MEM Enterprises CEO Michael E. Melton (Image: Black Enterprise)

MEM Enterprise CEO Michael E. Melton is the featured Power Player on the next edition of the Black Enterprise Business Report, hosted by Caroline V. Clarke. MEM Enterprise’s portfolio franchise restaurants includes 20 Taco Bells, five Five Guys Burger & Fries and two KFC restaurants.

Melton’s story is one of success across a variety of professions, including as a patent attorney, electrical engineer, NFL certified sports agent and entrepreneur. He’s also excelled in corporate America, holding management positions representing Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and internationally. Melton is currently a partner with Norris & Melton, P.L.L.C, and its intellectual property management, consulting and licensing arm IP Counsel Consultants. In addition, Melton is the chief intellectual property counsel for PH2 Solutions, Inc.

This week’s Entrepreneur of the Week is Tiana von Johnson, of the estate brokerage firm GoldStar Properties of New York. Von Johnson founded GoldStar Properties in 2009 with just four members in Manhattan’s Financial District. Today, the company is comprised of a dynamic team of more than 50 ambitious and motivated team members. As president, CEO, and principal broker, Von Johnson oversees all company sales and rentals transactions, commercial real estate division, business development, international affairs, finance, training, and marketing.

Also, in our Wealth for Life segment, we explore what everyone wants to know: Where are the jobs? And this week’s Executive Style segment shows how you can be a DJ for a day.

Black Enterprise Business Report is the award-winning weekly, half-hour program offering a mix of one-on-one Power Player interviews with top Black corporate executives, Wealth for Life discussions on personal finance, Entrepreneur of the Week profiles of successful small business owners, Quick Tips providing actionable advice from top business leaders, and Executive Style featuring the hottest lifestyle trends and luxury living for today’s consumer.

Click here for times and stations where the Black Enterprise Business Report airs in your area.

(Image: ThinkStock)

In this season of giving—and taking time off from work—I’ve had occasion to focus on the important things in life, like quality time with my family, reaching out to old friends, and catching up on my reading and reality TV. It’s amazing how much longer the days feel when you’re not trying to jam too much into them.

With time to spare, I’m more fully engaged and as a result, each moment takes on a sense of heightened intensity. Maybe that’s why when I sat leisurely reading my Sunday paper on Monday, dog at my feet, big mug of tea in hand, I was moved by a line of all green capital letters above The New York Times banner. It said: TODAY IS CHRISTMAS REMEMBER THE NEEDIEST!

Ironically, the paper wasn’t packed with stories about the needy. Despite the holiday, there was the usual mix of headlines from around the world and big-city news with a few musings on Christmas tossed in for good measure. But it was the story about the latest “biggest apartment sale ever” in my hometown of New York that impressed me most. I was stunned when I read it, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since.

It reported the closing of the closely-tracked sale of a three-bedroom apartment in a building overlooking Central Park on Manhattan’s west side. Final price: $24 million. The price is eye-popping, and so is the profit when you consider that the previous owner, described in The New York Times as a shipping magnate, bought the place for just under half that only three years ago—in 2008, the year the bottom fell out of our once robust economy.

But that’s not the part of the story that nearly made me choke on my tea. It might have, if not for a penthouse apartment in the very same building going to contract last week with an agreed upon price of $88 million. Yes, I said $88 million… for an apartment. Not a house with miles of acreage, not a sprawling gated mansion on a private lake with its own zip code, nor an entire building full of grand apartments, but one single dwelling in a building parceled into many—202 to be exact: $88 million.

What does an $88 million apartment look like? Hard to say, but its 6,774 square feet is terraced and bright with lots of windows and a heart-stopping view from atop a building that’s 19 stories high. The place is currently owned by former Citigroup CEO Sanford I. Weill and his wife, Joan, who have publicly claimed they plan to donate proceeds from the property to charity. Their philanthropic arms have a wide reach that’s already left an indelible mark on New York institutions from major hospitals to the Alvin Ailey Dance Company.

