Snow Jensen & Reece Law Blog

The topic of real estate investment has made people nervous ever since the market went bust in 2008. It sent property prices tumbling and put a lot of people below water on their mortgages. Could we be headed that way again?

Experts are saying that there are signs in certain areas that a real estate bubble is starting to form once more. Utah, for example, is seeing a big boom in real estate thanks to the Silicon Slopes. California is having a housing crisis that's driving property prices higher and higher.

A researcher with the University of Utah's Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy noticed a gender gap when she looked at how many women business owners there are compared with male ones in the state. She set out learn why that's the case by conducting a detailed study on the topic.

What she ultimately found is that a female entrepreneur's experience in finding a venture capitalist willing to invest in her start-up or a banks willing to extend her loans is much different from what men have to deal with.

If you've taken out student loans before, then you've likely heard the terminology "promissory note" thrown around. You may not have heard of it used in the context of business operations though, but it operates much the same as it does in any other situation. Put quite simply, a promissory note is simply an "IOU" or a signed promise to pay someone that lended you money back.

Before any lender, whether it's a bank or a private investor, offers you any money, they'll have you sign a document outlining how much that you owe them, when payments are, what interest rates are and any penalties that may exist if you pay early or late. It may also list whether you had to put up anything as collateral to secure the loan.

There's no disputing how important it is for you to keep all your estate planning documents together. By doing this, you will help ensure that the executor of your estate is easily able to find them when you pass away.

If you're considering storing them in an online dropbox though, you'll want to first check into how secure it is. If you plan to store passwords or financial data in it, you'll want to make sure that it encrypts the information. If you're planning to include health data there, you'll want to check to see if the tool is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant.