Strategic Default - What Happens If You Stop Paying Your Mortgage?

If you're reading this article, there's a decent chance you have a mortgage that is underwater and are considering walking away in a strategic default. i.e., you want to stop paying your mortgage, get rid of your property, and move on with your life without having your financial future destroyed.

There is a Process - That is a Bit Strained Right Now

Certainly if you are considering strategic default, you're not alone. Millions of homeowners are having the same conversation in their heads right now. Thus you may be wondering what actually happens if you stop paying your mortgage.

A process starts when you stop paying your mortgage. The exact details vary from lender to lender, but the general process is quite uniform. Of course, in the current real estate crisis the sheer volume of mortgage defaults has turned many bank policies upside down, so it is entirely possible that things will not follow the process that they generally do.

For example, banks are so far behind on their caseloads that often they do not take any action on non-payment for many months longer than they normally would. You cannot count on this, but a delay means that you can probably stay in the house and live mortgage free for many more months, all the while saving the money you would have spent on the mortgage or rent.

Generally speaking, if you miss a payment, the bank will let you know right away that you have missed it - oftentimes with the "nice-guy" attitude that there may have been a mix-up in sending the payment that caused them not to receive it. If you ignore this warning and continue not to pay, you will eventually start hearing frequently from the bank's collections department.

The collections department will be focused only on when and how much you can pay. If you have made the decision to stop paying altogether and seek a solution, you would typically inform the collections department that you cannot pay now, and that you do not anticipate being able to pay. i.e., that you want to seek a "workout" on the mortgage. They will likely inform you that you can speak to their "workout department" or "loss mitigation department."

Usually the collections department and the workout department are quite unrelated, so even while working with the workout department, you will likely be annoyed by continued calls from the collections department.

Won't They Just Foreclose on Me?

Foreclosure definitely will happen at the very end of the road if you just stop paying your mortgage and do nothing else. But as I will discuss in future articles, there are several other common options that may be available to you that will prevent foreclosure.

While you are working on a mutually acceptable solution with the workout department, the foreclosure process will be starting to move forward behind the scenes. Again, based on the enormous volume of delinquent payments at these banks, it may take MUCH longer than normal for this to happen - possibly not even for a year or more, in some cases.

You should typically assume that within about 2 to 4 months of missing your first payment, the lender will initiate foreclosure proceedings. You will start receiving formal looking documents, basically outlining that you are in default of the loan and that the bank has initiated a foreclosure suit against you.

The laws and processes surrounding how foreclosures are pursued vary from state to state, but it good universal advice to say:

DO NOT IGNORE THE FORECLOSURE NOTICE WHEN IT COMES.

Once you receive the foreclosure notice, you are well advised to have a foreclosure attorney take the case for you. By having an attorney take action on your behalf, you can generally forestall any truly negative actions on the foreclosure for many months - often long enough to get your workout handled, and keep you in the house for free in the meantime.

If you plan and execute your strategic default strategy well, then while the foreclosure suit is slowly plodding along, you will be coming to a successful workout agreement with the bank via, e.g., short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. If a successful workout cannot be arrived at, then eventually the foreclosure will grind on to a conclusion and you will lose the house. Foreclosure may turn out to be a successful conclusion for you as well, depending on your situation.

Top Reasons Why Facebook is So Popular

If you've been around the Internet for a while, even for a year or so, you have probably heard of one of the most popular social networking websites around called Facebook. To date, Facebook has over 64 million active subscribers worldwide - not including those subscribers who signed up this year. Most probably, you're one of them or some of your friends have been convincing you to join this social bandwagon.

Why are websites like Facebook so popular? Why does Facebook sell like hot potatoes to Internet enthusiasts? Here are four reasons why.

Upload unlimited photos. Facebook is the most popular website for uploading photos. In fact, more than 14 million photos are uploaded daily. Not only can users upload unlimited photos, you can also add tags and put comments on your friends' photos. With tagging, you'll know when your friends or your contacts add a picture of you in their album. Not just that, you can also embed and upload your videos through the web or through your mobile phone using Facebook Mobile. Sharing memorabilia has never been this fun and easy.

Be 'in the know'. Do you want to know what your friends are doing without using instant messaging softwares like Yahoo! Messenger or MSN? With Facebook's STATUS feature, you can see what your friends are up to without having to ask them - which can definitely save a lot of time and effort. This also works vice versa because Facebook users can also update their friends on what they are up to.

Not satisfied? You can also let your friends know if there are upcoming events like parties, conferences or social gatherings in your community. You can put all the details and send mass invitations. Plus, your friends can RSVP if they are attending or not. Is your party for girls only? Don't worry, you can also choose who to invite using Facebook's Events feature.

Interact with friends through games and other applications. Facebook changed the way people use applications for social networking websites. Applications like games and tests (Poker, Trivia Games, Get-to-know-yourself tests, "What does your birthday mean?" test, "Are you Normal?" test, etc) are being used to encourage more social interaction through the Internet. You don't have to meet each other face to face to be able to play Poker.