But that’s still not the part of the story that stopped me cold. After all, this is New York where very little about Manhattan real estate—from how small an actual living space can be to how much one can also cost—surprises anymore.

What I wanted to know was who buys an $88 million dollar apartment and it’s the answer that got me: A Russian billionaire, Dmitriy Rybolovlev, who is picking it up for his 22-year-old daughter, Ekaterina, a college student in the US. If your head’s not already swimming, get this: She doesn’t even go to school in New York, she just needs a place to crash when she visits!

Rybolovlev, who made much of his money in pesticides, is ranked by Forbes as the world’s 93rd richest person. He first made a name for himself in US real estate in 2008 when he purchased a 33,000-square-foot Palm Beach estate from Donald Trump for $100 million. This latest purchase, paying a mere $12 million more for a property a quarter of that size, easily trumps the Trump deal (to Don’s great displeasure, no doubt). I imagine it comes with at least one parking space but a hefty monthly maintenance fee (to maintain the building’s private health club, pool, wine cellar, and grand residents dining room) is additional, for sure. As is the private apartment staff that will keep the floors gleaming and the pillows fluffed. Welcome to New York.

Why do I care who lives at 15 Central Park West or what those grand apartments cost? Because it’s always fascinating to imagine how other people—especially the insanely wealthy—live. Because from a business standpoint, it’s wild to consider how during the most devastating financial era in a generation, two already exorbitantly expensive apartments could each double in value. And because the week between Christmas and New Years—Kwanzaa week—is always a time for reflection.

So, I can’t help but reflect…on our notions of charity and capitalism, on gratitude and materialism, and on that green banner about the need to remember the neediest occupying space in a paper alongside news of an $88 million crash pad for a college kid. I can’t help but reflect on what $88 million could do for the needy at a time when the depth of need in our country is so great. I can’t help but reflect on when and how we know that enough is enough and too much is just too much.

Sea World President Terry Prather is this week’s Power Player. Prather shares the career path he took to a position of leadership at one of the most popular theme parks in America. Also, in our Entrepreneur of the Week segment spotlights Rodney Hughes and Tony McGee, the co-owners of Southstar Distribution, an Orlando, Fla.-based commercial roofing and construction supply company. And Executive Style takes a tour of City Walks, one of Orlando’s most celebrated tourist attractions.

Black Enterprise Business Report is the award-winning weekly, half-hour program offering a mix of one-on-one Power Player interviews with top Black corporate executives, Wealth for Life discussions on personal finance, Entrepreneur of the Week profiles of successful small business owners, Quick Tips providing actionable advice from top business leaders, and Executive Style featuring the hottest lifestyle trends and luxury living for today’s consumer.

Click here for times and stations where the Black Enterprise Business Report airs in your area.

"Basketball Wives" cast member Meeka Claxton talks business with BlackEnterprise.com (Image: Press)

In season three of VH1′s hit reality series Basketall Wives viewers were introduced to the much- maligned Meeka Claxton, wife of retired NBA star Speedy Claxton and focal point of more than a few disagreements and altercations with her fellow cast members.  But beyond the drama we saw on the small screen Mrs. Claxton is an accomplished businesswoman and loving mother and wife.  BE Next spoke to Claxton about her thriving real estate business, being an independent woman and her portrayal on the show.

Click here to read more about “Basketball Wives” cast member Meeka Claxton…

Selling wasn’t an option. “My property lost too much value during the market downturn,” the 40-year-old says. “If I were to sell, I would have had to come to the closing table with $30,000 or $40,000 out of my own pocket. That wasn’t going to happen.”

Like Newsome-Hill, more than a quarter of U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth. It’s a position that leaves owners with few options. But Newsome-Hill had a plan. She decided to become a landlord. She first investigated property management firms. These operations handle the marketing and maintenance on rental properties, typically in exchange for 10% of the collected monthly rent, plus a month’s rent for filling vacancies. She did the math and decided that route was too expensive.

Instead Newsome-Hill hired a local real estate agent for a fee equal to one month’s rent. The agent helped her set a rent based on the average rental rate in the area, advertised the listing in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and on Craigslist, and stuck a “For Rent” sign in the front yard. The latter proved to be the most effective marketing tool.

