stores this year, up from about 80 last year.

Analyst Brian Sozzi of Wall Street Strategies cut his rating on Wal-Mart stock from hold to sell, saying the retailer may have lost market share to rivals such as Target.

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The European Central Bank may ask members for a capital increase to protect itself from any losses stemming from its government bond purchases, said a euro-area central bank official with knowledge of the talks.

Any new money would come from the 16 national central banks which use the euro and contribute most of the ECB’s 5.8 billion euro ($7.8 billion) capital base, the ECB’s statutes show. The matter may be discussed at the next Governing Council meeting on Dec. 16 and no decision has yet been made, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Germany would view any ECB request positively, a government official said.

The debate suggests the ECB is concerned its program to buy the bonds of strained governments such as Portugal and Ireland, which now totals 72 billion euros, may end up saddling its balance sheet with losses. Bundesbank President Axel Weber opposed the purchases when they were introduced in May and the risk is that seeking support could raise new questions about the ECB’s independence from politics.

“The link to this potential hike in ECB capital and what’s going on in the markets is certainly the fact that the ECB is buying government bonds which are not AAA-rated and are more risky than bunds,” said Marco Valli, chief euro-region economist for UniCredit SpA in Milan.

An ECB spokeswoman declined to comment. The ECB’s potential capital request was reported by Reuters late yesterday.

Capital Keys

Any increase would be supplied by the national central banks according to their capital subscription keys, according to the ECB website freecreditscore. The formula is calculated using the respective country’s share in the total population and gross domestic product of the European Union.

Germany’s Bundesbank is the largest contributor with 18.9 percent, followed by the French and Italian central banks, with 14.2 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively. The Bank of England and other non-euro members contribute 7 percent of the ECB’s subscribed capital.

According to the ECB’s statutes “the Governing Council, acting by the qualified majority” shall “determine the extent to which and the form in which the capital shall be paid up.”

ECB officials have been putting pressure on the governments to do more to end the region’s sovereign-debt crisis on concern the central bank is shouldering too much of the burden. President Jean-Claude Trichet said late yesterday leaders should consider extending and broadening the region’s bailout fund. Standard & Poor’s today cut the outlook on Belgium’s credit rating to negative from stable.

Austrian central bank Governor Ewald Nowotny raised the issue of capital increases for national central banks last week.

“We are clearly seeing that risks are increasing in the system for European central banks because we are having to take on a whole range of extra risks,” Nowotny said in Vienna on Dec. 10. “So in the whole European system we’ll have to get a better capital base for central banks.”

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Asian stock markets were mostly higher Monday after debt-hobbled Ireland applied for a massive EU emergency loan to bailout its banking sector, easing fears Europe’s debt woes will escalate.

Japan’s Nikkei stock index was up 1 percent, or 101.65 points, to 10,124.04 and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.1 percent to 1,942.66. China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.4 percent to 2,901.07 and Australia’s S&P/ASX200 added 0.4 percent to 4,648.20.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.3 percent to 23,536.86. Benchmarks in Singapore and Indonesia were also down.

Asia’s gains came after weekend talks to bail out Ireland’s financial sector, which was decimated after the country nationalized three of its six banks following the collapse of a real estate boom.

European Union finance ministers quickly agreed in principle to the bailout, saying it “is warranted to safeguard financial stability in the EU and euro area.” All sides said Sunday that further negotiations loomed.

Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said Ireland needed less than $140 billion to use as a credit line for its state-backed banks, which are losing deposits and struggling to borrow funds on open markets. He said the loan facility could last anywhere from three to nine years. The International Monetary Fund also said it was prepared to offer loan assistance.

Ireland has been brought to the brink of bankruptcy by its fateful 2008 decision to insure its banks against all losses _ a bill that is swelling beyond $69 billion and driving Ireland’s deficit into uncharted territory.

On Friday in New York, stocks posted slight gains after China took more steps to curb inflation, which traders fear could slow the country’s growth.