You can also join different groups and causes like anti-war or "Stop Global Warming". When joining these causes, you can contribute in any form such as online support or money.

Send gifts! What can make you smile on a bad day? - a gift! With Facebook's Gift feature, you can select from hundreds of icons from Facebook's virtual gift shop and add a message to send to your friends. You can send flowers, shoes or even a bone to your friend's virtual pet. If it's a more personal gift, you have the option to give it privately so others wouldn't know. You can get from the free gifts section or if you have money to spare, you can get virtual gifts for $1.00.

Beating Cherry Master Slot Machines - Beating Slot Machines Takes Knowledge But is Possible

Cherry master machines and fruit bonus machines are a line of back room slot machines that are usually played in back room locations. They are a version of a slot machine but not nearly as intricate as a Casino style slot machine. To beat cherry masters is as easy as picking the right system for the right machine. Some cherry master machines are not beatable so make sure the machine you find is on the list. I had a friend that did this and can say that I did see this work in person. It was hard to believe but very real.

To figure out the type of cherry machine you are dealing with you need to follow these guidelines. Sit back and watch the screens the game goes through while it is not being played. Determine the company that makes the machine. When the game screen flashes you can see the name in the upper left corner. It is either a "Dyna" or a "Game". These are two separate company's and make most of all cherry masters.

Then watch as the different screens show. The title screen will show the name of the program and sometimes the maker. The game screen will show you what program it uses. You need to look at certain aspects of that screen to determine how to play that particular machine.Also, this screen will usually tell you how high the Cherry and Bell Bonus go. You can usually tell whether or not the cherries go to 12, 9, 6 or 3, and also whether the bells go 7, 3 or 2. The best ones to beat are the ones that cherry's go to 3 and bells go to 2.These will take less time to play and less money to beat.

Now start playing as follow:

Bet one credit and press start. If you do not win, repeat. You want to repeat this until you spin 5 straight times without winning. Once this happens, change your bet to 8 credits and press start. You are looking to see if the program lines up any 3 in a row. It could be organs, plums, and bars, cherries, or bells. It could also give you two 7's any where on the screen. If it gives you any of the winners listed, then the program is beatable. You can now play out the system. But if it fails to do this by giving you a winner of some other type, like one cherry, or lined up two cherries, then you will repeat the system continually until either you have gotten a true winner (lined something up) or until you are reasonably certain that you won't. You may want to play off 4 or 5 dollars worth of credits. If it doesn't give you a true winner and you think that it has a burnt chip, then DO NOT play this machine. It probably has a fail safe added.

To beat cherry masters simply memorize the details and be patient. We will be writing a very interesting article soon on beating slot machines in Casinos. These beatable versions were more abundant back in the late 90's, but can still be found at over 70% of casinos.

Free Slots

You can find offers all over the Internet for playing various types of free slot games online for cash. What is there to gain in playing free slots? Some might say it's good practice. The truth is, there are a number of free sites that offer free slots where you can win prizes. In many cases, advertises promote these sites by donating their product to give away. The more people who visit and play free slots on a sponsored site - the more exposure the advertiser receives. Casinos also sponsor these sites, and the Casino will cover the cost of the prizes that can even include cash. These online casino sites also allow you to accumulate points that can be exchanged for entries into online casino drawings for some fabulous prizes. However, with these casino sites, there is a catch. They will repeatedly try to entice you into signing up with a credit card for real online gaming. If that's not what you are looking for, be prepared to say "no thanks" many times.

There are many online casinos that offer free slots including GalaxiWorld.com, casino.gambling.com and goldenslots.com, There are also game sites like Pogo.com and games.com that have free slot games where you can compete with other players for the highest score. These game sites usually offer tokens that can be redeemed for raffle tickets where you could win cash or other great prizes. Pogo.com gives players the opportunity to spin for a cash jackpot in all of their games.

Minnesota Casinos

Minnesota Casinos are located in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," a Northern state known for its natural beauty, cultural attractions, and a prosperous economy. Minnesota, ranked as the "Most Livable State" in the United States, has a population of over 5,000,000 people and an area of 79,610 square miles. The capital of Minnesota, St. Paul, with a population of approximately 280,000, is located adjacent to Minneapolis on the Mississippi River. The two cities are often referred to as the "Twin Cities" of Minnesota.

There are a number of Minnesota Casinos scattered throughout the state, either located on Native American Tribal land or under Native American jurisdiction. Minnesota has 22 tribal-state regulations for Minnesota Casinos, which allow blackjack, slots, craps, and other video gaming machines, while separate tribal agreements allow Poker and bingo. The Mystic Lake Casino, in Prior Lake, is the largest in Minnesota, with 125,000 square feet, 4,000 slots, 84 table games, four restaurants, and a hotel. The Treasure Island Resort and Casino, in Welch, is another large casino, with 116,000 square feet of gambling area, 2,500 slots, 44 table games, seven restaurants, and a small hotel.