The agent also vetted potential tenants using a third-party background check firm. “The onus was off of me to screen everyone who called, and pore over applications,” says Newsome-Hill, who only spoke with the applicants who passed muster with the agent. She also called their previous landlords to discuss payment history and the tenants’ treatment of the property.

Once her first tenant was selected, Newsome-Hill worked with her agent to draw up a one-year lease (the typical length, although month-to-month and multiyear are also used). The agent also gave her a “walk-through” sheet that she gave to the tenant to fill out before moving in. (Samples of both documents can be found online.)

To handle maintenance and repair issues with the rental property, Newsome-Hill pays $400 a year for a home warranty contract that covers the townhouse’s heating and cooling equipment, appliances, and other major systems. “When something goes wrong, I make a phone call and they send someone out to handle it,” says Newsome-Hill, who is content with her choice to rent, rather than sell.

“Overall it’s been a pretty good experience because I have reliable tenants who haven’t damaged my home,” says Newsome-Hill, “and who have managed to pay the rent within a reasonable timeframe every month.”

Seventy-five percent of U.S. cities saw home prices decline during the first quarter of 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors. During the same period, U.S. apartment vacancies dropped to the lowest level in almost three years, as the stagnant home-buying market created more rental demand, reports New York-based real estate research firm Reis Inc.

This has created somewhat of a “perfect storm” for homeowners who don’t want to sell but who have to move. “If they can’t sell their home within 60 or 90 days, I talk to them about renting,” says Tanya Waxler, broker-owner at real estate firm UKeepCommission in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. “As soon as that ‘For Rent’ sign goes up, owners start getting calls.”

To ensure a smooth transition from homeowner to landlord, Waxler says tenant screening is a must. She even advises owners to call the potential renter’s current neighbors for feedback. “Find out if they leave their trash cans on the curb for weeks or play loud music at 2 a.m.,” says Waxler. Credit checks are also critical, she says, as are phone calls to references, including past landlords and current employers. This background check is crucial because depending on your state or local laws, evicting a tenant can be costly and tedious. “Don’t hand over the keys to your house until you’ve done a thorough check.”

Once the new tenants are in place, keep an eye on your property. “You can’t just move them in and forget about them. You have to manage the tenants,” says Waxler. “A quick visit will tell you if they’re smoking in your house, or if they have three dogs.”

With the right tenants mailing rent checks on time, homeowners can benefit from having someone else pay off their mortgages until the market recovers. “The rental market is hot right now,” says Waxler. “It’s a good alternative for owners who have to move, and who don’t want to play war with their wallets.”

“The seller was an investor who was renovating houses and selling them,” says the records management consultant. Knowing that the house had been listed for more than a month and the seller had other homes on the market, “I told my [real estate agent] I was going to lowball him a little bit because I knew he needed to get rid of the house,” she says. The seller’s initial list price was $350,000, but Morris countered with $280,000. The seller balked at first but finally agreed to sell the two-bedroom, two-bath home for $285,000, “though he only made about $20,000 off the deal,” Morris says.

Though there are glimmers of hope in the real estate market, home prices are still dropping in many cities. Standard & Poor’s noted at the end of 2010 that six markets—including Atlanta, Miami, and Seattle—had reached their lowest levels since 2006. As a result, many buyers are hesitant to make purchases because they’re “concerned about whether prices are going to fall further,” says Elizabeth Weintraub, a real estate broker and the homebuying expert for About.com.

Even so, low mortgage interest rates and falling home prices have combined to make houses more affordable than they’ve been in the last two decades. While you can’t know for sure that prices have reached their bottom, you can get a good deal, particularly in this buyer’s market. With tips from experts, you can follow Morris’ lead and save thousands on your new home no matter what the overall housing market does.

Research is key.
The more knowledge you have about the house and the buyer, the better off you’ll be in the negotiation process.