China ordered its banks to hold more reserves, the second time it has done so in the past two weeks. The goal is to curb lending and avoid speculative bubbles. Inflation in China shot to a more than two-year high last month. Investors also expect China to raise key interest rates as part of its effort to control inflation.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 22.32, or 0.2 percent, to 11,203.55 on Friday. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.04, or 0.3 percent, to 1,199.73.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3761 from $.1.3673 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 83.41 yen from 83.56 yen.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 61 cents at $82.59 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Overland Park-based insurance company Alternative Risk Services LLC is heading across the state line, a move that Kansas City economic development officials welcome after several high-profile companies recently exited the urban core.

Russell Jones, managing director of ARS, touted the relocation at the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City’s annual board meeting Friday morning.

“We are juxtapositioning a Kansas company to Kansas City, Missouri,” Jones said. “The centrality, the work ethic north of the river, those factors played into the move.”

In July, Hoefer Wysocki Architects LLC announced that it was taking its 67 jobs from its location on the Country Club Plaza to Leawood. In August, KeyBank Real Estate Capital relocated 300 jobs from Kansas City to the Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) headquarters campus in Overland Park.

ARS will move about 50 employees to a 13,000-square-foot office at 10525 N.W. Ambassador Drive in December. Jones said the company expects to create 16 new positions with an average salary of $57,000. The project represents about $825,000 in investment during the next five years.

Recently acquired by Cowell Insurance Group, ARS specializes in workers’ compensation insurance for group self-insured companies such as the Missouri Restaurant Association and the Kansas Trucking Association online payday loan lenders.

The EDC assisted the Missouri Department of Economic Development in the deal, helping secure about $242,000 in Enhanced Enterprise Zone tax and investment tax credits. The department sweetened the pot with an additional potential $72,000 in tax savings if ARS creates 60 jobs in the first five years.

Mike Kirchhoff, EDC vice president for retention and recruitment, said relocations from Kansas to Missouri happen more frequently than are reported. There is an informal agreeement among economic development agencies throughout the metro area to refrain from actively recruiting across the state line, Kirchhoff said, but companies can’t ignore state tax incentives for new job creation as the recession lingers.

“Companies are looking every day to do what they can to maximize return on investment and cut costs,” he said. “Prudently they look around and see where they can best do that.”

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Home improvement is one of the fastest-growing segments of e-commerce. But the consequences of a bad decision when it comes to finding a contractor or remodeling products online are far worse than buying the wrong paperback.

What if those rave reviews you read about a contractor are ringers posted by his daughter — or if your supposedly in-stock sink order doesn’t ship for two weeks, throwing off your entire work schedule?

Follow these tips to avoid glitches and get the most for your money.

To find a contractor: Sites that are driven by consumer ratings are your best bet. That’s because you get to see what as many as hundreds of prior customers say about all the pros in your area.

Just watch for sites with anonymous postings and ads that appear in search results that look like positive ratings. In the New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles metro areas, or a few counties in New York, Connecticut, and Florida, check out Franklin-Report.com, which compiles user comments into Zagat-like ratings.

Beyond those regions, a good alternative is Angieslist.com, which charges $5 a month, and uses the credit card info to prevent anyone from creating more than one login in order to post multiple revews.

To vet a contractor: The next step is to talk to former clients and visit current and completed job sites. Sadly, there are no e-ternatives to doing this in person.

But there is one key step you can do online: a background check high quality business cards. Get a report about a contractor’s licensing, bonding, insurance, bankruptcy, civil judgments, criminal background, liens, and credit rating for $13 at contractorcheck.com, run by the credit bureau Experian.

To order supplies

Sites run by home-improvement chains (such as HomeDepot.com and Lowes.com), boutique manufacturers (BeadBoard.com, Horizon-Shutters.com), and specialty e-tailers (eFaucets.com, TileShop.com) offer bigger selections than local retailers do. But the main attraction is price: Discounts of 10% to 50% aren’t uncommon.

Just keep in mind that if something goes wrong, those savings could turn into cost overruns. As with any online purchase, you run the risk of shipping damage or late deliveries, which can derail a project with multiple tradesmen working around one another’s schedules.