Another popular Minnesota casino is Jackpot Junction, in Morton, with 80,000 square feet, 1,650 slots, 28 table games, with blackjack and Poker, as well as nine restaurants and two hotels. In addition, Minnesota casinos include the Grand Casino Hinckley, with 54,800 square feet, 2,170 slots, 47 table games, six restaurants, and four hotels; and the Grande Casino Mille Lacs, in Onamia, with 54,800 square feet, 1,885 slots, 24 table games, five restaurants, and two hotels.

Some of the smaller Minnesota casinos include the Fortune Bay Resort Casino, in Tower, with 50,000 square feet, 686 slots, and 12 table games; the Northern Lights Casino, in Walker, with 40,000 square feet, 950 slots, and 12 table games; and the Fond-du-Luth Casino, in Duluth, with 20,000 square feet, 745 slots, and four table games. The Prairie Edge Casino Resort, a smaller casino in Granite Falls, has 27,000 square feet, 660 slots, and six table games.

Minnesota casinos do not provide any revenue in the form of taxes to the state of Minnesota. There are some fees, however, that compensate the state to some extent for inspections and other items in the tribal agreements. Minnesota is rich in natural attractions, a land of "sky-tinted" waters, with an economy that might be well be enhanced with the expansion and introduction of more casinos in the future.

I Bet My Wife in a Poker Game and Lost!

I'm sure you'll have heard Poker stories like this before...

A gambler is so much into a game but ends up having a bad streak. He loses his cool and is desperate to make a comeback, convinced that the next hand will be THE hand to make him. So there he is, with no more money to put on the table. What does he do? He bets something else of value.

Remember the latest James Bond flick, which I actually labeled a Poker movie in an article just recently? Remember that Poker game between that Greek guy and Agent 007? The other guy bets his car, sure that he would win. I think it was an Alfa Romeo, I am not sure, my memory is a bit hazy (all I can remember is Daniel Craig as James Bond). Anyhow, Bond wins the hand and the car, of course.

The question is, does this really happen in real life?

You better believe it does!

Check out this news clip from Avanova.com:

A Russian man lost his wife in a game of cards after putting her up as a stake instead of cash. Andrei Karpov, from Murmansk, had run out of money in a game of poker and offered his opponent his wife instead of cash to stay in the game.

When Karpov lost the game and his opponent, Sergey Brodov, turned up to claim his winnings, his wife Tatiana was so angry she decided to divorce her husband and started a relationship with Brodov.

She has since married Brodov, and said she does not regret leaving her first husband.

She said: "It was humiliating and I was utterly ashamed. But as soon as my ex-husband did that I knew I had to leave him.

"Sergey was a very handsome, charming man and I am very happy with him, even if he did 'win' me in a poker game."

Talk about crazy! In this day and age you would think that putting up a person as your stake wouldn't be possible! When you think about it, though, the whole thing sounds hilarious, doesn't it? I mean it irks me that a guy would bet his wife as if he "owned" her (as if a person can actually own another person). Then again, the wife leaving him and marrying the other guy - I'm sorry but this just sounds like something out of a soap opera, or something from the Middle Ages!

No wonder people who aren't into poker see it in a negative light most of the time. When they hear or read news such as this, their eyes probably pop out in wonder, or maybe they shake their head in dismay. Then again, this happened in Russia, where norms may be quite different from that of the US or other European countries. It makes me think of Borat, you know that "Khazakstan journalist."? It's like something he would do. I hope that I haven't offended anyone with my musings in this article. I just found it really hilarious.

So guys, next time you decide to put up your wife as a bet, make sure that you win. Otherwise, you might just find yourself in the divorce courts!

Do You Have to Guess Your Lotto Numbers in Exact Order to Win the Lottery Jackpot?

If you have never played the lottery, you might be asking yourself if you have to guess your lotto numbers in exact order to win the jackpot. Luckily, you don't have to; all you have to do is choose your numbers and as long as they all get drawn, in any order, you win.

I say luckily for a reason - The odds of winning the jackpot in a lottery are bad. If you had to guess your numbers in exact order, it would be impossible because the odds would be much worse. How much worse would it be? Read on to see the math.

Let's look at an example. One of the most popular lotto formats in the world is 6/49, where you must match 6 numbers out of a possible 49. To calculate the odds of winning the 649 jackpot, you must calculate the following equation: (49x48x47x46x45x44)/(1x2x3x4x5x6). The answer is 13,983,816. That means that the odds of winning are 1-in-13,983,816. Now, if you had to guess the numbers drawn, but also had to guess the exact order that they are drawn, this is how you would calculate the odds: 49x48x47x46x45x44. The answer is 10,068,347,520. That means that the odds of winning the jackpot would be 1-in-10,068,347,520. That's more than 1-in-10-billion. Now that would be virtually impossible to win.

As it is now, hundreds of people win lottery jackpots every year. If people had to guess lotto numbers in exact order, we'd be lucky to see just one big winner in a five year period. If this were the case, most people wouldn't even play any more.