Got hit by the car while riding a bicycle. The knee cracked, went to the hospital, got all the paper work and police report. Here only for the summer to work. now apparentely can not work anywhere until it heals. Is it possible to settle with the car insurance company for certain amount of money without getting an attorney involved. i know approximately how much i would accept. how do i negotiate it with them?
the other person with me got her neck broken, and taken on the hellicopter to another city. not sure what is going on with her right now….

You DO NOT get more money if you have an attorney. In fact, you will get less since most attorneys will take 1/3. The adjuster will offer you what the claim is worth.

Anyway, you do not say where the incident occurred. I assume that when you say "the knee cracked", you may have sustained a fracture. If this is the case, you MAY be tort eligible. The threshold requirements do vary from state to state. A fracture usually allows you to pierce the threshold.

If the loss occurred in a No-Fault state, the vehicle that struck you may have Personal Injury Protection coverage(PIP). This coverage will reimburse you for your medicals and lost wages(usually just a percentage of the expected gross). This coverage pays regardless of fault.

Once you have stopped treating, the adjuster or you, will secure all of the supporting documenation. The claim will be evaluated based on the nature and extent of your injury, treatment, disability and permanency, if any. If you have any liability, the evaluation will be reduced by your own comparative negligence. In some states however, even if you are 1% liable you are barred from recovery.

You can submit a demand for what you feel the claim is worth, and wait for an offer. Continue to negotiate with valid points, not just "I want more for my injury". You need to prove to the adjuster why you feel the claim is worth more. Remember the adjuster knows what your claim is worth. This is what they do for a living.

I am thinking they’d rather get half than nothing. I’d still need a 36 month payment plan. I can only pay each card a good faith amount of say $20 in January. I have been out of work for 6 months. My debt exceeds 70K. How do I get them to stop from charging all the fees and interest? Did I mention I haven’t spoken with my credit card companies in 6 months. How will a partial settlement be listed on my credit report?

I’m sorry about your job loss, I’ve been there and I know how that can knock you down.

It’s very important in these situations:
DO NOT give them access to your checking account. Yeah, they will agree to only take out $20 on the phone. Then they’ll completely empty the account. Oh they will sing a song about how they would NEVER do such a thing, because they are so reputable…don’t believe it. These collectors get a hefty commission on every dollar they get from you.

ALWAYS cover your necessary expenses first. Groceries, heat & lights, rent / mortgage, car. Don’t send your gas money to the credit card companies, you’ll be in a real pickle then.

Get anything you agree to in writing. Send them ONLY cashiers checks and use certified mail. Keep these documents in your permanent records. They know most people do not keep a proper paper-trail on these matters and they often try to collect again years later.

Having said that, first you’ll need to get some money together to make a settlement offer. It’s unlikely they will accept a settlement contingent upon a 36 month payment plan, they will want cash in full. If you can’t do that wait you have enough money to make an offer.

As far as your credit goes, it will most likely be listed as a charge-off that has been settled.

Surely every death we cause is going to radicalize more moderate muslims. I know that withdrawing from Afghanistan wouldn’t appease them, but can we ever negotiate a stable peace with Al-qaeda?

Well, there is no right or wrong answer but what i can tell you is that i am in Iraq right now and have been for the past 10 months, A peace between a group of extremist? I don’t think so, there is a reason why they have there mind set in killing innocent people nothing we do will change that. The people here in Iraq are between a rock and a hard place, either they help the insurgents to kill Americans if not they are killed and if they do and we catch them they will be killed so it’s a lose lose situation. Most of the people here just want to live there lives peacefully with their family’s, were just in the way, it’s a matter of time when we leave this country will go into a civil war it’s inevitable, look at the past country’s or even ours. But yeah this "war on terrorism" that bush started has no happy ending if any. Also on a quick note i’m a die hard Democrat i don’t know but i think u have to be border line retarded to be a republican or even follow them, the only thing i don’t agree with is this health care over haul if i ain’t broke don’t fix it. PEACE!

I am exec of my fathers estate which owes app 25k to various credit cards etc… I have someone who can negotiate these charges down for me but wants to chatge me 16.5% gross (app 4k) to do it. Does this sound right? How do most companies charge for this?

You don’t need to waste one penny to hire a company to negotiate debts. Any company that you might hire will have no more power to get a settlement than you do. Your creditors are not obligated to take any settlement from any firm you might hire.