So order online only if your contractor okays it and provides technical specs; you’re far enough ahead of the installation date to make other arrangements if there’s a problem; the site is an authorized dealer for the brands you’re buying; and if possible, you’ve seen the product firsthand.

Otherwise, buy locally. It’ll be easier to get matching items quickly if needed, and you’ll avoid having to deal with a faraway call center if a problem arises.  

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About five years ago, I went to a talk by auto analysts who said Korean manufacturers are starting to worry their Japanese neighbors.

If that was true then, arrivals such as Hyundai’s 2011 Sonata now must be keeping execs up at night. The sixth-generation sedan raises the bar yet again for the Korean automaker with a roomy, smooth riding, well-equipped and neatly finished car priced below Japanese rivals. Not only that, but our Venetian red tester caused a number of double-takes with its stylish look.

The base Sonata GLS starts at $19,915, about $500 more than the 2010. That includes power, heated, folding side mirrors; chrome-tipped exhaust; air conditioning; steering-wheel controls for audio and Bluetooth systems (including phonebook download); power windows; remote locking; cruise control; and audio system with six speakers, CD player, XM and MP3 compatibility, iPOD and USB ports.

On the safety front you get antilock brakes with emergency assist feature, side airbags and curtains, traction and stability control, and tire-pressure monitor.

That price is about two thousand less than the Honda Accord, which along with the Sonata, ride at the larger end the midsize group. The smaller Toyota Camry comes closer in price, but isn’t quite as well equipped.

The base versions of all those cars come with 4-cylinder engines and manual transmissions, which means most people will upgrade. In the case of the Hyundai, you get a 2.4-liter engine rated at 198 or 200 horsepower matched to a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. The latter adds $1,000 to the tab.

The standard 4-cylinder gets a little buzzy when you tromp hard on the accelerator. But after a few days behind the wheel, I found it plenty powerful, even fun to drive. The 4-cylinder returns decent fuel economy 22 miles per gallon in the city, 34 on the highway with the automatic.

That’s the only engine available initially, but Hyundai has a 274-horsepower 4-cylinder turbo (expected to deliver mileage at 22/34) and a hybrid estimated at 37/39 in the pipeline.

We tested the mid-level SE, which starts at $23,315, adding the automatic, bigger alloy wheels, sportier suspension, fog lamps, dual exhaust, push-button starter, leather trim, eight-way power driver’s seat, steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles and automatic headlamps instant payday loans.

The sedan made a good first impression. Its coupe-like profile looks sharp on approach. I got in with our editor and managing editor for the first time after deadline. Randi checked out the window sticker and asked us to guess the price. I said $27,000, Ilana $30,000. Looking around at the neat fit and finish, quality materials, roomy surrounds, I said $27,000, Ilana, $30,000 – both well over the real price of $23,315.

Randi wished for a sunroof, which is available as part of a $2,600 package that also includes navigation. Only Ilana had a complaint. Pointing at the stick-figure-shapped buttons that control air-flow directions she said, “That’s cheesy, I wouldn’t buy it just because of that.”

I thought the buttons were OK, even intuitive, but I would have made it smaller and the radio controls larger. Others thought it was a little cheesy too, but certainly not a deal breaker.

All in all, the new Sonata is an impressive car offering a lot for the money. In other words, Hyundai is coming on strong in the race to catch perennial top sellers Camry and Accord. Consider stats at autos.aol.com: No. 1 Camry sold 28,435 cars in June, a 7.7 percent increase, and while Hyundai sold 17,711 Sonatas to take seventh place among all sedans, that represents a nearly 49 percent increase over June 2009.

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The National Football League is the golden child in the world of professional sports. It has the best media deal, highest TV ratings and most lucrative revenue sharing pacts.

Now, its seems the NFL and Arizona Cardinals are avoiding (at least for now) the state's immigration fight over Senate Bill 1070.

There are no indications there will be SB 1070-related protests today at University of Phoenix Stadium for the Cardinals preseason opener against the Houston Texans.