Get good representation.
A real estate agent can guide you through the negotiation process, giving you access to pricing trends in the area, town, or neighborhood you’ve identified. However, if you want someone who can help you come up with the best offer, steer away from a dual agency agreement, says Doug Miller, a real estate attorney and executive director of the Navarre, Minnesota-based nonprofit Consumer Advocates in American Real Estate. This is when the same company can represent both the seller and the buyer. “What ends up happening is the agent legally has to say, ‘I’m sorry, I’m a dual agent so I can write the offer but I can’t give you any advice as to what to offer.’” Since the agent can’t advocate for you or the seller, “you’re actually on your own,” Miller says. As an alternative to agreeing to the possibility of dual agency, buyers could hire a backup agent from another company and “require the primary agent to withdraw with no fees being owed if a dual agency situation presents itself,” Miller explains. Note that laws about dual agents vary by state. Another option is hiring an exclusive buyer agent. Such agents don’t take listings, so there’s no possibility of dual agency. These agents can be found through the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.

Know what the seller paid.
While you may not be able to determine how much the seller owes on the home (but you can try to find out by asking the seller’s agent or title company), you can find out how much he or she paid for it by looking up county tax records or even checking some real estate sites on the Web. (Zillow provides this information at no cost.) In this age of upside down mortgages and falling prices, such information could be helpful since “a seller who has $100,000 in equity is going to be far more flexible in negotiations than a seller with $1,000 in equity,” Weintraub says.

Learn the seller’s motivation.
Ask the seller or the seller’s agent why the seller is moving. While they don’t have to reveal that information, many times they do and it can help you craft an offer that’s a win-win for all, says Nelson. “If the seller’s top priority is cash but the ability to move on without doing any more work to the home is a close second, consider making an as-is offer,” she suggests. Likewise, a seller who is divorcing and moving out of state might take less money to get the home sold quickly.

Consider the home’s time on the market.
The longer a home has been on the market, the more negotiating power you have. Look for homes that have been listed for 60 days or longer. “You don’t take a listing that’s been on the market for one day and ask them to sell it at a 10% discount because they’re probably not going to do it,” Weintraub says.

Find comparable sales.
If you have an agent, let him or her brief you on the area’s pricing trends and what similar homes have sold for, says Tara-Nicholle Nelson, the consumer educator for Trulia, a real estate search engine that has home listings across the country. While an agent’s Multiple Listing Service will offer the most complete information, there are free websites that feature listings including www.trulia.com, www.zillow.com, and www.homegain.com.

While some homeowners think they’ll get the best deals on foreclosures, they might do better by looking at other homes in distressed neighborhoods. Those sellers will likely negotiate to compete with the local foreclosures, and those homes will probably be in better condition, Weintraub says. Also, find out whether similar homes sold above, at, or below the list price. “If 98% of the homes sold within 5% of the sales price, an offer of $190,000 on a $200,000 home might very well get accepted,” says Weintraub.

Negotiation Basics
Once you have a ballpark figure in mind, it’s important to prepare for the negotiation. Whether agents discuss terms face to face, by phone, or via e-mail depends on the location, says Nelson. “In some markets, agents primarily communicate face to face. In others, e-mail and phone are preferred.” When it comes to a “for sale by owner” situation, sometimes face-to-face negotiation can be harmful, says Weintraub, since “people have all kinds of reasons to be prejudiced and discriminate against each other.” The best time to negotiate on a home is when fewer people are buying, which tends to be at the end of the year around the holidays, Weintraub says, but here are some tips for getting the best results no matter what the season.

Narrow your priorities.
If you go into a negotiation wanting 10 different things, you’ll likely turn off the seller and come away empty-handed. Instead, come up with a short list of things you’d like the seller to consider, such as lowering the price, leaving the appliances, or providing assistance with closing costs, says Nelson.

Leave your emotions at the door.
Don’t let the seller know this has been your dream house for the last six years. Give the impression that you’re considering other homes even if you’re not. Likewise, don’t tell the seller that you can’t afford the offer. “What the seller’s going to say is, ‘Then why don’t you go buy something you can afford?’” Weintraub says. “So, forget that tactic.”

