Realtor, Not a Real Friend

With just about everyone and their mama wanting to become an entrepreneur it's likely that you have a friend or family member opening a business. It's also likely he or she will solicit you to patronize that business or ask you for referrals. So what happens if you like the friend but not his or her business acumen?

That was the dilemma facing an Ask Amy (June 6) reader who asked for help in dealing with a friend she didn't hire. The reader bought a home without the help of her friend -- who is a realtor -- and the friend stopped talking to her. In last week's newsletter I asked for your thoughts and stories. Here's what you said:

Shondell H. Foster hired then fired her realtor friend because of inexperience. The Montgomery, Md., resident says that almost three months have passed since they last spoke. "I suggest never doing business with friends because most people don't know how to keep business issues separate from personal friendships," Foster wrote.

N. Lester of Paris, France says, "It is unfair to expect anyone to significantly hamper their own efforts by hiring someone who is incapable, unavailable, or otherwise not up to the task. True friends would never ask you to do so."

"If you are in a business that depends on referrals, remember that point" writes Donna Warren in Alexandria, Va. "The irony is that this 'friend' acted so ugly that the homeowner will NEVER refer people to her...This lady needs to look up the definition of the word, FRIEND!!"

"It was an act of friendship to NOT hire the realtor friend. If anything went wrong with the sale, it would cause tension in the friendship," says Sun Prairie, Wis., local Dwight Johnson. "It seems that a friendship is, to her, nothing more than an investment, with a payoff at some point in the future."

Many of the letters supported keeping friendship and business separate. I understand why such separation is needed, however, I have done business with friends and family members. Generally my experiences have been pleasant. But as with any business deal I still shopped around, got what I needed in writing and kept things on a professional level during our meetings. It's not impossible to mix friendship with business.

The Housing Bubble

We've been inundated (and rightly so) with a lot of news lately about the subprime housing crisis and all of the homeowners defaulting on their loans or losing their houses. The crisis has been spreading into the real economy, affecting everything from global investment bank earnings to college tuition rates and the price of commodities like oil, wheat and cotton. But do you really understand what happened or how it's all related? A three-part series by Post reporters Zachary A. Goldfarb and Alec Klein explains, in simple terms, the roots of the crisis and how it has spread into other parts of the economy. The reporters show what many of us already knew -- many homeowners who lost their homes or are now on the verge of foreclosure couldn't afford to buy in the first place.

Read their account of the greed that led to the U.S. housing bust in their seriesThe Bubble.

Take the time to read each installment in this series, which will make you hopping mad: The Boom (June 15), The Bust (June 16) and The Aftermath (June 17).

Handling A Bad Mortgage

In the aftermath of the housing bust, lenders are still trying to find a way to assist struggling borrowers. Post reporter Renae Merle writes about what mortgage lenders are doing to speed up assistance to troubled homeowners in Mortgage Lenders Pledge More Help For Homeowners (June 17).

Here are some new guidelines hashed out after months of talks between government officials, loan servicers, and lenders:

* Lenders will acknowledge a borrower's request for help within five business days.

* Lenders will approve or deny a request within 45 days of receiving an application.

* Lenders will update borrowers about the status of their application after 30 days.

With this mortgage mess still being cleaned up you might want to read by column from Sunday, Don't Drag That Mortgage With You Into Old Age (June 15).

The new thing now is to encourage seniors to hang onto their mortgage long after they've retired, and it looks like baby boomers are taking the bait. Boomers are in no rush to pay off their mortgages, according to a survey by Bell Investment Advisors, that showed over 55 percent of boomers do not plan to pay off their mortgages until their 70s, if ever.

House Members Aren't Having Housing Blues

Congressional member's investments, salaries and spousal incomes have kept them financially comfortable, reports AP reporter Julie Hirschfeld Davis in House Members Doing Well Despite Economic Slump (June 16).

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA.) and her real estate mogul husband Paul Pelosi sure aren't hurting. The couple just spent between $1 million and $5 million for their San Francisco home.

Perhaps all that wealth has blinded some House members to the woes of others. The House failed on its first try to get the two-thirds vote needed to override a threatened presidential veto to extend unemployment benefits, but later they were able to pass the plan giving jobless workers three additional months of unemployment benefits, reports Post staffer Lori Montgomery in House Increases Jobless Benefits (June 13). The measure faces longer odds in the Senate where Republicans are expected to object.

If you're facing a layoff or you've already been fired, read my column Staying Out of the Red Despite the Pink Slip (June 12) for some tips on keeping yourself afloat financially, at least for a little while.

Surviving the Economy

In Flying Is Going to Get Even Less Fun (June 14), Post staffer Sholnn Freeman reports that travelers should expect pricier tickets, fewer flights and packed planes.

Oh yeah, and bring your own bag of peanuts.

Already, an increasing number of airlines are beginning to charge for a first checked bag. American Airlines is charging $15 to check a first piece of luggage and United and US Airways plan to follow suit.

Want an aisle seat? Well, on some airlines you'll have to pay extra. There are now fees (both ways) for premium seats on the aisle, by the window or in the emergency row. And unbelievably some airlines have the nerve to charge for the miserable experience of sitting in the middle seat.

I was kidding when I wrote long ago that airlines might start locking overhead bins and charging you a quarter or two to store your bags on the plane. I'm not laughing now.

What's next? Bring your own roll of toilet paper or get charged per square used?

At least there's price relief for some car renters. Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler negotiated an agreement with car rental companies that will reduce refueling fees, which hit $7.99 a gallon for cars returned to the rental lot at BWI Airport without a full tank of gas. Read more in Lisa Rein's Gansler, Rental Car Firms Set Refuel Fee Limits (June 12).

If you're looking for a way to cut fuel costs, check out Post personal finance reporter Nancy Trejos's story Adventures in Hypermiling (June 15). Hypermiling is a driving technique that helps you coax better gas mileage out of your car.

In an effort to get better gas mileage for her VW Beetle, Trejos enlists the help of hypermiler Kent Johnson of Carroll County, Md. Johnson gives her some tips on the road: drive at or below the speed limit, keep an eye on your tire pressure, don't linger at stop signs and coast up to red lights.

Car sharing is also growing in popularity thanks to the high price of gas. If you drive a Zipcar Honda Civic for 10 hours a month for one year you can save about $3,345 reports Kiplinger's Candice Jones in Wheeling and Dealing by the Hour (June 8).

You are welcome to e-mail comments and questions to singletarym@washpost.com. Please include your name and hometown; your comments may be used in a future column or newsletter unless otherwise requested.

Charity Brown contributed to this e-letter.