Groups opposed to the immigration law are not planning any major protests at the Glendale stadium. The immigration issue has caused for some headaches for the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks in downtown Phoenix.

Hispanics groups opposed to 1070 want Major League Baseball to relocate the 2011 All-Star Game out of Chase Field. D-backs owner Ken Kendrick says he's personally opposed to 1070 but critics of the bill don't like that he gives to Republicans (some of whom back the measure).

A few blocks down the street Suns owner Robert Sarver and guard Steve Nash came out against the law and then wore 'Los Suns' jerseys once during the playoffs in the early days of the immigration controversy. The move earned grief from fans who like the law or don't want sports team being political, but accolades from 1070 opponents. The Cards actually got some ticket calls from a few fans irked by the Suns stance and political move.

The bill was signed in April during the NFL offseason and the team has steered clear of the debate. That's not to say the 1070 fight won't pop up later in the regular season. The Cards do have some nationally televised games and were in the playoffs the past two years.

But at least for now, it appears the immigration fight is avoiding the NFL team as it enters a crossroads season on the field and for its growing and somewhat bandwagon fan base. That fan base includes includes plenty of working class whites more friendly towards 1070, and Hispanics averse to the law.

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Laguna Development Corp. unveiled an additional $15 million in expansions and updates at its Route 66 Casino in the past week.

The company opened the new Thunder Road Steakhouse & Cantina, the 360 Lounge, and added more than 200 new slots, bringing its total to 1,700.

It is the culmination of a larger expansion that firm unveiled over the past several months, including an Irish-themed poker room and pub, a new players club, bingo room and snack bar.

Skip Sayre, director of marketing for Laguna Development, said extensive customer surveys found players wanted a steakhouse, more slots and a non-smoking section.

Thunder Road was influenced by the movie of the same name that starred the late Robert Mitchum. It offers a wide selection of tequilas, as well as barbecue and Mexican dishes. The decor features life-sized cars crashing through walls, neon signs and two-story murals electronic check payday advance. A live entertainment stage, lifted on hydraulics from behind the bar, is another new feature.

This is the third major expansion at Route 66 since 2007. In 2008, a $40 million hotel expansion took place. The Main Street Restaurant, KXX Night Club and Kids Quest, as well as the $4.6 million Buffet 66 opened in 2009. Laguna also renovated its Dancing Eagle Casino last year, to the tune of about $3.9 million, adding 100 more slot machines and a new restaurant and lounge.

Laguna Development Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Pueblo of Laguna, whose lands are located mostly east of Albuquerque.

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Just a few months after putting its Buffalo headquarters up for sale, the Girl Scouts of Buffalo and Erie County have found a buyer for their Jewett Parkway complex.

The Hillside Family of Agencies, a not-for-profit that serves youth and others in Erie and Niagara Counties, has agreed to purchase the Girl Scouts headquarters. A formal announcement is due Friday afternoon.

The Girl Scouts, which is merging with three other regional Girl Scout councils, is relocating from Buffalo to a suburban site.

The Girl Scouts listed its Jewett Parkway headquarters, a 10,900-square-foot building located just a few blocks from the Darwin Martin House complex, for sale this winter with a $675,000 asking price. The building was listed by Paula Blanchard and Ed Woods from RealtyUSA.

The council has used the Jewett Parkway building as its headquarters since it bought the property in 1969, Approximately 40 people work in the building.

The decision to put the building on the real estate market was made as an outgrowth from the merger between the Girl Scouts of Buffalo and Erie County, Girl Scouts of Niagara County, Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley and Girl Scouts of Southwestern New York. The council now covers a jurisdictional area that covers nine counties and 6,700 square miles in a region that extends from Niagara and Erie Counties eastward towards Rochester.

The Girl Scouts of Western New York – the newly merged entity – serves more than 22,000 girls and a network of more than 10,000 volunteers.

Girl Scout officials said they needed a more central location.

Besides the 40 people who work in Buffalo, the council has more than 100 employees in offices it operates in Lockport, Jamestown, Rochester and Batavia.

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