Sell yourself.
The last thing a seller wants is to take their home off the market and have the deal fall through. A house that’s put back on the market could be even tougher to sell if potential buyers think something is wrong with it. So anything that can show the seller that your financing is solid gives you more power when negotiating. Show your lender’s pre-approval letter. Weintraub suggests letting the seller see your FICO score if it’s really high. If you’re buying the house with cash or can put down a large “earnest money” deposit, that may also influence the seller.

Make the moving process easy.
People are more open to negotiation with those that they like, so if you can make the moving process easier for the seller, let him or her know up front. A quick closing date could seal the deal. Or “offer to let the seller stay in the property after the close of escrow for a few days without paying any rent,” says Weintraub. Rather than looking at negotiation as an adversarial process, find ways to make things easier for both of you. “A very relaxed environment can make a difference between your offer getting accepted or rejected,” Weintraub says. 

1. Get top-notch representation. A real estate agent will help you navigate the negotiation process by letting you in on pricing trends in the neighborhood where you’re house hunting.

2. Avoid a dual agency agreement. A dual agency agreement is a situation where the same company represents the seller and the buyer. This is not the best situation for you as a buyer because the agent cannot provide advice on what to offer. He or she can only write the offer. However, know that laws about dual agents vary by state.

3. Don’t shop blindly. Make sure you do your research. Start by knowing how much the seller paid for the property. You can do this by looking at county tax records or doing research on websites like Zillow.com. The more equity a seller has, the more flexible he or she will be with the price. It would also be to your advantage to find out why the home is being sold. For example, if the seller is in the middle of a divorce and trying to move out of the state, he or she will be more likely to take less money in order to move as soon as possible. Finally, know how long the home has been on the market. The longer the home has been up for sale, the more negotiating power you have.

4. Tame your emotions. Refrain from letting the seller know that you have been desiring the home for years. This might make it harder to negotiate a lower price. And don’t tell the seller that you don’t have enough money to meet the offer. He or she will most likely tell you to look for another home that you can afford.

5. Prioritize your needs. Don’t enter a negotiation with a list of 15 different things you want. This most likely will not sit well with the seller—and you might not get anything you ask for. This tactic rarely works. Rather, present a short list of what you’d like. For example, you could request closing cost assistance or a lower price.

Manage your IT woes with a savvy solution (Image: Thinkstock)

The new option of having your company’s servers “in the cloud” could prove a lifesaver to many small business owners. When the company that managed the web-based email servers at Syreeta Saunders-Keys’ eight-year-old real estate firm Keys2Day Real Estate kept breaking down, she realized that she needed a centralized system where she and her six employees could access email, store documents, and monitor the tasks from anywhere and at anytime. Saunders-Keys was using four different vendors to host file sharing, email archiving, calendars, web maintenance, and other IT necessities; all of which cost her $750 per month. Yet, her team could only access their email via web-mail and the vendor wasn’t syncing their email and calendars to all of their devices.

More and more the small business owner found herself bottled up in IT woes instead of focusing her attention on the real estate industry. The situation became drastic when she was unable to access her email archives despite having paid an additional $400 to ensure that the service was done. As a real estate agent this was problematic because she is required by law to keep certain contacts, conversations, and documents for 10 years after a deal closes.

“My job is to be out generating and bringing business in and not to be dealing with the minutia on the back end,” says Saunders-Keys.

In her search to rectify the situation and find a new provider, she realized that many companies didn’t cater to small businesses. “They want you to have a certain amount of employees and even if you don’t they want you to pay the same amount that big companies would pay,” says Saunders-Keys, who brought in $7.1 million in sales in 2010. Finally, she called Tarzana, California-based InfoStreet and found relief with their product Streetsmart, a cloud-based IT platform.

Keyon Thomas, a marketing director at InfoStreet and Saunders-Keys customer representative, assessed what each of her vendors was doing, migrated their file sharing services over to InfoStreet, and created them a complete cloud storage environment that would alleviate as much of the IT stress as possible.