Email or fax the creditors your own settlement offers. They’ll either accept the terms or they won’t. Keep the communication brief and to the point. Avoid using any lengthy form letters that are legalistic and/or threatening in tone. Example letter format:

I am the executor of my father’s estate and I am willing to resolve this matter for 33% of the original amount if your firm will send me a letter on your letterhead confirming that this debt will be "Paid in Full" once this amount is received by me. Upon receipt of this letter, I will remit a money order for this amount.
———————–
If the accounts are still current (not in defaults), then don’t be surprised if they don’t give you a settlement.
- Your best shot at a settlement is when you have the cash to pay the entire amount up front. Get all terms in writing first.
- Stay away from any debt settlement firm that promises to cut your debt in half. They have you deliberately default on cards…if the process fails, the estate could be sued.

I saw an interesting Colbert Report on Comedy Central where he spoke to Vali Nasr, author of "The Shia Revival." I am curious to know what you think about the US supporting one side or the other and forcing these two parties to negotiate and resolve this war over who gets Iraq and it’s land and oil? And what is fair to the losing party, Shia or Sunni?
And if the US could use diplomacy to bring about an end to the fighting, what steps should we take dimplomatically? Not Militarily. How do we get these guys to sit down and talk? By Armed force? By ….? what means do you suggest.
Especially interested in answers from those of you who are so vocal about bringing our troops home now.
I am discussing a Non-Fiction Ovel called "The Shia Revival" for those of you who are NOT answering the question.

Please…looking for intelligent answers.
Novel. Not Ovel. sorry.

They can’t answer because they don’t even know which group we’re supposed to be sympathizing with.

I was quoted for 369 dollars a month for an apartment but found out it had a lower priced advertised on the brochure for 319 dollars a month.

Advice on how to negotiate this price down?

Show them the brochure and tell them that is the price you want. If they refuse then try to bluff them by saying that you will not accept the price unless its the price on the brochure. In this economy most people will not just send business away for a few extra dollars.

Example, car being traded in is worth $26K with a loan payoff of $30K.
If the car I want is $26K, is the full $30K financed again (the dealer gets my trade-in, pays off the $30K then finances $26K for the new car + the $4K negative equity)?
If the car I want is $34K, is $38K financed (the dealer gets my trade-in, pays off the $30K then finances the $4K negative equity + $34K for the new car)?
If the car I want is $28K, is the amount financed $32K (the dealer gets my trade-in, pays off the $30K then finances $28K for the new car + the $4K negative equity)?
If the car I want is $24K, is the amount financed $28K (the dealer gets my trade-in, pays off the $30K and finances the $4K negative equity + $24K for the new car)?
These calculations are driving me crazy and I want to be sure I have this straight before negotiating for the new car.

You basically pay more for the car than the selling price – the new amount financed is the price of the car plus the excess loan amount, added together into a new loan.

You should really keep a new car that is on a loan for at least 2/3 of the loan period and you won’t get in this situation. If you are paying too much interest, make about $40 more in principal payment per month and you will pay the loan off sooner and incur less interest.

My mom needs to pay off 5-8 collectors (not sure of the exact number) and owes $5,000 to them. Now, she decided she wants to negotiate with the debt collecters herself. How can she do it? It’s a bit confusing. Please help, seeking advice.

Your mom can take following steps:
1. Invite all the creditors/ collectors together at a mediocre place which may be a restaurant.

2. Be bold and frankly express her inability to pay all of them as the total sum is very large. Take excuses for delay and explain the problem in which she is passing at present. One out of lot will be interested in negotiation. Clinch the deal after some negotiation. It will prompt other collectors to fall in the line.

3. Make fresh understanding of repayment which may again be in installments without any interest. Or interest part can also be negotiated and reduced.

4. Put that understanding in writing which may be on a plain paper.

5. Thank them.

If successful give thank to me also. Best of luck !!

Negotiation is a key in any kind of business, but especially important in real estate. Bill Twyford and Dwan Bent-Twyford detail some negotiation techniques that every real estate investor should know. A.D. Kessler’s Real Estate Roundtable #355 Clip 2 from Creative Real Estate Magazine at www.cremag.com

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On this weeks Preforeclosure Tip of the Week we cover how a 3rd party loss mitigation specialist can “now” negotiate Bank of America short sales on Equator.com. We also cover what a BofA Short Sale Welcome Letter is,how it affects your deals and more

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