“Being real estate agents–showing houses, working from home, and the office–it was important that all of their [systems were] exactly the same, without creating this huge IT infrastructure in their office to create VPNs and things like that,” says Thomas. “Lastly we coordinated with their website provider, who is still running their website to make sure we didn’t drop the ball with any of their domain name endings that connect the web site so that they didn’t have any down time.”

Click here for five tips on how to migrate your local server to the cloud-based server on page 2

Keys2Day Real Estate firm owner Syreeta Saunders-Keys found peace in the Cloud (Image: Courtesy of subject)

Now, for $110 per month everyone at Keys2Day Real Estate has access to each others calendars, and all of their email and file archives are stored in one of InfoStreet’s tier 1 SAS 70 data centers with backup generators. Another huge benefit is that Saunders-Keys and her employees can access their desktop no matter where they go. She can log in from her home computer and will see the same thing she sees when she logs in at the office.

If you are considering a migration from a local server over to a cloud-based server here are Thomas’s five tips for preparing your business and your employees before migrating to the cloud.

* Know your network. Your office network consists of not just applications that you use on a day-to-day basis, but also applications that run on the servers in the back room. By knowing what is on those servers you can eliminate any surprise when moving to the cloud.

* Be aware of the amount of support you need. Most cloud providers offer tiered support. If you can’t handle training your users then get the top support level and let the provider do it. If you can train people, go with one of the lower levels. Because support is flexible and normally month-to-month, it can be adjusted to your needs.

* Hold several training sessions. The CEO should take the time to learn how the tools work and also take the extra time to teach your team. It will pay off in the long run. Mmake sure they understand the benefits of making that change so they don’t fall back into the old system. When they take the time to train employees you see 100% adoption instantly.

* Make sure you have a good Internet connection. When you go to the cloud the internet is your lifeline. You have to make sure you have a good connection. Take some of the money that you are saving on servers and invest it into maintaining two internet vendors for redundancy sake. Also plan for internet disruptions by keeping a satellite enabled device like a cell phone with a WiFi hotspot.

* Remember price scales. Remember at all times that as your company grows, the price for your cloud tool normally reduces per user. Don’t forget to contact your provider to switch plans if you are experiencing significant growth. This way you will realize maximum savings.

* Make migration easy. “It is imperative that you mirror the current environment that you are using today as closely as possible,” says Thomas. “People hate change. “They won’t want to suddenly jump to a new piece of technology. Once you show them how it is similar and useful, it will automatically keep them from feeling threatened.”

* Eliminate the ability for them to go backwards. The hardest part about moving to the cloud is user adoption. When users don’t adopt the new tool they will fall back on your old systems, which is extremely counter productive. You will have to run both systems during a parallel time, but the second that you can cut off the old system, cut it off, says Thomas.

Ilyas Akbar, a retirement planning specialist for AXA Advisors, says it’s good for young professionals just starting out to think of their money as three buckets; short, mid, and long-term. BLACK ENTERPRISE and Akbar created a plan to help you identify your financial goals and some possible investment options for achieving those ambitions.

• Short-term

Short-term goals are generally defined as those goals you want to achieve within two years. Akbar says these can include building an emergency savings fund, saving for a down payment on a home, purchasing a car, or going back to school etc. In the event of an unexpected expense “you want to have liquid cash available that’s not tied up in the market,” he adds.

Savings Vehicles:

1. Savings account: Although interest rates are lower, your money is liquid and your deposits are FDIC-insured up to at least $250,000 per insured bank. You can easily transfer or withdraw your money from savings accounts.

2. Checking accounts: Although most are non-interest bearing, some banks and credit unions offer higher interest rates. These accounts are FDIC-insured and can be easily accessed. Banks may impose minimum balances, limit the number of transactions that can be made within a time period or may require direct deposit to qualify for the high-interest rate.

3. Money Market Accounts: The rate of return is typically higher on MMA’s since they are based on the current market rate of interest. They are generally FDIC-insured. Banks may impose minimum balances, or limit the number of transactions that can be made within a time period.

4. Certificates of Deposit: CDs generally receive a higher interest rate, especially on longer terms, which range from one month to five years. They are fairly liquid, but there is a penalty if you withdraw the funds before its maturity date.

Rate of Return: The average rate of return that one might target is 1-2%. “You won’t earn a lot on your money, but the benefit is liquidity and stability,” says Akbar.

• Mid-term

Mid-term goals are generally those goals that you want to accomplish in the next 5-15 years, such as early retirement, business, education, a second home or a large purchase. “This bucket provides financial flexibility, freedom and allows people to enhance their abilities in their lives,” says Akbar.

Where to Invest:

1. Mutual Funds: By investing in a pool of stocks, bonds, and other instruments with multiple investors, gives you holdings in several different companies (diversification). Like stocks, they can also be converted into cash.

2. Stocks: Ownership of a corporation represented by shares that are a claim on the corporation’s earnings and assets.

3. Real Estate: A publicly traded company that invests in a specific type of property, from shopping centers and office buildings, to apartment complexes and hotels.

4. Exchange Traded Funds: ETFs are similar to mutual funds in that they represent a collection of investments. Unlike mutual funds, ETFs trade on an exchange (hence the name). Some investors prefer ETFs to mutual funds because they have low expense ratios and generate lower capital gains taxes than similar mutual funds.

Rate of Return: The average rate of return that one might target is 6-10%.

• Long-term goals

“This is probably this biggest thing you’ll ever save for,” says Akbar. This savings for your retirement. Social Security won’t be able to fund your retirement. Here are other investment vehicles you may want to consider to help you start investing for your golden years.

Where to Invest:

1. 401(k)-Tax deferred retirement account that an employee elects automatic contributions from their paycheck to the plan on a pretax basis. Distributions received before age 59 1/2 are subject to an early distribution penalty of 10% additional tax unless an exception applies.

2. Individual Retirement Account: An IRA is a fund earmarked for retirement savings (There are several types of IRAs: Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs and SEP IRAs.)

3. Cash Value Life Insurance: An insurance policy that covers you for the duration of your life. It builds cash value

Rate of Return: The average rate of return that one might target is 8-10%.

Get back into the home you love (Image: Thinkstock)

Many homeowners experience foreclosure as the end of a long, tumultuous process—oftentimes beginning with a job loss. They fall behind on their mortgage payments, perhaps make unsuccessful attempts at a government-assisted loan modification, and then finally accept that foreclosure is inevitable. The average borrower who loses a home to foreclosure has gone 14 months or more without making a mortgage payment by the time their home is repossessed. After a foreclosure, many former homeowners realize that losing their house is just the beginning—they now face the uncertain process of rehabilitating their finances, credit, and self-esteem.

If you’re on the verge of a foreclosure, there are a few things you can do before, during, and after the process to help ease some of the pain:

1) Get a roof over your head. Before your mortgage holder confiscates your home, locate and secure affordable rental housing. This will help ease the transition, especially for any children involved.

2) Boost your income. If you’ve lost your job, work on locating new sources of income, whether through unemployment benefits, a temporary job placement, or part-time work.

3) Regroup emotionally. It’s a tough time for everyone involved, and foreclosure can be especially hard on a marriage. Don’t blame yourself or other family members for your predicament. Commit to working as a team to rebuild.

4) Educate yourself. Now’s the time to learn what you don’t know about personal finance. Learn the intricacies of how loans work. Study how credit scores are calculated. Keep reading BLACK ENTERPRISE.

5) Seek counseling. Many organizations offer free counseling to help those recovering from foreclosure. Try GreenPath Debt Solutions, CredAbility.org, or locate a federally approved advisory service in your area through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

6) Draft a budget. With the help of a debt counselor or financial planner, create a budget for your new living and financial situation. Many former homeowners will also want to begin saving for the day when they can buy a home again.

7) Repair your credit. You’ll need to create a detailed plan that includes specific amounts and timetables for attacking all debts, including any residual balances from the foreclosed home, such as utility bills or property taxes.